Many evangelicals (once known for a very prudent and biblical approach to doctrine) are fast becoming as doctrinally clueless as the unchurched people they are so keen to please. At least three decades of deliberately downplaying doctrine and discernment in order to attract the unchurched has filled many once-sound churches with people who utterly lack any ability to differentiate the very worst fast doctrines from truth. I constantly encounter evangelical church members who are at a loss to answer the most profound errors they hear from cultists, unorthodox media preachers, or other sources of false doctrine.
In the church today, there is a growing reluctance to take a definitive stand on any issue. Discernment is frankly not very welcome in a culture like ours. In fact, the postmodern perspective is more than merely hostile to discernment; it is practically the polar opposite. Think about it: pronouncing anything “true” and calling its antithesis “error” is a breach of postmodernism’s one last impregnable dogma. That is why to a postmodernist nothing is more uncouth than voicing strong opinions on spiritual, moral, or ethical matters. People are expected to hold their most important convictions with as much slack as possible. Certainty about anything is out of the question, and all who refuse to equivocate on any point of principle or doctrine are therefore automatically labeled too narrow. Zeal for the truth has become politically incorrect. There is actually zero tolerance for biblical discernment in a “tolerant” climate like that.
Truth, like one more numbered cube in a bingo game, has been tossed into the basket with every other belief and opinion imaginable. Want truth? Give the basket a spin and see what you come up with. The question being asked is no longer, “What is truth?” but “What is truth for me?” It seems nowadays, truth is in the eye of the beholder.
Because truth is no longer absolute—since we can no longer believe anything, we’re told we must now believe everything. Tolerance and acceptance are the watchwords of the day. Every kind of bizarre belief, outlandish claim, aberrant experience is justified and embraced. The only things you won’t find tolerated are claims to absolute truth and the exposing of error.
Our culture has been moving in that direction for decades, and that really shouldn’t surprise us. What better definition is there of an unbeliever than a person who tolerates everything except God’s truth? He’s blind to the truth, prefers to stay that way, and will stumble along believing anything except that which places restraints on him.
I don’t watch much television, and when I do I generally avoid the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). For many years TBN has been dominated by faith-healers, full-time fund-raisers, and self-proclaimed prophets spewing heresy. I wrote about the false gospel they proclaim and the phony miracles they pretend to do almost two decades ago in Charismatic Chaos (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992. See especially chapter 12). I had my fill of charismatic televangelism while researching that book, and I can hardly bear to watch it any more.
Recently, however, while recovering from knee-replacement surgery, I decided to sample some of the current fare on TBN. From a therapeutic point of view it seemed a good choice: something more excruciating than the pain in my leg might distract me from the physical suffering of post-surgical trauma. And I suppose on that basis the strategy was effective.
But it left me outraged and frustrated—and eager to challenge the misperceptions in the minds of millions of unbelievers who see these false teachers masquerading as ministers of Christ on TBN.
I’m outraged at the brazen way so many false teachers twist the message of Scripture in Jesus’ name. And I’m frustrated because I’m certain that if these charlatans were not receiving a large proportion of their financial support from sincere believers (and silent acquiescence from Christian leaders who surely know better), they would have no platform for their shenanigans. They would soon lose their core constituency and fade from the scene.
A few weeks ago there was an event here at Dodgers Stadium with Joel Osteen – 35,000 people at Dodgers Stadium – something like that. He is now the largest “church”, and I’m using the word loosely, in America, down in Houston.
You need to understand that he is a pagan religionist, in every sense. He’s a quasi-Pantheist. Jesus is a footnote that satisfies his critics and deceives his followers.
God’s judgment against Ananias and Sapphira had an effect beyond the fellowship of believers: “great fear came upon…all who heard of these things” (Acts 5:11). Verse 13 says unbelievers did not dare associate with them! This is precisely the opposite of the user-friendly philosophy that is so popular today. Instead of luring people to church by making them feel comfortable and secure, God used fear to keep unbelievers away.
The fear of God was a central doctrine in the early church. Believers and unbelievers alike were taught to fear Him. None but a rank fool would deal frivolously with God. It was that very fear that drew people for salvation and kept them obedient. Whenever the Holy Spirit is genuinely drawing someone to salvation, that person’s heart cries out for deliverance from sin! The gospel call is not an invitation to join the fun and end emotional pain.
One of my joys as a pastor is to guide people through God’s Word and explain its implications on their lives. It thrills me to help others by clarifying a point of doctrine, interpreting a difficult verse, or answering any number of other questions. Among the concerns people raise, I can’t remember the last time someone asked me if it was wrong to lie, to cheat, to steal, to commit murder, to commit adultery, or to covet. It’s also been a long time since anyone wanted to know whether a Christian should read the Bible, pray, or tell others about salvation in Jesus Christ. The Bible is pretty clear about those things.
There is, however, one class of question that falls somewhere in the middle. These are the issues dealing with Christian freedom–things that fall in the “gray” area. What entertainment is acceptable? What kind of music is okay? What can a Christian do or not do on Sunday? What about what you wear, what you eat and drink, or how you spend your free time–does the Bible address those things? Read the rest of this entry »
“Reformation broke out when a man was so captivated by the rich doctrinal understanding and heartfelt embrace of the gospel of justification by faith alone. Reformation would always break out only with a recovery of and renewed passion for the glorious gospel of justification by faith alone, by a sincere and earnest preacher of God.” by Jay Dharan
Truth, like one more numbered cube in a bingo game, has been tossed into the basket with every other belief and opinion imaginable. Want truth? Give the basket a spin and see what you come up with. The question being asked is no longer, “What is truth?” but “What is truth for me?” It seems nowadays, truth is in the eye of the beholder.
