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)!

Hillsong United Conference (pt. 1)

If you are familiar with contemporary Christian worship, then you have more than likely heard of Hillsong United the youth ministry of Sydney’s megachurch, Hillsong

Recently, Hillsong United held its annual conference here in Houston, TX at Grace Community Church (not to be confused with John MacArthur’s church. The weekend was packed with workshops, breakout sessions and concerts, all led by members and pastors associated with United.

My girlfriend and I had the opportunity to attend, thanks to my brother who works at The Houston Chronicle. Our first stop was in a workshop titled “Agents of Change”. According to the program guide, Hillsong youth pastor Chrishan Jeyaratnam would be exploring “some of the fundamentals of what it takes to create a great culture within our youth ministry”.

Speaking before a large audience, Jeyaratnam urged everyone to encourage our youth to believe in themselves and follow their dreams by speaking positive words of faith into their lives. This was the basic principal laid out in his message. He briefly stressed the importance of evangelism but never really explained exactly what he meant by it. In today’s wide wacky world of evangelicalism, this could mean anything.

What caught my attention were his comments on how to deal with young people who are falling into temptation and sexual sin. According to Jeyaratnam, there are two ways to prevent sinful behavior.

“It's really easy see a problem and jump on it by telling young people, 'you know what, you shouldn’t be sleeping around, you‘re sending yourself to hell, you‘re going to catch an STD'.”

Rather than "preaching against something", and this something being sin, his advice is that we “speak life” into their situation and use positive words.

“You can come into the situation and preach life into something…and encourage them to be who they are called to be.”

However, Ezekiel makes it clear that we are to “warn a wicked man to turn from his way” and if he continues in his sin, he “shall die in his iniquity” (Ezekiel 33:9). If we see someone blindly walking towards the edge of a cliff, the loving thing to do would be to warn them that the path they are on leads to a 1,000 foot fall and ultimately to their death.

Addressing the issue of sexual sin in the body of Christ, Paul orders the Corinthians to expel a brother who is willfully sinning. This sobering demand of excommunication only emphasizes the dreadful effects of sin and the urgency to discipline someone who is living a lifestyle that leads to death and corrupts the fellowship of believers. This principle was used to teach the offender a lesson and differs vastly from the Jeyaratnam’s idea to “speak life” into someone who is caught in sin. By disobeying the scriptures in this matter, he may actually be “speaking death” into a person.

He spent the final 12 minutes stressing the importance of “just having fun” in the youth ministry by telling stories of stunts and pranks pulled by fellow believers back in his church. Using John 10:10 to support his claim, he blames the enemy for stealing our fun and says Jesus came to give us an abundant life! Paul had a different approach for the youth of his day. He realized the trials, temptations and tribulations that lied ahead for young Timothy so he exhorted him to train himself in godliness (1 Timothy 4:7) and to preach the Word in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2). A far cry from simply “having fun”, Paul’s standard for Timothy were not bound by his age. In fact, Timothy was called to be an example in his speech, life, love, faith, and purity for all believers (1 Timothy 4:12).

While what may have seemed like an innocent and heartfelt message from Jeyaratnam, pastors and teachers who simply pamper the youth will only bring them grief in the end (Proverbs 29:21). Instead, let us promote young people to absorb themselves daily in the reading, preaching and teaching of scripture (1 Timothy 4:9). And in due season, may they grow up to be like a tree planted by the streams, flourishing and growing in the Word of God and yielding fruit for His kingdom (Psalm 144:12, Psalm 1:3).