Is your ‘Pastor’ a ‘Dumb Dog’?!

Mike Jeshurun

The dog is a faithful animal which is known and valued to guard that
which is entrusted to it and warn the shepherd of the prowling wolves!
Likewise God expects and has commissioned His ministers to not only
feed His flock but to guard them as well. And those who fail to do so he
chides them as being ‘Dumb Dogs’! [Isaiah 56:9-11]
Here is what Daniel E. Parks had to say. In fact he said this back in 2004
but they reprinted it in one of his current Newsletters –
MY THOUGHTS REGARDING CHRISTMAS
I am not overly fond of the manner in which the world has traditionally celebrated
Christmas. I certainly do not recognize it as the birth date of the Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Nor do I find in Holy Scriptures any exhortation to celebrate His
birth, nor any intimation that it occurred on the date men have appointed for it. I
recognize that much associated with Christmas has no real connection to Jesus
Christ, and that much that is presently associated with it arose out of paganism.
But neither am I a Scrooge regarding Christmas. I delight in having the
holiday so that I may spend time with my loved ones. I delight in the feasts
and fellowship we enjoy during that season. I delight in giving and receiving
gifts, and in seeing the wide eyes of children as they open theirs. I delight in
the sales merchants provide during that season. I delight in the spirit of good
cheer so prevalent in our society during that season – but wish it prevailed also
during the rest of the year. I delight in knowing that many people who very rarely
attend a worship service will indeed be present on the Sunday of that season. I
delight in that rare opportunity to present the gospel of Christ to them, and hope for
another such opportunity before Easter.
I am amused at the paranoia regarding Christmas presently and increasingly
exhibited in certain “politically correct” sections of our society. Cities and towns
are forbidding from their parades floats displaying a Christian theme. Schools are
forbidding students to utter the name of Christ in their programs. Some retail
stores have begun forbidding the Salvation Army to collect money for the needy in
its Christmas pots – and I am boycotting such stores. Christmas itself is being
excluded in an attempt to make the holiday inclusive.
I refuse to exclude Christ from the Christmas season. However, I will not make
more of Him during this season than I would at any other time.

I therefore will celebrate during this season not only the birth of Jesus Christ,
but also His death, burial, resurrection, and exaltation to glory. And I will exhort
people to believe and obey the truth regarding Christ’s first coming, for He will at
His second coming judge them according to whether or not they have done so
(Acts 10:34-43).
– Daniel E. Parks, (December 7, 2004)

Another compromiser Charles Woodruff says – “There is a lot about

Christmas activity for the true Christian not to like. Much that we cannot
partake of, in good conscience. Remember, the Puritans did not
celebrate Christmas, as well as many other Christians of the past,
and the situation was not as extreme as it is now. Be that as it may, I am
not writing this to condemn Christmas. It likely would do no good; it
is here to stay. But if we are going to observe any of it, we should
know what it purports to represent. I hope to stir your conscience to put
Christ first”.
This is nothing but the old excuse of the compromising lukewarm
‘Pastor’ exhorting his flock to ‘put Christ back into Christmas’! A
repetition of the history of Saul justifying his sin! When Samuel asked
Saul- “What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and
the lowing of the oxen which I hear? Saul justified his sin saying –
“They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the
best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy
God”! [1Sam 15]
Let’s put Christ back into Christmas! Jesus is the reason for the
season! etc

Hogwash! Plain rubbish! The stench of a dead lion in God’s nostrils!

“For a living dog is better than a dead lion”. [Ecc 9:4]. But these are all
dumb dogs, that cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
[Isa 56:10].

What? Put the Holy Lord Christ back into a satanic, pagan, Babylonian
Christ-MASS?! ‘What communion hath light with darkness? And what
concord hath Christ with Belial’? [2Cor 6:14,15]. And don’t tell me
that these ‘Pastors’ are ignorant of the origins of Christ-MASS! It is
their bounden duty to try the spirits, test all things and expose that which
is an abomination to God! [1Thes 5:21]

As Woodruff above admits –“the Puritans did not celebrate Christmas,

as well as many other Christians of the past! Be that as it may, I am not
writing this to condemn Christmas. It likely would do no good; it is
here to stay”.
Yea while you’re at it why not put Christ into sodomy, abortion and
Rock music also?! Because it would do no good condemning them
either! They are here to stay too!

"Dumb dogs" is the blunt term Isaiah used to describe those of his day
who failed in their duty of guarding the flock of God—"dumb dogs, they
cannot bark." (Isa. 56:9-11) In this scene Isaiah pictures the helplessness
of the flock when they, because of the failure of the guarding dogs, are
exposed to the wild beasts of forest and field. The dog is a faithful
animal which guards that which is entrusted to its care! But a dumb dog
is a false sentinel, an ally of the Wolf!

