{"id":144,"date":"2020-04-20T20:45:41","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T20:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3.14.142.208\/?p=144"},"modified":"2024-01-17T15:46:20","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T15:46:20","slug":"a-brief-biblical-response-to-progressive-christianitys-worldview-of-feelings-over-facts-part-2-of-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/?p=144","title":{"rendered":"A Brief Biblical Response to \u201cProgressive Christianity\u2019s\u201d Worldview of Feelings over Facts (Part 2 of 5)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My June 7, 2019, post entitled \u201cBIBLE CONSUMPTION \u2013 A NECESSITY FOR 2019 AND BEYOND\u201d) referenced three excellent articles in the June 2019 issue of Decision Magazine.  One of those articles is entitled \u201cFive Signs Your Church May be Heading Toward Progressive Christianity\u201d and written by Alisa Childers  (https:\/\/decisionmagazine.com\/five-signs-your-church-might-be-heading-toward-progressive-christianity\/<\/a>).  I ended my post with the challenge:<\/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

This post is the second in a five-part series that advances Biblical responses to each one of the five signs.  This post responds to the second sign of \u201cprogressive Christianity,\u201d which is the worldview of \u201cfeelings over facts.\u201d  Alisa Childers describes this sign as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In progressive churches, personal experiences, feelings and opinions tend to be valued above objective truth. As the Bible ceases to be viewed as God\u2019s definitive Word, what a person feels to be true<\/em> becomes the ultimate authority for faith and practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A series of basic biblical truths show the gross error to elevate feelings over God\u2019s Word.  Psalm 145:17 (ESV) makes it clear that God is righteous:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 119:137 (ESV) teaches that in addition to God being righteous, God\u2019s Word is right:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

137 Righteous are you, O Lord, and right are your rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All people are sinners per Romans 3:23 (ESV):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though saved, a person still struggles with sin per 1 John 1:8 (ESV):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It makes no sense to elevate the feelings of a sinner over the righteousness of God and the truth of God\u2019s Word.  To do so is self-worship and not God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Childers lists three exemplary comments one might hear in a church trending toward progressive Christianity.  The first exemplary comment is, \u201cThat Bible verse doesn\u2019t resonate with me.\u201d  The fact that a passage does not \u201cresonate\u201d with a sinner (see Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8) does nothing to denigrate the rightness of God\u2019s Word.  A lack of resonance or understanding existed in the 1st Century, as shown by Peter\u2019s characterization of Paul\u2019s writing in 2 Peter 3:15\u201316 (ESV):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lack of resonance can be due to many things, but none of them negatively impact the authority of God\u2019s Word.  As Psalm 119:89\u201390 (ESV) teaches, God\u2019s Word is forever:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

89 Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. 90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second exemplary comment indicative of a church moving toward \u201cprogressive Christianity\u201d is \u201cI thought homosexuality was a sin until I met and befriended some gay people.\u201d  To befriend practicing sinners who are friendly does not somehow transform what God calls \u201csin\u201d into acceptable practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What God teaches about the sin of homosexual practice stands throughout the ages per 1 Peter 1:25 (ESV):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.\u201d And this word is the good news that was preached to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that practicing homosexuals are hospitable does not change the biblical teaching that homosexual practice is a sin.  The Bible contains multiple texts that call out homosexual practice to be a sin, including Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:26-27:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leviticus 18:22 (ESV) – 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romans 1:26\u201327 (ESV) – 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a person to erase from the Bible, something God calls sin is to say he or she knows better than God about what is right and wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third comment is, \u201cI just can\u2019t believe Jesus would send good people to hell.\u201d  One colossal error resides in the premise that any person is \u201cgood.\u201d  As recorded in Mark 10:18 (ESV),  Jesus taught that no one is \u201cgood\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18 And Jesus said to him, \u201cWhy do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that there are no \u201cgood\u201d people is because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God per Romans 3:23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second glaring error is that Jesus does not \u201csend\u201d anyone to hell.  The gospel message offers salvation to all.  Those who choose to reject God\u2019s offer of salvation essentially cast themselves into hell.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, per Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV), Jesus makes a distinction between those who spend eternity in heaven and those who spend it in hell per Jesus\u2019 command to depart from Him:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21 \u201cNot everyone who says to me, \u2018Lord, Lord,\u2019 will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, \u2018Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?\u2019 23 And then will I declare to them, \u2018I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conclusion, to raise one\u2019s feelings over what God\u2019s Word says is wrong.  If a passage doesn\u2019t \u201cresonate\u201d with a person, it does not change the correct interpretation of that passage.  If a sinner who practices lifestyle-based sins is nice, the authority of God\u2019s Word remains the same, and sin is still sin.  If \u201cI just can\u2019t believe\u201d what the Bible teaches, the biblical teaching remains the same.  One\u2019s feelings make no difference whatsoever when it comes to the authority of Scripture and what the Bible teaches.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to use the \u201cComments\u201d feature or e-mail me at steve@stevebelsheim.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTICE OF PERMISSIONS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am mindful of and respect the rights other authors and\/or publishers possess in their works.  I thus try my best to not violate any copyright rights other authors and\/or publishers possess in their works.  The below copyright permission statement is the result of my best efforts to understand that limited usage or \u201cfair use\u201d is available and\/or to secure direct permission for specific works.  Scripture quotations are from the ESV\u00ae Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved. I believe the short quotations from Decision Magazine fall within the fair use doctrine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My June 7, 2019, post entitled \u201cBIBLE CONSUMPTION \u2013 A NECESSITY FOR 2019 AND BEYOND\u201d) referenced three excellent articles in the June 2019 issue of Decision Magazine.  One of those articles is entitled \u201cFive Signs Your Church May be Heading Toward Progressive Christianity\u201d and written by Alisa Childers  (https:\/\/decisionmagazine.com\/five-signs-your-church-might-be-heading-toward-progressive-christianity\/).  I ended my post with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[319],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lgbtq"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=144"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144\/revisions\/145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}