Ingrid Schlueter of the VCY America Crosstalk radio program recently published an article that raises troubling questions concerning a missions group headquartered in Gainesville, GA. The missions organization in question is called Adventures in Missions (AIM)/World Race, and they appear to have some very disturbing teachings. One of these teachings is found in the Parents’ Guide that writes that the youth who choose to participate with AIM “must leave the guidance of family” and “belief systems defined by others” behind them when they choose to partner with AIM for missions work. But is this even biblical? After all, Godly parents are described in the Bible as a blessing.
Also, participants of AIM/World Race must practice something calling the discipline of "listening prayer," a kind of "prayer" that rejects Sola Scriptura, which is the Reformation principle that God speaks to us through Scripture alone. Instead, "listening prayer" rejects the authority of Scripture in favor of a more subjective, experiential kind of prayer in which the participant "listens"to God and journals what he or she thinks God is personally speaking to them. This kind of prayer is a rejection, as I noted, of the Reformation principle of Sola Scriptura, and is also a rejection of God's clear teaching on how we "hear" from God:
"In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe." Hebrews 1:1-2
What is one way that Jesus is described in the Bible? He is called "the Word:"
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
Do you want to "hear" from God? The Bible teaches that the way we "hear" from God is through the study of Jesus himself.....that is, by studying the Word.
Panentheistic Worldview vs. Christian Worldview
On this page, Adventures in Missions President and founder Seth Barnes directs his readers how to find "Spiritual Direction." At the end of the article, he encourages his readers to link to a site called "Celtic Spirituality" to learn more about the art of finding spiritual direction. In one article found at Celtic Spirituality, entitled "Shape Shifting Meditation," the participant is given the following meditation to do:
"Close your eyes, and send your consciousness down through the room, down through the floor of the building, and down, deep down, into the earth. Be aware of the mass of rock that lies beneath the soil -- shale, quartz, sandstone, granite; the black, white, and red -- shot through with bands of minerals, darkly glittering; crystals that shine like stars within the stones ... Let your consciousness become one with the mineral kingdom. You might choose to become a mountain as old as the planet itself, once part of the seabed, thrown up by unspeakable forces now stilled, enormously, timelessly rooted in the earth, its head in the stars ... or a minute grain of sand, one among trillions and trillions, endlessly shifting, sifting, with the ocean tides ... or become a stone ... the stone people are alive, it's just that their hearts beat slower than ours..."
That this kind of teaching is recommended reading by an organization that purports to be Christian is truly disturbing. This teaching is identical to the panentheistic meditations I did while I was a New Ager. (Panentheism is the belief that there is a "divine energy" connecting all of life together, and that we all possess a "divine inner spark.") Even more disturbing is the idea that AIM sees no distinction between their panentheistic, God-in-everything view and the pagan God-in-everything view found in the countries, presumably, where AIM is trying to reach people with the good news of the gospel. One has to wonder, then, what AIM's "gospel message" is. For instance:
Do they explain that all men are born wretched and depraved? (no "divine inner spark")
Do they teach about the pre-eminent holiness of God?
Do they tell of the exclusive nature of Christ?
Do they explain that without Christ's atoning death, there is no union with God?
I know that the world at large views Christians as arrogant, judgmental and condemning. And sadly, I have to say that many who claim the name of Christ are this way. But when true, born again Christians are simply speaking what the Scriptures say, it is not us that the world finds itself at odds with......it is God. There is something so supernaturally authoritative about Scripture that when we begin to speak it, it has the ability to pierce even those who seem the hardest, the coldest and the most closed off to the gospel.
I know this from personal experience. I wanted nothing to do with the God of the Bible. I much preferred the "God" of the world, which was a "God" who was ultra-tolerant, loving, and wanted only my personal best. A "God" who didn't really care what I believed, so long as I was sincere in my beliefs. This Universalist, all-paths-lead-to-me "God" was an easy "God" to worship. He was not exclusive, judgmental or wrathful. I could cherry pick from the religions that seemed interesting to me and "try them on for size," browsing like I might shop for a coat, trying a little mantra meditation here, a little vegeterianism there. And so I was lost in this hedonistic, easy-going postmodern spirituality for more than a decade.
My excuses for not bending the knee to the God of the Bible were many, and varied:
"I'm not as bad as (insert friend/neighbor/family member here)."
"Everybody I know does this, so it must be okay."
"The Bible has no authority over me, it was written by men, not God, and has been tinkered with over the centuries. Sure, there's some good stuff in there, but it's not inerrant."
