Why I dont follow Matthew 18 when discussing nationally known ministries

That whole section goes into the church and its authority, you know binding and loosing, 2 or more.... its all one big discourse, it, like much of the principles in the bible starts off with the individual and moves toward community, i.e. the church (kinda funny because the last letter in Rev to the churches starts off with the church and moves to the individual).Anyway that's my take on that passage , its an entire discourse on christian ethic and church authority and how it works out not only in an individuals life but also within the local assembly of believers. :-(

I also have heard Matthew 18 used out of context. You are correct in stating that this verse deals specifically with personal offenses. When it comes to sin, false teaching, hypocrisy or unsound doctrine, the biblical model is always open public confrontation.Open public confrontation is how John the Baptist dealt with Herod. Jesus never pulled the Pharisees aside one by one to deal with their hypocrisy, but He stood them up, boldly stared them down and publicly confronted them. This is also how Paul dealt with Peter and his hypocrisy. We must also look at -Anyone who sins should be rebuked in front of the whole church so that others will have a proper fear of God. 1 Tim 5:20And I’m sure we can all agree that preaching a Jesus other than the Jesus in the New Testament is a sin. (i.e. - a Jesus who is all love but no wrath, a Jesus who tolerates hypocrisy and sin, a Jesus who will send nobody to Hell or a Jesus who is all wrath and no love)A public message board is a good place to do this, but I feel it should and needs to be done in person also. Individual squabbles should be handled privately, but sin, false teachers, hypocrisy and unsound doctrine should be openly and publicly confronted. It would be great if the Joel Osteen’s and Benny Hinn’s of the world were publicly rebuked in front of the whole church so that others would have a proper fear of God.For more information on the subject there is a short article on the “articles” page of my website entitled “Chapter 6 - Conflicts With The Religious”

Back before PTL went down the tubes, I wrote a personal letter to Jim Bakker trying to warn him with scripture. All that was received back was a form letter asking for money. Probably this is what would happen if a letter were to be written to one of the current ministers that seem to me to be off base. Sometimes the Lord opens impossible doors though.In Christ,GaryE

