You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘The Gospel’ tag.
Is Evangelism About “Going to Heaven”?
Excerpt by David Cloud
Heaven is definitely a product of salvation, but why is it that none of the apostles preached on Heaven when they were presenting the gospel? Why are the sermons recorded in the book of Acts so different from the one Hyles preached?
Consider the sermon Paul preached on Mars Hills to the idolatrous pagans in Acts 17. Paul did not preach on Heaven; he preached on God and His righteous judgment so that the idolaters would understand their sin and turn to Christ for redemption.
The average person in North America today is very similar to those idolatrous pagans, and North Americans need the same type of preaching. An idolatrous and apostate people need sermons on Hell more than sermons on Heaven. They need sermons on the law more than sermons on grace, because biblical grace is only understood in the context of the law.
No one can understand and appreciate God’s grace unless they first understand His holiness and justice. The law was given to prepare the way for grace. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24).
The book of Romans begins with nearly three whole chapters of the law of God and the righteousness of God and the sinfulness of man and his utter condemnation before a holy God before it gets to the grace of Jesus Christ. That is the biblical way to preach the gospel. That is the true Romans Road. That is how Peter preached on the day of Pentecost.
Read Full Article HERE
Whatever Happened to the Gospel?
by Paul Gowdy
For the past number of years I have noticed some subtle changes in how the evangelical church presents the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I suspect that this has been a case of the frog in the kettle syndrome – slowly increase the heat and little Kermit will just stay there until he has been boiled to death! I am not sure if this is true or not and do not, under any circumstances recommend anyone try!
I suspect that the same slow increase in heat has been applied to the western evangelical Church. About a quarter of a century ago, as a teenage boy, I became a follower of Jesus. Indeed, a truly born again Christian and a committed disciple of Christ. I saw “the light”, got saved and my lifestyle changed. Call my conversion whatever you like, God through the power of the Holy Spirit entered my life and transformed my life completely. I willingly surrendered myself to the Lordship of Jesus whom I confessed to be the Son of God and Lord of all creation.
What brought about this radical transformation? It was the faith released within my heart as a result of the simple proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was told that: (1) Jesus was the Son of God; (2) that He created everything including me; (3) that He came to earth becoming a man in order to save all men; (4) that He being fully God and fully man gave His life, shedding His precious blood as a ransom for my sin and the sins of humanity by dying upon a cross; (5) that His sacrifice was acceptable to atone for sin and appease the wrath of God the Father; (6) that He rose from the dead and conquered death, proving His divinity and the scriptures, in order that we might have hope who die in the Lord that we also shall have a glorious resurrection; and (7) that for those who trust in Him and confess Him as Lord He grants unto us forgiveness of sins and adoption as sons and eternal life!
As the Scripture says: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not by works, lest any man should boast. Eph. 2:8-9
This is the same Gospel that many, but not all, preach today. So what is the difference? There is more to the Gospel than what I have just mentioned above and the subtlety in the change is not necessarily what is proclaimed, rather what is the truth that is omitted.
A Gospel without mention of Hell. Twenty-four years ago when I became a Christian, I did hear the information posted above but I also heard a little more. I heard that the wages of sin is death! I believe much of the church fails to preach the Gospel by the withholding of primary information. The death that sin brings is not only physical death, for all men die physically, but spiritual death where men are separated from God for eternity and condemned to Hell for ever. The doctrine of the eternal punishment of the wicked is so horrific that there are few today who actually preach it. Yet Jesus preached about Hell. To fail to warn men of the horrors of Hell is to fail to preach the gospel in its entirety.
Jesus said that a man should do what ever it takes to avoid going to this evil place. He said that it was better to enter Heaven with one eye or one hand than to have both hands and sin with them or both eyes and sin with them. The reason for this is because if we continue sinning with our eyes and hands and do not repent we will end up burning in hell for eternity! Jesus in no way espouses people cutting off hands or poking out eyes. His point is that Hell is so horrific that mankind needs to do what ever it takes to avoid going there.
Thankfully, the vehicle for sinful man to come into relationship with Christ is the gift of repentance. This means that when a person hears the good news about who Jesus is, what He has done on the cross and the gift of forgiveness and eternal life that He offers, that person can turn away from their evil, selfish, sinful lifestyle and turn to the living God by trusting in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour! This is repentance and is considered by the Holy God as a gift, a vehicle to bring us into relationship with God the Father.
Sadly, and to the shame of the church today, a gospel is preached that does not proclaim the sinfulness of man. Men are no longer sinners – but have just made wrong choices! I am convinced that the wicked motive behind this shift is simply that the modern church refuses to carry the shame and stigma associated with standing for the Truth. To proclaim the Truth as the Scriptures teaches it would be the death knell to the seeker-sensitive, packed out auditoriums that have become the Nirvana of the modern church growth movement! The modern church refuses to preach the Truth because the fear of man is stronger than the fear of God!
Men are no longer called sinners so they see no reason to have to repent! Alas, repentance is deemed a negative and the church is only obsessed with preaching a positive message! Worst of all, no one preaches about the fires of Hell any longer. The post-modern church does not wish to think about such doctrine. ‘Anyway,’ they say, ‘if we can persuade men to just say a prayer of acceptance, asking Jesus into their hearts and granting them eternal life then they are not going to Hell! So why mention it?’