"Hey, I do my best."
But thankfully, God rescued me from my own foolish, worldly wisdom. He opened my eyes to the horrific nature of my own sin, and I saw in one instant the wretchedness of my own depravity in a way I'd never seen it before. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I needed a Savior. Like Christian in Pilgrim's Progress, I knew that my own "sin burden" would sink me lower than the grave, and into the fires of hell, rightfully so, for all my wretched sins committed against a holy God.
The excuses that had once tumbled so glibly out of my mouth were revealed in an instant for the foolishness that they were. My mouth was silenced.
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God." (Romans 3:19)
Today, my heart is especially broken over friends who are still lost and, like I was once, in open rebellion to the God of the Bible. I have reconnected recently with a friend from long ago, and have wondered how to approach her with the gospel. This friend is very, very dear to me, and stood by me during a very dark time in my life more than 20 years ago. But recently, on a Facebook comment thread, this friend took exception to an article that I posted about a new, radical movement inside of evangelical Christianity that encourges Christians to embrace homosexuality as a viable lifestyle for some Christians. Until recently, I have not posted much on homosexuality due to it being such a charged topic, but after reading a recent article by Christian writer Skip Coryell, I've changed my stance on writing about this issue. Coryell basically makes the case that Christians in general have been intimidated into remaining silent on this "hot potato" issue, rather than speaking biblical truth into a lost and dark world that so desperately needs it. So that's the background for this recent conflict between me and an old friend: we are on opposite sides not only on this issue of homosexuality, but on the issue of whether or not the Bible has spoken authoritatively on this, and all other, issues.
My friend, by all indications, seems to still have the same easygoing Universalist belief as so many in the world today, and the same one I held to for so long. And what's not to like about a view which demands nothing of a person, and seems to grant permission to believe whatever one likes, and live however one wants? Universalism seems like the religion of love, with its olly olly oxen free clarion call of "come one, come all." I can attest that one of the reasons that I myself embraced Universalism as a young adult was that during this period of my life, I was working in an industry that attracted many homosexuals, some of whom I became friends with. The biblical idea that these friends of mine would be damned for their sin was absolutely ludicrous to me. Who could believe in such a God? Moreover, who could love such a God?
What I came to realize after God saved me was that their sin of unrepentant homosexuality was no greater than my own sins of unrepentant covetousness, unrepentant pride, unrepentant stubborness. Like Jesus, we are to love the sinner but hate the sin. Many people point to the story of Jesus and the adulterous woman as an example of Jesus-accepts-you-just-as-you-are tolerance. Only, they conveniently leave out the last part where Jesus told the woman: "Go, and sin no more." (John 8:1-11)
We must - in love and with great compassion - exhort our homosexual friends to repent and bend the knee before their sovereign creator God, just as we would any other lost person. And then we must understand that all of us have besetting sins that we struggle with, all of us must seek to subdue and crucify our flesh, not in a works-righteous way, but in a God honoring and God glorifying way, so that our wills, our hearts, our minds, our bodies all come under the authority of Christ (Rom 13:14, Gal 3:27, Eph 4:24). No, it's not easy, and yes, there are setbacks and ongoing struggles. But when God saves us, He mercifully gives us the Holy Spirit, our ally behind enemy lines, as it were, who helps us grow and gives us strength and aids us as we become more and more conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29).
I wish I could somehow reach into the hearts of all my lost friends - including the one I've recently gotten in touch with - and somehow explain to them that following Christ is not about getting a checklist of the "right" things to do and following it. It is not someone grudgingly doing good things, the way a kid might hold his nose and drink down bad medicine. It is being free from the curse and condemnation of sin, and then joyfully serving the Lord who bought us out of the slave market of sin.
"The wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23a
"Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin........But if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.' " John 8:34-36
We've broken God's moral laws, and we stand condemned. We cannot forgive ourselves. We can't do enough good works to "get out of the hole" our sins have put us in. There is no giant "scale" somewhere in the sky waiting to weigh out our good deeds against our bad deeds. We are condemned, lost, doomed......unless God himself intervenes into this dire situation. But miraculously, He did. My pastor often comments that the 2 most precious words in the Bible are "But God..."