I think this is a relevant Scripture to bring up in this discussion and it seems to me that both sides have some truth to them, from my perspecticve.Can you honestly say that some of these people, who you feel are "fleecing the sheep", "decieving the masses", etc. haven't offended you? These people that some of you feel you have been decieved by and lied to along with loved ones, and are still recovering from? Maybe you actually have (become free of offense), but it sometimes appears, and I think it has been admitted to, that this is not (always) fully the case, and that the offense has not fully been dealt with in the heart. I could be off here, but I think it's worth a good heart check anyway, for myself as well.I encourage everyone who is interested in understanding this subject more to read Matthew 18 in context, but especially verses 21-35 (and out of those especially 32-35).How patient have we been with some of these people? Or did we quickly look on the internet and believe all the criticism?It seems clear that the big ministries that abound in the world today have no comparison in Bible times. So while we might not always be able to directly apply Matthew 18, we can at least try our best, and still walk in the spirit of the text, if you will. I don't think it's a coincidence that Jesus starts out his talk here with these words...Matthew 18:3-4"Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."If a little boy sees people laughing, joyful, if he sees the supernatural and healings, what is his response? Is it skepticism and doubt, or excitement and belief? Clearly I think we would agree it's the latter (unless an authority figure quickly comes in and tells them it's "of the devil", etc.). I believe this is how the Bereans were. They are often praised and offered as a good example for "discernement ministries" because they "examin[ed] the Scriptures daily," but they did it in an opposite spirit than many seem to be promoting today.Acts 17:11-12"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessolonica, for they recieved the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men."It seems clear that this Scripture is about hearing something new, being excited about it and hoping it's true (i.e. "receiving it with eagerness"), and then, being in this frame of mind, checking the Scriptures for verification. I think the way they received the information (with great eagerness) speaks more to their nobility of mind than the fact that they searched the Scriptures. The Pharisees and scribes searched the Scriptures, but you don't see them being called noble-minded. To use this Scripture in defense of critisizing and exposing what is perceived to be flaws in ministries seems perverse to me. The Bereans were totally open-minded and excited about what they were hearing and were just checking the Scriptures to make sure things lined up. Many people today are closed-minded about what they have come to believe and search the Scriptures to prove others wrong. I do not believe this is noble-minded at all, in fact it might just be the opposite. I think that, in a sense, the Bereans modeled 1 Thessalonians 5:21 for us, which says, "Examine everything, hold fast to that which is good." This Scripture is not about discerning other people's ministries (at least that's not the direct application), it's about what to do with prophetic utterances. From my study of the verse it's basically saying, "Examine each prophecy to see what's genuine. Hold on to the stuff that is." This is an opposite state of mind than looking into ministries to expose the faults. This is about looking into what may be new, fresh revelations and holding on to whatever is proven good of them. Again, I think it's perverse to use this Scripture as a defense for exposing flaws in ministries. I picture the Bereans getting all excited and stirred up by hearing all these new wonderful things and just being like "Really!? Really!!?" The main point I am trying to make clear is this- they recieved this new revelation and information with great eagerness, not skepticism. I believe this is like a child, with true humility of mind, which in the Kingdom of God is noble. I could go on about these Bereans, but will stop here for now.To bring this back around to Matthew 18:15-17...I believe that if we are walking in true humility of mind and child-likeness, if we feel the need to do this kind of thing (expose, etc.) at all, we will (at least) first do our best to contact the parties that we have concerns about. If the figurehead of the ministry can't be reached directly (which is totally understandable), we can attempt to speak with someone in their ministry or church who might be able to help us understand their perspective. I've tried this, and it has taken patience, but it has worked. I woudn't be surprised if many of the people that take the most heat, like Benny Hinn, have studied and put in more "Bible-time" than most of his critics. I think if we are walking in humility and noblity of mind, and we come across some new information that concerns us, we will think something like, "Huh. This is strange. This doesn't seem right with what I have learned, but this person has probabaly read the same verses I have, maybe even more. They must see things differently." And then we can do our best to find out how they see things and understand the Scriptures that seem (to us) to invalidate or contradict what they are saying. Do we really think any of them would be like, "Well, I just don't really pay attention to 1 Timothy 6. I think Paul was just in a bad mood and taking it out on rich people that day."??It's that instinct that thinks "I know I'm right about this and there's no way I'm wrong" that I believe leads to deception. The questions are, "Are you absolutely sure you are right?" and if so, "Can you absolutely prove you are by the Scriptures." If we can answer both of these questions with a definite "yes" (which I think would be very rare, if not impossible, to do in this life with many of these things), and we've done our best to get the other parties perspective, then I think we might possibly be in a place to speak publically about it, if God allows us. And even then, probably only to those who we are in God-given authority over (i.e. a pastor to his church, etc.).[Disclaimer: Obviously most of what I am talking about here is principles. If God clearly leads someone and gives them authority to declare it, then that overrules these principles. But this, of course, can be dangerous ground if it's not clearly God. I don't want to be found in presumption, espcially in an area like this.] Quote:"When it comes to sin, false teaching, hypocrisy or unsound doctrine, the biblical model is always open public confrontation."Perhaps, but as your examples verify, these were personal confrontations that took courage, not cowardly critiques from behind the safety of the world wide web. I'm not saying that every internet site that focuses on discernment is necessarily cowardly, but I think the principle is relevant.Did not John the Baptist openly confront Herod? Did not Jesus openly and in person confront the Pharisees? Did not Paul openly confront Simon face to face? These examples are a far cry from much of what we see going on today with "discernment ministries", don't you think? Besides, all these exmaples are of men who carried great amounts of God-given authority. And the John the Baptist and Jesus examples are pre-Pentecost which I think makes a big difference. I think it might be good to look deeper into Paul's public correction of Simon, but I'll wait to see if anyone is interested in doing that.

