I'll Be Back!

I will be taking a break from blogging starting today and will be returning Tuesday, August 1. Taking some time to spend with my wife and kids and get away for awhile. I have several posts that I have started to write but have not had the time to finish. I have been busy getting ready for vacation, mainly getting our Ford mini-van ready for travel, making some necessary repairs and cleaning it up. It simply amazes me that we are approaching the 100,000 mile mark, and the vehicle seems to have a self-destruct switch; everything seems to be going wrong. This is the first vehicle that I have had to replace a steering rack and I generally drive my vehicles to well over 100,000 miles. What is frustrating is that just after the rack was replaced, a fuel injector failed. But I guess it is better for this to happen before we get on the road and that I am able to make many of the repairs myself (with the exception of the rack and fuel injector, which combined totaled almost $1400), saving us several hundred dollars. Hopefully this will be the last round of repairs and be OK for awhile, especially while we are traveling out of town.

Feeling God But Not Knowing God

“In Christian music we are missing the key pillar, the cornerstone, which the other two rely upon - sound doctrine! There has already occurred a much needed return to praise and worship in the church and we’ve observed that across the board in evangelicalism. There has also been, in recent years noted scandals with both Televangelists and Christian artists, bringing a heightened call for more personal integrity, holiness and ecclesiastical accountability.[6] Though we have not arrived in those areas, we are on the path, nevertheless, the Achilles heel of our industry is the blatant absence of sound biblical theology which has effected every level of Christian music. This is most evident in it’s message. Christian music, originally called Jesus Music that once fearlessly sang about the gospel, now sings of a Christ-less, watered-down, pabulum-based, positive alternative, aura-fluff cream of wheat, mush-kind-of-syrupy God-as-my-girlfriend thing. There is an obvious reason this has taken place: artists primarily feel; theologians primarily think. We need artists who will balance their zeal with knowledge[7] to invest their lives in the daily discipline of Bible study, and then, to write with the fire, passion and enthusiasm which that study has illumined to communicate the glorious language of the church - the holy Word of God! Until this occurs, we are guilty of sentencing a generation of Christians to simply “feel” their God, rather than to know their God! In the early days of my own music ministry I wrote songs that neither represented good music or precise theology. It is out of the crucible of those experiences that God convicted me, which drives me to speak passionately to these issues.” (Emphasis Mine)

-Steve Camp “What Makes Music… Christianly”

I certainly appreciate Steve Camp and his sound biblical theology and the fact that he seeks to make his music line up with Scripture. We certainly need many more like him in Christian music. Lack of sound doctrine is a key issue with so-called Christian music today, and the reason that so many people involved in music tend to really irritate me. They tend to be free spirits who don’t want to be encumbered with all that doctrine and theology stuff, claiming that they just want to “looove Jesus”. But loving Jesus means that we also adhere to the truth proclaimed through the Word of God.

“6And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.
(2 John 1:6, NASB)

“13Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
14Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” (2 Timothy 1:13-14, NASB)

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15, NKJV)

But what about love? If we are truly adhering to God’s truth, then we will be expressing love toward one another. It should go hand in hand with doctrinal truth. The bottom line is that if we love Jesus, we will adhere to his truth. God is to be worshipped in both spirit and in truth.

“23"But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
24"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." “
(John 4:23-24, NASB)

When people engage in a ministry such as Christian music, they are expressing their thoughts and views about God. They are really communicating a message concerning God and it is therefore imperative that the message be rooted and grounded in Scriptural truth. Otherwise the message is vague and can project a distorted view of God. If the message of Christ is to reach people’s hearts, it is of utmost importance that those involved in music be sure the message in their music is proclaimed with biblical clarity.

I will also add that this is not an issue isolated to music, but also the church in general. It has become the bane of evangelicalism, where we are focusing on creating experience and emphasizing emotion and feeling above the importance of Scriptural truth. There is nothing wrong with engaging the emotions when worshipping God and that should be encouraged. But more important is grounding our emotion and feeling in objective biblical truth. I fear that much of what has taken place in the church today is an overcorrection to the error of discounting feeling and emotion in worship. And this unfortunate trend seems to be increasing in intensity. More and more Christian leaders are adapting to the spirit of this age and cooking up an approach to ministry to suit man’s carnal nature.

“The church of the 21st century... focuses worship primarily on what a person experiences about God instead of what a person learns about God. This trend is confirmed by the growing unchurched, biblically illiterate, ethically void, population growing up outside of the influence of Christianity. Their basic need is to experience the presence (immanence) of God, not to be educated about God or the church. Emphasis is placed on stirring the heart and emotions, not educating the head.”(Emphasis Added)

“The Church of the 21st Century”
By Bill Easum


While Bill Easum would not necessarily be identified with the emerging “church” movement, he has been heavily influenced by postmodern authors such as Leonard Sweet. (read this article here, second to last paragraph) Easum is a church consultant and his thinking is very influential in many churches.

I am in no way making an excuse for the seemingly dead, lifeless approach that many churches got caught up in and I do not want to see an overreaction in the opposite direction as well. We do not want to merely engage in a cold, dead orthodoxy. But to make the error of discounting the importance of sound doctrine as an alternative is a grievous mistake, with devastating spiritual consequences.

More Information on Chuck Smith’s Position

Thanks to Carla who left this link in a comment to my previous post, “In All Fairness”. Roger Oakland has provided some comments expanding on Chuck’s position on his website, “Understand the Times”.

In All Fairness.

I want to take a moment to clarify something. Not all of those who embrace an Arminian theological bent are in favor of the pragmatic, seeker-sensitive approach to ministry. Some are even very outspoken against such strategies. However, I still believe that Arminianism by its very nature has a tendency to lend itself to such thinking. When you examine the underlying principles embraced by the pragmatic seeker-sensitive approach (I believe you can also include much of the “emerging church” with this pragmatism as well), the synergistic soteriological views tend toward the “end-justifies-the-means” mentality. I also believe a careful examination of church history shows that the synergistic view of salvation has a generally negative effect on the church. I am also convinced that Scripture teaches a monergistic view of salvation.

But there are some like Chuck Smith Sr., who has recently taken a strong stand against some of these approaches to ministry. I recently wrote a post concerning the letter that he addressed to the Calvary Chapel churches refuting the error of the emerging “church”. But apparently Chuck has also addressed the Purpose Driven frenzy as well. A notice published on the Calvary Distribution website (their ministry resource website) indicates that the Purpose Driven resources are being discontinued.

