Part 2 - Progressive Christianity & The Battle for the Bible

So the text of scripture that we're focusing on is 2nd Timothy chapter 3. So if you want to open there, this is the one we the passage we started out with last week 2nd Timothy 3 16 and 17 and the lesson that we're looking at.

So this is for runners of the faith the final chapter final lesson Lesson 13 the battle for the Bible and of course, this is part 2 battle for the Bible part 2. What have we been talking about? Of course last week we had the the cancellation due to weather so who remembers two weeks ago, we were talking about what liberalism and fundamentalism and it was the liberals that basically attacked the authority of scripture and of course.

The problem has gotten so much worse since the 1800s early 1900s. To where now here in New England I said, it's you know, it's like half and half. Maybe even two-thirds or three-quarters of the churches that are out there don't actually believe that the Bible is the Word of God both inerrant and Infallible, but what does the Bible say about itself?

2nd Timothy 3 16 and 17 all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction and For instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be complete Thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Yes, Larry.

And so when Paul wrote that What was the all scripture that he had.

Right it well. The he would it would mainly be a reference to the Old Testament canon. Since the New Testament canon wasn't completed yet. So Paul and Jesus and all of them they viewed the Old Testament as the the very words of God.

I forget how many times in the Old Testament you see that phrase. Thus saith the Lord. I forget the number it's high. But that's what the disciples believed. That's of course what Jesus. Jesus is the embodiment of this but he He believed that it was all God's Word.

But of course, the New Testament is God's Word as well. I think we ended in section number two Princeton theology. This should ring a bell. So as Theological liberalism began to spread in the mid 18th century. The Lord raised up a formidable defense at Princeton Theological seminary.

So the men we looked at were Charles Hodge a a Hodge and then BB Warfield. So this should be in your book. It says the true church is characterized by its commitment to. Do you see that part? Okay, and what's the first one?

The church the true church is characterized by its commitment to. What?

The.

Yeah, the the Word of God in Scripture it says the true church views scripture alone as its final authority and Followers of Jesus submit to him by submitting to his word. I think we're living in a time where people want.

They want Christianity without the Bible. So they'll say positive things about Jesus and while I'm following Jesus, but you say well, okay. What does that look like? Describe that to me. I mean, how do you have any frame of reference without the Bible since as I like to point out?

We don't know anything about Jesus and what he said what he taught what he did except what we see. From the Bible, so yeah, once you detach the Bible from Christianity, I mean, maybe things will keep going for a generation.

But.

Sooner or later It's gonna go off the cliff and you're gonna end up having a social club where people get together and you know. They're friends and maybe they even do charitable things. But it's no longer really a church that is submitting to the Lordship of Christ.

The Bible the Word of God is absolutely Essential to that. So last week we talked or two weeks ago. We talked about the different types of fundamentalism, right? Fundamentalism or a fundamentalist even though that has really negative connotations that word originally all a Fundamentalist was was somebody who believed in the fundamentals of the Christian faith.

They believe the Bible. That's what a fundamentalist was a bad type of fundamentalism is. You know those people that Fight about everything they're willing to fight and break fellowship over every or any little thing.

So if I'm pre-trib and you're mid-trib. Well, I don't even think you're a true Christian and I'm gonna yell and scream at you because you're wrong and I'm right. And we're gonna break fellowship and just over any little issue.

That that's a bad type of fundamentalism. But I also said there's two types of liberalism so there's two types of fundamentalism a Good type where you just believe the Bible and a bad type where you're fighting and breaking fellowship over everything.

There's really no good types of liberalism. But there's a bad type of liberalism where you're starting to drift away from God's Word and then there's the really bad type of liberalism, which is just Apostasy where you just don't even believe anymore.

You don't believe in the fundamentals of the faith. All right. So the Word of God in Scripture the true church views Scripture alone as its final Authority as opposed to what? What else could be your your authority if not the Bible?

The Pope.

Okay, I mean for the majority of professing Christians in the world That's the reality. They're following the Pope or or the church, right? Which basically means the the hierarchy so the Pope and the Cardinals and the the bishops.