Todd,I also feel you bring up some good points and I agree that we should not spend our time in a fault finding mission and discernment ministries who are out to find every fault with everyone they can are operating with a wrong heart mode.But, I myself, and I believe many others who have been outspoken on certain issues and teachers do not operate in this fault finding mode. (Ravenhill, Dave Hunt, Art Katz, Wilkerson are example of outspoken but not fault finders in my opinion) What usually happens is that I hear someone or something and bells and whistle go off. These bells and whistle bring to memory certain Scriptures that are contrary or in direct opposition to what I am hearing. Or a sermon or teaching might pop in my mind that poses serious questions about what I am hearing or reading. (i.e. - a Ravenhill or Wilkerson sermon on issues facing the body of Christ)When this happens I feel these bells and whistles need to be investigated and confirmed through Scripture and good hermeneutical bible study practices, not ignored or pushed aside. I think all of us at one time or another have heard something come from a Christian teacher , author or pastor and the bells and whistles and Scriptures come to mind that are in direct opposition to what we are reading or hearing (welcome to the Holy Spirit) I have a hard time believing that when we encounter such teacher that Jesus would want us to be quiet and let them go on unchecked. How we should deal with or confront such things as blatant hypocrisy, unsound doctrine, false teaching, etc. is a wonderful debate that interest me greatly and should interest anyone else who know about the bells and whistle of which I speak. I still think open public confrontation is both Biblical and give the confronted party a chance to defend themselves in front of all.I would love to hear any more thoughts and ideas on the subject.

Christisking wrote:I would love to hear any more thoughts and ideas on the subject.No thoughts or ideas, but what is the operational framework for a whistleblower? What places someone in the position to be able to do something like that?

KrispyKrittr wrote:I think God puts a burden on a person's heart... just like when He calls someone to preach. What places someone in the position to preach... or be an evangelist... or a missionary?Is there any biblical precedent for this calling though?

KrispyKrittr wrote:I know in my case it is a matter of I've been there (in deception)... and I have a burden on my heart to speak out in order to prevent others from falling into it.KrispyWow! if you plan on devoting your life to helping others from falling into deception, I totally respect your mission but can it be a realistic mission? there is deception in this world of all kinds on every street corner, you better get down to local GNC and grab everything off the shelves you will need it along with lots of prayer would be my perscription for you in this mission. :-o Gods Speed Krispy! :-P

I personally feel the reason believers stumble into deception is that Satan lures us as an angel of light. He is crafty, cunning, and stealthy, He can cleverly camouflage his murderous traps with appealing enticements. If he could trick Adam and Eve, who enjoyed perfect, wonderful communion with Creator God, why do we think we can outwit him?

It seems to me that it would go along with a prophetic calling. But I not so sure that it isn't everyone's responsibility to some degree. Just like there is an evangelist calling or office in the church, yet we are all called to preach the gospel. You can't say because I am not an evangelist I don't ever have to preach the gospel. If we seek to live as Jesus lived, walk as Jesus walked and follow the example he set for us to follow modeling our lives after His, we should feel that all of us who live and strive to live this way would be obligated to stand up against hypocrisy, false teaching and unsound doctrine. Right or wrong?I do believe that the Lord has put a special burden in some peoples heart for this type of thing, but everyone is responsible nonetheless.I know some may say “Well you aren’t Jesus” Yes, this is absolutely true, but shouldn’t I look to follow His example and ask myself “What did Jesus do in this same or similar circumstance?” Shouldn’t I try to live and act as Jesus lived and acted? Doesn’t Christian mean “little Christ”? When someone tells me that I shouldn’t try to live and act like Jesus did, bells and whistles go off, big time!!!

Thank you for the kind words.I do think that many who focus great amounts of their efforts and energy in "discernement" types of ministry are very sincere. I was once one of them, and I know that I had a real burden to protect my friends who I felt were being pulled into some charismatic chaos, and I had a real zeal for truth, at any cost. I also was probably the most radical one after God that I knew of. Trust me, the bells and whistles were going off. And I ended up being wrong- way wrong. I'll never forget that experience. It was humbling to the core. Have you ever felt those "bells and whistles"- felt absolutely confident that you were right- but ended up changing your mind in the long run, and eventually seeing things very (if not completely) different?