If any mention of Hell is omitted from the Gospel, lost souls would not understand the results of their continuing in sin. If they do not understand the “wages of sin is death,” they can not comprehend that the “gift” of eternal life is only for those who freely accept what God has offered. In exchange for eternal damnation, He offers us eternity with Him.
The very first thing that Jesus said when he came out of the desert to start His public ministry was “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Mt. 4:17
The last thing that Jesus said before His ascension was: . that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations.. . Lk 24:47
Paul, when speaking to the Greeks on Mars Hill said: And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. Acts 17:30-31
According to the next verse, some mocked, and others said,: “We will hear thee again of this matter.” Where do you stand on this very serious issue as we enter the New Year. The church today needs to wake up! Paul says that the resurrection of Christ from the dead is the evidence that there is coming a judgement, therefore all men are commanded to REPENT! The pastor and/or leader who omits this truth is nothing less than a traitor to his Lord!
The watered-down gospel that the church proclaims today does a marvellous job of creating backsliders. Some statistics suggest 19 out of every 20 people who say the ’salvation prayer’ (or the sinners prayer) end up backsliding! (I would suggest that is because only 5% of the church are actually preaching the Gospel!)
The answer is very simple. The Gospel is not being proclaimed and men and women are not truly repenting of their sins. When Jesus does not become Lord of a person’s life, all that transpires is that more heathen join the ranks of people who confess, “Oh I tried Jesus, It did not work for me!”
When the sinfulness of man, the horrors of Hell and gift of repentance are included in the Gospel we present, men and women are truly saved! It doesn’t matter if thousands are packing out huge arenas that give live entertainment and everyone goes home feeling good. What is happening is that the so-called ministry is promoted, the pastor has “star” quality and the money is flowing. The truth is – multitudes are not coming to true faith in Christ. No, they are not really saved.
If the church fails to preach the once and for all Gospel entrusted to the saints – genuine Christianity could die out with this generation. I pray that God grips your heart Christian! If you are reading this, my prayer is that you may you be one who, without shame or compromise, will carry the Cross and proclaim God’s Truth until He comes.
source:
This article just posted by Bud Press simply amazed me because of its timing.
We have been studying the Book of John and I have been focused and fascinated on the various ways that Jesus delivers truth to those He speaks with.
Jesus turned to two disciples who were trailing Him in John 1:37,”What do you want?’ What a loaded question! They spent the entire day with Him. Can you imagine the joy?
Nicodemus was probably shocked when he heard that he had to be born again. He must have been first perplexed because he was a respected teacher of the law, and he was born Jewish. He slowly left Jesus that night, but we come to learn later in the Book of John that he did later believe. Here was an esteemed teacher but there is no evidence that as a teacher he converted anyone.
Contrast Nicodemus, with the Samaritan woman who was despised by the Jews. Upon believing she ran back into town and spread the news and many were saved.
But I wanted to point out HOW Jesus approached the Samaritan woman. He asked her a question, “Will you give me a drink?” John 4:7 Isn’t this rather odd, because Jesus is the one who gives out living water. But He approached her with a humble attitude. He asked her for a service,which quickly took away any barrier that may have existed between them.
When we witness truth to others, the Holy Spirit will guide us. Every situation may be a bit different and the Lord will give us the words to speak. Whether we ask those who seek God, “What do you want?”, “Are you born again?” or “Will you help me?”, the truth must be eventually given out. The gospel message never changes, but the method and circumstances in which we give it out can. Please pray that the Lord will give discernment to recognize opportunities to boldly share the Word with others.
Please read.
Frustrated with False Teachers?
by Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
October 28, 2009
Two Scriptures in 1st and 2nd Timothy speak with great force concerning what Christians are to expect before Jesus Christ returns:
•people will fall away from the faith, pay attention to demonic spirits, and choose to rely on false teachings instead of God’s written word (1 Timothy 4:1).
•people will turn away from sound doctrine and truth, develop their own faulty interpretations of Scripture, seek and find those who agree with them, and rely on lies to feed their corrupt spirituality (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Remember that 1st and 2nd Timothy were written about 2,000 years ago by the Apostle Paul, inspired of the Holy Spirit. Notice the words shall and will in both passages (NASB and KJV). Fast-forward to 2009 and know that one of the warning signs of the end times is a dizzying array of heretics, and their dizzy minds full of charms, whistles, and gimmicks.
Indeed, the shall and will is here and now, and “Christian” bookstores lead the pack in the promotion and sale of doctrines of demons, authored by heretical wigglers who have turned their backs on God to seek fortune and fame.
An ‘unusual’ approach
During a visit to a Christian bookstore years ago, I came upon a shelf filled with books written by Benny Hinn. While thumbing through one of the books, the store manager walked by and asked if I needed assistance.
Read Full Article HERE
Ingrained in my mind is the image of people streaming forward to accept Jesus Christ as Savior on television in the 60’s. Many of us have seen the huge ministries with the inviting music, the call to come forward, the use of the sinner’s prayer. I do believe that many were saved, I also believe that many more were not.