A consideration of the present Christ-MASS justification in the Church

brings Isaiah's scathing rebuke to mind. For it is very apparent that the
church is seriously threatened and is in real danger because of the
silence of many of her preachers. Too many preachers in the pulpits are
"dumb dogs", ignoring the ominous threat of error and evil; too many in
the pew are praising these "dumb dogs" for their very silence and are
heaping contempt upon those who raise the alarm.

Our "adversary, the devil as a roaring lion goeth about seeking whom he
may devour." Sobriety and vigilance are required of every Christian. Let
no one be deceived; the enemy will avail himself of every opportunity
afforded by the silence of the watchman. To fail to give warning when
danger appears is simply criminal.

The barking of the faithful watch dog will be annoying, not only to the
one who desires to devour in peace, but also to the complacent and blind
shepherds who are "dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber." The
enemies of the flock are just as ravenous today as ever. Their tactics are
to lull with a smile, or to cow with a sneer of arrogance. They get by the
"dumb dogs" with the smooth and fair speech of the of the modernist.

Blindness
The failure of the dumb dogs to sound the warning is ascribed by Isaiah
to several causes. One of them is blindness. "His watchmen are blind;
they are all without knowledge." They may have the "wisdom of the
world" but they do not have the wisdom that enables them to discern the
approach of evil. And there is no excuse for their blindness, for they
could have that knowledge. It is accessible to them.

We need not think it strange to discover learned men who are mute when
they should be raising their voices in warning. Paul speaks of those who
were "ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the
truth." (II Tim. 3:7) Care must be exercised always to avoid such
blindness; discernment must be developed.

Complacency
Another factor contributing to the dumbness of the watch dogs was
complacency. Their complacency is pictured by the prophet in these
words, "dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber." Complacency and
laziness go hand in hand. Dreaming, indifference, and spiritual lethargy
on the part of the watchers provide the devourer with his best
opportunity for wreaking havoc with the flock. Certainly it is not easy to
jeopardize one's position, especially when that position is one of ease
and "all men speak well of you." It is so much easier to murmur, "peace,
peace," and to doze off again than it is to come out with a roaring bark,
disturbing the whole neighborhood, antagonizing many, and disturbing
one's own dreamy nap.

Greedy Dogs
If this combination of words, "greedy dogs" hurts some oversensitive
ears, the best we can suggest for you is an examination of your hearing
apparatus. You may find that the cause of your super sensitivity is a bad
case of the itch—"itching ears." it was God's prophet Isaiah, who wrote,
"Yea, the dogs are greedy, they a never have enough; and these are
shepherds that cannot understand they have all turned to their own way
—each to his own gain."

If some should count such language unrefined as offensive, yet even

they must admit that it fitly describes the one who would withhold
warnings of danger for fear of losing some temporal advantage. Any
man who "turns to (his) own way—each to his own gain"
automatically disqualified as a watchman. He, like greedy dog, will
take a bribe from the devil. In Isaiah’s figurative presentation he
charges that the silence of the dogs was due in part to their greediness.
Greedy dogs like greedy preachers, are dumb when their silence is
calculated to bring them some selfish gain. Surely, this Great Shepherd
of the sheep has no place in his service for the "dumb dogs" who are
motivated by such base desires.

“I am not writing this to condemn Christmas. It likely would do no

good; it is here to stay”. [Charles Woodruff]
One thing for sure! It would surely do no good to your profession as a
preacher! Now that you have gathered a large flock of ‘Calvinist goats’
who have no regard for the whole counsel of God, you might as well
continue to amuse them lest they cast you out of their synagogue as
Jesus said they would! [see John 16:2]. Surely you cannot afford to wind
up as men like A.W. Pink without a ‘Ministry’! If you made it your aim
to only feed the sheep and expose the wolves, where would your
‘Ministry’ be?! You would wind up like your Master, ‘a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief’!

“I delight in knowing that many people who very rarely attend a worship
service will indeed be present on the Sunday of that season. I delight in
that rare opportunity to present the gospel of Christ to them, and hope
for another such opportunity before Easter”. [Daniel E. Parks]

Why wait for Christ-MASS till they come to ‘Church’? Why not go and
knock on their doors with the gospel before that? Maybe if you knocked
on their doors long before Christmas and told them why you refuse to
join the compromised Christians in celebrating this Pagan festival, they
might perk up and listen. Then while you’re at it you could not only
present Christ, but the whole truth about true and false Christianity!

Much more could be said concerning these dumb dogs (as the prophet
terms them) and their silence! But suffice it to say, if you are still a part
of a Church that is either celebrating this Pagan Romish festival or is
silent about it with its ‘in the sand’, then confront your pastor about it!
If he heeds your word and repents, you have won a brother, but if he
justifies it and wants to continue in it; then GET OUT OF THAT
CHURCH ASAP!

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come

out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her
sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins
have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered
her iniquities”! [Rev 18:4,5]

If you are still in the dark concerning Christ-MASS and

the evil of all that is connected with it, then here are two
sources to help open your eyes –

The Sin of celebrating Christ-MASS!

Christmas condemned by Christ! [Audio Sermon series]