What what other options do you have? Yeah, follow your heart, you know. If you have a feeling If you feel this is the right thing to do then yeah do it. I've heard that a lot on You know Christian radio and I put that in quotation marks because I'm pretty sure a lot of stuff being taught on Christian radio and Christian television isn't really Christian, but I've heard that many times.

Yeah, follow follow your heart.

Marcus.

I mean, that sounds like a nice sweet thing, you know. Hearts. You think of love you think of hearts. But Jeremiah 17 9 says the heart is deceitful of all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it, right?

Another problem in Christianity today is following following men. Right, I mean. This is what a lot of people do. Even even in a good church it's possible to fall into this where I mean the pastor is preaching the truth and people become so.

Dependent upon what he says, you know somewhere things go bad and all of a sudden it's not what the Bible says anymore. It's what the pastor says about the Bible. I mean that that is a thing and that that was a problem with the cults.

All of the Christian cults Jehovah's Witnesses Seventh-day Adventists the Mormons they all say they believe the Bible. But really there's they're following what the the leader says about the Bible. So following men is another another problem.

Yeah, Marcus.

More and more guys who you really trusted and you really. They really understood and what they said rang really really true. Who was that latest one that. That was trying to audition for a part in the chosen.

Now Alan Parr.

If you go back a few years. Yeah, and find one of his videos on Mormonism. Yeah, you say wow, you know, I mean he was enlightening us about right about the dangers in the.

Yeah.

I'm not quite sure what the difference between a false teaching and a heresy is. I think heresy is the worst. But I mean he was solid and then you see him bowing down to this Hollywood guy. That's that's that's.

He's he's. Different Jesus a different gospel, right? So we're seeing we're seeing guys that you once trusted that you just can't trust anymore, right? I'm not sure why that is. Yeah, I was looked up to them as being right.

You know guys that you could trust I mean in one in one sense. This has always been true. There's always been those guys that started out good and then they've you know gone wonky at some point. That's always been true to me though, it really does seem like it's gotten worse.

I Don't know if it was, you know 2015 with the Obergefell ruling with the Supreme Court. We're now, you know gay marriage quote-unquote is the law of the land. To me that was a real shift because a lot of people in churches they saw the handwriting on the wall.

This is the way the culture is going and I better keep up with the times. So I don't be seen as you know, one of these backwards people. I think that was a turning point for a lot of people because I saw a lot of a lot of Professing Christians.

I never thought would support that stuff now. They're supporting it. So I think that was the turning point then there was the whole woke, you know social justice woke movement and You know a lot of division within the political world and then Cove I just just been a lot of things that happened that have contributed to the Division and people from what I can tell just siding in with what what the culture is doing what the mainstream is doing.

Because at some point here's the thing with the fundamentalists the fundamentalists were known for fighting. They started out fighting the good fit good fight of faith and they're fighting for the truth, which which is good.

But then they started fighting. About everything but here's the thing you do have to fight. Because if you're not willing to fight on the on the essentials. Some people get tired of fighting and that's when you get swept away by everything.

So you have to be vigilant and you have to fight for what's right? Otherwise. The other side isn't they're not stopping. They're gonna fight and we're gonna lose if we don't. Remain firm. Yeah.

The Christian life is a battle.

And you.

Again, like you just said you have to be on the plate. It is a battle. Yeah. Look. And the same as in, you know, the parents don't discipline their children and the children.

They go.

Downhill. And and there has to be discipline within a church also. Yeah, and that's just unpleasant. If the church leadership knows of a situation and a and a person's life or marriage or something and they they Feel they need to speak with the person, you know privately, but then there's.

This is how churches split because of family ties and right and so forth.

It's what it is. It's about. Let's turn to Ephesians chapter 6. Battle for the Bible, yeah. Battle. Involves battling fighting Ephesians chapter 6 before we read Ephesians 6 just along these lines. I just want to read Ephesians 5 11.

Let's see.

Ephesians 5 11 says and Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather Do what to them? Reprove them or Expose them, you know, it's much easier to just go with the flow and we'll just have fellowship with anybody and everybody.

And that's that's kind of like when we get to the next section Modernism, this was the thing Christians used to practice separation. So somebody's not teaching the truth that their sin we're gonna keep separate from that.