Consider these excerpts from “Repentance and Soul-winning,” by David Cloud.
Years ago my wife and I had the job of following up on the Phoster Club soul winning visitation at church. The Phoster Club team regularly reported dozens of “salvations,” but when we visited these “saved” people to urge them to come to church and to try to disciple them, most of them wanted nothing to do with the things of God. That is a strange salvation. [1]
For a number of years, I preached in a county jail and it was common for those who came to the Bible studies to claim that they were saved. When we asked them why they thought they were saved, they often pointed to a time when they prayed a sinner’s prayer, walked the aisle of the church, or were baptized. When we ask them if their life changed after they prayed the sinner’s prayer, they usually acknowledged that it did not. They associated salvation with some sort of religious ritual. [2]
This is from Living Waters.
We are not doing sinners any favors when we minimize the seriousness of their sin. George Whitefield, a famous preacher once said, “First, then, before you can speak peace to your hearts, you must be made to see, made to feel, made to weep over, made to bewail, your actual transgressions against the Law of God.” It is only when a person sees his sin as wicked and understands the seriousness of offending his Creator, that he can find a place of true repentance and surrender to the Savior.
Within the last 100 years, a new gospel has crept into our churches. It has been designed to not offend you. It has been carefully crafted not to be too “in your face.” It gently suggests that you open your heart to Jesus if your current lifestyle isn’t working for you, and try God “when the time is right for you.” This “seeker centered” and “no offense” approach is no gospel at all; it is “another gospel”. If we continue to define sin as “honest mistakes”, we will continue to fill our churches with “backsliders” and false converts who fail to repent because they don’t see the seriousness of their sin. We will give them a cruel false hope, and make them comfortable aboard the “Jesus loves you” pleasure cruiser, singing songs to the Captain, while they blindly speed toward the iceberg of Eternal Justice.
The watered down gospel that is being offered today does not save. If a person is asked if they want to go to heaven or hell, there is an obvious answer. Only a fool would want to spend eternity in hell and so everyone answers…”Why of course I want to go to heaven, so then, yes, I will accept Jesus.”
This is the option people need to be made to understand instead. “Do you want to make plans to structure a temporary heaven here on earth, or will your forsake worldly ways and instead consider your future in an eternal heavenly kingdom with God?”
The simple quick prayer accepting Jesus Christ as Savior is not always heartfelt with a lifetime commitment of taking up the cross daily. When people say they will follow Jesus, they need to realize that they will have to follow Him to the cross and die to self.
I personally can vouch for the effectiveness of realizing a sinful nature to cause repentance. I already knew and believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a young girl. But I was not committed. My heart had not been circumcised. I had truth but was doing nothing with it. Was I really saved?
I picked up a book about the rapture and prophecy in 2002 on a garage sale shelf. When I was growing up in the church, (I left when I was 16), prophecy was not taught. When I read that little paperback book and realized that the prophecy experts were saying that Jesus could come back at any time, I was devastated in my sin and realized my wasted life. I spent hours on the floor naming my sin to God, and asked forgiveness, weeping for the wretched state I was in.
Reading this excerpt from “An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith,” by Dave Hunt cemented and explained my conversion.
Paul reminded the saints at Colossae that victory over sin and self was not possible through willpower and fleshy struggle. True victory could only come through understanding and believing what Christ’s death for their sins and resurrection for their justification really meant. Paul declared that this was the secret of his own complete transformation–and so it must be with them.
But how could Christ’s death and burial and resurrection be as real to them as it was to Paul–so real that their very lives would be totally transformed? Paul explained: They must believe that Christ was coming any moment to take them to heaven, where they would therefore appear with Him in glory. It was the hope of Christ’s immiment return that would make the difference between victory and defeat in the Christian life! [3]
Realizing that you are not ready for the return of Jesus Christ, exposes sin and not being dead to self. Every person is different and maybe convicted by the Holy Spirit in various ways when hearing the Gospel, but one does need to repent and show regeneration. A changed life indicates a true conversion. A converted life desires obedience to God’s word on a permanent basis. One may then stumble but the saved person will get back up and persevere.
My life changed that day. From that day forward, I had a hunger for the Word of God. I wanted to read the Bible and I wanted to study it. I enrolled in Bible study classes. I began to exhibit fruit and hate the sin in my life. In fact, I asked God to show me my sin so that I could repent of it. If you ever want a fast answer to prayer….ask God to expose the darkness and sin in your life by His holiness.
God is holy and cannot tolerate sin. The new-age gospel only talks of God’s love and ignores sin and damnation for rejecting the true God of the Bible.
So where do you stand with God? Is your heart receptive to the gospel? Are you producing fruit? If so how much?
Matthew 13:23 “But the one who received the seed that fell on the good soil is the man who hears the word, and understands it. He produces a crop yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty time what was sown.”
OR…will you hear these sad words found in Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.'”
Excerpt from a great article on Zimbio:
What must I do to be saved?
Since God has made the way to be saved, it would be good to see how according to his word.
