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Note carefully the indefinite article. This sermon
will examine Evangelical the noun. I am not
speaking about being evangelical. In that
sense, the word evangelical is an adjective
describing ones attitude toward sharing the gospel.
I am not repudiating my Christian faith, but rather
the identification associated with a particular
group identified in our American culture as
“Evangelical Christians.”
I once identified myself as an Evangelical
Christian. However, the meaning of words change
over time and through usage. The word
“Fundamentalist” was once a positive term used to
identify Bible believing Christians who held to the
fundamentals of the faith and rejected the
liberalizing trends occurring in main line
denominations. R.A Torrey wrote a powerful series
of books published in 1917 called “The
Fundamentals.” His books encouraged many to stay
true to the Word of God and led to opening of
independent Bible churches and new Bible colleges
and seminaries. However, by the 1970's, the term
“Fundamentalist” became associated with a more rigid
and legalistic brand of Christians. Vitriolic name
calling, accusations of being “too liberal,” debates
over clothing and hair styles, led some Christians
to shy away from being identified as a
Fundamentalist. The new more appealing term was to
be identified as an Evangelical.
Now, 30 years after my predecessors abandoned the
“Fundamentalist” moniker, I am suggesting we abandon
the Evangelical brand.
The reasoning for this lies in the false message
taught by the most visibly identified leaders of the
current movement known as Evangelical Christians.
Today, the term “Evangelical” is often associated
with spiritual leaders who reject the truth of the
Bible.
There is great confusion in America today concerning
what it means to be a Christian. According to a
2007 survey conducted by the Barna Research
Group,42% of Americans claim to be born again. This
is based upon their answers to two questions: 1)
"have you ever made a personal commitment to Jesus
Christ that is still important in your life today?"
and, 2) "when I die, I will go to Heaven because I
have confessed my sins and have accepted Jesus
Christ as my savior." Individuals who answered "yes"
to the first question and select this statement as
their belief about their own salvation are then
categorized as "born again."
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=8
I seriously doubt that 42% of the population possess
a genuine relationship with Christ through faith.
Simply examine the wickedness in our society and the
relatively few number of people who live in any
accordance with the Word of God (1 John 2:3-6).
Perhaps more accurate is Barna’s question
identifying whether or not a person could be
considered an Evangelical Christian. The 2007
survey found 8% of population that could be
identified as “Evangelical.” These individuals met
the “born again” criteria, plus seven additional
questions: 1) their faith is very important in their
life today; 2) believing they have a personal
responsibility to share their religious beliefs
about Christ with non-Christians; 3) believing that
Satan exists; 4) believing that eternal salvation is
possible only through grace, not works; 5) believing
that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; 6)
asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it
teaches; 7) God is the all-knowing, all-powerful,
perfect deity who created the universe and still
rules it today.
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=17
It is not the people who identify themselves as
Evangelicals that concerns me. It is the leaders
who claim to represent Christ, yet teach another
gospel. In Paul’s letter to the church of Galatia
we read, "If anybody is preaching to you a gospel
other than what you accepted, let him be eternally
condemned!" (Galatians 1:9, NIV).
Today, many key leaders who identify themselves as
“EVANGELICAL” are teaching a false Christian
message.
These changes have been
happening over the past 25 years, beginning with
Bill Hybels “seeker” movement.
Many of the theological
problems today were born out of good intentions.
During the past 25 years,
leaders in the Evangelical movement emphasize
methods over doctrine.
At its core, this is a
Theological issue.
We are seeing a replay of the liberalizing trends
that took place in the main line denominations
almost 100 years ago. Then, church leaders sought
academic acceptance in the face of their peers
in colleges and universities and in print through
books and scholarly journals. Church leaders could
not stand up to the critics who undermined the
authority of Scriptures and the miracles of the
Bible. Little by little, leaders sought academic
relevance and accommodated their theology to satisfy
the objections and insults of the academic world.
Over several decades, denominations that once were
solidly biblical rejected the teachings of the
virgin birth, miracles of Christ, and the
inspiration of Scripture. Missions and evangelism
were replaced with a social gospel, and a new
generation of church goers were raised hearing
sermons devoid of Biblical truth.
Today, the evangelical church is going through the
same cycle as the denominations did 80 years ago.
Once again, church leaders are embarrassed before
their peers. This time it is not academic
acceptance they seek, but rather cultural
acceptance. Spiritual leaders today are hounded
by post-moderns because the Christian message
proclaims certainty in a world of moral relativism.
Some leaders are embarrassed to teach doctrines that
are culturally offensive to post-moderns. The
doctrines of sin, hell and redemption through Christ
are particularly offensive to post-modern thinkers.
At first, these doctrines remained untaught by
teachers embarrassed before their post-modern
peers. Now they are openly rejected as leaders are
more influenced by post-modern thinking than
biblical exegesis. Coming full circle, we have
returned to an emphasis on the social gospel.
Church leaders rush to gain cultural relevance and
to appear sensitive as they promote the hot issues
of the day such as global warming, environmentalism,
health care, etc.
