...truth in a form of fiction
Global Pew Warming is the sad truth that large majorities of the people who are in the church today are not born again believers as defined by scripture. (See First John.) They are people who have been convinced, through various means, that church is good for their life and their family. They have been convinced that they need to add God to their lives in order to be more complete. They have been convinced that going to church can be fun, exciting and a great benefit to their sense of well-being. They have been shown that the church can compete weekly with anything in the secular world in order to attract their attention.
A consequence of this epidemic is already being seen in the food supply. Genetic modifications have been made to the good seed and have caused fruit production to decrease to levels that have not been seen in our lifetime. The fruit that is being produced by this modified seed lacks the ability to provide necessary nutrition and ultimately, to sustain life. Though it has only been used in production for a relatively short time, this bad seed is showing its inability to produce lasting results.
Massive amounts of resources have been used to grow this church environmental nightmare. Money is thrown at anything that will get people in the doors. Time and energy are expended by well-meaning members as they are given tasks that are supposed to be building the church. Methods, no matter how harmful, are legitimized and become the accepted norm as long as they work to the desired end; bring in lots of people, keep them happy and have lots of programs for them to support that make them feel good about things in their lives.
Who is responsible for this Global Pew Warming?
While I am sure that there is enough blame to go around, the responsibility for this seems to fall squarely at the feet of leaders, specifically leaders in the church.
Many leaders in what is called the church today have become addicted to Big Church, Big Production, Big Budget, Big Buildings, Big Debt, Big TV, Big Crowds and Big Success. In their pursuit of these goals, the biblical environment that is supposed to exist in the church has been polluted to the point that it is hardly recognizable. What we see today is a result of years of neglect. The outlook seems to be very bleak.
Is change possible? In truth, yes and no.
For many of these leaders, because of their addiction, their goals and desires, when confronted with the need for change, they can only give it lip service. They see clearly that reform is needed to correct the problems associated with Global Pew Warming but the cost is just too great. If they initiate reform and return to biblical truth, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all its exclusivity, people will be offended. More than likely, many would choose to leave the church and an exodus like that would trigger a landslide of financial problems, not to mention the programs that would be destroyed. All that time and energy, wasted.
The hope lies in leaders in the church who believe that the Lord is the One who builds His church. They rest securely in the fact that they are called to faithfully preach, teach, disciple and train believers for life and ministry to God. They desire to see the true transforming power of the Gospel at work in the lives of those who are being born again.
So is there hope? Can Global Pew Warming be reversed? I believe so. Here are a few suggestions to get the process started:
*Reduce the toxic emissions of relevance
*Drive less with purpose for life and more with passion for the gospel
*Recycle the Word of God in the church and home
*Eliminate "led" based ideas unless they are biblically sound
*Cut back on energy consumption for things that do not matter for eternity *Promote conservation and preservation of truth
If we begin with these few steps, we may be able to reverse the current effects of Global Pew Warming.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Gospel According to Rick Warren
"The Gospel According to Rick Warren"
Warren predicts that Christian fundamentalism, will be one of the big enemies of the 21st Century.
Statements from The Purpose Driven Church:
"Catching fish on their terms means letting your target determine your approach." (pg 196);
"While most unbelievers aren't looking for truth, they are looking for relief." (pg 226);
"The ground we have in common with unbelievers is not the Bible, but our common needs, hurts and interests as human beings." (pg 295)
REMEMBER SOMETHING SAINTS - When we look for common ground with unbelievers, we never end up with the truth of the Bible.
Rick Warren has subtlety and critically changed the message of the Gospel.
Rick Warren has done for the church what McDonald's has done for the restaurant industry. Unfortunately, the church is not in the hamburger flipping business. Applying franchising principles toChrist's church may result in outward success, but true success cannot be measured by simply reading the bottom line of 'nickels and noses,' buildings and programs. But there is a bottom line by which to measure the church: it is doctrinal integrity. The church is the pillar and support of the truth (I Timothy 3:15). If the church fails in its God-given mission of upholding, defending and propagating the truth then it fails. Period. It is on this level that Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven" agenda is challenged. Is the Warren franchise successful? By every criteria that a retail franchise can be measured, the answer is a clear yes. But how is the Warren franchise doing with the all important commodity of truth is concerned?..."
The Gospel of Rick Warren is not a biblical call to sinners to throw down their rebel arms at the cross and embrace the salvation offered by the Lord Jesus Christ. Nowhere in the Purpose Driven Life are readers told that sinners (what an archaic term now) are under the wrath and curse of God unless they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice on the cross. Rick Warren instead retools the Gospel message to appeal to the unregenerate. He does not believe that God's purposes are declared in his revealed Word, but rather teaches that the unsaved should go on a journey of self-discovery in order to locate God's purposes for their lives.
