TREASURY OF SERMONS
Miracle of the Millennium: PK
By Rev (Dr) Jeffrey Khoo
(Preached at Calvary Pandan Sunset Gospel Hour, 22 Feb 1998)
Text: 2 Cor 6:1-7:1
What is PK? PK does not stand for problem kid.
The abbreviation PK technically can mean two things: (1) "Preacher’s
Kid," and (2) "Promise Keepers." The latter is our concern for this
evening. I wonder how many of you have heard of the Promise Keepers?
I did an WWW search, and found their website at
www.promisekeepers.org, with a host of other articles speaking
either for or against the organisation. They were significant enough
for Time magazine to have a lengthy feature report on it in its Oct
6 ’97 issue. It is a strictly a men’s gathering, or a male-oriented
movement founded by a member of John Wimber’s Vineyard Church named
Bill McCartney. Promise Keepers meetings are usually held in
stadiums because of the staggering number of people who attend. In
began in 1991, and in 1997, according to Time magazine, attendance
has grown to over 1.1 million and the money collected has reached in
excess of $87 million.
We don’t hear so much about the Promise Keepers
in Singapore. It has not really caught on here in Singapore. But in
the USA, it is a very big thing. Other countries where PK is
particularly active are Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Nonetheless, we do get to hear about it quite frequently. In the
Monday Morning Memo (Feb 16, ’98) of the Biblical Graduate School of
Theology (a supposedly B-P institution), we find the dean (a B-P
pastor) saying this of the Promise Keepers, "The Promise Keepers
have been making waves, in North America at least. It is a men's
movement that made history when over a million men gathered to hold
hands and pray publicly, asking for God's forgiveness and upholding
marriage and family values that are fast breaking down in today's
world. The unbelievable has happened!" Such a positive report or
comment on the Promise Keepers causes me to be very concerned over
the lack of discernment among not just Bible-Presbyterians, but
fundamentalists, and Bible-believing Christians at large. Many are
saying that the Promise Keepers is a very good thing that has
happened. It is to be equated with the great revivals of the past.
It is from God.
There is a need to examine whether Promise
Keepers is something from God. Is it a true revival of this
millennium? Or is the movement just another arm of ecumenism towards
a one world order and a one world religion?
Let’s us first look at what is Promise Keepers
Promise Keepers is an organisation with a mission towards the men in
trying to get them to be good husbands, good fathers, and good
Christians. A Promise Keeper has 7 rules to keep. Those who join the
organisation vouch to do all these 7 things:
1.A Promise Keeper is committed to honoring
Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to God's Word in
the power of the Holy Spirit. This sounds good.
2.A Promise Keeper is committed to pursuing
vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he
needs brothers to help him keep his promises. This is OK, but I
think a man needs his wife especially and God most of all to help
him keep his promises, not just his buddies.
3.A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing
spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity. This is biblical,
entirely good and absolutely necessary.
4.A Promise Keeper is committed to building
strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical
values. This is biblical, entirely good and absolutely necessary.
5.A Promise Keeper is committed to supporting
the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor,
and by actively giving his time and resources. This rule is too
broad to be good. What if the church is an apostate, modernist,
ecumenical or neo-evangelical one? Should a Promise Keeper support
the mission of his church if it goes against the Scripture?
6.A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching
beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the
power of biblical unity. What is biblical unity? The ecumenists talk
about "biblical" unity. The World Council of Churches talk about
"biblical" unity. And the Evangelicals and Catholics Together talk
about "biblical" unity? The fundamentalists talk about biblical
unity. Which "biblical unity" is the Promise Keepers referring to?
Is it a biblical unity in the Truth, and in the context of biblical
separation? This rule is not sufficiently definitive. We will see
later on that this is the PKs most dangerous rule.
