That Old-time Religion

‘Gimme That Ole-Time Religion “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 gate and 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…Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away 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 its distinctiveness, what can be done about it? With these challenging questions in mind, consider the following article (excerpts) written by Gene Edward Veith, entitled “Unbelieving „bornagains‟.” “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 The Wall Street Journal. Christians, he says, are not all that interested in converting the heathen. They don't really believe that there is such a thing as the heathen, tending to believe instead that every religion is equally valid. Even the most feared of Christians—the dread 'born-agains' who have cost the high priests at People for the American Way so much sleep—often embrace the modern orthodoxies of tolerance and inclusion 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 these born-again Christians will be there. "More than one in three (35 percent) born-again Christians do not believe that Jesus rose physically from the dead. Slightly more born-again Christians believe in the devil than 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's numbers, 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 than non-Christians 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 faith exists just in your head. If you start claiming that your beliefs are more than just a private mental state that makes you feel good, asserting instead that what you believe is objectively real and valid for everybody, then you are an intolerant 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 technique with 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 build 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, what are we really teaching them? Perhaps a better balance can be struck between our “thinking globally and acting locally.” Surely, we are to have ambitious plans for the advancement of the kingdom, and yes, we are called to be culturally relevant. But in our approach to reach the world, we seem to have adopted a fractured world-view, splintered across myriad affinity groups and community outreach programs 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 imagine. 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 tolerance for “broad road” views that seem to be elevating human wisdom over that of God‟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 we feel 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 McManus circumnavigates worldview barriers differently. His outreach includes a populace so diverse that they share few of our Christian presuppositions. McManus suggests that regardless of what cultural bent we start with, the “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 the context of community, as part of the family of God. He reports that once they establish a relationship of trust on these fronts (with any affinity group), seekers embrace the Gospel message. As for post-conversion progress, statistics also bear-out an abysmal grasp of even the historic fundamentals of the faith including: the deity of Christ, salvation by grace through faith (in Christ), 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 our uncompromising 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 unadulterated fashion (Acts 2:38-41). In addition to staying true to the “ole time” message, we need to reinforce the pulpit‟s impact in at least three key areas when it comes to our core membership tracks:

First and foremost, we need to adequately equip our people such that they clearly understand what they believe and why. According to Josh McDowell, we‟re in dire need of a revolution—a CrossCulture revolution. Second, it should be a fundamental tenant that believers be instructed on how to share their faith. Willow Creek‟s training approach leverages personality styles and Contagious Christian relationships in evangelism. And third, we need to inculcate a life of stewardship with our time, talents, and resources, in order to staff and fund the work of the kingdom. Crown Ministries plans to train 300 million people by 2015 in these areas. Ultimately, God will add to the Church those who have been elected for salvation (Acts 13:48). With the enormous privilege of participating in His outworking, let‟s be mindful of Jude‟s exhortation to the Church, that when it comes to our faith and practice—we are to (by all means) “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”

Roy J. Tanner