It may be cliché, but Pastor Marcus Rogers agrees 100% with the old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.”
In Christian circles, what Rogers means by that is that some men, which he says are supposedly men of God, “want to live like the world and talk like the world.” In particular, in a video on his YouTube channel, Rogers calls out men like Pastor Tim Ross of Embassy City Church in Irving, Texas, who often uses expletives and strong language to get his message across in public forums.
Rogers has had similar issues of what he deems to be carnality with Pastor Mike Todd of Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and musicians Dante Bowe and LeCrae.
“The Bible talks about the carnal man cannot receive the things of the Spirit; they are foolishness to them (1 Cor. 2:14),” Rogers says. “Notice that this guy, Tim Ross, he seems to be connected to a lot of the same people that I’ve said certain things that I felt like, hey, something just wasn’t right in the Spirit—guys like LeCrae, Dante Bowe and (Pastor) Mike Todd.
“It’s interesting that all of these individuals that I have said something about, not in a hating way, not in a way that wasn’t love. But I’m just like, something ain’t right in the Spirit, something is off. They’re all connected. These people don’t want to sit down and talk with me. … When you put me in a room with these people, I’m going to hold their feet to the fire and that stuff is going to get exposed.”
The problem with Ross, Rogers says, is that Ross shows no remorse or conviction about using profanity in any situation.
The use of profanity is an issue Dr. Michael L. Brown addressed in a recent column titled “Does the Bible Prohibit Profanity?” in which he points out Ephesians 4:29, which reads, “Let no wholesome word proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good for building up, that it may give grace to listeners.”
Rogers agrees whole-heartedly with that passage, and says he is stunned by Christian men like Pastor Ross who think nothing of spouting profanity on a regular basis, including public interviews.
Rogers uses scriptural examples like 2 Timothy 3:7 and Romans 1:22 to support his argument.
“Here’s why I am so passionate about this,” Rogers said on his video podcast. “The Bible warns about having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. They are ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Romans 1:22 talks about professing themselves to be wise and because they did that, they became fools.”
Rogers says about Bowe: “It’s clear to see that he has a lot of worldly Christians (that follow him) who don’t really care about holiness. They probably have some kind of warped idea of what that means. They are just carnal Christians.”
Rogers says the Bible warns that there is going to be a falling away when even the elect will be deceived (Matt. 24:24).
“There is this watered-down version of Christianity where people are just cussing, living like the world, doing whatever they want to do. And then they get mad when I speak out. Dante is mad because he wants to have his cake and eat it, too. He wants to do whatever he’s doing in the world, and still say ‘I’m a Christian,'” Rogers adds.
“How is that different than Cardi B, how is that different that R. Kelly? How is that different than all of these worldly people who make filthy music and then they want to thank God their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
Which, Rogers says, is Ross’ main issue.
“It’s not just that he has an issue with cussing, he’s doing it in a way in a way that he doesn’t have any type of conviction,” Rogers says. “Anybody with the Holy Spirit—truly filled with the Holy Spirit—will tell you that conviction is going to be there. You’re going to feel bad about it. He does it like there’s nothing wrong with it.”
On his own Instagram page, Ross is quoted as saying, “If I feel emotional about the situation, then this language will come out…. I have used strong language in my life—both pre-salvation and post-salvation—and have never felt a conviction of the Holy Spirit. Some of you have sent me Scriptures you think is talking about strong language and profanity, and you couldn’t be further from the truth.
“So you all can stop sending me Ephesians 4:29 because contextually I know what it means and Paul is not talking about when he says filthy communication, he is not talking about cuss words, especially since none of the words that we define as ‘cuss’ words existed in Paul’s day.”
Attitudes like that, Rogers says, is what makes today’s world dangerous.
“Everybody that says they’re a Christian are not filled with the Holy Spirit,” Rogers says. That’s why everybody who claims to be a Christian ain’t on the same page. That’s why we have so much division within the church.” {eoa}
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Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.
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