“The teaching and positions of Rick Warren have come into conflict with us as Calvary Chapel. Pastor Chuck has directed us to discontinue this product effective immediately. The following items are now longer available through Calvary Distribution”

You will also notice that Chuck’s book “When Storms Come” is being recalled “Due to issues with content and packaging”. These issues have to do with apparent tampering with the text to include language pertaining to contemplative worship and references to mystics, something that Chuck Smith never originally wrote.

“The title When Storms Come by Pastor Chuck Smith from World Publishing is being recalled, effective immediately. Due to issues with content and packaging, this title has been set to out of print.”

Again, I may disagree with certain theological views, such as Chuck Sr’s Arminian bent, but I certainly appreciate his stand on these issues, since this is not going to be a popular stand to take. I hope and pray that he continues to keep up the fight because it appears that the Calvary Chapel movement may be reaching a crossroad.

What is Guiding Your Thoughts?

Doug over at Godward Thoughts recently posted a quote by John Piper, where Piper made the statement that “It will be a superficial, weak, carnal, disunited church; where people are playing fast and loose with their Bibles.” This is sadly the case with a growing majority of evangelical churches today. Piper goes on to say that people are turning to the world and observing what is commended by the world’s standard, but they barely give any time to look to the Word of God for their guidance. Consequently, the church succumbs to fleshly wisdom rather than to guidance from God’s truth.

This was a major issue with the Corinthians, and the reason Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3 that they were unable to tolerate the solid meat of God’s truth. They were not truly feasting on God’s Word and could only tolerate the very basic “milk”, like an infant. As a result, their actions were not guided by the Word of God, but by the works of the flesh. This resulted in a very immature, carnal congregation laden with sin. When people are not immersing themselves in God’s truth, spiritual growth is severely hindered, resulting in a weak, sickly congregation.

“1But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3, ESV)

What is the remedy? Romans 12:2 tells us that we should be “transformed by the renewing” of our mind.

“1I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2, ESV)


The word “transformed” is translated from the Greek word, “metamorphoo”, which means to be changed into another form and is the same word used in Matthew 17:2 to describe the appearance of Christ in the transfiguration. We must be transformed, meaning that we go through a “metamorphosis”, resulting in a change in our outward actions and appearance. Our thoughts must be changed, being replaced with God’s thoughts since our actions are guided by our thoughts. Our hearts cannot be changed without meditating on God’s truth. If our minds are contstantly being filled with the world’s wisdom and are not being renewed with God’s wisdom, our actions are going to be governed by the impulses of our flesh. Our actions which include our emotions and feelings must be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.

Only when we are meditating on the Word of God and filtering everything thrown our way through God’s truth, are we able to test and discern what God’s will is. It is only when we are walking or patterning our life after God’s Word that we are going to be fulfilling God’s will. It is the Word of God that lights our path and guides us in our life.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105, ESV)

Luther on Salvation and "Free-will"

Excerpt from the “Bondage of the Will”
by Martin Luther
1525 A.D.





The comfort of knowing that salvation does not depend on free-will

"I frankly confess that, for myself, even if it could be, I should not want free-will to be given to me, nor anything to be left in my own hands to enable me to endeavor after salvation; not merely because in face of so many dangers, and adversities, and assaults of devils, I could not stand my ground and hold fast my free-will (for one devil is stronger than all men, and on these terms no man could be saved); but because, even were there no dangers, adversities, or devils, I should still be forced to labor with no guarantee of success, and to beat my fists at the air. If I lived and worked to all eternity, my conscience would never reach comfortable certainty as to how much it must do to satisfy God. Whatever work I had done, there would still be a nagging doubt as to whether it pleases God, or whether He required something more. The experience of all who seek righteousness by works proves that; and I learned it well enough myself over a period of many years, to my own great hurt. But now that God has taken my salvation out the control of my own will , and put it under the control of His, and promised to save me, not according to my working or running, but according to His own grace and mercy, I have the comfortable certainty that He is faithful and will not lie to me, and that He is also great and powerful, so that no devils or opposition can break Him or pluck me from Him. No one, He says, shall pluck them out of my hand, because my father which gave them me is greater than all [John 10:28-29]. Thus it is that, if not all, yet some, indeed many, are saved; whereas, by the power of free-will none at all could be saved, but every one of us would perish.

Furthermore, I have the comfortable certainty that I please God, not by reason of the merit of my works, but by reason of His merciful favor promised to me; so that, if I work too little, or badly, He does not impute it to me, but with fatherly compassion pardons me and makes me better. This is the glorying of all the saints in their God."

The Real Test

Part of the test of whether a prophet was speaking the words of the Lord is whether or not what was prophesied actually comes to pass with 100% accuracy. There was no such thing as a genuine prophecy being 50% accurate or even 99% accurate; pinpoint accuracy was demanded otherwise the prophecy was considered false and to be disregarded.

“18'I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
19'It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.
20'But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.'
21"You may say in your heart, 'How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?'
22"When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18-22, NASB)

But if we go back a few chapters in Deuteronomy to chapter 13, we find yet another test. In fact, one that is most important of all.

“1"If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder,
2and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,'
3you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
4"You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.” (Deuteronomy 13:1-4, NASB)

Even if the sign or wonder comes true, if the prophet teaches anything contrary to God’s revealed truth, it is to be regarded as falsehood and dismissed. In fact, in the Old Testament, the prophet was to be put to death (v. 5) in order to “purge the evil from among you.”

If we would only take heed and use the same discernment today. We should follow the example of the first century Bereans in Acts 17:11 daily examining the Scriptures. We are too enamored with signs and wonders, taking our focus off the Word of God. Everything must pass a theological test.

We have numerous “prophets” today who are proclaiming that God has given them a message, whether it is some word of prophecy or claiming a new way of doing church that God has revealed to them for this generation.
Yet upon closer examination with Scripture, their philosophy simply does not line up. But large numbers of people flock to conferences and churches promoting these philosophies.

Unfortunately, the teaching of these so-called prophets resonates well with the current generation. Just like the disobedient children of Israel, who wanted the prophets to speak to them words that would sooth their ears, there are those today who have the same itching ears and recruit teachers to tell them what they want to hear. People willingly flock to their seminars, churches and spend money for their materials, seemingly unable to get enough of it. The more they buy and participate in, the more the false teachers are encouraged to give them more.

