• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
‘‘
GGiimmmmeeTThhaattOOllee--TTiimmeeRReelliig g iioonn
 
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads
to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gateand difficult is the way, which leads to life, and there are few who find it.(Matthew 7:13-14 NKJ)
 
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for 
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God
may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work…Pr 
each the word!Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with alllongsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not enduresound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itchingears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their earsaway from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all
things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
(2 Timothy 3:16-17; 4:1-5 NKJ)
 
Apostasy results
 
when the Church conforms to the secular culture around it.
So who‟s
influencing whom in American Christendom today? And if the Church here is losing itsdistinctiveness, what can be done about it? With these challenging questions in mind, consider
the following article (excerpts) written by Gene Edward Veith, entitled “Unbelieving „born
-
agains‟.”
 
“Research continues to reveal a steady theological collapse among professing Christians in America.
 
Secularists, liberals, and Muslims do not need to fear conservative Christians, says Dave Shiflett in TheWall Street Journal. Christians, he says, are not all that interested in converting the heathen. They don'treally believe that there is such a thing as the heathen, tending to believe instead that every religion isequally valid. Even the most feared of Christians
—
the dread 'born-agains' who have cost the high priests atPeople for the American Way so much sleep
—
often embrace the modern orthodoxies of tolerance andinclusion over the traditional teachings of their faith."
 He cites,
"poll data from Christian researcher George Barna that 26 percent of even “born
-
agains” believe
all religions are essentially the same and that 50 percent believe that a life of good works will enable a person to get to heaven."
He goes on though, to cite data that cast doubt on whether some of theseborn-again Christians will be there.
"More than one in three (35 percent) born-again Christians do notbelieve that Jesus rose physically from the dead. Slightly more born-again Christians believe in the devilthan believe in the Holy Spirit... Ten percent believe in reincarnation. Twenty-nine percent believe it is possible to communicate with the dead.
 
 As for moral issues, one out of three born-again Christians (33 percent), according to Mr. Barna'snumbers, accepts same-sex unions. More than one out of three (39 percent) believe it is morally acceptable for couples to live together before marriage. And, significantly, born-again Christians are more likely thannon-Chris
tians to have experienced divorce (27 percent vs. 24 percent)…
 
Obviously this is strong evidence of how American Christianity is conforming to the dominant secular culture. It is all right to be religious, according to the dictates of postmodernism, as long as your faithexists just in your head. If you start claiming that your beliefs are more than just a private mental statethat makes you feel good, asserting instead that what you believe is objectively real and valid for everybody,then you are an into
lerant menace to society…"
 
 
The article goes on to report that,
"Preachers sometimes exhort people to "invite Jesus into your heart"without proclaiming whom Jesus is and what He has done for sinners. This is evangelism that forgets to preach the gospel. The result will be "non-evangelical born-agains." New Christians, like babies, need to be fed, taught, and cared for; otherwise, they will die in their cribs. What they need is intensive nourishment
 from the Word of God.”
 
Translation...
Bad theology is often the offspring of those who marry secular marketing techniquewith church growth theory. Yes, we can draw crowds with preaching that offers blessings
without need of God‟s forgiveness, and His salvation apart from their repentance. But, ministry is
to bui
ld depth (Eph. 4:12), while God supplies breadth (Acts 2:47). Apparently, we‟re doing a
great job of attracting, and romancing unbelievers
—
but now that we have their attention, whatare we really teaching them? Perhaps a better balance can be struck betwee
n our “thinkingglobally and acting locally.”
 Surely, we are to have ambitious plans for the advancement of the kingdom, and yes, we arecalled to be culturally relevant. But in our approach to reach the world, we seem to have adopteda fractured world-view, splintered across myriad affinity groups and community outreachprograms that individually target the post-
modern‟s: boomers, busters, crooks, cults, gen
-Xers,
 Jews, Muslims, seekers, singles, seniors, …and any other demographic dimension you can
imagi
ne. But if all of our demonstrated empathy to attract the lost doesn‟t ultimately lead to their
repentance, why bother going through the motions?
Unfortunately, in the process of attempting to accommodate such diversity, we‟re also tempted to
embrace a to
lerance for “broad road” views that seem to be elevating human wisdom over that ofGod‟s. We are called to enter the “narrow gate” and maybe that requires we advocate people first
count the cost of having the Lord be Savior. If salvation is a work of God (Jn. 6:65), why do wefeel that anyone other than the elect will respond in a genuine fashion to the Gospel anyway?Sadly, both our methods and the message tend to be compromised in our outreach approaches.As an international cultural strategist and lead pastor of Mosaic Church, Erwin McManuscircumnavigates worldview barriers differently. His outreach includes a populace so diverse thatthey share few of our Christian presuppositions. McManus suggests that regardless of whatcultural bent we start with, t
he “touch
-
points” that all of humanity will resonate with include:
that life has meaning, that a significant destiny awaits each of us, and that these are found in thecontext of community, as part of the family of God. He reports that once they establish arelationship of trust on these fronts (with any affinity group), seekers embrace the Gospelmessage.As for post-conversion progress, statistics also bear-out an abysmal grasp of even the historicfundamentals of the faith including: the deity of Christ, salvation by grace through faith (inChrist), and the inspiration-inerrancy of Scripture. Aside from evangelicals, there also seems to
be little that‟s being taught to advance even a modest understanding of hermeneutics, for
appropriating Biblical truth. At a minimum, American congregants need to identify with the
dispensational truth of the “Church age” across four broad themes, namely that we are to be:
saved, sanctified, Spirit-filled and (dare I say it) that we be prepared to suffer for ouruncompromising faith.Essentially, the Church is called to be
distinctive
, and not perceived as “lukewarm”(Rev. 3:14
-22).As a result, we need to stay committed to preaching the full counsel of God in an unadulteratedfashion (Acts 2:38-41). In addition to staying
true to the “ole time” message, we need to reinforcethe pulpit‟s impact in at least three key areas when it comes to our core membership tracks:
 
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...