July 29, 2014

Does Matt Olson Repudiate, The Bible as our Only, our Sole Authority for Faith and Practice?

Pastor Brian Ernsberger has just published a penetrating review of an article “Growing Systematically” written by Matt Olson. The pseudo-fundamentalist site Sharper Iron features Olson’s article. I encourage you to read, like a study, Pastor Ernsberger’s “Elvis has Left the Building” at his Parsings of a Preacher blog.

Wow! “There are many ways to grow in our Christian faith”?! The greatest harm here is that he intersperses some truth with this off the wall, unorthodox babble. Matt [Olson], where is the Scriptural support for such a statement, that we can grow our Christian faith with some other source other than the Word of God? Paul in Romans 10:17 is rather explicit, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Our faith comes by the hearing of the Word of God, not man’s writing no matter how “Christian” his literature might be. Instead, we see the influence of these “two decades of ministry” in which he has been pouring over men’s writings to the point of leaving his Biblical mooring of the Bible being his only source for faith. He has imbibed and accepted the notion of the reformed thinkers that say we need a theologian to give us the understanding of the Scriptures.
During the years Matt Olson was dismantling the former Northland Baptist Bible College Sharper Iron (SI) posted main page articles and Filings by and/or on behalf Matt Olson, and the radical changes he was making at Northland.  With one exception between 10/2010 and mid-2013 SI’s leadership chose to largely ignore, censor by omission what was going on at Northland International University.  This week SI is promoting, exposing and giving their tacit support of a radical teaching Matt Olson has endorsed from his blog.

We hope and look for the day when Sharper Iron will cease to exist.  The New Testament church will be better served apart from SI’s long history of propping up and/or giving cover to compromising men, their ministries and betrayal of the Word of God.
 
 
LM


8 comments:

  1. This article is very timely. My wife and I recently approached our youth pastor concerning some of the books by New Evangelicals he was reading and quoting from the pulpit. We warned him of the negative influence this could have on him and his view of scripture. He said something very similar to what Matt Olson said, "I have become more and more convinced that the study of other literature is an invaluable resource." These books, in many ways, have replaced his Bible. What ever happened to the pastor who studies his Bible with his Lexicon and allows the Holy Spirit to direct his thoughts?

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    1. I appreciate knowing this has been helpful to you.

      You wrote, “...books by New Evangelicals he was reading and quoting from the pulpit.” Sorry to say, but with that coming from your pulpit you have a very serious doctrinal problem in the church. The New Evangelical based teachings he is stating from the pulpit are likely much more subtle than what he is teaching in less open venues. He, and what he is teaching from the New Evangelicals, will infect, ruin your youth and congregation.


      LM

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  2. To Anonymous:

    Who just submitted a comment that began with, “Just a question...and an honest one at that...” Your question/comment is valid, but it really belongs under the main article at Pastor Ernsberger’s blog. See the link above to Elvis Has Left the Building.


    LM

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    1. If you need the full text back, I can email it to you. If you need it back email at indefense06@gmail.com

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  3. What many don't seem to understand is the end results of what they do, say, teach on the future generations. The following is a quote concerning a service in a church last Sunday. "Mission Impossible movie clips in Church today. 7 girls laughing and engaged in the service. I love my church." If you don't think that such a thing could ever happen in "our camp" just remember that 10 years ago no one would have ever imagines Northland being where it is today.

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    1. Dan:

      Couldn't agree more. Northland's slide was at first under the radar, but rapid under Matt Olson's control. What is yet hard to grasp is how Northland could drift so drastically far away from its moorings with Les Ollila on campus throughout the worst of it.

      Interesting that you wrote, "...the end results of what they do, say, teach on the future generations." Reminded me of what Les Ollila used to say, "Our Children Learn Not Only What We Teach Them, but by What We Tolerate"

      IMO, Northland's decent is not over yet, and probably won't end until it folds entirely.

      Kind regards,


      LM

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  4. Lou:

    It is interesting that Matt Olson, now confortable in his cushy, charismatic church teaching role, finally reveals his true heart after he has done his damaging work at Northland. So many times we (you, me, others) warn of detrimental changes taking place and the leaders deny that they are making any significant changes. Time reveals the deception and the true heart of compromisers. No surprise here with Matt. Thank you for the link to Brian's article.

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    1. Thanks for the commentary. His true heart was not so hard to see while he was destroying the former Northland Baptist Bible College. Not hard to see for those willing to look objectively at what he was doing to the college, and the inconsistency with what he was saying. As you say, no surprise here from Matt Olson.

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