“9For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen
To the instruction of the LORD;
10Who say to the seers, "You must not see visions";
And to the prophets, "You must not prophesy to us what is right,
Speak to us pleasant words,
Prophesy illusions.” (Isaiah 30:10, NASB)

“3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
4and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
(2 Timothy 4:3-4, NASB)

Much of the philosophy of those promoting these new ways of “doing” church often produces visible results, attracting people in droves. The attitude by many seems to be, "hey, it works!" But we must examine the “fruit” that is yielded from these methods. Do people gain a genuine sense of awe and reverence for God? Do they genuinely seek the things of the Lord, or are they simply seeking some self-help teaching intermingled with a few verses of Scripture (often taken out of context). Are they developing a love for God’s truth and more importantly, are they desiring to apply it to their lives? Is there true conviction over sin producing true repentance?

Teaching which appeals more to people’s flesh can offer no transforming power to truly change people’s lives. It just feeds the ego of the people and they desire more of it. It offers nothing more than a self-seeking spirituality on man’s terms, not God’s.

“ 30An appalling and horrible thing
Has happened in the land:
31The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule on their own authority;
And My people love it so!
But what will you do at the end of it?” (Jeremiah 5:30-31, NASB)

Sadly, false leadership leads people away from God rather than leading them on a path that draws them closer to Him. It is unfortunate that there are now multitudes of false shepherds occupying the pulpits of churches all across our land, which are not truly tending God’s flock and providing genuine spiritual direction, allowing the people to walk in spiritual confusion, wandering in various directions.

What we need are shepherds who will trust in the transforming power of God’s Word, trusting in its power to accomplish God’s purposes. (Isaiah 55:11)

A Warning Concerning False Teachers from J. C. Ryle

Warning #4 to the Church
Pharisees and Sadducees

by J. C. Ryle (1816-1900)

"Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Matthew 16:6)

Every word spoken by the Lord Jesus is full of deep instruction for Christians. It is the voice of the Chief Shepherd. It is the Great Head of the Church speaking to all its members--King of kings speaking to His subjects--the Master of the house speaking to His servants--the Captain of our salvation speaking to His soldiers. Above all, it is the voice of Him who said, "I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it" (John 12:49.) The heart of every believer in the Lord Jesus ought to burn within him when he hears his Master's words: he ought to say, "Listen! My lover!" (Song of Solomon 2:8).

And every word spoken by the Lord Jesus is of the greatest value. Precious as gold are all His words of doctrine and teaching; precious are all His parables and prophecies; precious are all His words of comfort and of consolation; precious, the not least of which, are all His words of caution and of warning. We are not merely to hear Him when He says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened;" we are to also hear Him when He says, "Be careful and be on your guard."

I am going to direct attention to one of the most solemn and emphatic warnings which the Lord Jesus ever delivered: "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." On this text I wish to erect a beacon for all who desire to be saved, and to preserve some souls, if possible, from making their lives a shipwreck. The times call loudly for such beacons: the spiritual shipwrecks of the last twenty-five years have been deplorably numerous. The watchmen of the Church ought to speak out plainly now, or forever hold their peace.

I. First of all, I ask my readers to observe "who they were to whom the warning of the text was addressed."

Our Lord Jesus Christ was not speaking to men who were worldly, ungodly, and unsanctified, but to His own disciples, companions, and friends. He addressed men who, with the exception of the apostate Judas Iscariot, were right-hearted in the sight of God. He spoke to the twelve Apostles, the first founders of the Church of Christ, and the first ministers of the Word of salvation. And yet even to them He addressed the solemn caution of our text: "Be careful and be on your guard."

There is something very remarkable in this fact. We might have thought that these Apostles needed little warning of this kind. Had they not given up all for Christ's sake? They had. Had they not endured hardship for Christ's sake? They had. Had they not believed Jesus, followed Jesus, loved Jesus, when almost all the world was unbelieving? All these things are true; and yet to them the caution was addressed: "Be careful and be on your guard." We might have imagined that at any rate the disciples had little to fear from the "yeast of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." They were poor and unlearned men, most of them fishermen or tax collectors; they had no desire to follow the teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees; they were more likely to be prejudiced against them than to feel any drawing towards them. All this is perfectly true; yet even to them there comes the solemn warning: "Be careful and be on your guard."

There is useful counsel here for all who profess to love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. It tells us loudly that the most eminent servants of Christ are not beyond the need of warnings, and ought to be always on their guard. It shows us plainly that the holiest of believers ought to walk humbly with his God, and to watch and pray so that he won't fall into temptation, and be overtaken with sin. None is so holy, that he can't fall--not ultimately, not hopelessly, but to his own discomfort, to the scandal of the Church, and to the triumph of the world: none is so strong that he cannot for a time be overcome. Chosen as believers are by God the Father, justified as they are by the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, sanctified as they are by the Holy Spirit--believers are still only men: they are still in the body, and still in the world. They are ever near temptation: they are ever liable to misjudge, both in doctrine and in practice. Their hearts, though renewed, are very feeble; their understanding, though enlightened, is still very dim. They ought to live like those who dwell in an enemy's land, and every day to put on the armor of God. The devil is very busy: he never slumbers or sleeps. Let us remember the falls of Noah, and Abraham, and Lot, and Moses, and David, and Peter; and remembering them, be humble, and be careful so that we don't fall.

I may be allowed to say that none need warnings so much as the ministers of Christ's Gospel. Our office and our ordination are no security against errors and mistakes. It is true, that the greatest heresies have crept into the Church of Christ by means of ordained men. Ordination does not confers any immunity from error and false doctrine. Our very familiarity with the Gospel often creates in us a hardened state of mind. We are apt to read the Scriptures, and preach the Word, and conduct public worship, and carry on the service of God, in a dry, hard, formal, callous spirit. Our very familiarity with sacred things, unless we watch our hearts, is likely to lead us astray. "Nowhere," says an old writer, "is a man's soul in more danger than in a minister's study." The history of the Church of Christ contains many dismal proofs that the most distinguished ministers may for a time fall away. Who has not heard of Cranmer recanting and going back from those opinions he had defended so stoutly, though, by God's mercy, raised again to witness a glorious confession at last? Who has not heard of Jewell signing documents that he most thoroughly disapproved, and of which signature he afterwards bitterly repented? Who does not know that many others might be named, who at one time or another, have been overtaken by faults, have fallen into errors, and been led astray? And who does not know the mournful fact that many of them never came back to the truth, but died in hardness of heart, and held their errors to the end?