Well, they stopped practicing separation and it's just They went in favor of this, you know, love unites. Let's unify. Join hands with everybody everybody and everything and that really I think is the downfall or the Achilles heel of Modernism or the new evangelicalism as it's called.

But as far as fighting the good fight, look at what Paul says in Ephesians 6. Starting in verse 10 finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against Principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this age against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. And if I can just maybe explain that for a second, not only do we have to contend with ourselves, you know our own Sinful flesh we have to contend with satanic attack demonic affliction and the powers of this world the people in high places who are Basically orchestrating a godless agenda and trying to push it on the people.

I mean, we're really We're up against it on all fronts really. So he says in verse 13 the solution is therefore take up the whole armor of God. That you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand.

Does today not like specifically today? But like this time period does this qualify as the evil day? I think it does therefore Stand therefore having girded your waist with what? Truth Truth having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of Peace, so we need the truth.

We need to live Righteous lives. We need to have the gospel never compromised the gospel and he says above all taking the shield of what?

Faith.

With.

Which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one and take the helmet of salvation and The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and that ties into what we're looking at the battle for the Bible.

This this book is our only offensive weapon. This is all we got. So if you allow the compromise of God's Word you have no Defense or you have no offense, which the best Defense is a good offense. Is that what they say?

Yeah, yeah.

Right, I like this church because the worship makes me feel so much closer to God. Are you actually closer to God? Yeah. Music make you feel that way, right? We need to be seeking God's esteem God's scheme what we are in Christ and that is only now.

Right. Yeah, it really is about the truth of God's Word preaching God's Word and then you know applying it and living it out. I think if you were to ask the average person, you know, why do you attend this church?

Or you know, what are you looking for in a church? I heard a guy he was he preached on this yesterday. I was listening to his message online and I think he had asked people and he said here's here's what he noticed.

The majority of people would say things like well, I like this church my church. I like it because it has good vibes. Like okay. I mean hey if that's what you think. Good vibes are good. I'm not exactly sure what that means but has good vibes or yeah, I like the music which is fine, but Usually, I don't know the the modern man-centered music that's you know.

It's like a rock and roll concert and it makes people feel a certain way and they're really looking for experience. They said I just when I come here, it's like an experience and that's really what people after.

Long story short not one person said I'm at this church because they teach God's Word or I'm fed Spiritually by the word is nothing about the word nothing about the gospel. But that's just kind of the the state of affairs today.

But people are a product of what they've been taught. They're a product of their environment. So it's not surprising people would say that so. Just going back here a one quote that from BB Warfield about God's Word.

He said the Bible is the Word of God in such a way that when the Bible speaks God speaks. Do you believe that? When the Bible speaks God speaks. I mean it truly is the Word of God in that most literal sense.

Now you have to rightly divide God's Word because obviously, you know Satan speaks in the Bible and that the words of Satan are not the words of God, but it's it's recorded in. That even when Satan talks in the Bible, there's something you can learn from it.

It's like you learn what not to do or or you learn to be careful that there's people who twist the scripture. But all of the Bible truly is is the Word of God. The second point here is The work of God in salvation.

So if you're filling out your book Number two, it should say the work of God in salvation. Says the true church understands that sinners are justified by God's grace through faith apart from works. They recognize their salvation is based entirely on the finished work of Jesus Christ Who rose bodily from the grave.

Any questions on that? I mean, I would say this is so basic. I mean you you can't even really be a Christian without understanding this most fundamental truth. That it's really all about God's work. Christ's work.

That's that's the gospel not our own Warfield said about that. We have but one Savior and that one Savior is Jesus Christ our Lord. Nothing that we are and nothing we can do. Enters in the slightest measure into the ground of our acceptance with God.

Jesus.

Did it all? Okay, so nothing We can do. Nothing we are nothing we can do. Aaron mentioned how we live in a time where just the you know, just the way things are in society, but even in the church where it's all about you and your self-esteem like Who is that.

There's a preacher the power of Power of positive thinking right. Norman Vincent Peale super famous preacher back in what the 60s 70s.

Yeah Even.

