volume 12, number 34, August 22, 2013

No Power in Accommodation

"The stone which the builders rejected, this became the very corner stone,' and, 'A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,' for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were appointed," 1 Peter 2:7-8.

In a desire to reach those skeptical of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the church's tendency has always been to accommodate to the culture. Friedrich Schleiermacher did it around 1800, stating that holding to the miracles of Jesus was not really necessary, that the cultured despisers of the gospel in his day would not accept them. So it was advisable to omit any talk of miracles when preaching the gospel. In the late nineteenth century, when Darwinism became the rage, men like James Woodrow of Columbia Seminary promoted a form of theistic evolution.[1] And presently, in a desire to accommodate the post modern culture of our day, many in evangelical churches are caving in on the doctrine of creation (denying the plain teaching of Scripture of literal twenty-four hour, six day creationism), moving ever closer to embracing some form of theistic evolution (God created the world but uses evolution to sustain it); watering down the doctrine of eternal punishment (believing that eventually the souls of those in hell will be annihilated and cease to exist); promoting the ordination of women to the office of pastor or elder; calling into question the doctrine of Scripture (doubting its inerrancy and authority on the one hand, and on the other, in Muslim countries, making translations of the Bible that omit references to the Trinity or Jesus Christ as the Son of God); and failing to preach prophetically to the hot button issues of the day-same sex marriage, the exclusivity of Christ, and abortion. And since the post modern world seems to be enamored with social justice (we most definitely should be concerned about dealing justly and fairly with others, Colossians 4:1), the emphasis seems to be on what we once called social gospel issues-leading with, focusing on issues like sex-trafficking and unfair labor practices rather than calling men and women to Christ in faith and repentance (Mark 1:16). I am not saying these are not important issues, but people can be on the right side of these issues and still be lost, on their way to perdition.

Consequently a decided change in preaching and evangelism is taking place. Much of the preaching today refuses to make direct, specific, personal application to the hearers, calling the people to repentance and commitment to gospel holiness. The preacher tends to "let people off the hook" by saying, "We all sin. We all are a mess. Your idol may be pornography. Mine might be adultery, but that's okay. We are in Christ and all is well." They say this while failing to warn the recalcitrant, unrepentant sinner of his danger (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:1-5, Hebrews 2:3, 6:4-6, 10:26-31, 12:14-17). And some tend to use the pulpit as the stage for an emotional, psychological burlesque show, telling the congregation of all his doubts, struggles, sins, fears, and anxieties, believing that this shows his authenticity. Preachers need to "get it together" before they enter the pulpit so they will not inflict their problems on their congregations. Whining from the pulpit is not helpful. Such preaching is bereft of manly leadership.

Evangelism is changing drastically as well. One-on-one personal evangelism is perceived as confrontational, negative, judgmental, unloving, and unprofitable. So a great deal of time is to be spent in building relationships with unbelievers in order to earn the right to be heard by them. I would think, if I was an unbeliever, and a Christian was using this tactic on me, that he was being dishonest, that he was merely using me instead of genuinely being concerned for my soul. Being kind and gracious to people is a no-brainer (Romans 12:9-13). We are always to be kind and gracious to everyone. But have we forgotten that people are on the road to hell without Christ? If you believe in the lostness of people, how then, can you remain silent, hoping over several months or years finally to get an open door for the gospel. Just go for it. What's wrong with lovingly, gently, but directly sharing Jesus with people from the get go?

But lots of church leaders have bought into this new kind of Christianity, and in some places, their churches are flourishing. By flourishing I mean, of course, lots of people are attending. There is lots of activity and excitement.

There is not, however, any power in this kind of ministry. The underlying assumption, whether acknowledged or not, is that man is inherently good, that he, at the very least, has some ability in himself to call on Christ. The Bible says otherwise, that all of man's desires are always evil continually (Genesis 6:5), that his throat is an open grave, that his feet are swift to shed innocent blood, that there is no fear of God before His eyes (Romans 3:10-10-18), that he consequently is under God's just wrath and condemnation (Romans 1:18ff).

When will the twenty-first century church realize and accept that accommodation with the world has no power? This kind of capitulation to the world did not work in twentieth century liberalism. It emptied churches. The main-line denominations are continuing their slide into oblivion. There is no convicting, regenerating, converting, or sanctifying power in ecclesiastical accommodation to the world. Let's remember one vital truth-the gospel of Jesus Christ has always been a stumbling block[2], an offensive stench to the nostrils of the unbeliever. When has the world ever bought into the utter and complete sinfulness of man, the exclusivity of Christ, the virgin birth of Christ, Biblical creationism, or the doctrine of eternal punishment? The unbeliever has rejected the scandal of the gospel and he is doomed to hell because of it. Everything about the gospel of Christ is offensive to the unregenerate man; and when you preach the full gospel of Christ, bearing down on the sinfulness and utter lostness of your audience, stressing your supreme confidence in the inerrant, inspired, and infallible word of God, calling sinners to flee from the wrath of God which is sure to come and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, then the world will scoff.

So bottom line-don't worry about what the world thinks of your Biblical doctrine. They are not buying it. Don't dilute it. Don't soft sell it. Are you enamored with being accepted and admired by the world? Be done with such folly. If you want to see a graphic contrast then google "Larry King LIve, Joel Osteen and John MacArthur" and see the difference between how Osteen and MacArthur communicate Biblical themes.

Paul said that he gloried in the cross of Christ (Galatians 6:14), that he was a fool, a bond slave, a spectacle to the world, the very scum of the earth and the dregs of all things (1 Corinthians 4:1-13).

Our confidence, dear friends, comes from the empowering Holy Spirit. We are to be filled with the Spirit and this comes through much prayer, much time alone with God. We then go forth from our knees to the world, opening our mouths, trusting God to fill them with His word in convicting, converting, and sanctifying power. This has always been God's way. Nothing has changed. People are no different today than at any other time. Trust the Spirit's power working in and through you to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

1. For a detailed account of the controversy, see David

Calhoun's Our Southern Zion, page 265ff. Woodrow

embraced a "limited view of theistic evolution," while John

Girardeau led the opposition to Woodrow's theological position

on the issue, warning that pupils of Woodrow would not stop

where their teacher stopped, that "mediate evolution" would

soon become real evolution.

2. skandalon-literally the word means the movable stick or

trigger of a trap which, when removed, causes the trap door

to shut quickly on the prey. It is any impediment placed in

the path of someone which causes him to stumble, Thayer's