7.A Promise Keeper is committed to influencing
his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment (see Mark
12:30-31) and the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:19-20 ). This is
the only rule where they cite scripture references. Yes we ought to
submit to these 2 great commandments of our Lord: to love and to
preach. But the love must be in the light of truth, and we must
preach not just some things, most things, but ALL things that the
Lord has commanded us in His Word.
A Critical Examination of PK’s
6th Rule
Rule 6 says that PKs are committed to breaking
down the doctrinal or theological walls that separate the various
denominations. We are all for unity but not at the expense of truth.
Dr Martin Bobgan (many of his books especially on the dangers of
modern Christian or Biblical psychology so-called are found in your
bookroom) insightfully exposes the subtle ecumenical tendencies of
PK Dr Bobgan said that though PK has 7 promises, yet there are 3
unwritten promises which PKs must observe:
1. Promise Keepers will not violate your
doctrines. If you meet a Roman Catholic, don’t walk about the
doctrine of justification by faith in Christ alone, the worship of
Mary, etc.
2. Promise Keepers will not proselytize your
men. If you come from a church which is a cult, or a RCC, or a
modernistic church, we will not evangelise to them, and recommend to
them a Bible-believing and Bible-defending church.
3. Promise Keepers will send men back to their
parishes, churches, and wards. Pastors, whoever you are and whatever
you believe in, trust us with your members, you won’t lose anyone.
We will make sure they return to your church. They will return
supportive of you and your work whether your work is in accordance
to Scripture or not.
Dr Arthur Steele—Founder and President emeritus
of Clearwater Christian College—who taught me Contemporary Theology
advised us students to have the Scripture and the evidence when
exposing error.
I am going to give you the evidence first. In PK
News Dec ’97 has this report on a recent meeting on the National
Mall where more than 50 countries were represented, and a vast
number of denominations participated, "The spirit of reconciliation
prevailed. As Raleigh Washington, Promise Keepers vice president of
reconciliation, called a representation -- Native American,
Hispanic, Asian, African American, Caucasian and Jewish -- to the
platform to join hands in reconciliation, the crowd echoed the
sentiments. Max Lucado, pulpit minister at Oak Hills Church of
Christ in San Antonio, Texas, further illustrated this. He asked
people to call out their denomination or church. An
indistinguishable din arose. Then he asked the crowd to call out the
name of their Savior, and a clarion "Jesus!" thundered from the
Mall. This was a foretaste of a reconciled body of Christ, one that
crosses barriers of sect, tongue and ethnicity." Sounds good, but
utterly deceptive.
The way PK is operating is very similar to the
WCC and other ecumenical groups: They reduce the Christian Faith to
its barest minimum, to a ridiculously simplistic version of it and
declare "This is the Basis of unity." So if you are a Roman Catholic
it doesn’t matter, if you are a Mormon (or a cultist) it doesn’t
matter, you are an Anglican it doesn’t matter, if you come a church
which denies all the fundamentals of the Christian Faith it doesn’t
matter; as long as you call out the name "Jesus" you are OK! Well,
the demons also acknowledge Jesus (in the Gospels we find them doing
so many times) but do they therefore belong to the reconciled body
of Christ? Talking about believing in Jesus, the Apostle James tells
us that the demons also believe and they tremble. It appears the
demons are very good PK material?
The Lord Himself warned against those who just
pay lip service to His name, "Not every one that saith unto me,
Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of my Father which is in heaven." The name "Jesus" is
nowadays used as a magic word by ecumenists to hoodwink people into
error. Jesus said it is not enough just to call His name, but in
calling my name you also need to realise that you come under the
authority of all things I have commanded you in my Word" (Matt
28:20).
Biblical Christian reconciliation and unity must
be based not on selective parts of God’s commandments, but on all of
His commandments, and one of the more important and very neglected
commandments is the commandment to separate from all forms of
compromise, unbelief and apostasy. You will not hear this
commandment being taught or even mentioned in PK meetings.