I know in my case it is a matter of I've been there (in deception)... and I have a burden on my heart to speak out in order to prevent others from falling into it.Steve,This is a noble burden that you have and your past experience in this area is valuable. But think back to the days when you were there, can you really place all the blame on others? The truth is that the greatest deception is not the Anti-Christ, or false prophets or TV evangelists, the greatest deception is self-deception. As the prophet said, "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked."Perhaps this is where you should begin in your quest to warn others against falling into what you fell into. To this end, may I humbly suggest a wonderful sermon preached by Denny Kenaston titled The Great Deception. Praise the Lord and may you continue to grow in grace and knowledge!In Christ,Ron

KrispyKrittr wrote:Scripture calls us to mark and avoid false teachers. We are also exhorted to weigh all things against scripture to see if they are true, and to expose the false. Could you please for my sake, walk me through your theology on the above satements, scripture etc? For I am sure there is scripture that has caused you to walk in the manner in which you are at present.

KrispyKrittr wrote:You only see one side of me. I wear many hats.KrispyI hope at least one of them has the #3 on it. :-P

Here is one that pops into mind.Revelation 2To the church in Ephesus 1"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.and also a few verse later...6But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. any comments on "what are the practices of the Nicolations?" I'm new so bear with me. Should I start a new thread when posing a question like this?

I feel that God not only creates within us the desire to do His will, but also empowers us with strength and then helps us to follow through until we complete the task and accomplish His purposes, guess what I am saying here is that if your supposed to be doing this he will create a desire in us, I have no desire myself at all to do this so I guess it not his will for me personally to do so.

MrBillPro,Quote:“I feel that God not only creates within us the desire to do His will, but also empowers us with strength and then helps us to follow through until we complete the task and accomplish His purposes, guess what I am saying here is that if your supposed to be doing this he will create a desire in us, I have no desire myself at all to do this so I guess it not his will for me personally to do so.”So many of the things Christ requires and the model of how we are to live that He laid down for us to follow are in direct opposition to the flesh. As you grow in knowledge of the Word you will find these type of things popping up over and over again.You are correct that the Lord will put a desire in your heart to live and walk as He walked and the Lord will give you power to overcome. Of this you can be sure!!! You can also be sure that this is an ongoing process. The Lord does not necessarily create a desire in us to do the thing we don't want to do and that our flesh shrinks from automatically. (even thought this is sometimes the case) I have found personally that sometime we need to seek His grace in these matters. Sometime we need to beg and be dogmatically persistent in seeking His grace in these matters. Sometimes we need to wrestle as Jacob wrestled and not give up. Personally, only after weeks of persistent fasting and prayer has Gods grace fell upon me enabling with the power and desire of which you speak. I stand firm on the promises of God and I assure you that if you seek God to put in your heart a desire and give you the power to live as He lived in all matters that He brings to your attention and don’t give up, His grace will fall upon you too. I encourage you dear brother to do this for God loves you and wants to put in your heart a desire and wants to give you the power, but sometimes He wants us to seek Him tirelessly in these matters and if we do so He will not forsake us and we will grow in power and glory and grace.There are many things that Christ requires us to do that I have or had no desire to do. My flesh shrinks away and hides from such things, but let that not be a reason for us not to do them. Not out of some legalistic mind set, but out of true and undying love for the Savior and lover of our souls. Jesus said “why do you say you love me and not obey my commands”This reminds me of the following quote from Jonathan Edwards:"But how often hath Christ told us the necessity of doing difficult duties of religion, if we will be his disciples; that we must sell all, take up our cross daily, deny ourselves, renounce our worldly profits and interests, etc. And if this duty seem hard and difficult to you, let not that be an objection with you against doing it. For you have taken up quite a wrong notion of things if you expect to go to heaven without performing difficult duties; if you expect any other than to find the way to life a narrow way.” Jonathan EdwardsLet us love and encourage and help each other to make it down the narrow road of which or Lord speaks. And may God give us His grace and mercy to stand up against those who would have us believe this road is really broad and wide.