BUT GOD....sought us while we were yet sinners. (Romans 5:8)
BUT GOD....so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
BUT GOD....made a way for wretched, depraved men and women to be reconciled to a holy God, and has freed those who will repent and place their faith in Christ's atoning death from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)
What amazing good news this is! It is, in fact, the best news that the world has ever heard. Will you commit to praying for those in your life who are lost, and need this good news? Who don't recognize the bondage they're in? After all, you might be the only Christian in someone's life who is willing to stand in the gap between them and the hell they are moving inexorably toward. Perhaps you have given books, tracts, CDs, articles, etc. to the lost person in your life and you've been soundly rebuffed. But what about prayer? Have you earnestly appealed in prayer to God's mercy and lovingkindness on behalf of this person, knowing that any prayers they might make will go unheard? I sometimes jokingly refer to prayer as the "throw up your hands" option. You see, sometimes Christians will get frustrated after attempting to persuade the lost into salvation by appealing to their common sense and logic. "Well," they might then say, exasperated, "I suppose there's always prayer!" As if prayer were somehow inferior to all the other attempts to persuade. But we must remember that salvation is a supernatural work of God, and there is a holy, supernatural mystery attached to the prayers of the righteous. After all, Christians are the only ones who are allowed to approach the throne of grace where we know that we will be heard:
"Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)
Surely someone interceded on your behalf before the Lord of Glory when you were a sin-loving, God-hating rebellious sinner. Won't you put aside some time today to stand in the gap for those you know who are lost?
"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)
“I have heard many fanatical persons say the Holy Spirit revealed this and that to them. Now that is very generally revealed nonsense. The Holy Ghost does not reveal anything fresh now. He brings old things to our remembrance. ‘He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have told you,’ [John 14:26]. The canon of revelation is closed; there is no more to be added. God does not give a fresh revelation, but he rivets the old one. When it has been forgotten, and laid in the dusty chamber of our memory, he fetches it out and cleans the picture, but does not paint a new one. There are no new doctrines, but the old ones are often revived. It is not, I say, by any new revelation that the Spirit comforts. He does so by telling us old things over again; he brings a fresh lamp to manifest the treasures hidden in Scripture; he unlocks the strong chests in which the truth had long lain, and he points to secret chambers filled with untold riches; but he coins no more, for enough is done.
Believer! There is enough in the Bible for thee to live upon for ever. If thou shouldest outnumber the years of Methusaleh, there would be no need for a fresh revelation; if thou shouldest live till Christ should come upon the earth, there would be no necessity for the addition of a single word; if thou shouldest go down as deep as Jonah, or even descend as David said he did, into the belly of hell, still there would be enough in the Bible to comfort thee without a supplementary sentence.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
The New Park Street Pulpit
Vol. I (1855), p. 38
Read the following carefully. After you have finished, try to guess where the author of these statements recently spoke:
"Now I see that God prefers to work through intermediaries–Mary and the saints . . . He wants us to pray through Mary and not only directly." (p. 154, Ecumenical Jihad)
"[Mary] may bring the churches together again and heal the tears in her Son's visible body on earth, she, the very one who seems to divide Catholics from Protestants. The most distinctive Catholic doctrines, especially those concerning the Eucharist and Mary, may prove to be the most unifying and attracting ones." (p. 158, Ecumenical Jihad)
"Consecrate your life to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She is the one who will win this war. She is the one (as the Bible says) who triumphs over Satan." (p. 169 – parenthesis in original, Ecumenical Jihad)
The author of these words recently spoke at:
A) World Youth Day for the Roman Catholic Church
B) Swimming the Tiber, a conference for Catholic converts sponsored by EWTN
C) Evangelical Pastor Rick Warren's Christian Apologetics Conference at Saddleback
As a handful of Christians have been warning for some time, contemplative spirituality is drawing evangelicals to Rome. As could be expected, Rick Warren is leading the charge to overthrow the Reformation and to develop a global ecumenical spirituality that leads invariably back to Rome.
The author of the above statements is Peter Kreeft, a former Protestant who converted to Catholicism, and is now a Catholic apologist. Kreeft is the author of the book Ecumenical Jihad, from which these quotes were taken.
The question is: Why would "America's Pastor" (Rick Warren) welcome an apologist for an apostate religious system into his church, and especially at a conference that is meant to give a defense of the Christian faith?
Author Anne Rice recently blogged on her thoughts about Christmas and its meaning. But Rice, who was embraced by many in the Christian community some years ago when she wrote about becoming a Christian, has further clairified in the article linked above that her version of "Christianity" is far from orthodox.
In her article, Rice speaks in great detail of the humanity of Christ. In truth, this is a lovely thing to dwell on, this knowing that we have a Savior who identifies with us because he has lived a mortal life and therefore knows our weaknesses. But Rice stops there (at Christ's humanity) and even explains that the very heart of the gospel itself and the very reason for Christ's incarnation - the atonement - is not necessary:
"(T)he genius of the Christmas Crib is that you do not need theology to approach it. You do not need any bloody atonement theory to touch the Christ Child’s outstretched hand. The story is complete there without the horror of the cross." (online source)
I would remind anyone reading what Anne Rice wrote that the atonement was not simply a theory. It was an actual event that happened in history, and it is only through the atonement that we are able to touch Christ's "outstretched hand." In fact, without the atonement, no one may approach God, and all who reject the atonement will remain under God's wrath.
To me, it is far more amazing to have a Savior who was human - yes - but who was fully God, too. And because of his Deity, Christ was able to make the ultimate sacrifice: offering up his own perfect, sinless life and suffering God's wrath on behalf of those who would repent and place their faith in this atoning work done on their behalf. God - in his magnificent, unsurpassable wisdom - made a way to reconcile wretched, sinful men and women to himself without compromising his perfect, holy justice. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, who was both fully God and fully man, and who lived a perfect life, never sinning in thought, word or deed, and who, because of this, was able to offer up his life as a ransom for many. I broke God's laws, and Jesus paid my fine in his life's blood so that I could be released from the rightful condemnation of the law. But this gift of salvation, though given freely, is narrow and exclusive. Only those who recognize their sinful wretchedness and need for a Savior, and repent and place their faith in Christ's atoning work done on their behalf, will see the kingdom of Heaven.
A baby in a manger is not the whole story. And in truth, we cannot - must not - stop at the manger. The manger is just the beginning of the story of Jesus, and ultimately, this story leads to the Cross.
Anne Rice is celebrating the "what" of Jesus's incarnation (that He actually came, that He entered into time and space), but she is leaving out the most important part of Christ's incarnation, which is the "why" of his incarnation: the Cross. Quite literally, Jesus was born so that one day He would die. His life's mission was that He would be born, live a perfect life, and then die and rise again, conquering sin and death and reconciling God's people to himself.
"The plain truth is, that “sincerity and earnestness” are becoming the idol of many Christians in these latter days. People seem to think it matters little what opinions a man holds in religion, so long as he is “earnest and sincere”, and you are thought uncharitable if you doubt his soundness in the faith! Against this idolatry of mere “earnestness” I enter my solemn protest. I charge every reader to remember that God’s written Word is the only rule of faith, and to believe nothing to be true and soul-saving in religion which cannot be proved by plain texts of Scripture. I entreat him to read the Bible and make it his only test of truth and error, right and wrong." - J.C. Ryle
J.C. Ryle wrote this almost a hundred years ago, but this is every bit as true now as it was in Ryle's day. "Sincerity," especially, seems to be the chief measuring stick that today's postmoderns go by:
"Hey, as long as it works for you..."
.....with the "it" merely being incidental and the "you" being of primary importance, when in fact the 'it' of Christianity is of paramount importance, and the 'you' is of very little importance. (The 'it' of the Postmodern Manifesto, of course, refers to one's set of beliefs, one's doctrine, as it were.)
We all have friends who have succumbed to this newfangled way of Postmodern thinking. They nod sagely, and they pat your hand when you attempt to speak truth to them, and they rush to assure you that you need not worry for them....after all, what they have 'works' for them.
But doesn't truth matter? One of my favorite Christian pastors of today says that often he will go to a college auditorium and stand up at the podium and boldly proclaim:
"I am a seeker of truth!"
And when he does this, he says that he will most likely receive a standing ovation. Cheers and hollering and fist pumping all around. But, when he follows up this statement with this proclamation:
"I have found Truth. I know exactly what Truth is!"
.....he is often booed and jeered.
Why is this? Why is the pursuit of truth thought to be such a high and noble calling, and yet the proclamation of one's having found Truth deemed to be insufferably arrogant?
As Christians, we know that Truth is not a what...it is a Who. It is Jesus Christ, who said:
"I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father but through me." (John 14:6)
Truth isn't just what feels good, or what seems to work (pragmatism). And yet many of today's church leaders seem to go by the maxim that if their church is growing, then "God must be in it." But growth is not the sole measure of a church's spiritual health. After all, today there are many, many examples of churches that are growing by leaps and bounds, but which routinely offer up self-help messages designed to tickle the ears of the hearers, messages about abundant living, good health, how to parent, be a good spouse, manage one's finances, etc., rather than sound biblical teaching.
But isn't it doctrine, in fact, that teaches man how he can be reconciled to a high and holy God? Shouldn't this be the main job of the church? Teaching about the essential doctrines of the faith and calling for repentance of sin and faith in Christ's atoning death? After all, this was how Jesus and the apostles taught.
Think of it this way: wiccans, pagans, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists are all very sincere in their beliefs. It's just that they are all sincerely deceived. They all have doctrine....it's just that it's wrong doctrine. And please understand this: the depth of their sincerity will be no safeguard whatsoever against the fires of hell awaiting them on the Day of Judgment. Does this not give us all pause?
Just for the record, below are the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. So essential to the faith are these truths, that lack of belief in even one of these doctrines is considered to be heresy. I'm putting these doctrines forth because I keep having conversations with people who have no idea whatsoever that there are even essential beliefs a Christian must hold to in order to be considered orthodox. (The result, of course, of an entire church generation having been primarily fed with ear-tickling, self-help messages.) So here they are:
The Five Essential Beliefs of the Christian Faith
1. The Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. The Virgin Birth.
3. The Blood Atonement.
4. The Bodily Resurrection.
5. The Inerrancy of the Scriptures.
Not many words are used in comprising the above list of the essential beliefs of the Christian faith, but many challenging concepts are contained therein, are they not? In fact, all true, born-again believers have had to wrestle through the hard truths contained in these 21 words, not to mention their implications. If you have never seen this list before, I invite you to dwell on it and its truths, and make sure that you are in wholehearted agreement with them. And if you are not, then, by all means, let the wrestling begin. Your eternity depends upon it.
I think no other time of year reveals the deep ruin of this world as vividly as Christmas. This is a season, it seems, that brings an uncanny insurgence of feigned virtue; a season saturated with the deceitful schemes of ingenious marketing tactics and ploys intended to generate some measure of public sentiment so as to invoke the great machine of covetous consumerism. I abhor the world’s even mild, transient, opportunistic attempts at identification with the virtues and symbols of our faith. The whole Christmas “campaign” just accents the blackness and ignorance of a world that is perishing and passing away….and I have to be especially diligent not to become embittered by it all.
In that context, I was struck (as sovereignty would have it) with a simple question from an old Puritan work that I happened to be reading this morning. The question posed was this: “Can you, if truly a Christian, contemplate the costly advent and agonies of the Son of God on your behalf, and yet be indifferent to the prosperity of the cause for which He came and died? Can you behold the Father of eternity resigning the Son of His love in compassion to you, and yet be careless about the conversion of a perishing soul?”
For me the question was internalized this way: “While it is true that the world’s “Christmas” is a mockery of our Lord Jesus Christ, why is my governing disposition one of embitterment, rather than of pity and compassion for those who will traverse December 25th…and all of their life…completely ignorant and darkened to the realities of the incarnate Christ, and to the free offer of salvation?” Likewise, if you profess to be a Christian, then you must know, as do I, that you are surrounded by souls that will exist forever. What’s more, God has granted you to know the worth of a soul; to know the grim danger of unbelief and unfathomable glories of heaven, having illumined you and having called you through His gospel. And will you, or I, with cold embitterment this Christmas, behold a dead world while simultaneously withholding the word of life?
If the Christian is to radiate Christ in December….and in whatever brief span of life awaits beyond…. consider this:
“He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death.” (James 5:20)
It is, of course, God who has sovereignly chosen and who sovereignly does the saving, but His people are to be compassionate mouthpieces and instruments for His gospel. Can a man truly believe the gospel and yet be inactive in its proclamation? Not hardly.
What then? Christ Himself taught:
“The night cometh in which no man can work.” (John 9:4)
That is to say that there is coming a time when there will be no further opportunity to labor for the glory of God in the salvation of men. What motivation then is ours to aspire to crowd the time we have with gospel labors! If pity will move us at all, if compassion will mobilize us at all, it must move us here…and now, beloved.
Look to the Christ of the real Christmas who became for your welfare a Man of sorrows and suffering. Think of that moment when you step into eternity and into His presence….and of those you will meet again who were snatched from an eternal night by the Spirit-empowered gospel uttered by the instrument of your lips. Is there a carol known that can express the joy of being joined with them in the eternal songs of heaven sung to the glory of Christ? If there be such a one, may it be our song this Christmas.
