Scare Phrases and Red Herrings

Scare phrases — “are words or phrases that are designed to evoke fear, anxiety, or a sense of danger. They are often used in political rhetoric, advertising, and media to manipulate emotions and influence opinions.” (Gemini)

1) “Rebellion is always wrong” — Rebellion most certainly is not always wrong.
What do the stories of condemned rebellion in the Bible all have in common?
They are stories of people rebelling against their leadership for obeying God’s
Word. We are rebelling against Raul and the WSLs for disobeying God’s Word.
Some of the greatest heroes of the Bible did exactly this. Please consider the
stories of Elijah, who rebelled against King Ahab; Jehoida, who rebelled against Athaliah; and the Magi, who rebelled against King Herod, to name a few.
Rebelling against a leadership in violation of God’s Word is biblically mandated.

“Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or
teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Which is
right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.’” (Acts
15:18-20)

2) “The RCW is a Faction” — “A faction is a group within a larger group,
especially a political party, that has different opinions and interests from the rest of the group. These groups often compete for power or influence within the larger organization.” (Gemini)

By this common definition, Christianity itself is a faction, as it is “in the world, but not of the world,” a smaller group within a bigger group with differing interests. Those in God’s Church should all have the same interests, but this only happens when those who lead and those who follow both adhere to Christ, the “head of the church,” which is God’s Word on earth. (Colossians 1:15-21, Ephesians 2:19-21, John 1:1)

This is what separates us from the world. An ungodly division (sinful faction) is caused within a church when people stop following God’s Word (1 Corinthians
1:10-12, 1 Corinthians 4:6). A group fighting to uphold God’s Word and
challenging leaders that are not may be considered a faction by worldly
standards. Yet, it is exactly what Jesus did during His ministry while still under the Old Covenant; he had a small group (Disciples) within a bigger group
(Judaism) under a leadership (Sanhedrin) with separate interests, who he
challenged and was eventually murdered by. Why was this not considered a
faction? Because any group that is fighting to uphold God’s Word can never be
a sinful faction. If our interests are to uphold God’s Word, and Raul and the
WSLs stubbornly refuse to obey it, then what has occurred is a godly division,
not a sinful faction. (Mark 2:21-22)

Red Herring — “A red herring is a clue or piece of information meant to mislead or distract someone from the real issue or solution. It’s often used in stories, mysteries, and debates to keep the audience guessing or to divert attention from the true goal.” (Gemini)

Over the past few days, two Old Testament stories have been misapplied to our
current situation as a church family. As I will address, these are simply red
herrings. Please take the time to consider each of these stories and how they
are being misapplied to bring about confusion and keep us trapped under a
leadership that continues in a state of unrepentance. (Our issue is not with the membership of the ICC, but rather its leadership) Remember, the best way for you to help someone who is not repenting is to remain steadfast and not
compromise. It is the most loving thing to do. Please also consider the accurate biblical comparisons in the New Testament, which I will include at the end. Satan is the master of confusion; God is a god of clarity. (John 8:42-47)

1) King Saul and David

Claim: David remained under Saul’s leadership, allowing himself to be abused,
and patiently waited to become King.

Reality: David flees from King Saul, taking part of his army, and serves under
the Philistine King Achish. (I Samuel 27:2) He grew in influence and power
outside Saul’s grasp and didn’t return to Israel until after Saul died. (2 Samuel 5) Kip used this very argument to start the ICC, correctly claiming that we are free to remove ourselves from ungodly leadership and place ourselves under a different leadership. We have not removed Raul or the WSLs from leadership. We have left and will not return unless it is biblically safe to do so (repentance happens). This story is a defense of our actions and not a condemnation of them.

2) Absalom — “The Self Appointed King.”

Claim: Jason is Absalom for rebelling against King Raul, displacing him, and is
now a “self-appointed” King.

Reality: Neither are Kings but servants of God and messengers of His Word.
Raul and the WSLs are still leading the ICC and have not been displaced by
Jason. Jason has left the ICC (the equivalent of Absalom leaving Israel and
becoming a king in another land). Additionally, Jason was not “self-appointed”
to lead our group. Instead, Fernando, Evan, and I asked him to lead, as did
everyone else in our group.

An accurate New Testament comparison: Paul confronts the Jerusalem Council Acts 15:1-21
– Paul (an inferior leader) walks into Jerusalem. He challenges the Jerusalem council, including Peter (a superior leader) and James, the central leader, to repent of requiring circumcision. This matter would have affected the conversion of countless souls around the world.
– This challenge was received humbly, and it was discussed. After everyone was
heard out, James (the central leader) unified the two parties by adhering to the Scriptures. (Acts 15:16-19)
– Evidence from Paul’s own words that he would have ended his fellowship with them if they had decided not to repent and continue requiring circumcision:

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!” (Galatians 1:8-9)

“This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.” (Galatians 2:4-5)

“When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he
stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to
eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy so that by their hypocrisy, even Barnabas was led astray.” (Galatians 2:11-13)

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)

Lastly, Paul ends his multi-year partnership with Barnabas over an opinion matter at the end of the same chapter. (Acts 15:36-41)The only reason there was no church split in Acts 16 is that James used the Bible as the final authority and not the Jerusalem council. This is the NT comparison to our current situation. Everything else is noise, or as I have pointed out, a “scare phrase” or a “red herring.”