When we are NOT REACHING people with the gospel, we
cannot bear the thought of our own failure, so we
begin to WATER DOWN what the Bible teaches about
HELL, SALVATION, and the NEED for FAITH in CHRIST
ALONE.
What is happening to the church today?
First of all, we’ve stopped talking about the
LOST
25 years ago, the “unsaved”
became the “unchurched.” This was the paradigm that
propelled Willow Creek Church led by Pastor Bill
Hybels.
Many do not see people as
lost.
During a recent interview
with Robert Schuler, Billy Graham stated that anyone
can get to God regardless of their religion. This
is shocking from someone who preached the gospel
clearly for many years. (Christian J. Pinto,
“Megiddo,” Adullam Films).
In 1 John 5:1-5, we read “everyone born of God
overcomes the world. . . . Who is it that overcomes
the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the
Son of God." In contrast to what many
evangelical teachers say under the pressure to be
more graceful in a society ruled by tolerance and
non-judgment, the Bible declares plainly that only
through Jesus can one claim to be the child of God.
Further, Acts 4:12 says, "Salvation is found in
no one else, for there is no other name under heaven
given to men by which we must be saved.”" In
John’s gospel we read, "Whoever believes in him
is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
stands condemned already because he has not believed
in the name of God’s one and only Son" (John
3:18, NIV). "Whoever believes in the Son has
eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not
see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John
3:36, NIV).
Well intentioned leaders like Billy Graham are
contributing to a growing ecumenical movement that
will come into full bloom during the tribulation
period under the leadership of the false prophet.
The fact that this movement is obvious to us today
is one strong indication that the stage is set for
the rapture of the church and the brief but
devastating reign of the anti-Christ and the false
prophet (Matt 24:4-5, 11; 2 Thess 2:3-12; Rev
13:11-18).
There exists today an attitude of tolerance that
regardless of your beliefs, behavior or thoughts
about God, sincerity and human kindness will gain
God’s favor and the right to earthly and eternal
blessings. As God’s people we reject this false
belief because it holds people in ignorance and
condemns them to eternal separation from God.
The next major departure among Evangelical leaders
is that we’ve stopped talking about hell.
Emergent church leader Brian McLaren summarizes
what many like him believe: “The language of hell,
in my view, like the language of biblical prophecy
in general, is not intended to provide literal or
detailed fortune-telling or prognostication about
the hereafter, nor is it intended to satisfy
intellectual curiosity, but rather it is intended to
motivate us in the here and now to realize our
ultimate accountability to a God of mercy and
justice and in that light to rethink everything
and to seek first the kingdom and justice of
God.” (Brian McLaren, “The Last Word,” 188).
Contrary to McLaren’s viewpoint, the Word of God has
been given to us so that we might have the “mind of
Christ.” (Romans 8:9). God fully intends for us to
understand spiritual truth. McLaren encourages us
to “rethink everything.” This suggestion is not
new. The Colossian church was told that their faith
in Christ was insufficient to satisfy their
spiritual need. Paul countered this idea when he
wrote. "My purpose is that they may be encouraged
in heart and united in love, so that they may have
the full riches of complete understanding, in order
that they may know the mystery of God, namely,
Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:2-3, NIV).
We don’t have to re-think everything. We simply
have to gain the Lord’s instruction through His
Word. "As for you, the anointing you received
from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone
to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about
all things and as that anointing is real, not
counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in
him" (1 John 2:27, NIV).
There exists today a cultural offense toward anyone
who teaches an authoritative message. We must
recognize this false and evil philosophy and
proclaim the message of the Gospel as “men sent from
God.” "Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word
of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we
speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from
God" (2 Corinthians 2:17, NIV).
A third theological compromise
for Evangelicals is that they we’ve stopped
believing in the Bible. Tony Jones of the
Emergent Church Movement made a shocking and
disturbing public comment when he said, “The Bible
is an ‘f-----ing scary book.” (Ken Silva,
www.aprising.org/archives/2007/03/tony_jones_of_t.html).
This speaker is not a fringe personality. He has
repeatedly spoken at Wheaton college.
Even more popular than Tony Jones is Rob Bell,
pastor of Mars Hill church. Many churches follow
Bell’s model of ministry. He is regarded by many as
the most influential Emergent pastor. He wrote,
“The Bible itself is a book that constantly must be
wrestled with and re-interpreted. Scripture alone
will not answer all of our questions” (Rob Bell in
an interview in which he spoke about his book,
“Velvet Elvis, Repainting the Christian Faith,”
(http://www.beliefnet.com/story/173/story_17301_2.html).
The interviewer continues,
“Bell also shakes up traditional evangelical
beliefs. While calling Christ’s way ‘the best
possible way to live,’ Bell writes that Jesus did
not claim one religion is better than another when
he said he was “the way, the truth and the life.”
Rather, he writes, “his way is the way to the depth
of reality.” As a follower of Jesus, Bell says he
is free to claim the truth “wherever he finds it.”