[Disclaimer: I am going to sometimes say "his" in reference to churches that, it seems, Paul had God-given authority over and responsability for. I realize that, ultimately, the Church is God's.]I think it's important that we distinguish between apostles and teachers. These are very different callings. How is a true apostle recognized?2 Corinthians 12:12"The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles."So I think testing someone who is claiming to be an apostle would be pretty simple. Where's the clear demonstration of the authentic power of God? No power = No apostle.I think another very relevant portion of Scripture for this discussion is 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, 15-20. How did Paul deal with false teachers and/or false teaching? Well, I think it's important to first point out that he had a legitiamte amount of God-given authority over churches that I would suppose none of us know anything about. When's the last time that a real miracle (NT kind) was performed through us? Beyond that, it seems that Paul was not only a common apostle, but that he is even distinguished among the apostles. It seems clear that Paul had certain amounts of God-given authority and responsability over his churches, and this qualified him to speak about certian things in certain ways to them. I don't see him just speaking out to the entire corporate Church (and especially in the hearing of the world), to warn whomever might listen, concerning false teachings and/or false teachers.But when he did do such things, in the context of his churches, how did he do it? Here's at least one example of how he dealt with false teaching (I think) in the church he started in Corinth...1 Corinthians 4:19"But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power." If we look back in this book, we find that certain people (many/most?) in the body in Corinth were getting arrogant in their understanding. They are saying "I am of Paul" or "I am of Cephas" or "I am of Christ." I can just imagine one of them thinking, "Well, I am right because I am just keeping with Christ's words and he is merely following Paul. I'm going to go with Christ over Paul." Perhaps such an individual felt like the 2 were in conflict and instead of taking a humble posture of "I don't know" and being patient, they took arrogant postures like "I am right, period", etc. At least that's how I see it.This reminds me of some in the body of Christ today who might find security in their camp (which I think is ok to a certain degree) and from there feel bold to speak of certain things in certain ways. Like flashing a book title by John McArther or Jack Deere gives some kind of authority. Well, it does I suppose, and I would think of it mostly as counterfeit authority, especially if used in the way I am speaking of. If you know what you are talking about, speak it from your own heart. Know what I mean?It seems clear to me that in the New Testament- learning and scholarship is no means of legitimate spiritual authority- power is. I believe that Paul knew that it wasn't fancy words and arguments that revealed authority- it was power. And he was about to go put some people in their place. I also think this point is very important to see...In the New Testament after Pentacost (which I think of as the official beginning of the Church, so to speak), is there any example of a saint publically critisizing another, as in a mass communication form? I know this question might seem unfair, because they didn't have things like printing presses and the internet, but they could have circulated something along these lines. I don't think the book of Revelation counts because that was born out of direct revelation in the Spirit, not merely logical thinking.[This brings me back to a disclaimer I made before. If God leads, we are to obey, and His voice overrules prinicples. But, honestly, is this ever the case with modern "discernment" ministries?] You might think, "Well, Paul speaks of certain false teachers in his letters." [By the way, could someone please reference these, I have been having trouble finding some. I looked up "false teachers" and only 1 verse came up, 2 Pet. 2:1. But I feel confident there is more, it may just not use the exact term "false teachers."]Yes, that's true. But those letters are to his churches, if you will. It seems that he was protecting the flock that God had given him and that he only spoke like this to those whom God had given him authority over.You might be thinking, "What about when Paul confronted Peter?" Well, I do think it's relevant to first mention that the text says "Cephas," not Peter. As far as I understand it, it is merely a good possibility that this is referring to Peter, the apostle, but it's not a sure fact.Now, even if it was Peter, look at how Paul addresses him. He's not nit picking certain things Cephas might have said or done in the past and exposing him. He actually confronts him initially in question form. I think this is a good model for confronting with humility. And let's not forget, the very integrity of the gospel was at stake in this case. It seems that the Jews in Antioch were feeling superior to the Gentiles and wouldn't even eat with them. It wasn't merely a matter of questionable teaching, prophecy, phenomena, or something of that nature.