These things ought to make us humble and cautious. They tell us to distrust our own hearts and to pray to be kept from falling. In these days, when we are especially called upon to cleave firmly to the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation, let us be careful that our zeal for Protestantism does not puff us up, and make us proud. Let us never say in our self-conceit, "I shall never fall into the errors Roman Catholicism or any New Theology: those views will never suit me." Let us remember that many have begun well and run well for a season, and yet afterwards turned aside out of the right way. Let us be careful that we are spiritual men as well as Protestants, and real friends of Christ as well as enemies of antichrist. Let us pray that we may be kept from error, and never forget that the twelve Apostles themselves were the men to whom the Great Head of the Church addressed these words: "Be careful and be on your guard."

[This article can be read in its entirety at Bible Bulleting Board]

All Scripture references are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New York Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

This updated and revised manuscript is copyrighted (C)1998 by Tony Capoccia.All rights reserved.

A Good Summary

Doug over at Godward Thoughts wrote a great post a couple of weeks ago summarizing the postmodern view of truth as expressed by many in the emerging church. Doug did a great job on this.

I have several things that I wanted to post about this week and next, but right now I am lacking time to be able to post anything of any real depth. I am at the end of a class and have a final project paper due this next week and the final exam the following week, so my posting may be very lean over the next week and a half. I may only have time to write some very brief posts.

Brian Flynn on Contemplative Spirituality

If you want a good resource from someone who has been part of the New Age Movement and Contemplative Spirituality, you may want to check out Brian Flynn. He was skilled in transcendental meditation and relied on spirit guides for direction. Brian was wonderfully saved out of this darkness and is now a devout follower of Jesus Christ. Brian is seeing how many of the New Age and Eastern spirituality practices are now being introduced into the church, and he is warning believers of the dangers of this influence. With the promotion of many of these practices by many in the church especially the emerging church movement, it is crucial to understand what is going on and to warn others. Check out his website, “One Truth Ministries”. He has a section on his site on Contemplative Prayer, and he wrote a brief article, “Christians Should Dump Contemplative Prayer”, that was published in the “Minnesota Christian Chronicle”.

Chuck Smith Speaks Out on the “Emerging Church”

I saw this on Slice of Laodicea. Chuck Smith, who started Calvary Chapel churches, has issued a statement on the emerging “church”. I may have some disagreements here and there on certain points of theology, but one thing that I do appreciate is the general stand on preaching the Word of God. Calvary Chapel had a huge impact on me as a new believer. When I was saved, I used to listen to Raul Reis, pastor of Calvary Chapel of Golden Springs, CA. I ran across Raul Reis’s radio program “Manna for Today” (that is what it was called back then) before I was saved. Raul was raised Catholic and he would often speak on some of the false beliefs of Roman Catholicism that helped me begin questioning the beliefs of the Catholic Church. Once I was saved, I listened to Raul’s program regularly until his program went off the air in our area. I am not sure what Raul is like today since I have not heard him preach in quite while, but I do remember what he was like back then. What I appreciated was the fact that they were willing to lovingly reach out to the lost, yet without watering down the proclamation of God’s Word. It seems to have been a hallmark of the Calvary Chapel churches. I have never attended a Calvary Chapel church, so the only thing I have to go by is what I have heard on the radio.

But it seems that some of the churches may be going the “emerging” route, which is probably the reason Chuck issued this statement. Tragically, it seems that his son, Chuck Smith, Jr. has taken the postmodern “emerging” bait. From what I understand, apparently his church is no longer linked to in the list of Calvary Churches. That is sad and my heart goes out to Chuck Smith Sr.

I hope that Chuck continues to speak out openly against the emerging movement, and makes an attempt to do so more publicly.

Pat Robertson Speaks...Again

Yes, once again Pat Robertson speaks. ("Preacher: God told him about storms, tsunami", MSNBC News) Every time I see the headlines claiming that he heard from God, I cringe. It is just further embarrassment for evangelicals. While many are trying to intelligibly refute the claims of the "Da Vinci Code", Robertson makes claims that defy any notion that Christians can have anything intelligent to say or to use sound judgement.

Pat claims that “God told him storms and possibly a tsunami will hit America's coastline this year.” Now meteorologists have been saying that this is going to be another active year for hurricanes, so any “prophecy” of bad storms would not be anything that we would not already suspect. The chances that a bad storm would hit the coastal area are quite high. Scientists are also saying that these bad seasons tend to run in cycles spanning several years and that we are apparently in one of those cycles. According to Pat, there is a “possibility” of a tsunami hitting the coastline. The key word there is "possibility". There is always a possibility of something like that happening. There is also the possibility of the earth being hit by a meteor as well. (Oh great, that statement could probably be used as fodder now by some wannabe prophet!)

Of course, Pat’s pronouncement is contingent on whether or not he heard God correctly!

Compare this pronouncement (as well as others Robertson has made) with the real prophets in Scripture. Could you imagine any of the prophets proclaiming, “Now, if I understand the Lord correctly”. There are also no vague generalizations made by the true prophets. They made a pronouncement with assurance that it did come from God, without a doubt. Just like all the other true prophetic utterances, everything was assured that it did indeed come from God and it all came to pass without fail. This was the only sign of a true prophet (Deuteronomy 18:20-22) In fact, in the Old Testament, if anyone made a claim that did not come to pass, they were considered a false prophet and were to be put to death. (Deuteronomy 18:20)

Pat would do well to open his Bible and engage in some sound biblical exegesis for a change.

Not Surprising.

I saw this over at the Sharper Iron. (Brian McLaren on The Da Vinci Code)
Apparently the “Da Vinci Code” seems to resonate well with Brian McLaren. This isn’t surprising.