By the way, I must not fail to mention a sister
of the PK which is the BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). This group is
very active worldwide and in Singapore. PK is all-men, but BSF I
gather is mostly-ladies. Miss Wetherell Johnson founder of BSF in
her own words said that BSF is for the purpose of promoting
ecumenism. They operate very much like the PKs. They say they are
evangelical (ie they believe in the gospel), but in practice they
deny the gospel because: (1) They will not correct the wrong
doctrines of their members even if they are Charismatic or Roman
Catholic; you can choose what you want to believe. They fail to
teach the all the counsel of God. (2) They will not tell you to come
out of a compromising or a false church; if you are Roman Catholic,
you go back to your RC church; Charismatic, return to your
Charismatic church, Modernist, go back to your liberal church. They
do not practise biblical separation nor do they earnestly contend
for the faith. The danger with PK is not what they say but what they
don’t say. They talk a lot about love and unity, but nothing on
falsehood and separation.
What we do hear is this: "The Roman Catholic
Church is OK." Christianity Today (Jan 16, ’97) reported that a
Roman Catholic is a member of the PK Board. Bill McCartney in an
interview with the RC publication—Our Sunday Visitor—said that he
was always his intention to have RCs as part of his organisation.
McCartney says that scores of RCs participate in PK rallies, and
they return to their RC churches excited. Clearly, PK is an
ecumenical and thus unbiblical organisation. If PK is scripturally
legitimate, RCs who attend the rallies should go away truly
converted and separated from their false churches.
I am glad the BP Church in USA takes a stand
against the PK. Last year in their 61st General Synod Meeting they
passed a resolution on "Promise Keepers Appeasement of Roman
Catholics." Let me read the Resolution 61:18:
In a recent issue of "Our Sunday Visitor," an
influential Catholic publication, there was an article entitled
"Making New Catholic Men: Promise Keepers 'gospel for guys'." The
article explains that efforts have been made by leaders of Promise
Keepers to make Roman Catholics feel at home in the Promise Keepers
organization. These efforts include welcoming Mike Timmis as a new
member of the Promise Keepers' board. Mr. Timmis is a long-time
leader in the Catholic charismatic renewal, Another effort to
appease Roman Catholics has been their spotlighting Catholic
evangelist Jim Berlucchi as a speaker. One of the most significant
efforts of appeasement has been the amendment of the Promise Keepers
statement of faith regarding justification. Section five of the
Promise Keepers creed previously read, "We believe that man was
created in the image of God, but because f sin, was alienated from
God. That alienation can be removed only by accepting, through faith
alone, God's gift of salvation, which was made possible by Christ's
death." Now it reads, so as to pass "theological muster" with Roman
Catholics, "Only through faith, trusting in Christ alone for
salvation, which was made possible by His death and resurrection,
can that alienation be removed." Paul Edwards, Promise Keepers
vice-president for advancement, explained that the statement of
faith is a dynamic document and that Promise Keepers is open to
change. Now we see that by removing the phrase "through faith
alone," Promise Keepers has sought to please Roman Catholic leaders
with whom they are fellowshipping. Promise Keepers has not exposed
the false doctrines of Roman Catholicism. Its leaders are following
a false ecumenism at the expense of truth.
Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone
(Romans 3:23-4:6; Ephesians 2:8,9; Acts 16:30,31). There is not one
word in the Bible about eternal forgiveness being dispensed by man.
We, the 61st General Synod of the Bible
Presbyterian Church meeting in Tacoma Washington, July 31-August 5,
1997 warns all Christians concerning the compromise of truth by
Promise Keepers and concerning the unbiblical ecumenicity which it
is promoting. Further, we call upon all Christian men to fulfill
their covenant responsibilities to their families. (Adopted by the
61st General Synod of the Bible Presbyterian Church, meeting in
Tacoma, WA, July 31-August 5, 1997.)
