The church I serve as an elder offers a One Year Bible Reading group. While we carry out our reading on an individual basis, we believe Bible intake in community is essential. This coming Sunday, our group will meet for a periodic pot luck dinner after church. During our time together, we share how our Bible reading impacts our lives. The current trajectory of American society makes it all the more critical that a Christ-follower partakes of a steady diet of God\u2019s Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the past couple of weeks, I read some articles about \u201cprogressive Christianity\u201d in the June 2019 issue of Decision Magazine. This issue contains These articles include \u201cThe Lie of \u2018Progressive Christianity\u2019\u201d by Jerry Pierce (https:\/\/decisionmagazine.com\/lie-progressive-christianity\/<\/a> ), \u201cFive Signs Your Church May be Heading Toward Progressive Christianity\u201d by Alisa Childers (https:\/\/decisionmagazine.com\/five-signs-your-church-might-be-heading-toward-progressive-christianity\/<\/a>), and \u201cWhen Christianity is \u2018Pointless\u2019\u201d by John Stonestreet and G. Shane Morris (https:\/\/decisionmagazine.com\/when-christianity-is-pointless\/<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n My key takeaways from these articles are below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My first takeaway pertains to the diminished view \u201cprogressive Christianity\u201d has towards the authority of Scripture to present objective truth. \u201cProgressive Christianity\u201d claims the calling \u201cChristian,\u201d but denies the full authority of Scripture. The theology of \u201cProgressive Christianity\u201d shuns certainty and celebrates mystery for its own sake. The website progressivechristianity.org includes a statement \u201cgrace in the search for understanding \u2026 believe that there is more value in questioning than absolutes.\u201d Alisa Childers points out that the first sign of a \u2018Progressive Christian\u201d church is a lowered view of the Bible by emphasizing personal belief over the Biblical mandate. She points out a second sign in which there is the elevation of feelings over facts wherein people value personal experiences, feelings, and opinions over Biblical objective truth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My second takeaway concerns the diminishment of the Gospel message. The Stonestreet et al. article refers to the liberals in the day of J. Gresham Machen that \u201cthe faith they\u2019re teaching is not Christianity at all. It\u2019s a social reform agenda fueled by feelings, informed by secular thought, and barely draped with religious language.\u201d Looking at the Childers article, her firth sign of a \u201cprogressive Christian\u201d church is a shift in the heart of the gospel message from sin and redemption to social justice wherein the idea of a blood covenant is de-emphasized or denied altogether. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My third takeaway focuses on perseverance under persecution. When it comes to a Christ-follower\u2019s opinion on the LGBTQ movement, while a lot of Christians \u201care trying to hide in the tall grass,\u201d the fact is they will have to make their opinion known. Faithful evangelicals are or will be faced with a choice to either affirm (1) the new sexuality embodied in the LGBTQ movement or (2) the full authority of Scripture and be the anathema in the postmodern culture wearing the label of being oppressive and bigoted. The Pierce article reads, \u201cAmid enormous cultural pressure, Mohler fears faithful Christians may eventually find themselves deemed to be subversive as the early Christians were in Rome. \u2026 So Christians are going to have to answer with the full measure of conviction, or they\u2019re just on a slower track than some others to denying the faith.\u201d Childers\u2019 third sign of a \u201cprogressive Christian\u201d church is that it opens up essential Christian doctrines for reinterpretation such as, for example, \u201chot button\u201d issues like homosexuality and abortion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My fourth takeaway pertains to the self-idolatry present in the \u201cprogressive Christian\u201d movement. The Stonestreet et al. article reads, \u201cIf your god \u2013 however, you define, him, her, it or they \u2013 never demands a change, then your god is you.\u201d Self-idolatry is along the lines of Childers\u2019 fourth sign that a \u201cprogressive Christian\u201d church maintains historic Christian terms, but redefines them through linguistic gymnastics to mean what they want them to mean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the period I was reading these articles, the Knowable Word blog (http:\/\/www.knowableword.com\/<\/a>) referred me to the Gospel Coalition article \u201cApproach Your Bible Desperately\u201d by Matt Smethurst (https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/approach-bible-desperately\/<\/a>). To survive his first-year college roommate, out of desperation, Smethurst had to dive deeply into God\u2019s Word. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In light of the takeaways from the Decision Magazine articles, Matt Smethurst\u2019s call to desperately plunge into the Bible becomes all the more urgent. To survive the onslaught from \u201cprogressive Christianity\u201d and other liberal societal pressures, the 21st Century Christ-follower will have to engage God\u2019s Word in a meaningful way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I suggest that you seriously consider Smethurst\u2019s three diagnostic questions. First, \u201cdo I approach the Bible more like it\u2019s a snack or like it\u2019s a feast?\u201d Second, \u201cis it more accurate to say I\u2019m willing to hear from God or that I\u2019m desperate to hear from him?\u201d Third, \u201cam I merely interested in the Scriptures, or am I also internalizing them?\u201d He then suggests a trip through Psalm 119 because \u201cit\u2019s like smelling salts for the soul.\u201d I agree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have the opportunity, I suggest you read these articles and formulate your plan of action. In this regard, note that Alisa Childers\u2019 article lists several comments under each sign of a \u201cprogressive Christian\u201d church, and I suggest you read them and equip yourself to answer them. To survive in the upcoming times, a Christ-follower will have to be well-grounded in God\u2019s Word. <\/p>\n\n\n\n