Rob Bell’s Rendition of “Faith”

Recently, I was told by a pastor that Rob Bell was not part of the “emerging” church and not aligned with the teaching of Brian McLaren. This individual likes to utilize Bell’s series of Nooma videos in an attempt to better illustrate spiritual truth. However, I recalled that Bell was somehow affiliated with the postmodern “emerging” church philosophy, even if he was not officially a part of the newly formed “Emergent” organization. After expressing caution concerning the emerging church and the influence of Brian McLaren, he insisted that Rob Bell was not a part of that. I knew better, however I did not have all the facts together at the moment. I was familiar with the work of some of the other well known men such as McLaren, Doug Paggit and Leonard Sweet, but I wanted to have the facts straight. So I did some quick research on Bell to refresh my memory on what he embraced. Sure enough, he is very much in line with the philosophy of McLaren. In fact, McLaren’s book, “A New Kind of Christian” had a profound influence on Rob and his wife Kristen. So I sent an e-mail to this pastor explaining Rob’s connection with the emerging “church”, which I am posting most of the content here. Pay close attention to how Bell treats fundamental truth as not really that necessary for our faith!

While Rob Bell apparently is not directly affiliated with the newly formed organization, “Emergent”, his philosophy is certainly in line with men like Brian McLaren. In fact, Rob and his wife Kristen seem to have come to sort of an epiphany through reading Brian McLaren’s book, “A New Kind of Christian”, and are very enthusiastic supporters of the ideas that McLaren promotes. His teaching has certainly helped shape their philosophy of ministry.

As I said on Tuesday, I will quickly affirm that evangelicalism certainly needs to be “tweeked”. However, what men such as Bell, McLaren and Leonard Sweet propose is not the solution.

This article in Christianity Today about the “emergent mystique” [Christianity Today, "The Emergent Mystique" by Andy Crouch, 10/22/2004], featuring Rob Bell and his wife, evidently struck a cord with McLaren as a good overview of the “emerging” philosophy. McLaren posted his positive comments on the article on his website, “brianmclaren.net”.

According to the article, the Bells “found themselves increasingly uncomfortable with church.”
"Life in the church had become so small," Kristen says. "It had worked for me for a long time. Then it stopped working." The Bells started questioning their assumptions about the Bible itself—"discovering the Bible as a human product," as Rob puts it, rather than the product of divine fiat. "The Bible is still in the center for us," Rob says, "but it's a different kind of center. We want to embrace mystery, rather than conquer it."

"I grew up thinking that we've figured out the Bible," Kristen says, "that we knew what it means. Now I have no idea what most of it means. And yet I feel like life is big again—like life used to be black and white, and now it's in color."

Whatever occurred that caused their apparent disenchantment, does not legitimize the departure from solid doctrine. The Bible is not merely a human product, but is divinely inspired by God, and is fully authoritative, “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16) While there are certainly areas of Scripture that are somewhat obscure, the notion that most of the Bible is some mysterious document that most of its truth cannot be discerned is simply not true. This obsession with “mystery” is causing the followers of the “emerging” church movement to look back to the medieval church and embrace the false mysticism of that time period.

In “color” evidently means living in a world of ambiguity without set standards so we can believe whatever we want to believe, reinterpreting Scripture according to our own devices. One of the major issues with the “emerging” crowd is that they enjoy playing things fast and loose not only with truth, but on issues of morality as well.

So what “rescued” the Bells from the dissatisfaction of the Christian life? "Our lifeboat," Kristen says, "was A New Kind of Christian." That is the title of the book written by Brian McLaren that is a fictional account of a conversational dialog between a discouraged conservative pastor and his daughter’s science teacher who encourages him to embrace postmodernism and apply its principles to the Christian faith. The book introduces doubt on the inerrancy and authority of Scripture discrediting objective and rational truth. The book introduces questionable speculative teaching, contrary to Scripture and does so in a seductively enchanting story line.

This is par for the course in the “emergent mystique” as the CT article puts it. Anything “Black-and-white” is taboo and simply too constricting. They thrive in a sea of ambiguity where they can define their own standards according to the passions of their own heart. Scripture warns us that there would come a time when people would no longer tolerate sound teaching in 2 Timothy 4:3-4.

“1I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
(2 Timothy 4:1-4; ESV)

The emerging church attempts to paint a picture that they are different from typical postmodern thought. This is misleading, since the “emerging” church seems to make extensive use of the postmodern practice of “deconstruction” in order to reinterpret Scripture. The primary philosophy behind deconstruction is that a given text really has no one particular meaning, that it can mean many different things. They may deny this, but in practice this is what actually takes place. In fact, the late Stanley Grentz who was one of their favorite “theologians”, drawing much of his thinking from George Lindbeck, believed like Lindbeck that doctrine was not meant to say anything true, but merely provide “rules of discourse" for the believing community, much like rules of grammar. In his mindset, each believing “community” decides what their “rules of discourse” are going to be.

While I recognize the importance of community in the church, it must be community based upon the sound doctrines of Scripture. Scripture defines doctrine as understood in its normal grammatical-historical context, not the whims of the believing community. In the world of the emerging "church", Scripture must be deconstructed, which essentially strips the text of any inherent authority making the interpreter the final arbiter of truth.

Bell comments further. "I don't think we've got the gospel right yet. What does it mean to be 'saved'? When I read the Bible, I don't see it meaning, 'I'm going to heaven after I die.' Before modern evangelicalism nobody accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, or walked down an aisle, or said the sinner's prayer."

Here once again is another confusing statement. I wholeheartedly agree that salvation is not about walking an isle or mouthing the words to a “sinner’s prayer”. Evangelicalism became wrapped up in what I would call rampant “decisionism”, where the tactic became using whatever means to jerk at one’s emotions until they made some decision for Christ. I consider this a major contributing factor to many false conversions. I also agree that salvation is more that merely accepting Jesus as savior now so that one goes to heaven when they die. Jesus saves us to live for Him now in order to carry out the mission of preaching the gospel and making disciples in this life, leading an exemplary lifestyle that attracts people to the gospel. But let’s not put the cart before the horse; before you can participate in the “kingdom of God”, you MUST first be born into the kingdom. This needs to take place on a personal level. This is not a group activity. It begins with an individual first putting their faith and trust in Christ as a result of the finished work of the cross, putting themselves under His lordship. Salvation has both present and future ramifications, i.e. our eternal destiny. Ephesians 1 tells us that we were both predestined for salvation AND we were also predestined to participate in good works. If one is genuinely saved, then their life should reflect that fact in their general conduct. It should be the general outflow.

One particular disturbing thought that Rob expresses in his book, “Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith”, is what he views as a basis for faith.