The Jailer of Acts 16 asked “What must I do to be saved”? Paul told him to believe (Real faith requires action James 2:17-25, more than “I believe in one God, as the devils do as well, and are not saved”!) and he did. As we read that he was obedient to Jesus command of water baptism in his name (John 3:5, Luke 24:47, and Mark 16:16). 1Peter 3:21 says that were are saved by it, (Through our faith in action!) and it clears our conscience.
We are saved by grace, hope, and belief along with repentance. (Grace is defined as the relection of God in one’s life.)
Moses faced reflected God’s glory after speaking to the Almighty. And to repent is to fully follow God by forsaking your ways.) see Eph. 2:5, Rom 8:24, John 3:16, and Acts 2:38. His blood justifies us, Rom 5:9-10. Not by works of righteousness we’ve done, but by his mercy he saves us, by the washing and regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost-Tit 3:5. We must confess our belief in him prior to baptism and call upon it it in it, states Romans 10:9-13. And we must take heed to follow the doctrine (Or teachings therein.) of Christ continually, and in doing so we save ourselves and others-Tim 4:16
[1] pg. 134
[2] pg. 90
[3] pg. 172
It is easy to find what is wrong with the church today, because there is aplenty. It is not too difficult to point out error and false doctrine with scripture. But the Lord has been speaking to my heart. “Feed my Sheep”.
When I protested the showing of a Hindu movie in our church called “Water”, I was told that “knowledge is power and that we have our faith, and they have their faith.” How sad is that..?
Here are some verses on knowledge…
Col 1:10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
2Pe 3:18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
As the world is pummeled with the phrases “common ground” and “tolerance” in reference to the world’s religions, the need of the Gospel of Jesus Christ becomes even more evident. It has been shocking to discover that many professing Christians do not believe that belief and faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved. I recently quoted John 14:6 to a church-goer only to hear back, “Well… I don’t know whether I believe that.” Stunned, I asked, “You don’t believe the Bible?”
This lack of biblical knowledge in our churches is a major cause of the absence of discernment of the times that we live in.
Here are a couple of excerpts that struck close to my heart and soul.
From Jack Kelley
http://gracethrufaith.com/ikvot-hamashiach/seven-major-prophetic-signs-of-the-second-coming/
THIS GOSPEL WILL BE PREACHED IN ALL NATIONS … Looking at the state of the world, it’s hard to be encouraged. But as world news gets worse and worse, more people are turning to the Lord for solace. According to some reports as many as 175,000 new believers are born again every day, mostly in Africa, China, and India. Reports of these conversions are accompanied by accounts of miracles, people receiving supernatural healings and even being raised from the dead. Just as He did at the beginning of the church Age the Holy Spirit is moving mightily at its End. I believe the Lord is issuing a giant “last call” before He suddenly takes the church out of here to begin the End Times judgments.
And this from Jan Markell
http://www.olivetreeviews.org/wordpress/2009/06/has-god-abandoned-america/#more-5330
Thankfully some Christian leaders and pastors are speaking up and risking all, but for the most part, the church is asleep. A nation is only as strong as her churches. A passage was given to Israel that can be applied to our day reads, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, then turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and will heal their land” (II Chronicles 7:14). The verse is not directed at the devil’s crowd! The responsibility for turning the direction of a country is up to the church. Again, while many state this verse is only for the nation of Israel, other world powers, including the U.S., can still learn from it and heed the warning and exhortation.
Unfortunately many churches today don’t want to preach about judgment. They are spiritually anesthetized. They have not been taught to fear the Lord but rather, that God is all about love because that makes people come to church. Many pastors and ministry leaders would never put a big part of the blame on America’s demise onto the church! They’re into church-growth and don’t make waves or people won’t return next week. Praise needs to be extended to pastors and church leaders who are holding to truth, who are telling the truth, and who are warning of serious judgment to come.
We have reached a point where we can only pray that God would have mercy in His judgment on America and that He would send out a pouring of His Spirit to help beat back the rampant evil of our times. And just perhaps right now our only focus should be on evangelism before the Ark door shuts once again. Maybe it is too late for petitions and pleading with Congress to do things right. Maybe our focus should be eternal, not earthly. But once an individual or a nation give up, the slide can be at rapid-pace and no one wants to see that. Thus I would exhort you to press on and speak up for righteousness, for Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
How to Know When the Emerging Church
Shows Signs of Emerging in Your Church
Commentary by Roger Oakland
http://understandthetimes.org/
The world is changing. So is the Christian evangelical church. There was a time— not that long ago—when the Bible was considered to be the Word of God by the majority of evangelical Christians. Now that we are well into the third millennium and the post-modern, post-Christian era, the term evangelical can mean almost anything. What has happened? Why is this happening and what is the future for mainstream Christianity?
For the past several years, I have been speaking around the world on current trends that are impacting Christianity. After these presentations, I am approached by Christians who come from many different church backgrounds. Many are expressing their concerns about what is happening in their churches, troubled by the new direction they see their church going. While they may not always be able to discern what is wrong, they know something is wrong and that it needs to be addressed.
Further, many have told me they have attempted to express their concerns with their pastors or church elders. In almost every case, they were told they had a choice to make—get with the new program or get out of the church.
