The Rise of Liberation Theology

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

Easter, Resurrection Sunday, and Palm Sunday

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. So before we get into the text, let me point a few things out. Every evangelical church I know of, every Baptist, non-denominational, Bible-believing church, every church like that that I know of celebrates Easter.

Some people don't like the word Easter and they want to call it Resurrection Sunday. Hey, that's great. Either way. Whatever you call it, nearly everybody observes next Sunday, Easter Resurrection Sunday.

And most everybody, and we do this too, we recognize Palm Sunday. Why? Because this is a very important event. Jesus riding into Jerusalem, the triumphal entry. It's mentioned on all four gospels. Jesus is revealing himself, the King of Israel.

This is a very important event. Of course, the resurrection of Christ is the most important event. So these are biblical events. I think it is good to recognize them. Okay, you following along so far?

So far so good? Just another thing out of curiosity. How many of you prefer Easter? How many of you prefer Resurrection Sunday? Who likes Easter better? Okay, how many of you like Resurrection Sunday better?

Okay, I think Easter wins, technically, but it's okay. That's something that it's not really, in my opinion, I don't think it's that big of an issue. Now, when we're talking about Lent in Ash Wednesday, I alluded to this.

The Rise of Liberation Theology and the Church's Response

When I was growing up, for a Baptist church to celebrate Lent, I mean, I had never heard of such a thing. Or even for an evangelical church, a non-denominational Bible-believing church, to observe Lent.

I'm not saying it didn't happen. I'm just saying I never saw it, I never heard about it. To me, that more and more are doing that, to me, this seems new. I really believe there has been a shift, not only in the world, that's clear, but I think there has been a shift within Christianity and even evangelical Christianity.

Typically, Bible-believing churches, we try to stick with what the Bible says over tradition. And you can't go wrong if you do that. So this new thing seems odd to me. It just seems there's been a shift where Roman Catholicism, I believe, is making some serious inroads.

I remember 15 years ago, Roman Catholicism was not very popular at all. Of course, there were the child abuse scandals, the cover-ups at the highest levels. That's all changed. In 2022 America, Roman Catholicism is very much in style.

Not only are some of our top leaders Roman Catholic, even Hollywood celebrities and entertainers are converting to Catholicism and going on Facebook and Instagram to kind of brag about it. That wouldn't have been popular, and you know the celebrities, they want to do what's popular, and they are popular.

So again, I say that something has happened. Something is happening. And I believe that it's because of two main things. Number one, the spread of Marxist ideology throughout the Western world and its religious counterpart, liberation theology.

So this is a church. This is Sunday morning. We're interested in the religious aspect. How many of you know what liberation theology is? Okay, so one. So you should know about this. Liberation theology, this is what the Pope adheres to.

He believes in liberation theology. The liberal mainline denominations in America are now more in line with liberation theology. This is the belief that Jesus did not come into the world to save sinners.

He came into the world to reform the culture. He came into the world to reform society. Now we actually, again, what are we doing? Bible over tradition, what do we go with? Bible. 1 Timothy 1 .15 explicitly says Christ Jesus came into the world to do what?

To save sinners. We have the Easter billboard up in Greenfield. The first billboard we put up was right around the same place, across from Applebee's, and that's what we put up, that verse. 1 Timothy 1 .15.

This is the reason why Jesus came into the world. He came to save sinners. He did not come into the world for some sort of political movement or to reform society. That's what liberation theology says, and it is on the rise.

It is on the rise. So because we are not ignorant of the enemy's devices, at least we shouldn't be, I think we need to know how should evangelical Bible-believing churches respond to this shift in the world?

How should we respond? Again, we go with Scripture over tradition. We look at what the Bible says. So we have the teachings and commandments found in the New Testament. We have tradition. They are not the same, and we want to make sure the two are not at odds with one another.

So this is a very simple question. If there is a tradition that says Jesus came not to save sinners but for this other reason, is that what the Bible teaches? No, it's a tradition that has developed, and it came from South America.

Socialist country in South America. So what do we go with? Bible over tradition. Amen? Okay. Because if you're not... One person raised their hand. I've heard of this. Some of you, you know what it is.

You just don't know the term. I'm here to tell you it is literally everywhere. It might even be the majority in so-called churches today. So this is important. So let me try to finish this up as we then turn to the Gospel of John.