To Rick Warren, church growth is not the result of the Holy Spirit converting sinners as seen in the book of Acts but is the result of the latest marketing techniques that will make church attractive to those who don't know Jesus Christ. Thousands of churches are now Purpose Driven franchises with success hungry pastors taking their cues and even their sermons from Rick Warren. Rick Warren calls this "Church-in-a-box" and he offers it on his numerous websites. But the true Gospel of Christ, the narrow way that Christ spoke of in the Bible, has been altered to suit the world. Numerical success may be achieved, but the Gospel must be obscured to do it Warren's way.
When original sin and the blood atonement are removed from the message, there is no "good news". The world is then being given a gospel that is false. It really is that serious.
Rick Warren's distaste for Christian fundamentalism is a result of his distaste for the fundamentals of God's Word. Those who insist on hearkening back to the Word of God stand in direct opposition to Warren's "Purpose-Driven" marketing tsunami. Rick's much vaunted PEACE plan, his unprecedented popularity with the secular media and his continuing ascendancy in American evangelicalism is dependent upon those pastors and leaders who are willing to set aside the clear dictates of God's Word in order to ride the coattails of Rick Warren and his temporal success. Fundamentalists get in the way.
In the midst of the marketing hype and popular clamor for Rick Warren's man-centered Gospel, may the clear voice of our Savior Jesus Christ cut through the din. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, and few there be that find it."Matthew 7:13-14
A Purpose Plea to Pastors
Would you let a surgeon operate on you or your family if he didn't know the procedure perfectly? Of course not. How much more accurate should a pastor be with the Gospel that is the power unto salvation?
If you are responsible for introducing the Purpose Driven Life to your church or small group, please consider the following verses. "I (Paul) have laid the foundations like an expert builder. Now others (you) are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful." I Cor.3:10.
How careful have you been in endorsing the Purpose Driven Life? Did you study it with a critical eye? Did you know the theology and history of Rick Warren before you fed Purpose to your sheep? Were you "very careful?"
"There is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone's work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames." (I Cor.3:13-15)
Hold it, it gets worse. Paul tells us that "God will bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple." (v.17)
Uh oh. For 57 pages, Pastor Warren does not describe sin, righteousness, judgment, God's holiness, hell, repentance, shedding of blood, atonement or resurrection. Yet on page 58 of Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Warren invites the reader to become a Christian by "whispering the prayer that will change your eternity." This prayer better be surgically accurate or we have a pastor who is guilty of malpractice (pardon the mixed metaphor). So what is the prayer that will save?
"'Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you.' Go ahead. If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God."
If you believe that James 4:9,10 describes the conversion experience of godly sorrow that leads to repentance, then you recognize that Pastor Warren's presentation of salvation is, and I state this very carefully, not Biblical.
Friend, we can argue about many things in Christianity, but salvation is one message we must have complete accuracy and agreement on. Paul warned that any other Gospel is no Gospel at all. "Let God's curse fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches any other message than the one we told you about. Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him forever be accursed." Gal.1:8
We cannot say, "Well, he sort of presents the Gospel." Jesus shed His blood for this Gospel, we must get it right. Eternity is at stake.
"Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.'" (Mark 1:14,15) "Repent and trust" is the Biblical response to the Gospel, not whispering a prayer. God commands all men everywhere to repent.
Imagine your spouse committed adultery against you and returned to you and said, "Honey, I believe in you and I receive you." Would that be acceptable to you? Why would we think that is acceptable to God? It isn't. That is a false Gospel. That is a damning Gospel.
Luther, Calvin, Moody and Tozer all preached repentance and trust. Charles Spurgeon proclaimed, "While the gospel is a command, it is a two-fold command explaining itself. "Repent ye, and believe the gospel.'"
If you believe that is the only saving Gospel, then you stand at odds with Purpose Driven Life.
While we could discuss the Pastor Warren's faulty forty day premise, man-centered theology, rampant mis-use of Scripture, using a dozen liberal translations and his questionable connections and endorsement by Robert Schuller, his salvation message alone should disqualify Purpose from being promoted in evangelical circles.
Please, you are the shepherd of your flock. Your sheep are being fed another Gospel. You will be judged for this. All I ask is that you consider what I am saying and check it with Scripture. This is your duty.
Warren predicts that Christian fundamentalism, will be one of the big enemies of the 21st Century.
