Daily Devotional for Tuesday April 7, 2015

Bill O'Reilly's Flawed Theology

(John 3:16; Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:6)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Lord, give me an extra measure of discernment today. Help me to be able to "see" with spritual eyes and "hear" with spiritual ears the things of You! Please help me to discern those things in my life that are good and I need to focus on, as well as those things in my life that are NOT helping me to grow in my faith and I need to leave behind. My only desire is to serve you and that You are glorified in my life. In the name of Jesus I pray...AMEN!

Bill O'Reilly's flawed theology! FOX News star Bill O'Reilly has made a fortune in the past year on Jesus, reaching millions with his book, "Killing Jesus" and TV special this Easter off of the book. O'Reilly has also picked up on something I have been telling people for 16 years now, that we have a generation of gutless pastors and Christian leaders who hide in their own subculture preaching to the choir, instead of contending for the faith in the marketplace where the lost and hurting masses live.

Sadly, because the vast percentage of the last two generations have never been to church, and those who do are mostly Biblically illiterate, O'Reilly and others have been able to produce Bible and Jesus related books and TV specials to cash in on the 40% or so of our population who identify with the Christian faith, despite their theology being woefully lacking or totally flawed. Worst is that they never take the final step of presenting to their readers or viewers the Gospel as the ONLY way to everlasting life.

After years of being a network correspondent, then anchoring the syndicated gossip show "Inside Edition," O'Reilly became part of FOX News when they began 16 years ago. To his credit, his program is the 1 cable news program with a nightly audience of approximately 3 million people. To his detriment, he has evolved into an arrogant megalomaniac who thinks he is the final authority on truth in all matters, INCLUDING RELIGION!

O'Reilly is a theological midget whose blend of Catholicism/New Age philosophies, who thinks his truth supercedes God's! He made the tortured and pathetic case that the stories in the Bible really aren't true, they are simply allegories, to be used to guide people and not be taken literally. Having been on his program a half dozen times, I have challenged O'Reilly's weak and flawed theology which is why he has refused to have me on his program the past 5 years. Recently, I called him out publicly for slipping about how he fells about Bible-believing Christians, marginalizing us as "Bible thumpers!"

*Email O'Reilly (keep it pithy/short) and encourage him to have me back on his program at: oreilly@foxnews.com

Back in January of 2005, Bill O'Reilly had a segment with "Left Behind" authors Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. During this segment, O'Reilly shared his theological beliefs that clearly have no foundation in God's Word. Sadly, O'Reilly has bought into the universalistic lie of this world embraced by most in the entertainment world like Oprah that "all good people will go to Heaven." It sounds nice, but is a lie that will lead many into eternal darkness. There is only ONE way to Heaven, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ.

Here are some quotes taken directly from O'Reilly on that night's program: "Yes, I don't know. It seems - well, We have in Catholicism a loophole there. You know, that's why I like my religion because it's an interesting religion. We have something called baptism by desire, and that means you can be baptized by living a good life even if you're not a believer because Catholics believe faith is a gift. But I think God forgives all people who lead good lives through this baptism of desire. That makes sense." O'Reilly also subscribes to a "doctrine of goodness." The Bible specifically declares that there are "none good, no not one."

Let me correct O'Reilly's false theology. First, there are no "loopholes" to God's plan of salvation. Second, there is NO SUCH THING IN THE BIBLE, our final authority in all matters, as "baptism by desire." This is not even a teaching of the Catholic church, only by some very liberal theologians. The fact is, baptism can't save you, faith in Christ saves you. Baptism is an outward act of an inward work, that of salvation. It is the act of identifying our lives with Christ, symbolically washing away our sins which happens spiritually the moment we accept Christ by faith.

Also, Catholic is not a religion, it is a church. Even though it is a matter of semantics, it is a common error many make. Catholic is the name of a church, just like Baptist, Methodist, Assemblies of God, Presbyterian, and Lutheran are names of churches. They are churches of the Christian faith. Christianity is not a religion, it is a faith in Christ. Being part of a particular church can't save you, only your faith in Jesus Christ can save you.

THE CHURCH is not a building or a particular group of churches under the same name, THE CHURCH is made up of every man, woman, and child that has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior by faith regardless of the name of the building they choose to worship Him in. I assure you that when you stand before God the moment you die, He is not going to be interested in the name of the church you attended, only if you know His Son Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.

While I believe in my heart that we as Christians should love and care for those of other religions, while we should be kind to them, we must NEVER compromise the Christian faith just to be politically correct. The fact is, God's plan clearly says that there is only ONE road to salvation, there is only ONE road to Heaven, and that is through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO HEAVEN!!!

One of the by-products of the watered down ecumenicalism of today is the universalistic lie from hell that anyone who "has faith", is "spiritual," and will be in Heaven. MY FRIEND, THAT IS NOT TRUE! God's Word clearly tells us that those who reject Christ as their personal savior in this life will be eternally separated from God their Creator. That means those who have CHOSEN to follow the teaching of Islam, Judaism, or Buddha, or anything other than the complete inspired, inerrant Word of God will be eternally separated from God when this life is over. As wonderful as other religions may be, they are just that, religions. Christianity is not a religion, it is a faith, a relationship, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Many can't quite grasp how a loving God, a God of grace and mercy, would let "good people" die and be eternally separated from Him. It is because of sin. You see my friend, sin is something we are all born with. It has been part of the human condition since man sinned in the Garden of Eden. There is only one answer to sin, and that is the answer God gave us. He sent His only Son Jesus, to this earth to die for the sins of all men. It was God's plan that Jesus, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin thus without sin, and lived a sinless life, would die on Calvary's cross and pay with his blood for the sins of all mankind.

THAT my friend, is why it is ONLY our faith in Jesus Christ that can wipe away our sins. It is ONLY faith in Christ that can allow sinful man to have his sins wiped clean so that upon death, he can spend eternity with a Holy God. Those who never accept Christ, who reject Him, die in their sin and thus are not able to be reconciled back to God their Creator. This was God's plan that He gave us because He loved us so much.

I love you and care about you so much. Pray for Bill O'Reilly. Pray today that he will open his heart to the truth of God's Word, and that he will accept the words of our Lord when He said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

We can NEVER compromise the truth of God's Word just to make people feel better. Actually, it is better to offend someone than fail to share with them the keys to eternal life. The Bible says that the Gospel is offensive to those who don't believe. Our job is not to make people feel good, but to share with them the truth of His Word. What they choose to do with that truth is between them and God. I pray today for those people of other religions, that they will open their hearts to God's love, and come to know His Son by faith. Jesus is the only hope for this world. Jesus is the only hope for each person. Jesus is the only road to everlasting life with God our Creator!

If you have never asked Jesus into your life, or do not have the assurance that if you died today you would be with God for eternity, pray for God to open your heart, then read the words at this link: http://www.liveprayer.com/plan.cfm

In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller