The Heresy of Positivism

“¹²⁶ It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law. ¹²⁷ Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. ¹²⁸ Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:126-128).

Sir Isaac Newton discovered three basic Laws of motion and formulated them in concise words. Although these three Laws are Laws of Physics within the physical realm, they are also Laws that can be applied to the spiritual realm.

The Law of Inertia

“A particle will stay at rest or continue at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external unbalanced net force.”

The Law of Resultant Force and Momentum

“F = ma: the net force on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration.”

The Law of Reciprocal Actions

“Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”

It is to this last Law of Physics that I want to apply its parallel spiritual Law. In order to maintain a balance within the world, we must understand that there are two forces within the spiritual realm that are operating in opposition to one another.

1. There is the force of evil (that which is wrong, untrue, sinful and contrary to the will of God).

2. There is the force of righteousness (that which is right, true, holy, and in alignment with the will of God.

The force of evil is the realm the Bible refers to as the “world.” It’s devices are orchestrated by the “father of lies,” deception, and half truths. Satan’s main tactic has always followed the pattern he set in the Garden of Eden, “hath God said.” In the evil influences of satanic corruption of Truth, Satan uses those whom he has deceived to lead souls astray, to ruin their lives with sin, and to defile them before God with doctrinal error and corrupted practices. The main influence of the forces of evil is those people who have been deceived by Satan with lies about God (false doctrine) and what God’s will is for believers. These deceived individuals then become the means through which these satanic deceptions are spread throughout humanity and within Christianity.

God works in an equal and opposite direction. God influences believers with the Truth of His Word through the divine influence of the Holy Spirit in the world. These believers are to become the equal and opposite force of righteousness to combat the evil and false doctrine that Satan has introduced into the world. If believers do not learn the intimate details of God’s Word (doctrine), they cannot be the equal and opposite force to combat the evil and false doctrine that Satan sows into the world.

Believers who are grounded in the Word of God and have the spiritual gift of discernment are divinely enabled by the indwelling Holy Spirit to expose heresy (false doctrine) and warn other believers regarding its influence. If those believers that know the Truth are not willing to expose heresy, the spiritual force of righteousness will eventually become overcome with evil.

This is a contradiction against God’s purpose in saving us and teaching us His Truths. This purpose is the continual message of Christ in His seven epistles to the seven churches of the book of Revelation communicated to us by the words “him that overcometh.” Only to the Overcomers does Christ promise Kingdom rewards (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, and 21).

Satan introduced another subtle form of deception into Evangelicalism in 1965 intent upon keeping believers from combating the lies about God (false doctrine) that he introduces into humanity. It has come to be known as Positivism. Positivism is a radical philosophical and rationalistic psychological approach to the presentation of Truth. This approach understands that people psychologically resist negative statements and even statements that they view as being critical. Therefore this psychologically approach taught preachers to simply avoid or deemphasize any Scriptures or teaching that might carry a negative or critical connotation. It was not long before people were mentally (psychologically) conditioned to view any negative comments or critical teaching as offensive and judgmental. As a result of this psychologically conditioning, they immediately closed their spirits to anything that was being said in that their mindset categorized that preacher as a radical who did not deserve to be heard or considered.

The first question that we need to ask ourselves is this psychological approach to the presentation of Truth a justifiable approach? Can we find a pattern for such an approach ANYWHERE in Scripture or any example of such a philosophy or practice by any of God’s ordained prophets, Apostles, or even the Lord Jesus Himself? If we cannot find such a practice, it ought to be clear to anyone that it is not a Biblical approach to the presentation of Truth. What is the Scriptural pattern for the Pastor to follow in his teaching/preaching ministry?

“¹⁷ And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. ¹⁸ And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, ¹⁹ Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: ²⁰ And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, ²¹ Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. ²² And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: ²³ Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. ²⁴ But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. ²⁵ And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. ²⁶ Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. ²⁸ Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. ²⁹ For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears” (Acts 20:17-21).

1. In Acts 20:28,the first Pastoral responsibility is to “feed the church of God.”

We notice in Acts 20:20, that Paul says, “I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you.” Paul taught them “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” We also see that Paul did not withhold Truths that might be offensive or bring about conviction of sin and guilt of sin. “²⁶ Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”

In most Bible believing, Bible preaching churches, we would take these three areas of teaching for granted. We would expect a faithful pastor to teach people about turning from sin. We would expect a faithful pastor to “declare” (preach and teach dogmatically) all that the Word of God says. However, this is not true in progressive evangelical churches practicing the psychological manipulation of Positivism. To be able to discern those who are practicing the psychological manipulation of Positivism, a person must learn to listen for what they do not say. That is a very difficult thing to do for those who do not have solid theological foundations already established (which is true of the vast majority of professing Christians).

Although churches practicing the psychological manipulation of Positivism may preach against sin, they do so as a generality. They often avoid preaching against specific sins such as adultery, fornication, worldliness, or alcohol use. For those churches practicing the psychological manipulation of Positivism, those who do preach against specific sins and a strict, literal interpretation of Scripture are usually labeled as Legalists.

There is so much Political Correctness (neo-absolutes of Moral Relativism) in these types of churches that only those sins that are part of the social concern of that particular moment in history are mentioned. This is true because they are more concerned about social relevancy (how society views them) than they are about how God views them. This is due to their view of God as being predominantly loving and forgiving while deemphasizing the fact that God is also a God of wrath, justice, and holiness. This practice of the psychological manipulation of Positivism reveals a very distorted view of God and His holiness. These types of churches do not want to appear preachy or judgmental. They preach the unconditional love of God (which is true), but without the balanced teaching that God expects those who believe in Him to repent of all that His Word condemns and to begin to make radical changes in their lives that will reflect the image of Christ through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

“¹³ Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹⁴ As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: ¹⁵ But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; ¹⁶ Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (I Peter 1:13-16).

“¹⁷ This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, ¹⁸ Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: ¹⁹ Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. ²⁰ But ye have not so learned Christ; ²¹ If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: ²² That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; ²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; ²⁴ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. ²⁵ Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. ²⁶ Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: ²⁷ Neither give place to the devil. ²⁸ Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. ²⁹ Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. ³⁰ And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: ³² And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:17-32).

2. In Acts 20:31 the Shepherd (Pastor) is instructed in his second main responsibility to “watch” over the Lord’s sheep.

According to the text, the Pastor is to “take heed . . . unto himself” and also to “all the flock.” What is the reason the pastor needs to “watch”? “²⁹ For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30). The word “watch” is from the Greek word gregoreuo (gray-gor-yoo'-o). It simply means to stay awake. However, the context implies a constant alertness to doctrinal error creeping in to influence the sheep away from the Truths of the Word of God. The watchful pastor is always alert to the new “wind of doctrine” blowing forth from Satan’s deceivers.

“²¹ And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled ²² In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: ²³ If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; ²⁴ Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’'s sake, which is the church: ²⁵ Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; ²⁶ Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: ²⁷ To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: ²⁸ Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: ²⁹ Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” (Colossians 1:21-29).

“⁶ As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: ⁷ Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. ⁸ Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:6-8).

3. In Acts 20:31 the Shepherd is instructed in his third main responsibility, to “warn” the Lord’s sheep.

He is to warn about both false teachers and false teachings that will continue to arise periodically so as to keep his people from being led astray. The word “warn” is from the Greek word noutheteo (noo-thet-eh'-o). It means to fill the mind. The idea is to confront and expose false doctrine so thoroughly that the sheep will flee from it.

We find this practice throughout the epistles. The epistle of I Corinthians is 16 chapters with 14 of those 16 chapters confronting false doctrine, worldliness, and sinful practices going within the church. The epistle to the Galatians is 6 chapters of warning about allowing the perversion of the gospel by adding requirements other than simple faith (soteriological legalism). The epistle to the Colossians is four chapters warning believers against being “spoiled” by false doctrine warning against syncretism, legalism, Gnostic mysticism, and Asceticism. This is true of almost all the rest of the epistles.

Most of the time these warnings come in the form of generalities detailing various false doctrines. However, on certain occasions the Apostles named the individuals that should be avoided.

“¹⁸ This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; ¹⁹ Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: ²⁰ Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme” (I Timothy 1:18-20).

On one occasion Paul names both Peter and Barnabas for their unwillingness to take a stand against the Jews who professed to trust in Christ but were requiring believers to be circumcised and keep the Law in order to be saved. Peter and Barnabas were hypocrites because they allowed this heresy to go on without condemning these false teachers in order to keep peace (false unity) in the church. Those very harsh words to Peter and Barnabas are recorded in Galatians 2:11-21.

“¹¹ But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. ¹² For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. ¹³ And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. ¹⁴ But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? ¹⁵ We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, ¹⁶ Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. ¹⁷ But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. ¹⁸ For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. ¹⁹ For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. ²⁰ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Galatians 2:11-21).

How does this practice of the psychological manipulation of Positivism impact Christianity and how people think and receive Truth? People become so accustomed and conditioned to never having specific sins preached against that anytime they hear someone do so, they are repulsed by it and they condemn that preacher as judgmental. Any proclamation of absolute Truth regarding moral issues or doctrinal Truth is immediately viewed as abstract and radical. Most people have become so accustomed to attending churches where the preaching is soft on sin and so light on doctrine that when they do attend a church where someone preaches hard on sin and presents the “meat” of God’s Word, they almost choke to death on it. They are so uncomfortable under the guilt of there own softness towards Christ and their own tolerance of sin that they flee from that kind of preaching intent upon never attending again.

Secondly, they are so accustomed to the minimalization of doctrine by the Pluralism and Ecumenicism that permeates and saturates most of evangelicalism today, that when they hear someone pointing out false doctrine, they are conditioned to condemn that kind of preaching as divisive, critical, and even cultic. The person conditioned by the psychological manipulation of Positivism becomes closed minded and hardhearted to anything other than Positivism.

The effectiveness of preaching, by which God has ordained to warn against false doctrine, false teachers, and satanic deception, has been compromised by the psychological manipulation of Positivism. Positivism has proven itself to be one of the most effective tools of satanic deception in the Twenty-first century. Yet most people are almost completely unaware that they have been psychologically programmed by Positivism. They have been covertly deceived.

Anonymous comments will not be allowed.

We Have Lost the Meaning of Militancy

“Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

I once was in a discussion with a prominent leader within fundamental Baptist circles regarding the constant battle necessary to maintain, defend, and contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. In that discussion, this individual said to me, “I am tired of fighting all the time.” I told him point blank, “When you get tired of the fight for the faith, it is time to get re-tired (revived) or to retire.” Instead, I watched this man begin to lead hundreds of individuals under his leadership into increasing degrees of compromise in the abandonment of Biblical militancy.

Recently, I had a young man training to be a pastor at one of our well know fundamental, Baptist colleges engage me in conversation. Although I was 40 plus years his senior, he chose to engage me and question me while showing me very little respect for my four decades of ministry experience. In fact, much of what he said was in sharp contradistinction to independent, Baptist Fundamentalism. He proudly spoke of himself as a New Fundamentalist and a Young Fundamentalist. Two of his dominant talking points quickly surfaced:

1. The need for cultural relevancy

2. The need to abandon militancy

What this young man failed to take into account, due to his ignorance of the history of both true fundamentalism and its militancy due to his lack of spiritual maturity and lack of ministry experience, was that these two talking points were the same two talking points that gave birth to New Evangelicalism. Therefore, what he did not realize was that he was not part of a New Fundamentalism at all. He was merely part of New Wave New-Evangelicalism. What he failed to realize was that the original New Evangelism had moved so far inland and away from its original beginnings, that he was just a New Wave of old New Evangelicalism. He came into existence because the generations of fundamentalist before him had lost there willingness to fight the good fight and had surrendered to a kinder, gentler Fundamentalism. Fundamentalism had evolved into at least three or four degrees while still being able to consider one’s self a Fundamentalist even if you held to many varying degrees of ecclesiastical separation, any of a number of Creation Theories, or any one of a number of positions on inspiration of the Scriptures and/or the preservation of those inspired Words.

In ancient times, when an army went forth into battle, each division marched under a banner that identified them to the Field General on the high ground and to the other divisions they fought with. As a charge was initiated, the person carrying the Division Banner would lead that division where they were directed to fight. Each member of the division had standing orders that if the person carrying the banner fell (wounded or killed) the nearest person would pick up that banner and lead on.

When we get right down to the nitty-gritty of it all, there really isn’t “anything new under the Sun.” We are struggling with the same issues Adam struggled with and all those after him. At the time of the writing of the New Testament epistles, Paul was fighting with the same issues and struggles. In his second epistle to Timothy, Paul is directing Timothy (his son in the faith) to pick up the banner that Paul was about to lay down (due to his pending martyr’s death). In doing so, Paul is directing Timothy to fight on with the same battle plan he had been given by the Lord Jesus Christ. With that historical backdrop, read II Timothy 2:1-4 and 4:1-8. Notice the militant language in Paul’s letters to Timothy.

“¹ Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. ³ Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴ No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (II Timothy 2:1-4).

“¹ I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; ² Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. ³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; ⁴ And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. ⁵ But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. ⁶ For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷ I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: ⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (II Timothy 4:1-8).

The spiritual battle all Christians are to be involved in is the battle for the salvation of souls and rescued lives. The primary “weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (II Cor. 10:4) are the Word of God and a holy, Spirit filled life (Rom. 6:11-13; the word “instruments” is from the Greek word hoplon and refers to an offensive weapon of war). Fundamental Christianity is simply defined as a spiritual struggle, consistently and constantly fought on two spiritual battlefronts.

“For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears” (II Corinthians 7:5).

Those two battlefronts are from “without” and from “within.” From “without” come the external struggles for truth and the temptations that allure the believer into sin and seduce him into spiritual adultery and/or doctrinal compromise breaking his “fellowship” with God and breaching the enabling of the Spirit of God.

From “within” come both the lusts of the flesh that want the things we are tempted with and the carnal emotions of a fallen nature that struggles with the issues of the heart such as pride, fear, worry, envy, hatred, manipulation, bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness again breaking his “fellowship” with God and breaching the enabling of the Spirit of God..

The ongoing warfare of a militant Christianity is against these forces of wickedness from satanic external influences and the carnal enmity of our own fallen natures against all that is godly, true, honest, and above reproach. This struggle of militant Christian warfare is a struggle for our own integrity before God so that His power that resides within us might be loosed upon the world through the testimonies of our lives.

Dr. Fred Moritz in a workshop entitled “Stand For Fundamentalism . . . And Against Attempts to Change It” lists five traits that Non-Fundamentalists commonly identify with Fundamentalism (as quoted below).

1. An emphasis on inspiration, infallibility, inerrancy, and authority of the Bible

2. An opposition to modernism

3. Emphasis on separation

4. Opposition to sin and cultural decay

5. A militant spirit

In order to understand why militancy is necessary to true Biblical Christianity, we must first define why it is a fundamental aspect of Christianity. (Fundamental Christianity is defined by the fundamental truths that define New Testament Christianity, not by a list of Major doctrines.) There is no aspect of true Christianity that is not opposed by the continuous onslaught of the forces of evil. Yes, “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world,” yet the battle of the Ages wages on and there are real, eternal casualties.

William Ward Ayer, in a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals in April 1956 (as quoted in Louis Gasper’s book, The Fundamentalist Movement (Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1981 reprint) gives an excellent definition of Fundamentalism:

“Fundamentalism represents a resurgence of ancient practices, which began not with Martin Luther but at Pentecost. Fundamentalism is apostolic, and the doctrine of justification goes back to Paul. That branch from which the fundamentalist movement sprang lived obscurely through the ages and had never been completely silenced even in the Dark Ages . . . What fundamentalism did was awaken the slumbering apostolicism from lethargy.”

If we accept this definition (and I do), Fundamentalism is about maintaining and defending the historic, apostolic, New Testament Christianity. Fundamental, New Testament Christianity is steeped in terms of militancy. Therefore, if we believe the Bible is authored by God (and not men), we must believe that God purposely chose militant terms to both describe and define the warfare of New Testament Christianity.

“¹¹ But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. ¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (I Timothy 6:11-12).

There is a movement, whether acknowledged or not, in modern Bible believing Christianity (fundamentalism) to move away from its historic militancy. I believe this to be the result of theological reactionism to the obnoxious, mean spirited and unloving attitude displayed by many professing fundamentalist of the past. (This is a just criticism of Fundamentalism, but it is not a justifiable reason for abandoning it.)

Secondly, I believe the movement away from a militant Fundamentalism is due to our natural tendency for self protection and our desire for sociological acceptance. (Fundamentalism has been denigrated by our society. It is easier to disassociate ourselves with this negativity by trying to redefine ourselves than it is to define and defend historic, militant Christianity.)

In the last 30 years, I have watched the development of a pacifist Christianity that has not only lost the concept of the fight for the faith and against worldliness; they have adopted a neo-neutralism (Positivism) towards the enemies of Christianity and towards the carnal influences and advances of this world. The Bible has a consistent warning to the pacifist Christian. That warning is simple; Satan destroys the lives of his captives. A Christian cannot be neutral, he cannot surrender and he cannot make peace with the forces of evil. Their goal is annihilation. Let down your guard for a moment and they will take your head off.

What many Christians consider neutralism, God considers surrender and treason.

“³⁴ Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. ³⁶ And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. ³⁷ He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. ³⁹ He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:34-39).

To take up the Cross of Christ is military terminology defining the essence of the Christian faith. The Cross of Jesus Christ is the banner under which the soldiers of the Cross fight. Therefore, the very nature of this symbolism identifies Christianity as militant.

For some reason, many Christians have decided to be at peace with the Satanic world system Christ is at war against. For some reason, many Christians have redefined Christianity from a militant warfare with real casualties to playground mentality where they think they can be weekend warriors who draw their blessings but never need to take any real risks.

Even though we may not have realized it, when we accepted God’s gift of salvation and became a child of God by rebirth, we were joined with the family of God in a fight against the forces of evil for the lost souls of all of mankind. It is not a game we play. The stakes are far too high. We cannot be at peace with those who are at war with Christ (Matthew 10:37).

1. To take Christ’s side is to take truth’s side.

2. To take truth’s side is to take the side of righteousness.

3. To take the side of righteousness is to take the side of “Light” against “darkness.”

4. To “take up the Cross” is a proclamation of spiritual militancy against anything contrary to the truth it stands for with a willingness to die for that purpose.

Central to the revival of a local Church is the return to a militant Christianity.

The struggle of the Church militant is both a struggle to maintain truth and a struggle for the lives and souls of people. Why did God choose to give us the words of Paul to Timothy in II Timothy 2:1-4? Paul understood the overwhelming responsibility of the transfer of doctrinal truth without compromise (“the whole counsel of God”) from one generation to the next (II Timothy 2:2). Whatever truth is compromised by one generation is usually lost to the next generation. Every “jot and tittle” must be fought to be retained or that ground will be lost in the battle for the lives of the next generation.

Even if we stand for Christ throughout our lives, but fail to transmit the “whole counsel of God” to the next generation, we will not have one person to take up the banner of the Cross of Christ and fight on for proceeding generations. We can expect the Cross of Christ to become battle-scarred and torn when it is constantly carried in the battle for Truth, but it is a sad testimony to the generation that purposely removes large portions of it so it will not be such a heavy load to bear.

Many Christians are so entangled with the affairs of this world; they have little time and less desire to fight the fight of faith (II Timothy 2:4). That person will never be a militant Christian. That person will never have the time for evangelism (the fight for souls) or discipleship (the fight for lives). A real soldier of the Cross understands his purpose in life. It is not to get rich or to be famous. It is to fight the fight of faith and fight to the death if necessary.

II Timothy is the missional statement of the Church militant (II Timothy 4:1-8).

This statement is the inspired Word of God written by the hand of an old battle-scarred warrior by the name of the Apostle Paul. He was writing from a prison cell where he was waiting to be executed for being a militant Christian. Paul was passing the banner of responsibility from one generation to the next. It is the lifelong responsibility of every soldier of the Cross to pass his banner to many others in the next generation who will take up their Cross and fight on.

The non-militant, Seeker Sensitive Christianity of today seems to think the purpose of the Church is to avoid any “doctrine” that is divisive or controversial or that which contradicts the lifestyles of those they seek to reach. That is what Paul refers to by the words “ear tickling” (II Timothy 4:3).

Have you ever taken a dog or cat and scratched it behind the ears until it purred or cooed? That is the analogy here. Paul says the day will come when people will not want to hear the kind of teaching and preaching that brings conviction and confronts the sin in their lives. That generation will want to hear “fables” (II Timothy 4:4). They will want the preaching to be Uncle Ben’s story time. They want Lollypop sermons full of Puppy Dog truths. They will not want to be confronted with the absolute Words of the Absolute God Who commands absolute obedience.

Instead, the nonmilitant Seeker Sensitive Christianity wants to leave their Church services feeling good about themselves regardless of how indifferent they are to God and His absolutes. They want to be scratched behind the ears. But Truth does not tickle our ears (II Timothy 2:4). Real Truth grabs us by the ears and takes us to the woodshed.

What is the banner of the Cross? Paul reveals that to us in Acts 20:26-27.

“²⁶ Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:26-27).

The banner of the Cross God wants passed from one generation is “the whole counsel of God;” every “jot and every tittle,” word for word and cover to cover. Yet the banner of the Cross carries with it a spirit that must be passed along too. God gives us no greater example of that spirit than the Apostle Paul. The spirit is the willingness to fight to the death. It is the spirit of militancy. It is the spirit that says there is no sacrifice too large, no price too high, and no demand that is out of line. Christ went to the Cross for us. He wore your crown and it was a crown of thorns! What are we willing to do for Him?

Anonymous comments will not be allowed.

A Number of New Series are Posted!

The Web Master has finish putting up 11 chapters in a new series I have just completed on Selfishness: The Satanic Seed in Us All! They can be viewed at the link below. These may be used freely as the Lord leads.
http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/Pages/Selfishness/SelfishnessIndex.htm

The Web Master has also finish putting up 12 chapters in a new series I have just completed entitled Wisdom. They can be viewed at the link below. These may be used freely as the Lord leads.
http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/Pages/Wisdom/WisdomIndex.htm

Chapters 15 & 16 are also finished in the series on Dispensationalism & the Doctrine of Election. These can be viewed at the link below.
http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/Pages/Dispensationalism/DispensationalismIndex.htm

All of these articles are provided free of charge. Comments are welcome.
Anonymous comments will not be allowed.

Dispensationalism and the Doctrine of Election

I have begun to put up my new book on Dispensationalism and the Doctrine of Election on my web site. This will be about a 347,000 word document when it is totally up. We will be adding a new chapter about every week as the Web Master formats them.

The link to these studies is below:

http://disciplemakerministries.org/Pages/Dispensationalism/DispensationalismIndex.htm

There is an Introduction and the first two chapters up presently. There is a link to a Comments page at the bottom of each Chapter. If you would like to add a comment, you can click on the link and do so.

If you want to be notified when a new chapter is up, sign up for notifications on the Line Upon Line Blog and you will be notified by e-mail (link below):

http://lineuponlinedmm.blogspot.com/

Where Does the Social Gospel Come From?

Separating the Goats from the Sheep

“31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them {the sheep} on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren {the Jews}, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand {the goats}, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they {the goats} also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them {the goats}, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these {the goats} shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:31-46).

This is a remarkable portion of Scripture detailing a prophecy by Christ of a future event. It is a prophecy with great detail, yet it is a prophecy that is greatly misunderstood. This is the central text used to establish what has come to be known as the Social Gospel. The Social Gospel is a movement within Protestant Christianity (primarily led by Presbyterianism, but followed by most denominations later, including Catholicism) that began to develop in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. It is more of a political movement than it is theological. It might be better called Christian Socialism.

In the context of an Amillennial world view, Liberal Theology began to adopt Karl Marx’s philosophies of Social Economics as its main emphasis in ushering in a utopian kingdom (thereby birthing the Social Gospel). Marx viewed the means of the sociological progression of the implementation of his economic theory through two eyes; sociological revolution and sociological evolution (this is what the word PROGRESSIVE means to a political liberal). Marx viewed society (the Social Economy) in two categories:

1. Proletariat is the lower class of producers; laborers or wage earners
2. Bourgeoisie is the upper/middle class of consumers that take capital or profit from what is produced by the labor class thereby exploiting the labor class for personal gain

Marx’s economic theory was primarily intent on equalizing the distribution of capital (Product) between all classes and thereby eliminating those classes (or equalizing them). Religious Liberals took up Marx’s PROGRESSIVE evolutionary economic theory and adapted it to their Amillennial view. They saw the scientific advances in the world as the means to the end of all poverty and sickness; a utopian Kingdom on earth advanced by humanity (Humanism). A Liberal, Socialist Baptist pastor, named Harry Emerson Fosdick in the Cole Lectures for 1922 delivered before Vanderbilt University (Christianity And Progress; a series of six lectures) said,

“When, then, we find the minds of men first throwing off their intellectual vassalage to antiquity and beginning to believe in themselves, their present powers and their future prospects, it is this new found mastery over nature’s latent resources which is the spring and fountain of their confidence.”

Marx’s REVOLUTION View for social change is known as Communism. His EVOLUTION View of social change is known as Socialism. The Revolution View proposed the radical and violent overthrow of the structure of a society in order to force the institution of this economic theory through a totalitarian governance of that society. His Evolution View (Marxist Reconstructionism) proposed the gradual institution of this economic theory through the Democratic process (Progressive; this is what is going on in Political Liberalism).

From this revelation, the Marxist Revisionism (Reconstructionism) of the late 1800’s began to develop. In the 1890’s Sidney and Beatrice Webb founded the Fabian Socialist Society. This was known as Federalism in Europe and New Dealism in the United States of America. Notice the key terms in their agenda:

“They avowed a NON-REVOLUTIONARY, GRADUALIST policy to attain a highly organized DEMOCRATIC state socialism by way of SCHOLARLY demonstration, brilliant PROPAGANDA, and PERMEATION of established political and influential organization.”

In Religious/Political Liberalism, Secular Humanism (Non-theism) married Marxist Reconstructionism (the evolution of Marx’s socialist economic theory). These two have been made “one flesh.” Religious Liberalism (Socialism) invented the Social Gospel as its means to achieve Marx’s evolutionary view for social change (Reconstructionism and Redistribution). This became a major part of what Religious Liberalism and Secular Humanism have come to refer to as Social Planning. This is progressively (gradually) moving societies toward Marx’s redistribution economic philosophy.

Matthew 25:31-46 has been singled out by theological liberals and misinterpreted to try to give Biblical credibility to this redistribution economic philosophy. Of course, they take this portion of Scripture completely out of its eschatological context in its primary reference to the Jews during the seven year Tribulation on earth.

In order to understand this text, we must see it in its proper timetable of future events. Then, we must identify the characters in the word portrait Christ paints before us. Matthew 25:31 tells us when and where this prophecy will be fulfilled. The timetable for the fulfillment of this prophecy is the second coming of Christ to establish His Kingdom. Therefore, this is not the Great White Throne and there is no resurrection of the dead involved. This is on earth just prior to the beginning of the 1,000 year reign of Christ on Earth. There are five phrases used to define the characters in the scene before us.

1. The Son of Man (referring to Jesus Christ, the incarnate, glorified Son of God)
2. The Holy Angels (the executioners of God’s wrath; II Thessalonians 1:7-10)
3. The Sheep
4. The Goats
5. The Brethren

The subject of the text centers around dividing the Sheep from the Goats by what they have done for the Brethren just prior to Christ’s return to establish His Kingdom on Earth. The world events just prior to the second coming of Christ are the events surrounding the rise of the Antichrist after the rapture of the Church Age saints. This is the seven year Tribulation that begins right after the rapture of the Church Age saints. Therefore, the first thing we must understand is who the Brethren are.

The Brethren could possibly refer to all Jews living during the Tribulation. The Antichrist, as the leader of the New Babylon (Muslim nations), will seek to annihilate the nation of Israel. The Brethren may refer more specifically to the 144,000 Jews sealed by Christ at about the middle of the seven year Tribulation. These 144,000 Jews, along with Christ’s “two witnesses,” will preach the gospel of the Kingdom primarily to the nation of Israel and the vast majority of the Jews will accept Jesus as their Messiah and will be “born again.” The Antichrist will make every effort to have them killed.

“1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel” (Revelation 7:1-4).

The Antichrist will seek to kill them by keeping them from being able to buy or sell. He will initiate an international identification system where anyone wanting to buy or sell must take a number in their hands or in their foreheads. Those unwilling to take the “mark” of the Beast will not be able to buy food, water, medical care, clothing, or housing/shelter. Those that will not take the mark of the Beast will be sought out to be imprisoned and, eventually, murdered. Many believers from all nations of the world will give their lives to protect these Jews from the Antichrist’s executioners. (Which nations execute people by cutting off their heads?)

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4).

This text refers to the believers who died during the Tribulation. There will be many Gentile believers during the Tribulation who will somehow survive the last three and a half years when the Antichrist’s numerical system of identification will be instituted. These are the individuals Christ refers to as the Sheep in Matthew 25:33. They somehow will be able to develop some kind of underground networking to get food, water, shelter, clothing and medical care. Yet, even in this extreme situation, they will extend the love of God to the Jews (Christ’s Brethren) by providing them with food, water, shelter, clothing and medical care. Christ spoke of uniting Gentile believers with Jewish believers into “one fold” one day.

“14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (John 10:14-16).

At the second coming of Christ, Jesus will establish His Millennial Throne in Jerusalem. The first event of His Sovereignty on Earth will be the judgment of the nations. This refers to those who survive the seven year tribulation. During this seven year period of time, God will release His restraint upon the forces of evil in the world thereby releasing God’s wrath through this means. The “prince of power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) will use this opportunity to try to annihilate mankind from the face of the Earth. Apparently, God will put His hand of protection around many of both Gentile and Jewish believers. For sure we know that everyone of the 144,000 Jews sealed earlier during the Tribulation are protected because we find them on Mt. Zion with Christ at His second coming.

“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1).

In all of this horror, we are reminded of Habakkuk’s prayer in chapter 3:2, “O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy." In God’s protection and restoration of the nation of Israel, He certainly does “remember mercy.” Yet, this mercy is magnified by the horrors of His wrath in Revelation 19:11-16 where we find those who have rejected God’s love and grace extended to them in the Gospel of Jesus and who “after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” The “day of wrath” has come for those on the earth who rejected Christ during the Tribulation and who refused to give aid to His Brethren.

“11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:11-16).

The Goats will be separated from the Sheep and they will finally taste the wine of God’s wrath. God will separate the Goats from the Sheep and will slay the Goats with the “sharp sword” that goes “out of His mouth.” The Goats will be killed by the spoken Word of God coming from the mouth of Jesus Christ. The “beast and the false prophet” will be cast alive into the “lake of fire.” The Goats will be slain by the “sword” that “proceeded out of his mouth.”

“20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the remnant {the Goats} were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh” (Revelation 19:20-21).

The Christian and Alcohol

I would highly recommend this message by Dr. Chuck Phelps on The Christian and Alcohol.

Dr. Phelps is the President of Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, WI.

We thank the Lord for a man who is willing to be dogmatic about this issue when most of our schools are unwilling to do so. Many of the professed Young Fundamentalists are coming out of our Baptist Bible Colleges with a drink in moderation position.
Click Here to hear the message

I would encourage forwarding the link to others.

Christ’s Method of Dealing with Seekers

His Message to the Mixed-multitudes

“And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 14:25-35).

Very often, when I get together with a group of pastors, right after the handshake and the “how are you doing” question, the next question is, “how many are you running now.” They are asking how many people attend your church services. Although they may not realize it, they are keeping score and trying to see who is ahead. According to Christ’s statements Luke 14:25-35, He does not keep score the same way many pastors and most local churches keep score. In fact, we can readily say that His way of keeping score is radically different from what goes on it most of evangelical Christianity. We might go as far as saying that what Christ says in Luke 14:25-35 is a condemnation against the score keeping of most of evangelical Christianity. Sadly, the vast majority of modern day evangelical Christianity is savorless salt “neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill.” “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

I would imagine that just about every Bible believer would agree that, if we are going to adopt a purely Christian methodology for evangelizing the masses, we must adopt Christ’s methodology wherever we can. There are certain aspects of Christ’s ministry we are not able to adopt (although the Charismatics would disagree). For instance, we cannot go around healing diseases and doing miracles like Christ did, or even like the Apostles did (although God still answers prayer, heals diseases, and is working miracles). If healing were part of the ministry of the Church today, every local church would be a very small hospital with just a waiting room to see the Healer (there would be no need of any hospital rooms, surgeries, medical treatments, or Pharmacies).

What we are seeing in most of modern day evangelicalism is nothing at all like Christ’s example of dealing with the multitudes of Seekers. There are no definitive truths being preached regarding sin by most of modern day evangelicalism. In fact, much of what God calls sin is merely rationalized away or seldom spoken of lest someone be offended. This is what many evangelicals call Positivism. Even the prepositional truths that define the gospel message (the objective facts regarding Who Christ is and what He has accomplished in His death, burial, and resurrection that a sinner must understand, believe, and trust in) are no longer necessary to one’s faith. This is known as Inclusivism.

We can also see in Luke 14:25-35 that Christ had a definitive message to those professing to believe He was Messiah and now wanted to become His disciples. Within most of modern day evangelicalism, we never see anything close to resembling this kind of preaching/teaching to professing believers. In fact, because polls tell us that most professing Christians do not want to be preached at, Church services are set up to resembled large social gatherings where people from all lifestyles and religious beliefs can get together for discussion or conversation. The assembly is set up to be more of a group counseling center intent upon helping people feel good about themselves, regardless of how they might be living before God. Everything about these services is structured to take away the feeling of structure and to avoid the attendees’ memories of their bad feelings about Church from their childhood or since. There is certainly no direct confrontation of professing believers with Christ’s expectation of disciples like we find in Luke 14:25-35.

Most of modern day evangelicalism has seriously distorted evangelism as a whole. Today, unbelievers are invited to attend religious gatherings and participate in religious conversation (dialogue). These gatherings are where professionals deal with Seekers in non-confrontational unobtrusive ways. Conversion is more about accepting the group’s philosophy of religious beliefs and practices than it is about repentance of sin, false religious beliefs, and understanding what Christ has accomplished to save people, trusting Him and calling on Him to save. The acceptance of the group and faith in what the group is doing is more important than accepting certain religious dogmas. This is really the purpose of group assemblies; i.e. acclimating Seekers to the group through relationships.

What we want to see from Luke 14:25-35 is the general way in which Christ dealt with the multitudes or Seekers and is the general way He expects His Church to function. I think we will see that He does so in a way that is remarkably different from what has become the accepted norm within modern day Christianity. There are no psychological manipulations going on in Christ’s methodology. There is no masking of intent hidden behind some covert agenda. Jesus is obvious, direct, confrontational, and gives definitive statements that are ultimatums without exception clauses. It seems obvious that Luke 14:25-35 is a directive in the way He wants His local churches to function.

It seems obvious to me that there are some governing principles and methodologies in Luke 14:25-35 that should govern the way local churches do ministry. It also seems obvious to me that the vast majority of evangelical churches have seriously distorted the way Christ qualifies true disciples and, therefore, defines what constitutes membership within a local church congregation of disciples. Instead of a Sola Scriptura methodology for ministry, modern Evangelicalism has adopted methods determined mostly through philosophical rationalism, not Biblical exegesis. The central criterion for this rationalism is based upon the false premise that if the method produces numbers (multitudes), God must be blessing it and, therefore, God must approve the method.

It is difficult for modern day evangelicals to escape the pragmatic thinking that encapsulates it, captivates its thinking, and has led it down a road with a focus upon results (numbers of people). We would like to blame this all on New Evangelicalism, Post-modernism, Bill Hybelsism/Rick Warrenism (Purpose Driven Church), or the Emerging Church philosophies. The fact is, all of these philosophies of ministry evolved from the practices of mass evangelism that came out of the Billy Sunday/D.L. Moody (and their successors) types of campaigns or Bible conferences outside of the definitive Scriptural perimeters of the local church.

Under this methodology, the masses were invited through city-wide evangelistic campaigns to come to large tent meetings with benches and cedar saw dust scattered on the ground (to keep the mud from caking and to keep the smell of thousands of sweating bodies from becoming unbearable). In this environment, soul stirring hymns were sung, soul stirring messages from world renowned speakers were preached, invitations to repent of sin and receive Christ were given and thousands of people made professions. However, seldom were these messages accompanied with personal instruction regarding ecclesiastical and personal separation responsibilities (like found in Luke 14:25-35) once a person accepted Christ. Seldom were professions of faith followed up by giving new believers instructions regarding Christ’s expectations for putting off the old life and putting on the new. Evangelists believed their job was to persuade people to believe. However, because this was done outside of local churches, these individuals’ decisions were seldom followed up with solid discipleship.

Often many of these people returned to their apostate churches. Seldom was there any in depth discipleship of those making professions. Out of all of this, local congregations did grow in numbers and church attendance increased. However, there was also a shallowness of theological depth within many of these local churches as mass evangelism was emphasized and discipleship was superficial. This generation became known as the Christianity that was a mile wide and an inch deep.

Within certain circles, mass evangelism took a more Scriptural methodology in the bus ministry philosophies of Elmer Towns and Jack Hyles and what came to be known as Door to Door Evangelism. However, even this methodology began to degenerate with some serious aberrations. Soon, every service in these types of local churches became mini-evangelistic meetings. Soul-stirring hymns were sung and soul-stirring messages were preached with the emphasis on getting lost people to come to church services to hear great preachers preach and to get lost people to walk the isles to be pray the Sinners Prayer. Every message in every service was a salvation message.

Needless to say, even though many of these local churches had huge numbers of professions of faith and large numbers of baptisms, most of the people in these churches were never really discipled in “the faith.” There were often as many going out the back doors of these churches as were coming in the front doors. The philosophy of evangelism was merely to get more coming in than were going out. The large numbers of professions and baptisms merely added to the breadth of the numbers within professing Christianity, but the spiritual depth did not increase in any real substantial way. The River was growing wider, but the depth was not increasing much.

Discipleship in most of these Soul Winning churches involved teaching people to memorize the Romans’ Road and teaching them a methodology of witnessing that would produce the greatest numbers of professions. Sadly, even though the leaders in these churches denied it, this methodology was more about accounting (numbers) than it was about souls. It led to an unhealthy method of Score Keeping and the merchandizing of people in what might really be described as Empire Building (Pastoral Empires). Out of these types of Church Growth models evolved the various and diverse pragmatic extensions we see in modern evangelicalism of today; New Evangelicalism, Easy Believism, Only Believism, Positivism, the mega-pragmatism of the Carnival Churches and their message of Cultural Relevancy (Hybalsism/Warrenism), and the Easy Prayerism of Hylesism.

It has been said that when a person chooses the beginning of a way, he also chooses the end of that way. If I get on a road that ends with a hundred foot drop off into a ravine, unless I get off that road (repent and change direction), I will undoubtedly end up at the bottom of that ravine. The present Trinity of Pragmatism (Hybalsism/Warrenism/Hylesism) is the ravine. The reason the ravine does not appear as dangerous to the majority of professing evangelicals is that it has been created over the last hundred years by the river that is a mile wide and an inch deep. The vast majority of professing evangelicals do not have enough theological depth even to recognize the problem. They do not even know they are already in the ravine and part of the problem. They, in fact, have become defenders and propagators of the very philosophies that have put them in the abomination in which they exist. They may be in the Shallows, but they are stuck there nonetheless.

As we begin to address the philosophical failures, and establish and define a Biblical methodology from Luke 14:25-35, let me say I appreciate soul stirring hymns and soul stirring preaching. However, we must begin by Scripturally defining what soul stirring means regarding both worship music and preaching. There are two critical texts in the epistles that define what soul stirring music should be about.

“¹⁷ Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; ¹⁹ Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; ²⁰ Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; ²¹ Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:17-21).

“¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. ¹⁷ And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:16-17).

In Ephesians 5:19-21 and Colossians 3:16-17, God instructs us that “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” are to result in introspection and reflection. Introspection means that true “spiritual songs” will cause us to speak to ourselves in a way that leads us to consider our own internal spiritual condition as compared to God’s revealed will. Introspection turns our hearts to compare our spiritual reality with God’s Word.

Reflection means that “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” are to cause us to fix our thinking upon Scriptural Truths (Theological proclamations) that lead us to worship God in grateful admiration and praise for His goodness and grace in our lives. Introspection and reflection are the two main things that a true Christian should be involved with in singing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” “Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” are not for our enjoyment or entertainment. If that is all they do, they are not “spiritual.”

Truly “spiritual songs” are intent upon stirring our thinking towards the things of God and stirring our actions and emotions towards worshiping God through joyful obedience to His commands and loving (self-sacrificial) ministry to the world. Using worldly music to make Christianity culturally relevant is an oxymoron because that is not the purpose of worship music. Spiritual music is not intended to make the church relevant to the cultures of the world. Spiritual music is intended to communicate the truths about God and the commands of God relevant to Christians.

I assure you, the communication of God’s truths and God’s commands is a purely spiritual endeavor that must be separated from worldly methods. The purpose of spiritual music in the discipleship process is not to make Christianity culturally relevant by integrating worldly aspects of the cultures into worship. This kind of integration thinking is what Roman Catholicism has done with pagan cultures for centuries. They merely incorporated aspects of pagan cultures and aspects of their pagan worship practices with Roman Catholic rituals and thereby absorbed those cultures and false religious practices. This argument for cultural relevancy is nothing more than an ancient Roman Catholic methodology integrationism (spelled COMPROMISE). It is a contradiction against spirituality in that the intent of discipleship is to eradicate worldliness from a believer’s life, not incorporate worldliness into the believer’s life.

Producing worship that results in joyful obedience to God’s commands and loving (self-sacrificing) ministry to the world should also be the objective of soul stirring preaching. Soul stirring preaching is predominantly about proclaiming what God says and what God wants in dogmatic terms intent upon persuading sinners to yield their wills to God’s will. Soul stirring preaching is predominantly theological and doctrinal. Soul stirring preaching is preoccupied with what God has said (His Word). Soul stirring preaching is about leading souls to spiritual maturity through incremental decisions of yieldedness. Soul stirring preaching is confrontational, uncompromising, to the point, and specific.

The predominant theme and purpose of soul stirring preaching is complete, absolute, total surrender to Jesus Christ and loving Him to the self-sacrificial degree that, by comparison, you “hate” your “father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and” your “own life also.” In fact, Christ says you cannot legitimately consider yourself one of His disciples until you BEGIN with that kind of commitment. He also says that before you begin, you better stop and count the cost of this expectation. The person understanding the purpose of preaching understands the commitment necessary to God’s intended benefit from that preaching. Without the initial commitment, the professing disciple will never realize the intended benefit.

We are not talking about salvation in Luke 14:25-35. We are talking about discipleship. Christ is telling us that when we accept the beginning of the way of discipleship, we are accepting the end of the way of discipleship. To declare one’s self a disciple of Jesus Christ is to accept the Cross as a reality in our lives (Gal. 2:20). Discipleship is death to selfishness. Discipleship is death to personal ambitions and worldly pursuits. Discipleship is a declaration of determination to “study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly diving the Word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15). Discipleship is the declaration to be a “living sacrifice” intent upon living or dying to the glory of God (Romans 12:1-2). If that is not the reality of your Christian testimony, your Christian testimony is a lie and you are a hypocrite.

There is another critical aspect to Christ’s methodology that few ever seem to see. This aspect of His methodology is a total contradiction to what we see as acceptable Christianity within the river a mile wide and an inch deep. WITH EVERY INCREMENTAL DECISION THAT CHRIST LED HIS DISCIPLES THROUGH, HE INCREASED HIS EXPECTATIONS OF THEM AND THEREBY LESSENED THE NUMBERS THAT FOLLOWED HIM. This is the normal progression in true discipleship and spiritual growth (progressive sanctification).

True discipleship refines the multitudes of professing believers and naturally purges out those failing the constant tests of faith by their own pathetic indecisiveness. It is through this refining fire that God determines those individuals He can trust with His glory and through whose lives He can produce fruit. God is exalted and glorified through His miraculous workings through the lives of the few, not in the lives of the masses. God is repeating the story of Gideon in every true Church of Jesus Christ. If we miss that truth, we have missed the message of Luke 14:25-35.

In the establishment of any local church, after the laying of a solid foundation of disciples of Jesus Christ, if those disciples end up raising up a banner to glorify some man instead of glorifying God, that man’s ministry has been a failure. If the ministry of any man does not result in disciples becoming a “city set on a hill” with all their “light” directing the world to look upon Jesus Christ, that man’s ministry has been a failure. Discipleship is not about building monuments to men. If that is the case, what is being called discipleship is not discipleship at all. Every local church is to be a monument to glorify God. Those of us intent upon making disciples better insure that we maintain that focus in our everyday ministries. We should never forget that there is a “great gulf fixed” between Empire Building and Kingdom Building and, we all had better regularly evaluate with which of the two we have involved ourselves.