“One of the lies is that truth only resides in this
particular community or that particular thought
system,” Bell says. “I affirm the truth the truth
anywhere in any religious system, in any world
view. If it’s true, it belongs to God.”
(Charles Honey,
www.beliefnet.com/story/173_17301_1.html)
This dim view of the plain meaning of Scripture is
based in post-modern philosophy that holds that
truth is something uncertain, always changing and
open to interpretation. The most upsetting thing
one can do to a post-modern is to claim that
something is true. However, the meaning of the
Bible is clear. In 1 Corinthians 2:6-15we are told
that the rulers of this world do not understand the
things of God. “We have not received the spirit
of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that
we may understand what God has freely given us.
. . .The man without the Spirit does not accept the
things that come from the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand
them, because they are spiritually discerned. The
spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but
he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment"
(1 Corinthians 2:12-15, NIV). "For the wisdom of
this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is
written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”;"
(1 Corinthians 3:19, NIV). Teachers like Bell
might have started with a solid Biblical background
and a desire to reach people with the gospel. But
somewhere in their quest to relate to the
post-modern mind they became so thoroughly
post-modern that their message is no longer the
message of the gospel. Without realizing it, they
become more post-modern than biblical, to the point
of no longer clearly presenting the claims of
salvation.
There exists an assault against believing and
proclaiming the difficult truths of the Bible. We
must affirm our belief in the Scriptures in their
literal and plain sense.
Another departure seen in Evangelicalism today is
that we have moved from sharing the Gospel to
improving people’s lives. Joel Osteen leads the
largest church in America. His books and television
program have great impact on millions. His weekly
invitation sounds like the gospel, but it is
incomplete because he does not speak of sin,
repentance, hell or the absolute necessity of the
cross. In a recent message, Osteen preached that
“Jesus died to give you freedom, freedom from bad
habits and addictions, freedom from worry, freedom
from discouragement and depression, freedom from
poverty and lack, freedom from low self esteem. He
didn’t create you to be average, to barely get by.
We’ve got to get the right vision, to walk in divine
health, to have good relationships, to have plenty
to pay your bills.”
This is not the gospel. Recently, a missionary in
Italy was thrilled to see his first Italian convert
after four years of ministry in one small town.
After this young man trusted Christ, he was thrown
out by his father for “wasting his life.” If he had
been listening to Osteen’s gospel, he would have
been disillusioned with the results of his
conversion. His experience is exactly what Jesus
warned of when He said, "For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father, a daughter against her
mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law"
(Matthew 10:35, NIV). The voluminous testimony
of Scripture repudiates every aspect of Osteen’s
message. "But if we have food and clothing, we
will be content with that" (1 Timothy 6:8).
"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do
not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature;
rather, serve one another in love" (Galatians
5:13, NIV). "For the love of money is a root of
all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money,
have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves
with many griefs" (1 Timothy 6:10, NIV).
At a recent youth ministry conference at Willow
Creek, Brian McLaren said, “we’re in a period of
profound shift in our world today, and what has been
familiar to us and our churches is in some ways
shaking and crumbling and being reconfigured. Youth
ministry in the postmodern world must stop pointing
out to teens the faults of non-Christian religions,
because postmodern people do not view critiques
positively. The kids walk out thinking, ‘man, I
don’t want to be a Christian because Christians are
always attacking everybody else.’ So you end up
giving the opposite message you intended to give
because they’re living in a world where to be
critical seems like it’s dangerous because they’re
worried that people are going to kill each other and
blow each other up. We’ve got to realize the storm
is occurring and the landscape is changing.”
(David Roach, SBC.net posted on April 18, 2008).
We must recognize that just as there is truth, there
is also error. Truth will become the casualty of
well intentioned theological pacifism. I encourage
you to recognize the philosophy promoted by this
kind of false teaching and reject it! Embrace
certainty! Embrace the Word of God! Embrace
truth! Embrace Salvation! Embrace Grace!
MacLaren writes about a “scene change.” He is
right, but the coming scene change is the Rapture of
the church, and many who follow the false teaching
of today’s so called Evangelical leaders will be
greatly disillusioned when they find themselves
participants in God’s judgment and blinded by the
deception of the anti-Christ (2 Thessalonians
2:3-12).
The illustrations above are just some of the false
teachings of many who are recognized as leaders of
the Evangelical movement. Perhaps you know why I no
longer will call myself an Evangelical. If you must
have a category to place me in, you can call me a
born again, blood bought, spirit washed, water
baptized, Bible believing, soul winning, doctrine
preaching, disciple making, sanctified, separated,
waitin’ for the rapture and praying’ for
grandchildren child of God through faith in
suffering, death and resurrection of the sinless,
perfect son of God who died for me!
Consider the warning of this passage as you discern
the teaching of our day: "Timothy, guard what
has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from
godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is
falsely called knowledge, which some have professed
and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace
be with you" (1 Timothy 6:20-21, NIV).
©2008 Paul Barreca
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