President Trump, I think he said that was his pastor. He was part of that church I mean it was a huge movement within New York's in New York City I think Norman Vincent Peale then once he started to fade the next guy who kind of Took the reins was a guy named Robert Shuler.

He was big in the 1980s 1990s. So Norman Vincent Peale was the power of positive thinking. Robert Shuler was the power of possibility thinking like he just kind of turned it but it really was all about your self-esteem and They said the church has been beating people down for generations.

The church has been telling people that you're just a sinner and you need to repent and trust in Christ. And of course, it's it's not really the church. I mean, it's kind of that's kind of the biblical message.

But but their message was that's bad. And you know, this is like Joel Osteen. He doesn't preach about sin he wants to build people up and build up your self-esteem because you're a champion and you're a victor and you're a Child of the king and you're you're wonderful.

You're terrific and you know people go to church and they yeah. That's what I want to hear. I want to hear how great I am. Well Yeah, but once you buy into that I'm so great. The problem is that you start thinking you're so terrific and you tend to trust in that instead of The grace of God because what do I need the grace of God for if I'm so terrific?

See that that's the downside of that Marcus.

Yeah, I forget which famous philosopher Talked about the importance of self-reliance. We when you talk about self there's like you said Self-expression Self-preservation self-defense Self-esteem.

Jesus said if you would come after me you must deny yourself and take up your cross and Follow me. It was just the opposite. Yeah. And what was it? Was it you or was it us on Wednesday or where we were talking about ourselves?

I.

Know there's a hymn that refers to people as Worms, I don't I think most hymnals have replaced the worm with a sinner such as I a worm such as I write as the sinner is a little.

I.

Mean what about a wretch such as the wretch.

Yeah, there's one church, you know, they wouldn't sing amazing grace. They refused to sing amazing grace because that line Read, you know saved a wretch like me and they changed wretch where they would only sing it.

He saved a Saint like me or you know something they took out the wretch is is the point. Yeah, but you make a good point. Jesus literally taught deny self. Now I actually think it's both. I think there are a lot of things in the Bible.

There is something to be said about building you up. Okay. I I actually think that we are the Saints. We build each other up. You don't build. Yeah, right. You don't build yourself up necessarily.

Yeah.

But right you can find things in Scripture where you are valuable, I mean, that's true you are valuable. Because God loved you so much. He sent Christ to die for you your sins. You are made in God's image.

So there is something to be said for that. But there's also all the other stuff that would just mention so I say preach. Preach preach both because both are in the Bible. What what you don't want to do is just single in on like the positive only and that's what guys like peel Schuller and Osteen do and they're they're open about it.

Like we only preach the positive and we will not mention this other stuff. So we just we just need balance. Yeah.

Gospel that's emerged in the last 20 or so years whatever was a result of the Constant. Let's just beat beat beat down on the fact that we're sinners. Oh, absolutely. We tend to pendulum swing in our society.

So I mean we didn't have the churches Which were predominantly sinners in the hand of an angry God right. This which is great sermon. But yeah, it never they never preached on God's goodness.

Right.

Yeah, no, I think it was an over correction.

And.

This still is a thing within some churches where it's a little maybe over the top that you are just a rotten. Like, you know, I've heard some preaching like that where you are just like Dirt on the bottom of someone's shoe and like some people need to hear that.

Okay, but yeah. That's the way things probably were more on that side. In the positive only. It's an over correction, but again. Get get some balance here.

The gospel is the good news. But you don't need any good news unless they're to begin with. There's some bad news, right? And I do have some. I have some very bad news people for people that are not safe.

I got some bad news for them. If they have never come to trust. And if they have never come to.

Admit.

That they're a sinner. That they're not good enough in and of themselves. So many people think I'm a good person. I'm a good person. Well not according to the Ten Commandments. You're not yeah, and if you continue to think that way that you're good enough I've got some bad news for you, right?

I also have some good news. Which do you want? Which do you want first? I think you need the bad news first. I need to be saved from the bad news. Yeah. Yep.

Okay. So number three we've looked at the Word of God in Scripture the work of God in salvation and now the worship of God in spirit and Truth. And by the way when I do Preach it's you know when I'm preaching about, you know, repent and believe.

Like I realized that the majority hopefully right the majority of the congregation has already done that but that needs to be in there for maybe that one person who hasn't or when it goes out on the radio if there's a whole group of people like What I say from the pulpit isn't necessarily directed towards, you know.

You or you or you there's parts that apply for you and there's parts that would apply for other people. So we need to preach the whole counsel of God as Paul said, but here the worship of God in spirit and truth the true church worships the triune God Father Son and Holy Spirit and purity of devotion and purity of Doctrine.

This includes a clear Affirmation of the deity of Christ. Warfield said had Christ not risen We could not believe him to be what he declared himself when he made himself equal with God. But he has risen in the confirmation of all his claims by it alone.

But by it thoroughly he is manifested as the very Son of God Who has come into the world to reconcile the world to himself? It is the fundamental act of the Christians unwavering confidence in Quote all the words of this life.

So worshiping God in spirit and in truth, you notice he says the triune God Trinity means what?

Try.

Break it up into two words try unity. Try means three unity one. So the Trinity is the three and one. So if we're worshiping the triune God when we come to church on Sunday, are we worshiping God the Father?

Yes. Yes. Are we worshiping Jesus? Yes. Are we worshiping the Holy Spirit? Yes, because all three make up the Godhead. Now the thing with the the liberals and this is kind of the whole point of this chapter is making this contrast between fundamentalism and liberalism the liberals Started to deny the deity of Christ.

So who then are you worshiping on on Sunday? Well, it's not the true God because the true God is Father Son and Spirit and if you don't believe that the Son is is divine all of a sudden. You're not you're not worshiping the Lord.

You're working and again some of these devolve into. You know, there's going through the motions or whatever, but the deity of Christ is key in this final. In this final part here. Worshipping in spirit and in truth the the truth around who God is.

Basically and in spirit where we really we really believe it. We mean it, you know, you can go to church and go through the motions. But if it if you're worshiping in spirit, it's from the heart. All right, the discussion question one of the tenets of the Christian faith that Warfield defended was the Historicity, excuse me historicity of Christ's resurrection read 1st Corinthians 15 14 through 20.

Why is the resurrection so essential to the Christian faith? Let's turn to 1st Corinthians 15. 1st Corinthians chapter 15, of course, this is the Resurrection chapter as it's called the whole chapter deals with this.

With this subject. Okay, 1st Corinthians chapter 15 14 through 20 says and if Christ is not risen. Then our preaching is what? Empty and your faith is also empty. Yes. And we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he has raised up Christ.

Whom he did not raise up if in fact the dead do not rise. And one of the things that Paul was dealing with in the Corinthian Church. There were actually some people in the church that didn't believe in any form of resurrection.

What does that tell you? There's nothing new under the Sun. There's there's still people saying I'm a Christian, but I don't. I don't believe in resurrection. Well, it was the thing back then too He says in verse 16 for if the dead and he's going through this argument here for if the dead do not rise logically.

That means what Christ is not Risen, and if Christ is not risen then your faith is Feudal you are still in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. So in if in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men the most pitiable.

But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen Asleep. Okay, so that's the passage and the question is Based on that why is the resurrection so essential to the Christian faith?

Marcus.

That's pretty simple, isn't it.

If Jesus didn't rise.

Then.

Yeah, maybe this church member these group this group of people who said there is no resurrection. Maybe nobody rises and of course, what were the Apostles going around preaching? That he is risen so that makes them liars and There's no Afterlife, or maybe they believed in the spiritual afterlife.

But yeah, you have the Apostles being liars no real hope of life after death potentially and I mean at that point the Christian faith just. It just collapses. There's if Jesus didn't rise from the dead.

There's nothing here.

And this is all we have this is it this life your best life now, right.

Yeah, so in Paul says this in the chapter. Hey, might as well go out and eat drink and be married because you're gonna die so might as well live it up and have and that leads people into What you call a hedonistic lifestyle, so just go out have as much fun as you can seek pleasure because That this is all there is now really.

People who do go down that road of hedonism They recognize that even that doesn't really satisfy them. They remain unfulfilled and then they end up in a place where They're in despair because there's no joy.

There's no happiness. There's no point and that's Probably why you see this culture that has bought this lie the suicide rate. It's gone way up. I mean, why not get Hooked on drugs. Why not go out and do I like who cares?

And yeah, it leads people down a road road of death. Yeah, yeah and who cares because you're gonna die anyway, so right. Thankfully though that that's what you're saved out of that that philosophy of no hope Despair, there's no point once you recognize and believe that There there is more.

Jesus.

Did rise from the dead. And because he rose from the dead as Warfield said it authenticates all of his claims. So if Jesus taught all this and then he died and he just stayed dead. Yeah what he said. Just chalk it up to being as valuable as what some other got.

Crazy guy said it doesn't matter. But the fact that he rose from the dead proves that it's all true and there is hope and there is a point.

Yeah Believe.

Believe believe the gospel of John. I think it's 40 to 24 times. Believe. All right. Who are you going to believe? Are you going to believe God? Are you going to believe his word? God has said in his word that his word is true.

Satan is a liar. He's the father of lies. The first one he told is the same line that he's been telling all along. You shall not surely die he said. Mm-hmm, and I guess he must have believed him.

Right.

Be careful who you believe.

Right.

So it really comes down to one word and the word begins with an F. Faith faith.

Without faith, it's impossible to please him.

So either you believe God's Word is true or you're left with you know. Pick pick your choice of all the philosophies of this world that all really end in in the same place. Okay, so I mean that kind of brings us up to the third and final point here the rise of Fundamentalism.

Actually we have another one after that fundamentalism versus modernism. Oh and one after that standing firm in this generation, so maybe we can stretch it out another week or two. But yeah, let's start we have five minutes.

So let's start number three the rise of fundamentalism. The term fundamentalist generally has a negative connotation in Contemporary culture. Remember two weeks ago said when when I bring up the word fundamentalism what comes to mind.

Barb said crackpots. You said Jerry Falwell which depending on who you ask, you know, some people think very highly of him others don't. Yeah, well I think I think for a lot of people the term fundamentalism Became part of the vernacular.

Back in 2001 with like Islamic fundamentalism. That's where people kind of associated the word and clearly that was bad Christian fundamentalism totally different. You know Islamic fundamentalists kill people, you know Christian fundamentalists.

You know argue about you know biblical teaching so it's a lot a lot better. And actually there's a missionary he was talking about Hindu fundamentalists in India who they can get pretty violent, too. So at least even the worst type of Christian fundamentalism.

It's a whole lot better than these other real religions and their versions of fundamentalists, but it says here. Yeah, it has negative connotations. But as noted above fundamentalism began as a movement consisting of what?

Bible believing Christians so in in the early days that the word wasn't a bad word. It just meant you believe the Bible. But in the in the late 19th century and early 20th centuries this movement included Well-known evangelists such as who had these names written down.

What names you got deal moody. See ice Cofield and Billy Sunday, okay, so these were known back in the day as the fundamentalists deal moody. Of course, we we know a fair amount about moody because there's the moody Center Moody what was it?

He preached to what it was at a hundred and twenty million people or am I confusing him with someone else?

It was some.

Astronomical number between his crusades in Europe and the United States. He just preached to staggering amount of people. See ice. Cofield is best known for his Scofield reference Bible back. You know years ago and everybody had a Scofield reference Bible and Scofield was a proponent of the the teaching known as Dispensationalism so like every Baptist Church was like dispensational and they all had Scofield Bibles and Today that's not as common.

Billy Sunday was a pretty well-known evangelist. I think he had a method of You know Billy Graham who can't comes later. He's part of the modernists crowd. But Billy Graham had people come down to the altar and receive Christ.

I think Billy Sunday had people come forward to shake his hand. So if you want to accept Christ come forward and shake my hand and that's the way. Do you show now the problem with that is that Billy Sunday was a celebrity?

He was a. I think he was a professional sports Baseball player major league baseball player, of course, everybody loved him and wanted to shake his hand so that probably skewed the the numbers of people who actually came to Christ, but he did serve for many years as An evangelist so just to kind of start this section, but we'll pick up next week on the rise of Fundamentalism.

All right. Thank you.