This move towards a reinvented Christianity (one designed to “reach people”) seems to be here for the long haul. It is not just a passing fad. I am often asked by concerned brothers and sisters in Christ to provide an explanation in order to help them understand what they have encountered. They want to know why these changes are underway and what to expect in the future. As well, they want to know what, if anything can be done, to stem this tide. It is for this reason I am writing this commentary—to provide biblical insight regarding the Emerging Church and where it is heading in the future.
The Gospel According to the Scriptures
Throughout church history, various trends have come and gone. While culture changes from place to place, biblical Christianity has always been based upon the central message of the Bible which is the gospel of Jesus Christ and the message never changes.
This gospel message is about who Jesus Christ is, and what He has done. A child can understand the gospel message. This message proclaims that life here on planet earth is finite and that life after death is eternal. The good news is that we can be saved from our sins if we will repent and simply ask for forgiveness and follow Him.
How we respond to the gospel message during the time we have on earth determines where we spend eternity—heaven or hell. Jesus, the Creator of the universe, provided a way and the only way we can spend eternity with Him. It is a matter of making a personal decision whether or not we will accept the plan He has provided.
God’s adversary does not want mankind to understand the simple message. His plan is to deceive the world. If he can blind people from the gospel or convince them that they believe the gospel when indeed they do not, his plan has been successful. Throughout the ages, countless billions have been duped, either rejecting the truth, or believing that they had believed the truth when instead they had been deceived.
The Gospel According to Postmoderism
Times change! However, the gospel must remain the same no matter what else changes. We are now living in the postmodern era. In a sincere attempt to reach the postmodern generation with the gospel, it seems many Christians have become postmodern in their thinking.
Perhaps the term postmodern is new to you. Let’s examine what it means.
First, the modern era was characterized by a time of rational thinking based on factual observation. Many claim the modern era ended in the mid 1900s.
The postmodern mindset moves beyond the rational and the factual to the experiential and the mystical. In other words, in the past it was possible to know right from wrong and black from white. In the postmodern era all things are relative to the beholder. What may be right for you may be wrong for someone else. There is no such thing as absolute truth. The only thing that is absolute is that there is no absolute.
We now live in a time in history that is characterized as postmodern. Professors at universities teach students there is no right or wrong. All things are relative. The gospel message to the postmodern mindset is far too dogmatic and arrogant. They say it is necessary to find a more moderate gospel that can be accepted by the masses.
Many church leaders are now looking for ways to reach the postmodern generation. They believe they can find the appropriate methods to do so without changing the message. However, in their attempt to reach this postmodern generation, they have become postmodern themselves and have changed the message. As the gospel is fixed upon the Scriptures, the gospel cannot change, unless of course it becomes another gospel. I believe this is what is happening in the Emerging Church.
He Didn’t Come
Many have noticed that since the turn of the millennium, their churches have changed positions on Bible prophecy and the Second Coming of Jesus. Many have given up on the return of Jesus. From the ‘60s on there was an excitement about the imminent return of Jesus. The Jesus People were excited about Bible prophecy and could see signs that Jesus would descend from the heavens for His Bride at any moment.
The year 2000 was of particular importance. When Jesus didn’t show up, it seems many were apparently disappointed. “Perhaps Jesus has delayed His coming,” some have said. Others are even taking the position that He may not be coming at all, at least not in the manner we have been taught. They are now convinced that we need to be busy about “building His Kingdom” here on earth by “whatever human effort is required.”
The Gospel of the Kingdom
One of the main indicators that something has changed can be seen in the way the future is perceived. Rather than urgently proclaiming the gospel according to the Scriptures and believing the time to do so is short, the emphasis has now shifted. No longer are “signs of the times” significant. The battle cry is very different. A major emphasis among evangelicals is the idea that the world can be radically improved through social programs.
This concept, while on the surface may sound very good, has some serious biblical implications. According to the Scriptures, there will be no kingdom of God until the King arrives. All the human effort man can muster up will fall short of bringing utopia. In fact, according to the Scriptures, fallen man will lead us further down the road to a society of despair and lawlessness just like it was in the days of Noah.
Thus, this purpose-driven view of establishing global utopia may be a plan, but it is “driven” by humanistic reasoning and not led by the Holy Spirit. While it is of course good to do good unto others, all the goodness that we can do will not be good enough. Pastors and church leaders who get involved in such man-driven programs can usually be identified by certain characteristics:
Sound biblical doctrine is dangerous and divisive, and the experiential (i.e.,mystical) is given a greater role than doctrine.
Bible prophecy is no longer taught and is considered a waste of time
Israel becomes less and less important and has no biblical significance
Eventually the promises for Israel are applied to the church and not Israel (Replacement Theology).
Bible study is replaced by studying someone’s book and his methods
Church health is evaluated on the quantity of people who attend.
The truth of God’s Word becomes less and less important
God’s Word, especially concepts like hell, sin and repentance, is eventually downplayed so the unbeliever is not offended.