“What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archeologist find Larry’s tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was really just a bit of mythologizing the Gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of the Mithra and Dionysian religious cults that were hugely popular at the time of Jesus, whose gods had virgin births? But what if, as you study the origin of the word “virgin” you discover that the word “virgin” in the gospel of Matthew actually comes from the book of Isaiah, and then you find out that in the Hebrew language at that time, the word “virgin” could mean several things. And what if you discover that in the first century being “born of a virgin” also referred to a child whose mother became pregnant the first time she had intercourse? What if that spring were seriously questioned? Could a person keep on jumping? Could a person still love God? Could you still be a Christian? Is the way of Jesus still the best possible way to live? Or does the whole thing fall apart?”

“If the whole faith falls apart when we reexamine and rethink one spring then it wasn’t that strong in the first place was it?”
[Velvet Elvis, pg.26]

This is an incredulous statement. To categorize the virgin birth as a potential myth and unnecessary for faith, is to undermine a chief foundational truth concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ. To even think that the writers of the biblical text tailored Scripture to appeal to cultural belief defies any notion of a divinely inspired, inerrant Bible, a belief that Bell wants us to think he clings to! Furthermore, this would mean that Jesus is not who He said He was and we are left in this world, hopelessly dead in our sins. In this scenario, the Bible just becomes nothing more than a book with good principles, but has no binding authority over us and obedience to its teaching is therefore not mandatory, but optional.

It is not about what one chooses to believe, but what MUST be believed about Jesus. The virgin birth is a NECESSARY doctrine. Once again, Bell like others in the “emerging church” are taking the road followed by liberalism that challenged and denied fundamental truths of the Christian faith. Faith in Jesus is not just about a great way to live. When we embrace a “Jesus” whose characteristics are outside of the divinely inspired text of Scripture, we embrace another Jesus that is created after our own devices. Paul warned the Corinthians that due to their lack of maturity in the faith, they were in danger of being deceived into accepting another Jesus.

“1 Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!”
(2 Corinthians 11:1-4; NASB)

1 John 4:1-3 tells us how to determine the spirit behind a certain message that is proclaimed, whether it is of the Holy Spirit or a demon spirit. If the full deity and full humanity of Christ is affirmed, then the message is of God. This would necessitate embracing the full person and work of Christ including the virgin birth and His substitutionary atonement. If a teaching attacks any part of the person and work of Christ, the message is of demonic origin. This is not just simply acknowledging that Jesus existed. It is affirming the very facts of who He was and what He accomplished.

“1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
(1 John 4:1-6; NASB)

I am not saying that Rob is not sincere and has good intentions in his compassion for people to break out of the deadness of traditional religion and a desire to reach out to the culture. I can sympathize with the frustrations over the spiritual “deadness” that seems to pervade much of evangelicalism. But his approach is often off base and out of step with Scripture, embracing a philosophy that will essentially erode true biblical faith. The tenets of what the emerging church embraces are in reality nothing more than repackaged liberalism, a liberalism that was fought against over a century ago. Like the onslaught of liberalism over 100 years ago, this movement will, if it festers long enough in the church, leave a trail of spiritual destruction in its path. Liberalism ravaged many churches and denominations and will certainly do the same for the evangelical community.

In fact, many of the same issues that are akin to the emerging movement have been battled through the centuries by the church. Much of the aberrant teaching being promoted by the “emerging” church leaders already appeared long ago in the church under such error as Palagianism and Socinianism.

While Bell’s videos are emotionally touching, I believe that in a certain sense, this emotional tugging at the heart of people can be dangerous when intermingled with heretical teaching. Emotions are powerful and when people are emotionally charged, rational thinking has a tendency to be thrown out the door. Once enamored with the emotions induced by videos, music, etc., people are more receptive to whatever information is thrown their way. That is unless they guard their hearts and examine the teaching under close scrutiny like the first century Bereans. (Acts 17:11) This is not to say that emotions are wrong by any means. But emotion MUST be undergirded with the truth. Scripture likens false teaching to harlotry. This is repeated multiple times throughout the Bible. Revelation 2 describes how the church at Thyatira tolerated false teaching and the Lord gives them strong condemnation with a stern warning if they failed to repent. Focus is turned back into the Old Testament (1 Kings) where a prophetess Jezebel seduced God’s people into immorality and false spiritual practices. The title “Jezebel” is used as a pseudonym or pen name for another woman who was much like the OT Jezebel, and introduced false teaching and spiritual harlotry to Thyatira in Revelation 2:18-29. This letter, by the way, is the longest letter to the seven churches. Thyatira was a church dominated by love and good works; in fact, their good works kept increasing. It was probably a place that evoked a strong sense of “community” and “belonging”. However, they committed a grave error in that they tolerated this “Jezebel” to disseminate false teaching right under their noses. Heretical teaching is never tolerated in Scripture regardless of how much it is cloaked in love and good works.

There is a certain “beauty” in false teaching that is at times extremely seductive. This is especially true of many of the points raised by those in the emerging “church” movement. The emotion, compassion and freedom from rules seems to promise liberty, however it is a trap that leads people into spiritual bondage and ultimately away from God. If you want a good picture of the nature of spiritual harlotry, read Proverbs 7 that describes the tactics of a harlot.

What I have observed, as well as many others, is that there are times that what the “emerging” church crowd proclaims is true. But the truth often provides a cover for the egregious error that they introduce. The closer to the truth the error is the more dangerous and deceptive it becomes. Just because they may introduce some helpful insights does not exonerate them of their deep theological error. At times their teaching parallels the teaching of Scripture. The places where they do reflect the teaching of the Bible, it often has the tendency to mask their error and frequently makes the error more palatable. This is especially dangerous in contemporary evangelicalism where biblical illiteracy has run rampant.

We must expose error and guard the truth with the fortitude that we are willing to do whatever it takes to warn people of the dangerous teachings that are entering into evangelicalism. This was the central concern of Paul when he met with the Ephesian elders in Acts 20. He warned that there would be “savage wolves” that would ravage the flock. Also, there would be those from among their own ranks who would also speak “perverse things”, drawing some away to follow them.

