There is a real naivety that
exists in modern American Christianity. This naivety even exists in modern
Christian Americans. What is the difference between these two terms? Quite
simply, by American Christian, I am denoting the outward, visible professors to
the Christian faith. These are mostly false Christians, Christian in name only.
On the other hand, when I say Christian American, I am signifying a true
Christian who also happens to be an American. The naivety I am talking about
concerns the defection from the faith by men like Hank Hanegraaff, or the rage
that seems to be gaining steam regarding “The Benedict Option.” Now, if you don’t
live in America or are not American, just replace American with whatever
nationality belongs to you. Christianity is doomed, some are claiming.
Christianity is declining, secularism is on the rise. What is the Church to do?
How do we reach homosexuals, women, immigrants? What do we do about the racial
tensions in society, abortion, gender dysphoria? What is the church to do?
First of all, if you have studied
church history, then you know that none of this is new. The history of the
visible Christian Church is littered with as much ugliness and contradictory
behavior as one could possibly imagine. None of these modern phenomena should
strike you as new or novel. What we “see” is mostly a community of unbelievers
parading around as Jesus followers in word only. We have seen this throughout
Christian history. It is not new. In fact, we see these pseudo-Christians in
the Bible itself from the very beginning of the Christian faith. The original
followers of Christ engaged in intense battles with these false converts. Paul,
Peter, and John all three wrote about them. Jude in his tiny book wrote about
them. James wrote about them. And as we pass into the early days of Christian
history, we see Marcion, Valentinus, Arius, and Pelagius and many, many others
attempting to corrupt and pervert the simple truths of the apostolic faith. In
the history of Christianity, these things are not new. Let that fact sink in.
What is going on in our culture
then? What is happening in American society? Why does it feel like there is a
new battle taking place? There are a number of reasons it feels different.
First, the battle was never not taking place. The problem is that Christian
Americans were so far removed from the battle that they could barely, if at
all, here the sounds of the bombs. We were comfortable. But we were comfortable
to our own peril and embarrassment. We have been apathetic for the most part.
We have expended very little energy becoming acquainted with the faith we claim
is the genuine heartbeat of and purpose for our very existence. For years now
we have entered the Church building on Sunday after Sunday after Sunday and
sang with passion “I am desperate for you” all the while taking up our Bibles
after the service and hardly lifting a finger to know anything about God’s
revelation, the history of that revelation, the history of Christianity or
Judaism, the creeds and confessions, nothing. We expend 10x more energy on
fantasy football and golf than we do understanding our own religion. I am not
talking about the false converts. I am talking about genuine Christians. I can
talk about the most basic issues related to defending Christian belief or
simple theological truths with men who have been in the way for over 20 years
and they look at me like they haven’t a clue. Why is that?
Many Christians, including myself
for most of my life, have bought into the false idea that America was founded
as a Christian nation and was, for most of her history, a Christian nation.
Remember when President Obama said that America is not a Christian nation?
Remember the scandal that those words created among Christians, especially,
evangelical Christians? Mr. Obama was right. The very idea of a Christian
nation is unbiblical from the standpoint that it does not exist. The only
Christian nation that exists is the one that exists in Christ. This is the one
that is in covenant relationship with God. America has never been in Christ and
has never been in covenant relationship with God. However, America was founded
on Judeo Christian principles. For this reason, Christians confused those
principles with true Christianity and even mixed their loyalty to God with
their patriotic feelings toward their country. Loyalty to God meant loyalty to country.
The two became one and the same. To speak against America as a nation was and
still is in many places to speak against God. Hence, the confusion we see in
the Church in America. It has been filled with false converts for a very long
time now.
The first five-hundred years of
Christianity
From its inception, Christianity
has been attacked and contradicted. Why wouldn’t it be? It represents the
single greatest threat to human autonomy than anything else in existence. Paul
dealt with false teachings throughout his ministry. Hymanaeus and Alexander are
just two among many who sought to pervert Christian doctrine. Or the apostle
John, it was Diotrephes who refused to acknowledge the authority of the apostle
whom Jesus loved. Later on, it was Ignatius standing against the heresy of
Docetism. Then followed Justin Martyr, who in his Dialogue countered the Jew
Trypho. Eventually he would be executed by Rome for being a Christian. Iranaeus
battled Gnosticism. Then the Church had to confront Montanism. Marcion created
his own Bible along with his own version of God, totally rejecting the OT.