Spiritual Formation and Transformation
Much of what I have described provides the formula for a dumbing-down of Christianity that paves the way for an apostasy that will only intensify in the future. This trend away from the authority of God’s Word to the reinvented form of Christianity has overcome all evangelical denominations like an avalanche. Few Bible teachers saw this avalanche coming. Now that it is underway, few realize it has even happened.
However, there is another big piece to the puzzle that must be identified in order to understand what is emerging in the Emerging Church. While biblical Christianity has been dumbed-down and the light of God’s Word diminished, another avalanche of deception is underway that is equally devastating.
This is best described by the Word of God giving way to experiences that God’s Word forbids. The best way to understand this process is to recall what happened during the Dark Ages when the Bible became the “forbidden book.” Until the Reformers translated the Bible into the language of the common person, the people were in darkness. When the light of God’s Word became available, the gospel according to the Scriptures was once again understood.
This trend, which is underway today, shows us that history is in the process of repeating itself. As the Word of God becomes less and less important, the rise of mystical experiences is alarming and these experiences are being presented to convince the unsuspecting that Christianity is about feeling, touching, smelling and seeing God. The postmodern mindset is the perfect environment for the fostering of what is called “spiritual formation.” This teaching suggests there are various ways and means to get closer to God. Proponents of spiritual formation erroneously teach that anyone can practice these mystical rituals and find God within. Having a relationship with Jesus Christ is not a prerequisite.
These teachings, while actually rooted in ancient wisdom (the occult), were presented to Christendom post-New Testament and not found in the Word of God. The spiritual formation movement is based upon experiences promoted by desert monks and Roman Catholic mystics – these mystics encouraged the use of rituals and practices, that if performed would bring the practitioner closer to God (or come into God’s presence). The premise was that if one went into the silence or sacred space, then the mind was emptied of distractions and the voice of God could be heard. In truth, these hypnotic, mantric style practices were leading these monks into altered states of consciousness. The methods they used are the same that Buddhists and the Hindus use as a means of encountering the spiritual realm
Such methods are dangerous, and are not sanctioned in the Bible – God gives no instruction for this. On the contrary, he warns severely against divination, which is practicing a ritual or method in order to obtain information from a spiritual source. While proponents of spiritual formation (like Richard Foster) say these methods show that the Holy Spirit is doing something new to refresh Christianity, I would suggest that what is happening is not new and is not the Holy Spirit.
The spiritual formation movement is being widely promoted at colleges and seminaries as the latest and the greatest way to become a spiritual leader in these days. These ideas are then being exported from seminaries to churches by graduates who have been primed to take Christianity to a new level of enlightenment.
As well, these contemplative practices are being promoted by emergent leaders such as Brian McLaren, Robert Webber, Dallas Willard and others. Publishers like NavPress, InterVarsity and Zondervan are flooding the market with books promoting contemplative practices based on Eastern mysticism. Pastors and church leaders read these books and then promote the ideas as if they were the scriptural answer to drawing close to God.
Signs the Emerging Church is Emerging
There are specific warning signs that are symptomatic that a church may be headed down the emergent/contemplative road. In some cases a pastor may not be aware that he is on this road nor understand where the road ends up.
Here are some of the warning signs:
Scripture is no longer the ultimate authority as the basis for the Christian faith.
The centrality of the gospel of Jesus Christ is being replaced by humanistic methods promoting church growth and a social gospel.
More and more emphasis is being placed on building the kingdom of God now and less and less on the warnings of Scripture about the imminent return of Jesus Christ and a coming judgment in the future.
The teaching that Jesus Christ will rule and reign in a literal millennial period is considered unbiblical and heretical.
The teaching that the church has taken the place of Israel and Israel has no prophetic significance is often embraced.
The teaching that the Book of Revelation does not refer to the future, but instead has been already fulfilled in the past
An experiential mystical form of Christianity begins to be promoted as a method to reach the postmodern generation.
Ideas are promoted teaching that Christianity needs to be reinvented in order to provide meaning for this generation.
The pastor may implement an idea called “ancient-future” or “vintage Christianity” claiming that in order to take the church forward, we need to go back in church history and find out what experiences were effective to get people to embrace Christianity.
While the authority of the Word of God is undermined, images and sensual experiences are promoted as the key to experiencing and knowing God.
These experiences include icons, candles, incense, liturgy, labyrinths, prayer stations, contemplative prayer, experiencing the sacraments, particularly the sacrament of the Eucharist.
There seems to be a strong emphasis on ecumenism indicating that a bridge is being established that leads in the direction of unity with the Roman Catholic Church.
Some evangelical Protestant leaders are saying that the Reformation went too far. They are reexamining the claims of the “church fathers” saying that communion is more than a symbol and that Jesus actually becomes present in the wafer at communion.
There will be a growing trend towards an ecumenical unity for the cause of world peace claiming the validity of other religions and that there are many ways to God.
Members of churches who question or resist the new changes that the pastor is implementing are reprimanded and usually asked to leave.
What does the Future Hold?
If the Emerging Church continues unfolding at the present pace, mainstream evangelical Christianity will be reinvented and the gospel of Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures will be considered too narrow and too restrictive. In other words, the narrow way to heaven that Jesus proclaimed will eventually be abandoned for a wider way that embraces pagan experiential practices. I call this reinvented, re-imagined form of Christianity that is unfolding—“Christian Babylonianism”.