“28"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
29"I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
30and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
31"Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.”
(Acts 20:28-31; NASB)

People can be easily drawn in by someone who is a clever communicator, and mistakenly think they are a good teacher. People can be easily influenced by the charisma of a false teacher who is a skilled orator. But what is more important than the delivery of the message is the content of what is being proclaimed. Even Paul did not rely on skilled speech, but rather on knowledge of God so that whatever he said would provide sound substance for the hearer, through the power of God, not through persuasive words filled human wisdom. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 2 Corinthians 10:10; 2 Corinthians 11:6)

“1And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
2For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
3I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,
4and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”
(1 Corinthians 2:1-5; NASB)

“10For they say, "His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible."”
(2 Corinthians 10:10; NASB)

I have heard the phrase “a sense of belonging” applied to a list of important factors when choosing a church home. This is certainly important, but NOT more important than what a church believes doctrinally. The people who attend Brian McLaren’s church probably have a strong feeling of “connectedness” and “belonging”. But the teaching is founded on rank heresy. Here is prime example where people allow their emotional state to dictate their decisions.

I fear that many people are being unduly influenced by men like Bell because they are seeking to escape the spiritual dearth created by the shallowness of much of contemporary evangelicalism. Years of trying to entertain and woo people into the kingdom of God have created a spiritual void and have failed to deliver on its promise to produce a vibrant church. We can have a vibrant faith without throwing away the fundamental truths of Scripture. In fact, truth is foundational for a truly vibrant faith.

The current focus of stressing the importance of what we experience is more important than what we know, this is certain to set people up for deception. The verse in Scripture where people will be enamored by the signs and wonders of the beast comes to mind. (Revelation 13:3-4; 17:8) People are already being conditioned!

Broad Enough for Mormons?

In a previous post about Barna’s stats on the portion of the adult population that are born again (45% according to Barna), I mentioned that the number of people who are actually “born again” are really only 9%. That is if you analyze the categories. The first category is extremely broad and includes 36% of the adult population. The basic criteria is simply “made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.”

The other category that included 7 core biblical beliefs are what I would see as being necessary for a clear definition of saving faith. This was the category that comprised a mere 9% of the adult population.

In a June 2001 article by George Barna, 34% of Mormon adults fall under the category of “born again” according to Barna's broad criteria.

“In total, 34% of the adults who attend a Mormon church say they have made a personal commitment to Christ that is important in their life today and also say that when they die they know they will go to Heaven solely because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.”

This is extremely deceptive and shows just how lacking evangelicalism is in clearly defining the gospel. The lack of clarity is causing confusion and creating lack of discernment. Biblical illiteracy has become so problematic that many simply do not understand what they believe, let alone be able to adequately explain it to others. When someone approaches them from another faith using the same terminology they are familiar with, they readily accept that they are on the same page.

While evangelicals are rapidly losing ground in biblical literacy and discernment, groups such as Mormons have made considerable strides in apologetics and have become extremely deceptive in their tactics.

When we reduce our faith to a lowest common denominator in a supposed attempt to avoid being offensive, thinking that this is the best way to reach people, we do nothing more that leave fertile soil for heresy to take root in the church.

Yes, The Same Pragmatic Approach.

For those who may not be convinced that the "emerging" movement employs the same basic pragmatic approach as the "seeker-sensitive" movement, here is an excerpt from an article in Reformation 21 magazine that makes that observation. Although the characteristics may differ, even significantly, the underlying principle is basically the same. Jason Robertson posted on this some time ago and took some grief over it, but I agree that the principle of pragmatism is basically the same.

"Interestingly, although emergent church leaders disagree with the seeker-sensitive, church-growth model of the church they share the same underlying principle of pragmatism. The reason we need to “re-paint” and “rediscover” Christianity is because the old model doesn’t work anymore. Author’s like Leonard Sweet argue that we need new kind of Christianity, a post-modern Christianity if we have any hope of reaching a post-modern world. Beyond the subtle arrogance of such a proposition there is a beating principle of pragmatism. This movement seems to be fundamentally driven by the question, “what will work?” instead of the Biblical question, “what has God said?”. In the pursuit of “relevance” and “authenticity” - the holy grail of the seeker-sensitive movement 20 years ago and the liberal church before that - this movement is also in danger of leaving historic, biblical Christianity behind. Consequently, it is destined to be one more “ism” in church history which ends up in the garbage heap of failed philosophies." (Emphasis Mine)

[Reformation 21, Review by Dale Van Dyke of Rob Bell's book, "Velvet Elvis: Repainting The Christian Faith"]

The Joy and Hope of the Resurrection of Christ.

Excerpt from:

"Christ Exalted "

or

"Jesus Christ Gloriously Exalted Above All Evil in the Work of Redemption" - 1738
by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

"For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed, is death." (1 Corinthians 15:25, 26)

II. Here is matter of exceeding great encouragement for all sinful miserable creatures in the world of mankind to come to Christ. For let them be as sinful as they will, and ever so miserable; Christ, in the work of redemption, is gloriously exalted above all their sin and misery.

How high soever their guilt has risen, though mountains have been heaping on mountains all the days of their lives, till the pile appears towering up to heaven, and above the very stars; yet Christ in the work of redemption appears gloriously exalted above all this height. — Though they are overwhelmed in a mighty deluge of woe and misery, a deluge that is not only above all their heads, but above the heads of the highest mountains, and they do not see how it is possible that they should escape; yet they have no reason to be discouraged from looking to Christ for help, who in the work of redemption, appears gloriously above the deluge of evil. Though they see dreadful corruption in their hearts, though their lusts appear like giants, or like the raging waves of the sea; yet they need not despair of help, but may look to Christ, who appears in the work of redemption, gloriously above all this corruption.

If they apprehend themselves to be miserable captives of Satan, and find him too strong an adversary for them, and the devil is often tempting and buffeting them, and triumphing over them with great cruelty; if it seems to them that the devil has swallowed them up, and his got full possession of them, as the whale had of Jonah; yet there is encouragement for them to look again, as Jonah did, towards God’s holy temple, and to trust in Christ for deliverance from Satan, who appears so gloriously exalted above him in the work of redemption.

If they are ready to sink with darkness and sorrows, distress of conscience, or those frowns of God upon them, so that God’s waves and billows seem to pass over them; yet they have encouragement enough to look to Christ for deliverance. These waves and billows have before exalted themselves against Christ, and he appeared to be infinitely above them. — And if they are afraid of death, if it looks exceeding terrible, as an enemy that would swallow them up; yet let them look to Christ who has appeared so gloriously above death, and their fears will turn into joy and triumph.