Easter Traditions, Lent, and Christian Liberty

Let me be clear. As far as tradition, we love Easter. Amen? Or Resurrection Sunday. We love it. Amen? It's the celebration of Jesus rising from the dead. That's in the Bible. Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry.

Again, that is in the Bible. Lent and Ash Wednesday, that's not in the Bible. Okay? One comment. I can't help myself. There are some traditions that have developed around Easter, and what are they? You've got the bunny and the eggs and the chocolate and the candy.

How many of you? We like chocolate. Everyone's going to raise their hand. We all like that. Especially chocolate bunnies. Chocolate bunnies. Of course, why is the rabbit laying eggs? That makes no sense.

And people, well, that's a whole other story. Why? Hey, listen. Whatever you choose to do at home with your kids or grandkids, that's up to you. You know, this is a Christian liberty issue, I guess. But in the assembly here on Sunday morning, next Sunday, Jesus is the center.

Not the Easter bunny. Okay? Okay. That was a popular statement. I'm going to use that again next year, I think. But as for Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry, that's biblical. Just a few more statements on Lent.

I think it's important we know what this is. This is not biblical. Maybe you've heard of someone giving up something for Lent. What they usually mean by that is they're giving up chocolate for 40 days.

They're giving up TV for the season of Lent. They're depriving themselves of something. And they say that it is based on, the Catholic Church says that this is based on Jesus fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, being tempted of the devil.

So is that true? Let's turn to Matthew chapter 4. Matthew chapter 4. This is the account of Jesus in the wilderness. And let me just say it up front. We see no indication whatsoever that Jesus commanded his disciples to do the same thing.

Jesus never said, this is what you should do. Give up something, deprive yourselves for 40 days. There's no commandment like that in the passage. If you want to give up something for a period of time, that's up to you.

That's up to you. But there's no commandment to do it. We all agree, just like every Bible-believing church celebrates Easter or Resurrection Sunday, every evangelical Bible-believing church, we all celebrate the Lord's Supper, right?

We all agree on the Lord's Supper. You know, you might even be able to make an argument for foot washing. Because Jesus said in the Gospel of John, he said, If I, then your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Some churches believe that is a mandate that Christians ought to do this. A lot of churches disagree and say, no, this was Jesus talking to his disciples back then for this time.

And churches don't, most churches today don't practice foot washing. But we all agree, Lord's Supper is for the church as a whole. Okay, following along? Lent, there's nothing like that. There's no commandment.

There's never any statements from Jesus instructing people to celebrate Lent. Look at Matthew chapter 4, verse 1. They're trying to say it's based on Jesus and his temptation in the wilderness. There's no connection.

Matthew 4, verse 1. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights afterward, he was hungry. Now, when the tempter came to him, he said, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.

And he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. This is actually a great verse showing that we follow scripture. We don't live by every tradition of man.

We live by every word of God. And then the story goes on with no instruction whatsoever that we should give up something for 40 days. It's just not there. So while the Catholic Church and other churches might base this season of Lent on the temptation in the wilderness, there's no biblical connection.

So based on this, if you want to give something up, go ahead. If you should give something up, amen, do it. But to make a religious vow, and that's what a lot of people do, they make a religious vow before God that, Lord, I'm going to give up whatever for 40 days.

And you know what most people do. It's like a New Year's resolution. They break it. You don't want to make vows to God that you know or you think you might break. So this is actually, in that regard, it's a quite serious thing.

Mardi Gras and the Corruption of Christian Tradition

One final comment. I promise this time it's true. How many of you know what Mardi Gras is? You say, Pastor, what does this have to do with anything? You'd be surprised. It all ties in. When people hear Mardi Gras, they think of people going down to New Orleans, getting drunk, partying, and doing a bunch of other stuff they're not supposed to do.

Mardi Gras is actually part of Lent. Mardi Gras is also called Fat Tuesday. So the idea is that you sin and you sin some more. You get all the sin out of your system on Tuesday because Wednesday is holy, and now it's Lent, and now we need to do the right thing.

So sin it up on Tuesday, and then now we're getting into Lent. It's true. It's hard to believe. You know what the devil does? He takes something that is good, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.

What does the devil love to do? He loves to corrupt it. And then if he can turn it into a Christian tradition, he just makes a mockery of the whole thing. Again, that's why we stick to the Bible and not man's tradition.

John 12 and the Close of the Program

Okay, now let's get into the text of Scripture. John chapter 12. Turn there. John chapter 12. It says, John 12, verse 12. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Loras Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, lorascornickchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.