Statements from The Purpose Driven Church:
"Catching fish on their terms means letting your target determine your approach." (pg 196);
"While most unbelievers aren't looking for truth, they are looking for relief." (pg 226);
"The ground we have in common with unbelievers is not the Bible, but our common needs, hurts and interests as human beings." (pg 295)
REMEMBER SOMETHING SAINTS - When we look for common ground with unbelievers, we never end up with the truth of the Bible.
Rick Warren has subtlety and critically changed the message of the Gospel.
Rick Warren has done for the church what McDonald's has done for the restaurant industry. Unfortunately, the church is not in the hamburger flipping business. Applying franchising principles toChrist's church may result in outward success, but true success cannot be measured by simply reading the bottom line of 'nickels and noses,' buildings and programs. But there is a bottom line by which to measure the church: it is doctrinal integrity. The church is the pillar and support of the truth (I Timothy 3:15). If the church fails in its God-given mission of upholding, defending and propagating the truth then it fails. Period. It is on this level that Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven" agenda is challenged. Is the Warren franchise successful? By every criteria that a retail franchise can be measured, the answer is a clear yes. But how is the Warren franchise doing with the all important commodity of truth is concerned?..."
The Gospel of Rick Warren is not a biblical call to sinners to throw down their rebel arms at the cross and embrace the salvation offered by the Lord Jesus Christ. Nowhere in the Purpose Driven Life are readers told that sinners (what an archaic term now) are under the wrath and curse of God unless they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice on the cross. Rick Warren instead retools the Gospel message to appeal to the unregenerate. He does not believe that God's purposes are declared in his revealed Word, but rather teaches that the unsaved should go on a journey of self-discovery in order to locate God's purposes for their lives.
To Rick Warren, church growth is not the result of the Holy Spirit converting sinners as seen in the book of Acts but is the result of the latest marketing techniques that will make church attractive to those who don't know Jesus Christ. Thousands of churches are now Purpose Driven franchises with success hungry pastors taking their cues and even their sermons from Rick Warren. Rick Warren calls this "Church-in-a-box" and he offers it on his numerous websites. But the true Gospel of Christ, the narrow way that Christ spoke of in the Bible, has been altered to suit the world. Numerical success may be achieved, but the Gospel must be obscured to do it Warren's way.
When original sin and the blood atonement are removed from the message, there is no "good news". The world is then being given a gospel that is false. It really is that serious.
Rick Warren's distaste for Christian fundamentalism is a result of his distaste for the fundamentals of God's Word. Those who insist on hearkening back to the Word of God stand in direct opposition to Warren's "Purpose-Driven" marketing tsunami. Rick's much vaunted PEACE plan, his unprecedented popularity with the secular media and his continuing ascendancy in American evangelicalism is dependent upon those pastors and leaders who are willing to set aside the clear dictates of God's Word in order to ride the coattails of Rick Warren and his temporal success. Fundamentalists get in the way.
In the midst of the marketing hype and popular clamor for Rick Warren's man-centered Gospel, may the clear voice of our Savior Jesus Christ cut through the din. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, and few there be that find it."Matthew 7:13-14
A Purpose Plea to Pastors
Would you let a surgeon operate on you or your family if he didn't know the procedure perfectly? Of course not. How much more accurate should a pastor be with the Gospel that is the power unto salvation?
If you are responsible for introducing the Purpose Driven Life to your church or small group, please consider the following verses. "I (Paul) have laid the foundations like an expert builder. Now others (you) are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful." I Cor.3:10.
How careful have you been in endorsing the Purpose Driven Life? Did you study it with a critical eye? Did you know the theology and history of Rick Warren before you fed Purpose to your sheep? Were you "very careful?"
"There is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone's work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames." (I Cor.3:13-15)
Hold it, it gets worse. Paul tells us that "God will bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple." (v.17)
Uh oh. For 57 pages, Pastor Warren does not describe sin, righteousness, judgment, God's holiness, hell, repentance, shedding of blood, atonement or resurrection. Yet on page 58 of Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Warren invites the reader to become a Christian by "whispering the prayer that will change your eternity." This prayer better be surgically accurate or we have a pastor who is guilty of malpractice (pardon the mixed metaphor). So what is the prayer that will save?
"'Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you.' Go ahead. If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God."
If you believe that James 4:9,10 describes the conversion experience of godly sorrow that leads to repentance, then you recognize that Pastor Warren's presentation of salvation is, and I state this very carefully, not Biblical.
Friend, we can argue about many things in Christianity, but salvation is one message we must have complete accuracy and agreement on. Paul warned that any other Gospel is no Gospel at all. "Let God's curse fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches any other message than the one we told you about. Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him forever be accursed." Gal.1:8
We cannot say, "Well, he sort of presents the Gospel." Jesus shed His blood for this Gospel, we must get it right. Eternity is at stake.
"Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.'" (Mark 1:14,15) "Repent and trust" is the Biblical response to the Gospel, not whispering a prayer. God commands all men everywhere to repent.
Imagine your spouse committed adultery against you and returned to you and said, "Honey, I believe in you and I receive you." Would that be acceptable to you? Why would we think that is acceptable to God? It isn't. That is a false Gospel. That is a damning Gospel.
Luther, Calvin, Moody and Tozer all preached repentance and trust. Charles Spurgeon proclaimed, "While the gospel is a command, it is a two-fold command explaining itself. "Repent ye, and believe the gospel.'"
If you believe that is the only saving Gospel, then you stand at odds with Purpose Driven Life.
While we could discuss the Pastor Warren's faulty forty day premise, man-centered theology, rampant mis-use of Scripture, using a dozen liberal translations and his questionable connections and endorsement by Robert Schuller, his salvation message alone should disqualify Purpose from being promoted in evangelical circles.
Please, you are the shepherd of your flock. Your sheep are being fed another Gospel. You will be judged for this. All I ask is that you consider what I am saying and check it with Scripture. This is your duty.
Transformers
What does it really mean to Be Ye Transformed?
Scripture reference Romans 12:2 - Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God
Transformation is simply an exchange of life. It means we are showing forth and manifesting Christ's Life instead of our own. Scripture tells us that the only way we can do this is by the constant renewing of our minds; putting off the garbage in our own thinking and putting on the Mind of Christ. It's the Holy Spirit's mission, with our consent, to produce the Mind of Christ in us, so that we can be transformed and live (not just speak) the truth.
If we are progressing in obedience to the Word of God, then our lives are going to change. You cannot be the same person this year that you were last year if you are concentrating on conforming your life to God's commands. For example, you will be more patient, more loving, more God-centered, more service-focused, more joyful, more ______ (you fill in the blank). Your life should be more organized according to the standards in the Bible rather than the standards of our culture. You cannot be the same person; your life must reflect more of Christ and His way today then it did at a previous point in time. (The longer the time frame, the more obvious to those around you the change will be.) If you are the same person and haven't been moving toward Christ-likeness in obedience, then you should seriously question your progress in sanctification. And if there is a problem with sanctification, then you should have a serious Self Examiniation of your salvation ... just in case theres need to, I've compiled a scale that will assist you with examining yourself... short 5 questions/answers. (request it by email)
The bottom line for the Christian is that a major part of your sanctification is obeying God as He revealed His will in the Word, thus conforming your life to that of Christ. That requires work. It requires the power of the Holy Spirit. It requires that you actually renounce/repent of the way you are and change, sometimes dramatically, the way you act and live. If more people who go by the name, "Christian," would do this, then we would actually look different to the pagan world, and would be a far better witness.
Praying for obedience and change, both in my life and in the lives of those I love....
Grace & Peace
Da' Sciple
Scripture reference Romans 12:2 - Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God
Transformation is simply an exchange of life. It means we are showing forth and manifesting Christ's Life instead of our own. Scripture tells us that the only way we can do this is by the constant renewing of our minds; putting off the garbage in our own thinking and putting on the Mind of Christ. It's the Holy Spirit's mission, with our consent, to produce the Mind of Christ in us, so that we can be transformed and live (not just speak) the truth.
If we are progressing in obedience to the Word of God, then our lives are going to change. You cannot be the same person this year that you were last year if you are concentrating on conforming your life to God's commands. For example, you will be more patient, more loving, more God-centered, more service-focused, more joyful, more ______ (you fill in the blank). Your life should be more organized according to the standards in the Bible rather than the standards of our culture. You cannot be the same person; your life must reflect more of Christ and His way today then it did at a previous point in time. (The longer the time frame, the more obvious to those around you the change will be.) If you are the same person and haven't been moving toward Christ-likeness in obedience, then you should seriously question your progress in sanctification. And if there is a problem with sanctification, then you should have a serious Self Examiniation of your salvation ... just in case theres need to, I've compiled a scale that will assist you with examining yourself... short 5 questions/answers. (request it by email)
The bottom line for the Christian is that a major part of your sanctification is obeying God as He revealed His will in the Word, thus conforming your life to that of Christ. That requires work. It requires the power of the Holy Spirit. It requires that you actually renounce/repent of the way you are and change, sometimes dramatically, the way you act and live. If more people who go by the name, "Christian," would do this, then we would actually look different to the pagan world, and would be a far better witness.
Praying for obedience and change, both in my life and in the lives of those I love....
Grace & Peace
Da' Sciple
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