Barna’s Wacky Stats.

According to a new report by George Barna, 45% of adults meet the criteria of being born again. That would mean that close to half of the adult population is born again. But don’t waive the victory flag just yet. A closer look at the criteria reveals something different, at least if you look at things from a biblical perspective.

Barna apparently has two categories of born again Christians. The first one involves a broad definition of those who have “made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.” In this category, the respondents questioned did not describe themselves as born again, but merely met Barna’s criteria. They also did not meet the criteria to be called evangelicals. This category constitutes 36% of the adult population.

The other category is made up of evangelicals who meet the criteria mentioned above, plus the seven "core beliefs that mirror those taught in the Bible." These represent 9% of the adult public. The seven core beliefs are as follows:

• Saying that their faith is very important in their life today
• A belief in the responsibility to share their faith with non-Christians.
• Believing that Satan exists.
• Salvation is only through grace alone, not works.
• Believing in the sinless life of Jesus Christ.
• Affirming the accuracy of the Bible.
• Believing God is all-knowing, all-powerful, the perfect deity who created and rules the universe today.

After reading the article, I had to think to myself “Huh?” The second category more accurately reflects what it means to be born again. How can one claim to possess saving faith without affirming those seven core beliefs? Those are not optional, they are essential! So it seems that the reality is that only 9% are actually “born again” and possess legitimate saving faith.

This effort to make saving faith broad and inclusive is setting up people for deception. It was Jesus who said “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14, NASB)

Christ Our Propitiation.

"4Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him."
(Isaiah 53:4-6, NASB)

When Adam sinned, it brought devastating consequences for all of mankind. As a result of that sin, the perfect relationship that Adam and Eve had with God was severed. Adam was warned that partaking from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would bring death.(Genesis 2:17; 3:19) This produced a curse that was transmitted to all of mankind.(Romans 5:12;6:23) We inherited Adam’s sin nature and we were under a death sentence, ready to receive the wrath of God.

As a result of our sinful disobedience, we were under the curse of the law. (Galatians 3:10, Deuteronomy 27:26) The law provided the means for defining the extent of our disobedience and was the grounds for our indictment. (Romans 3:19-20; 4:15; 5:13; 7:7) Scripture is replete with verses that indicate that we were in danger of the wrath of God.

John 3:36
Romans 1:18; Romans 2:5-6; 2:8
Ephesians 2:3; 5:6
Colossians 3:6

All of us are guilty of sin. (Romans 3:10-12) We were all deserving of just punishment for our sins, but God in His great mercy, provided the perfect sacrifice for sins, a propitiation for our sins. The term propitiation means to appease or pacify in the sense of allaying wrath or anger. Christ absorbed the wrath of God that was directed at us as a result of our sinfulness.

Romans 5:9-10
2 Corinthians 5:21
1 John 4:10


Scripture is quite clear on this matter and it is impossible to go very far in the Bible without running into verses that point out the substitutionary atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. God offered his only Son in our place as a substitute to bear the punishment that we deserved.

"I have heard it said, "God didn’t die for frogs. So he was
responding to our value as humans." This turns grace on its head.
We are worse off than frogs. They have not sinned. They have not
rebelled and treated God with the contempt of being inconsequential
in their lives. God did not have to die for frogs. They
aren’t bad enough. We are. Our debt is so great, only a divine sacrifice
could pay it."
(John Piper, "The Passion of Jesus Christ", pg. 29)

Yet, sadly there are those who want to deny this and go to great lengths to deny and redefine the meaning of what took place on the cross. This is especially true in the emerging "church" movement. Observe the following quote by Brian McLaren in an interview with Leif Hanson:

McLaren: This is, one of the huge problems is the traditional understanding of hell. Because if the cross is in line with Jesus’ teaching then—I won’t say, the only, and I certainly won’t say even the primary—but a primary meaning of the cross is that the kingdom of God doesn’t come like the kingdoms of the this world, by inflicting violence and coercing people. But that the kingdom of God comes through suffering and willing, voluntary sacrifice. But in an ironic way, the doctrine of hell basically says, no, that that’s not really true. That in the end, God gets His way through coercion and violence and intimidation and domination, just like every other kingdom does. The cross isn’t the center then. The cross is almost a distraction and false advertising for God.

This is not the only incident of this philosophy. There is more. And this really is nothing new. I will be posting more on this subject soon.

The Message of the Gospel.

Contemporary Evangelicalism in an attempt to make the gospel less threatening and more relevant has inadvertently muddled the message of the gospel. Evangelicalism is rapidly losing the ability to proclaim the message of saving faith with any clarity and boldness. Central to the gospel is the cross and it seems that there is a growing reluctance for the cross to be preached from the pulpits of our churches. To put it in a term that John MacArthur used as the title for his book, the church is “Ashamed of the Gospel”.

But the cross is central to the preaching of the gospel, and its emphasis in the presentation of the message of saving faith is crucial. However, the cross is offensive to the world. Scripture explicitly tells us that it is “foolishness to those who are perishing”. (1 Corinthians 1:18) Yet without the preaching of the cross, you really do not have the gospel at all. Any attempt at toning down or making it less offensive robs it of its power. The message of the cross is death, the death that Christ had to suffer to atone for the sins of man. Paul summarizes the key tenets of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5.

“1Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
2by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”
(1 Corinthians 15:1-5, NASB)

Central to the gospel is the fact that Christ died for our sins and was resurrected on the third day. Christ died for our sins, not to restore our self esteem or merely to give us purpose in our lives. He did not come to merely carry our burdens in life. He died to provide the perfect sacrifice for the atonement of our sins. To preach a gospel that deemphasizes the centrality of the cross essentially makes the message of saving faith powerless. We must understand that we are guilty of sinning against a just and holy God and that Christ suffered greatly in our place in order for us to enjoy a restored relationship with God the Father. To diminish the significance of the cross grieves God.

“The Great Commission is not a marketing manifesto...We gain nothing but God’s displeasure if we seek to remove the offense of the cross.”
(John MacArthur; “Ashamed of the Gospel: When the Church Becomes Like the World”, Pg. 18)

But even more disturbing are the latest attempts at re-thinking or to use a term gaining in popularity today, “re-imagining” the cross. I will be posting more on this topic in future posts.