This new form of Christianity will replace biblical faith with a faith that says man can establish the kingdom of God here on earth. The Word will continue to become secondary to a system of works driven by experiences.
An ecumenical pattern towards unity with Rome will become more apparent. Those who refuse to embrace this direction will be considered spiritual oddballs that need to be reprimanded. Those who stand up for biblical faith will be considered the obstructions to the one world spirituality that is promoted as the answer for peace.
The best way to be prepared for what is coming is to gain an understanding of what is happening now. While there are not many who seem to discern the trend underway, there are some. Without the Bible and the Holy Spirit as our guide, the darkness that is coming would be overwhelming. However, the light of God’s Word penetrates the darkness and there are those who are being delivered from deception and see what is taking place.
I am convinced we are seeing apostasy underway, exactly as the Scriptures have forewarned. This means that this current trend is not likely to disappear. We must continue to proclaim the truth in the midst of deception with love. As Paul instructed Timothy:
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will (2 Timothy 2: 24-26).
There are still pastors and churches who are dedicated to proclaiming the truth. Find out where they are and support them. If you are in a location where this does not seem to be possible, seek out materials that are available from solid Bible-based Christian ministries and hold Bible studies in your own home.
And keep looking up! Jesus is coming soon.
WHOA, Paul Washer tells it like it is…..
In this one Paul Washer asks “How much has being a Christian cost you?” and tells us to “set aside our little temporal causes.”
Jesus Christ is Everything
I will watch this over and over again.
From – Possessing the Treasure
A Dead Church
April 7, 2009 — Mike Ratliff
by Mike Ratliff
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” (Revelation 3:1 ESV)
As part of my research for this piece, I did some Google searches on the Internet using the word phrase, “A Dead Church.” It was very interesting reading what “some” people considered the markers of a “dead church.” One fellow was adamant that the two markers which revealed that a church was dead was that its leaders used a Bible other than the King James Version and/or its denomination practiced infant baptism. Other markers I saw were things like the sort of music was used in worship or if there was an over abundance of ceremony or ritual in the order of worship. Are these the markers of a “dead church?”
I received the following commentary by John Piper today in an email from a dear friend.
My Annual Visit to a Mainline Protestant Church
April 6, 2009
by: John Piper
Category: Commentary
I made my annual visit to a Sunday morning service in a “mainline Protestant church” a couple weeks ago. It is an eerie experience. Heart-wrenchingly eerie.
- A magnificent building.
- A magnificent choir singing, “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of he world, have mercy on us” (in Latin).
- A closing hymn, “Lord, I want to be a Christian.”
- Three women pastors on the platform and two men.
- Pews filled with well-to-do looking folks.
The reason I say it was eerie is that much of this religious language means something totally different in their minds from what I mean by it. There is a keeping of the language and a demythologizing of the original meaning.
On one of our earlier visits Noël recalls the pastor saying that when he was a child he used to read stories like the one about Jesus walking on the water as if they were literally true.
What made my visit heart-wrenching was that the children’s choir sang these words-trust me, I am copying them from the bulletin-”Birds and trees, people and plants, dolphin and whale all lives are equal. . . . Sister Rain, Brother Stone bring us back to our true home.”
So when I stand at my study window that looks out over the downtown cityscape of Minneapolis, I pray: “O God, have mercy on us. Send a shocking revival to the churches-and a great awakening to this city. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.”
This mainline Protestant Church is dead. It is spiritually dead because its leaders are people without faith. No one can be spirit-filled, spirit-led, Christian without the faith given to him or her at regeneration. This faith believes God and when the Word of God is read, it is believed because it is true. The markers of dead church are given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ in Revelation 3:1-6.
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” (Revelation 3:1-6 ESV)
In Matthew 5:48 our Lord Jesus said, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” He stated in Revelation 3:1-6 to the church in Sardis, “You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead…” Why was it dead? It had become contaminated by the world just like the church John Piper visited above. It had taken on the world’s values and integrated them into how church was done there. It had disintegrated and was now dead. What is more, they did not realize it. They continued going through the motions of worship and activity, but it was just like the dead religiosity of the Jews in Jesus’ day. In other words, the church as Sardis was very much like the liberal church today; i.e. Dead!
The people in the church at Sardis were physically alive, but they were spiritually dead. Unbelievers were operating the church. Some may scoff at that and disbelieve that churches and whole denominations can be taken over by unbelievers, but this very thing is happening today. Dead men are in the pulpits. Dead men are in the pews. Dead men are running the church and dead men are in control of the denomination. Churches die when those who truly alive in Christ are replaced by dead people. What causes this?
A church becomes dead when unbelievers are allowed to take over ministries in the church. It happens when a church becomes more concerned with form and liturgy than it is with life on a spiritual level. It also occurs when a church becomes more concerned with welfare and social ills than it is about the Gospel. Death occurs when a church loves its religiosity more than it loves Jesus Christ. It may very well love another Jesus and another gospel, but this is the same thing as elevating religiosity over the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Death occurs when a church’s focus is moved away from God’s Truth to Man’s so-called truth. Focus moves away from obedience of Gods’ commands and devotion to Him to material things or any temporal focus. A Church dies because of sin.
