Tolerance and Worldly Preaching

I have to wonder sometimes if while entrenched in a culture that preaches tolerance, Christians let the world's greatest commandment-"thou shall not judge"-infiltrate our thinking without even knowing it. This idea that the church should not judge anyone on any matter lest we be accused of not being loving. Don't get me wrong, we do want to be loving in all that we do but love does not separate itself from discerning what is true and what is false (1 Corinthians 13:6), particularly when falsehood has crept into the church. I have seen this affect the way we deal with "preachers" who have dumb-downed the gospel and preaching. Many factors may contribute to this, including our low view of God's word and preaching, but I do think we have let tolerance take priority over the biblical command to stand firm on God's truth and oppose those who water it down by their methods and message. This must not be so...there is too much at stake (see Titus 1:9-16).

How would the preachers of old respond to what goes on in the church today? By comparison, we would probably look like cowards.

Neglecting Such a Great Salvation

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

(Hebrews 2:1-3a)

This passage in the book of Hebrews was written to the church to serve as a great warning in regards to the new covenant. In knowing the just retribution that came with neglecting the Mosaic law which was given by angels (see Leviticus 26:14-39; Numbers 15:30-31), the writer makes a lesser-to-greater argument by emphasizing the greater judgment that came with neglecting the salvation through Jesus Christ that was proclaimed by God Himself. The overarching principle is that the gospel that God has proclaimed through Christ is so important, that God will judge all men who neglect it.

While it is a great tragedy when a person who is lost in their sins hears the gospel message only to neglect it and walk away indifferent, what is even a greater shame is when the church neglects this gospel message that has been entrusted to us by God. Instead, we turn to shameful and irreverent schemes that have nothing to do with the Christ. Whether it is during a Sunday morning worship service or at a youth conference, the church has perverted the gospel to appeal to carnal men. We claim to care about the souls of men but in reality our methods show that we only care about numbers and getting "decisions" for Christ. If we truly were concerned for the salvation of men, then we would be faithful to preach the God's word, which is the only medium that is sufficient to bring lost sinners to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:15) and thus bring them to repentance and faith in Christ (2 Kings 22:11; Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18) and guide them into all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:3).

I've seen this at it's worst this week in Houston, TX. A conference that prides itself on being "the most anticipated inner city multi church student conference in Houston, Texas" is busy spreading its Christless and worldly Christianity to 1,000+ youth. As you walk through the website and watch some of the highlights, you will see that the preacher has been replaced by the comedian and the storyteller and the message has been replaced with silly illustrations and bad jokes. Even worse, rather than proclaiming the gospel and God's word, the "pastors" and "speakers" feel it necessary to hold sessions on how teens can be prepared for their "first time". And this is all done in the name of "love".

This is where parents and churches are sending their youth, and sadly, churches across the evangelical landscape have used these antics to replace the message that Paul said was "of most importance" ( 1 Corinthians 15:3). The only message that is the power of God to save, sanctify and glorify the sinner (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2).  So rather than proclaiming this gospel message, the church turns to man-centered and man-made strategies that may produce results that look good on paper but in God's scheme of things, do nothing to profit the souls of men.

It's a sobering thing when we see those lost and dead in their trespasses and sins turn away from the only way to find reconciliation to a holy and righteous God but what's just as frightening (if not even more) is when pastors and teachers, those very men that are called to preach this message of reconciliation to the lost, ignore God's message and method and replace it with their own. I pray that God would awaken our hearts and unplug our ears to pay careful attention to this great salvation so that we use God's means to preach God's message for God's glory.

The Gospel According to 2Pac

I came across a website for a young adult service that meets to discuss the bible in a q&a session. I was immediately drawn to a statement on their home page.

‘“God ain’t mad at ya” The biggest myth we help people come into realization is just that, God is not mad at you, nor is He turning His back on you because of poor choices. The fact is where sin increased; God’s grace increased all the more, Romans 5:20 (NIV).’

Immediately I thought of Psalm 5:5 where the Psalmist says that “God hates workers of iniquity.”

Several questions popped into my head regarding the pastor’s theology so I sent him an email and questioned him on his belief that God is not angry with the wicked, as well as his use of Romans 5:20 to support this view. There are a few ministries here in Houston that use this same theme to reach the lost. Just check out http://www.godaintmadatya.com/.

I received a lengthy (3 pages) response as the pastor attempted to lay out his position. While I found numerous disagreements on his poor use of Scripture as well as his stance on certain attributes of God, it wasn’t until the his last paragraph that I saw the foundation of his loose and low view of God and His word.

“According to every Christian publication plus News Week, this generation only has 14%-17% believers in Jesus and the bible as the infallible truth of God. My generation is 35% and my parent’s generation, the WWII people was 85%. It does not take a rocket scientist to realize if the Church as a whole does not change its ways of confrontation Christianity and begin to teach the grace of God instead of pointing out the speck in our brother’s eye, the church as we know it is close to an end.”

So his entire theology is not driven by the truth laid out in God’s word, but by the results of obscure surveys done by secular and Christian publications. His bad theology is just another fruit of the seeker-sensitive movement that considers more of what the public says, rather than what God says.

According to the pastor, it may be the end of the Church as we know it…at least that’s what the surveys suggest. So what does this cause him to do? Water down the truth and make an image of God that is more palatable to his audience so that they won’t be turned. This is a dangerous mindset that leads to all sorts of false teachings and unbiblical methods of reaching the lost.

We do not tamper with God‘s word simply because we aren‘t getting the results we want. (2 Corinthians 4:1-2). We are not co-authors but ambassadors for Christ who make an appeal on behalf of Christ…not on behalf of what the public wants, regardless if people are being turned off by the truth or not (2 Corinthians 5:20).

When we do make a decision to change and tweak the gospel for the sake of results, it reveals a few things:

1. We are not trusting in the sovereignty of God and His plan for salvation. We know that if our message is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 4:3). Who are we to try to convince someone of truth by watering-down the truth and not making it truth after all? It is up to God to give them eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand (John 1:12-13, Acts 16:14).


2. We are in danger of preaching another gospel, which is no gospel at all! Some of Paul’s serious warnings were against those who were preaching a different gospel(Galatians 1:6-9). Rather than distorting the message to receive the approval of men, we must always remember that the gospel was not taught to us by men but received through a revelation of Jesus Christ from the Holy Spirit. If it’s anyone’s approval we desire, it should be God’s (Galatians 1:10-12).
   
3. Our sufficiency is found in statistics, surveys, and man-made methods rather than the Scriptures. When results become our final authority on whether or not our message is effective and true, we undermine God’s word and let the whims and opinions of carnal human beings be our guide.

In the end, we know that as stewards of God’s truth, successful evangelism does not hinge on the hearer’s response. We know that without the ordinance of God, men will not respond to the gospel. We are the givers of truth and God is the giver of faith so successful evangelism is when we preach the biblical gospel in season and out of season in hopes that God will bring sinners to their senses and grant them repentance (2 Timothy 2:25-26, 2 Timothy 4:2).

So then what do we do if people are turned off? We preach the gospel. What do we do if it is received well? We preach the gospel. Why? Because we are not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16)!