Todd, Very powerful and very informative in laymen's terms.Thanks Mr. Bill

I’m not sure what point you are trying to make. I hope you are not trying to say that we are supposed to be quiet in the face of sin, false teaching and hypocrisy in the church. If this is what you are trying to say I would respectfully submit that you are in terrible error and encourage others on this message board to help point you in the right direction. If I am misunderstand the point you are trying to make please forgive me. I don’t wish to be mean or confrontational but only to further holiness and righteousness unto God and help my brother and sister who may be confused about some issues facing the church today.I firmly believe that his type of thinking (be quiet in the face of sin, false teaching and hypocrisy in the church) is exactly what has allowed the church to degenerate to the point that Ravenhill would make a statement like:“I’m embarrassed to be part of the Church of Jesus today, because I believe it’s an embarrassment to a holy God.” Leonard RavenhillI also am embarrassed to be part of the Church of Jesus today and also agree with my brother Leonard that the Church of Jesus (especially in the west) is an embarrassment to a holy and righteous God! Our refusal to stand up against sin and hypocrisy in the church and against pastor who turn a blind to the such, is why we find ourselves in the mess we our in today. But it is not to late! As long as it is called today we still have an opportunity to stand up against sin and hypocrisy in our churches. But I fear time may be running out, and judgment begins in the house of the Lord. Let us judge ourselves dear brother and sisters before it is too late. Let us pray that God will give us His Spirit of boldness that we may have the power to stand up and stare down those who would allow sin and hypocrisy to run rampant throughout our churches. Added note: I feel that open public face to face confrontations is probably the preferred Biblical method in the pattern of Jesus Himself and in Corinthians, but I would not try to silence those who wish to shout it from the literal or virtual roof tops.

Christisking wrote:“I’m embarrassed to be part of the Church of Jesus today, because I believe it’s an embarrassment to a holy God.” Leonard RavenhillI do respect Leonard Ravenhill, but he is equal in Gods eyes to all of us and no more important than any single one of us, and I don't appreciate his statemant at all! because he could not have possiby visited all the churches to see what goes on and for him to stereotype all churches is not God like to me. :-( but that will be between God and him.

I know sometimes we all might get caught up into thinking because someone is a well known theologian, or etc. that their words might hold more sand so to speak, but my ears are open to all voices big and small especially the still small voice, so we must not focus our entire mind on theologians. I have learned very, very much in my walk from regular old folks in Church, matter fact Malachi 2:2 say's If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. We should listen to God's word and not man's word. Man has been looking for a way to work out his own salvation ever since Cain.

I feel Ravenhill was more knowledgeable in this matter than most since he traveled and visited an enormous number of churches from what I understand. I also think he was making this statement with an understanding that there are most certainly exception, but as an observation as to the majority. Would you disagree with this statement is he said “the vast majority of the Church of Jesus is an embarrassment to a holy God.”?If Ravehill was making this statement as to the entire Church of Jesus I agree with you - he is dead wrong!!! But if he was making this statement in reference to the vast majority as I understand it to be - I respectfully disagree with you an feel he is right on!

Christisking wrote:“I’m embarrassed to be part of the Church of Jesus today, because I believe it’s an embarrassment to a holy God.” Leonard RavenhillSorry I did not see the word "vast" in his statement

I’m glad we both agree that the vast majority of the Church of Jesus is an embarrassment to a holy God. Sorry we didn't understand the quote in the same way. That is just what I understood him to mean and I feel most would agree. We should understand that there are exception to every rule. I’m glad we could clear up any confusion.

I'm not sure I completely agree. But I don't know for sure how to put in print here what I understand in respects to this specific comment. I'll think on it more. Bro. Daryl

Patrick,I think one of the points I am trying to make is that there is a time and a place, a divine way, a holy protocal, for dealing with these things.We must be careful not to violate love in the name of love, as I believe some (especially in "discernment" type ministries) are in the habit of doing.

Good Point. :-)

Quote:"If I understand you correctly, Todd, you're basically saying that you're not against people publicly exposing a false teacher or doctrine... so long as it is done in love and according to scripture?"It depends. I wouldn't agree with that statement outright, it's too slippery, if you know what I mean. I guess it mostly depends on what you mean by "publically." If you mean to those who God has given you authority over, then maybe. If you mean a mass communication to anyone who might feel like seeing it, no.But again, the x-factor in this is God. We are to obey Him. But we need to be cautious that we are not found in presumption. He knows our hearts and we will stand before Him one day to give an account. Quote:"There can be a lot of pride in being right."There can be a lot of pride in one thinking he is right.