Another resolution was passed in 1996. Let me
read to you Resolution 60:12 regarding Promise Keepers:
Many participants in Promise Keepers are well
intentioned and Promise Keepers has had some positive effects.
Nevertheless, PK represents a dangerous lowering of the standards of
truth, which could easily far outweigh any good that might result.
The Bible Presbyterian Synod expresses
disapproval of Promise Keepers. Our concerns regarding PK are:
1. Heavy involvement of charismatics in the
leadership. The founder, Bill McCartney, and President, Randy
Phillips, as well as several other board members, are from
charismatic and Vineyard movements. Thus, Promise Keepers speakers
are predominately neo-evangelical, dispensational, Arminian, and/or
charismatic in theology and practice.
2. A serious lack of discernment in reference to
what constitutes Biblical Christianity in its endorsement of Roman
Catholicism. For example, their official textbook, Seven Promises of
a Promise Keeper, pages 19, 160-162 approves the Roman Catholic Mass
as an acceptable form of Christian worship and considers their
priests and church members as "brothers" in Christ.
3. A serious lack of discernment in reference to
provided literature. For example, their former official guidebook,
Masculine Journey, by Robert Hicks states, "Celebrating the
experience of sin... we need to do it... look upon it as a rite of
passage... congratulate the next generation for being human." (Page
177) This book does not give an unequivocable condemnation of
homosexuality. (e.g. "being gay is a normal part of male
development." page 108) Hicks also suggests Jesus had homosexual
struggles: "Jesus was phallic with all the inherent phallic passions
we experience as men... I have found this helpful for gay men
struggling with their sexuality." ( Page 181) Thus, the Sixtieth
General Synod of the Bible Presbyterian Church warns against
participation in Promise Keepers. This group seems to have a "zeal
for God, but not according to knowledge." Romans 10:2. (Adopted by
the 60th General Synod of the Bible Presbyterian Church, meeting in
Cincinnati, Ohio, August 1-6, 1996.)
Promise Keepers are Covenant
Breakers
By yoking themselves together with the Roman
Catholic system and modernistic apostate churches, PKs may call
themselves "Promise Keepers," but in reality, in the light of God’s
Word, they are Covenant Breakers. The God of the Bible is a Covenant
God. He calls us to be Covenant Keepers. In Deut 5:1-11, God lays
down His rules for Covenant Keepers. Read! The first rule is this:
"Covenant Keepers must be keep themselves away from other gods and
from idolatry." To what extent must we keep ourselves from false
worship systems and idolatry? Exod 23:13,32-3 says, "Make no mention
of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth
. . . Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against
me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto
thee." In other words, have nothing to do with them whatsoever. Keep
as far from them as possible. In today’s context, the same principle
applies. Have nothing to do with the idolatrous system of Roman
Catholicism.
All Christians ought to be Covenant Keepers not
Promise Keepers. In Deut 5:10, God tells us to love Him and keep His
commandments. And one fundamental commandment is "Be ye not
unequally yoked together with unbelievers . . . what agreement hath
the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living
God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I
will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out
from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not
the unclean thing; and I will receive you" (2 Cor 6:14,16-7).
It is only when we keep His covenant are we
reconciled to God, and are become part of His family. God says in 2
Cor 6:18, I "will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters."
Conclusion
We should not be involved in the PK movement
because (1) it is one of the end time ecumenical stratagems of Satan
to deceive even the elect, and (2) it goes against the biblical
tenet to preach and teach the whole counsel of God by warning
against unbelief and apostasy. By participating in PK we in effect
violate God’s commands in Mark 12:30-31, and Matt 28:19-20. If we
truly love our God and our fellowmen then we need to sound out the
warning against the falling away that is happening today. If we want
to obey the great commission then we need to teach not some parts or
most parts of God’s Word but every single part of God’s Word.
Joining the PK does not allow to do these things. By not doing so, I
sin against God. PK is really not helping me to keep my promises but
break my promises to God in subtle ways.
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