Valentinus invented his own method of hermeneutics by which he perverted the
entire Christian worldview. Arius created a Jesus that was created. Pelagius
rejected the doctrine of original sin and teaches salvation by good works. Add
to these, Monophysitism, Nestorianism, and a host of other controversies and it
is easy to see that the first five-hundred years of the church were littered
with controversy, scandal, false doctrine, political corruption, and severe
persecution from pagan governments.
The last five-hundred years of
Christianity
The crack in the foundation of
the Church of Rome began hundreds of miles away in England with a man whose
name history rightfully honors to this day: John Wyclif. Wyclif was the spark
that would ignite the small embers of a humble German Monk some one-hundred and
thirty years or so later. This ember would grow into the nuclear explosion in
Christianity we call the reformation. At the time of the reformation, the
Church of Rome had come to embrace idolatry, a works-based salvation, a corrupt
clergy that went all the way up to the pope, and she was committing fornication
with every pagan government with which she had to deal. Since that time the
controversies have not relented, not even a little. Many of the reformers were
martyred for the sake of the gospel. Others imprisoned and unjustly punished,
lives turned upside down by the Church and in the name of Christ. The
reformation began when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the
church at Wittenburg, on October 31st, 1517. Approximately three and
half years later, at six o’clock in the early evening of April 18, 1521, the
hour had arrived for Martin Luther.[1] We
all know the story. Luther stood firm upon the authority of Scripture and Protestantism
was born. Since that time, over the last 500 years, the Church has seen one
sect after another, one denomination after another until there are so many in
the world today it is impossible using only natural means to determine what the
Church actually is and what Christianity really believes. But we do not use
natural means to determine truth. We call on the authority of a supernatural
revelation of Scripture alone. More than anything else, it is the view of
Scripture that helps us to filter out the noise of the perverse, the fake, and
the counterfeit.
The warnings of Christ and His Apostles
In Matthew chapters 7 and 24,
Jesus warned his disciples about false prophets and false teachers. Paul
commanded the Corinthians not to let anyone deceive them! (1 Cor. 3:18)
John wrote his epistle specifically about those who were trying to deceive the
brethren. (1 John 2:26) Peter warned that there would be many false teachers
who would enter the church. (2 Peter 2:1) Jude called the deceivers “ungodly
persons” who seek to pervert the grace of God. (Jude 4) If you study the New
Testament documents, you find that they are filled with warnings about immoral
and false teaching. It seems as if the apostles were obsessed with pointing our
false doctrine and ungodly behavior. Isn’t it strange that the modern church
has pulled every lever and pushed every button it can in order to get away from calling out ungodly behavior and ungodly beliefs. The mantra has been that doctrine divides
and the new command is thou shalt not judge! A lack of concern with doctrine
and a lack of concern for godly living have led the church in modern times to
this place. And this place is damned if ever there was one.
The Proper Attitude
So what is the proper attitude
for the Christian? Should we do as the Benedict Rule or option
suggests? Should we hide in fear of the culture? Should we continue with our
apathy? Should we be more concerned with relationships than we are with godly
living and right doctrine? Should we get more involved politically? What is the
right attitude? Well, the right attitude begins with a right view of Scripture
and a right relationship with Scripture. No longer can you afford to know more
about golf, football, baseball, basketball, the republican or democratic
platform than you do about Scripture and about the history of the Christian
religion. Those days have to be behind you. Accept the fact that God speaks in
his word. Seek to understand it, to live it, and to give it to others. Accept
the fact that the culture and the visible church is filled with god-hating
pagans. Learn to expect that there are all sorts of problems that come with men who have rejected God top to
bottom. Accept the fact that there are no perfect churches. But also be realistic. Expect that there are people in your church that do not belong in your church. Get to know them.
Let God use you to bring them to true repentance or to purge your church of
their membership. Don’t be dismayed. Don’t be overwhelmed. Don’t get worked up
into a frenzy or become depressed. This is God’s world operating within God’s
plan. Embrace that for all its worth. Glorify God and enjoy him forever despite
the things you hear, read, and see. Swing the sword one more time. And then
swing it again.
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