Sin in any form that a church tolerates is the root cause of a church dying. It does not matter if the sin is tolerated in the leadership or in the members. This tolerance begins the cycle of death. This opens the door to tolerance of unbelievers in the church. Soon, no one cares who is a believer or an unbeliever. When the man who runs the church is not a believer, and this is inevitable once the cycle starts, then the end comes and the church dies spiritually. The cycle of death begins with tolerance of sin. These sins of commission and omission kill the church bit by bit. Over time, the professing Christians in the church become carnal. The carnal do tolerate unbelievers being part of the local body. This is followed by total tolerance for sin. As the church begins its death throes, God will draw out of it the people in it who really love the Lord Jesus. As they leave, unbelievers replace them. I hear from several believers every month who cannot find a local church in their area that has not become compromised like this. I left a church that was beginning the process of inviting unbelievers in. It was putting one foot in the world while trying to keep one foot in the Church. That was nearly 3 years ago and the pain from that separation is still with my wife and I.
The church at Sardis was only going through the spiritual motions. It may have indeed had a name that it was alive, but God condemns every single religious activity that is not directed by the Holy Spirit. Unbelievers were not persecuting it. Why? The church at Sardis was just a religious form of the world and this is exactly what any church in our day is that is not controlled and directed by the Holy Spirit to serve the Lord Jesus Christ according to God’s will. We were discussing markers of a dead church earlier. We have actually been looking at this over the last few days. Dead churches and disingenuous believers hold to a man-friendly, man-centered, easy-believism from of the gospel. This non-gospel is cross-less, therefore, it also is Christ-less. The genuine Church holds to the genuine Gospel, which is cross-centered, and does not flinch from the reproach and shame of the Cross of Christ. The natural man hates the Gospel. It is hated by the world. Only the regenerate loves it, grasps it, and preaches it. This will bring persecution from the world.
Never forget my brethren that God is in the business of preserving a remnant within that which is dead, “Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.” God always has His remnant. Even in this dead church at Sardis there were still some who were not contaminated by the world. These would be suffering mightily as they were spiritual, but surrounded by carnal and fleshly. They were devout and sincere amongst hypocrites. They were humble among the proud. They were separate from the world, but the rest in that church were of the world. These would be equivalent to those I regularly hear from who remain in their dead church because there is no where else to go. Never forget my brethren, a church is not a building, but a body of believers. The church at Sardis was speaking of every professing Christian in that city. These genuine believers were God’s remnant at Sardis. The emphasis on their garments not being soiled is speaking of their righteousness, which is spotless so it is God’s righteousness. These are genuine believers who are promised that they will receive a new “white” garment and will walk with Christ in glory.
Our Lord gives five key commands to the church at Sardis. These commands are: wake up, strengthen, remember, keep it, and repent. These commands are given to all three different types of members of the church in Sardis. These three types of members are the dead (unbelievers), the sleeping or fleshly professing Christians, and the few who have not defiled their garments.
The first command is “wake up!” (vv 2,3). This can also be translated as “be watchful” or “watch!”. The command is a warning that if they do not watch then He will come upon them as a thief in the night. This is obviously spoken to the unbelievers in the church at Sardis.
The second command is “Strengthen!” This is a command to the genuine believers at Sardis to work to wake up the sleeping professing believers on the fringes. These fleshly Christians are spiritually blind. They are next to dead. This command is to those who see God’s light, reflect it to all, and hear His voice to preach repentance to those who are just hanging on.
The third command is “remember!” This is spoken to the genuine believers at Sardis to remember their salvation. This is a command to continue growing in Grace in their daily walk devoted to Christ. This remembering is keeping the mind occupied with the person of Christ and the miracle and reality of their salvation.
The fourth command is “keep it!” This can also be translated as “Hold Fast!” This is another command to the genuine believers at Sardis. They commanded to hold fast or keep to sound doctrine. This is vital. We are constantly under attacks that are designed to distract us with the things of this world away from God’s perfect doctrines of His truth. These distractions include false doctrines as well. The command to these Christians and to us in our time is to hang on and not let the world distract them from sound doctrine.
The fifth and final command is “repent!” This is given to the unbelievers and the fleshly believers at Sardis. These need to repent. The unbelievers need to believe the Gospel and repent. The fleshly believers need to seek for God to grant them repentance as they turn from the flesh and its debilitating blindness to have their hard hearts smashed by the grace of God.
Sardis was a dead church, but so are countless churches in our time who have become compromised. These five commands are for them as well. Examine yourselves by brethren. If you are in a doctrinally sound and spiritually alive church then rejoice and do not take that for granted. If you are in a dying church and there is nowhere else to go then ask the Lord for the grace to stand firm as His remnant where He has you. On the other hand, if you are dead then the command from our Lord is to believe and repent. If you are a professing Christian who is enslaved to your flesh then now is the time for you to come to the throne of grace for some serious confession and repentance.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Source:
http://mikeratliff.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/a-dead-church/
[reprinted by permission.]
DiscernIt 
Recent Comments