Sanam Doctrinam

Contextualization = becoming all things to all men, so that I never compromise God’s Word and do the least to offend cultural sensitivities.

Contextualization = becoming all things to all men, while I do the most to offend God’s Word and make myself like that culture (or subculture) in order to let them think I am hip, and then maybe they’ll think the Gospel is cool and accept it.

Listen to this:

If you read my last post you know that I am expanding on a theme that our Pastor Teacher spoke on a few weeks ago in his introduction to 1 Corinthians.  He stated that the church has tried Isolation, Assimilation and Contamination instead of being truly sanctified as the Lord intends.

I spoke in my last post about the idea of isolation and how out of it grew (in most recent years) the legalism of some branches of the Fundamentalist movement.  In this post I would like to address the idea of assimilation.

The most recent iteration of this attempt of dealing with the World is seen in that of the so called “seeker sensitive” movement.  If isolation is the abandonment of the world, that is not doing as God says and living among the world, yet being not of it, assimilation and it’s modern variety “seeker sensitivity” tries to find “balance” in letting the world see that they can come join our little group and they don’t have to change that much.  It tries to be attractive, but not too worldly, making it easy for sinners to feel comfortable by not letting them know they are sinners.  That way they can be saved from what, again?

The problem lies in seeing the Worship service as a means of evangelism.  We are called in Scripture to gather to worship (read the Pastoral Epistles) and scatter to evangelize (Matt 28:18-20).  It is not that when we gather the Gospel is not to be preached, but our efforts for evangelism no matter the setting is not to woo the world by methods, but to share the Gospel as it is written, recognizing that it is an foolishness to the unbeliever (1 Cor. 1:18).  There is a fundamental misunderstanding of who (Who) does the saving when it comes to this methodology and this is where the church tries to assimilate the world into itself.

Therefore in this assimilation, sanctification (being set apart) is lost, and with it any distinction of what makes being a Christian any different that what the rest of the World is.

I was writing an address I delivered to our Elders and Deacons at our biannual meeting Saturday June 14.  It had to do with the admission of Willow Creek, that their methodology over the last 30 years has been as mistake (These are not my words, but theirs.)  Not only has this admission come along, but also they have chosen to bring along guys like Brian McLaren to help them figure out the next direction.

Granted the "admission" was made in a Summer 2007 Summit meeting which is the main WCA Conference and McLaren was invited to the Shift Student Ministry Conference 2008.  I understand that these are two different venues, but let’s not forget that the original Willow model was born out of Youth Ministry.  This seems to be the way things go as far as progression at Willow.  All of that to say that it appears that one of the major "band wagon" instigators has now jumped onto a much bigger (and more dangerous) bandwagon itself.

McLaren and all of his hip wannabes reject any semblance of Orthodox Christianity.  Need I go further? Because much (to much) has been written on this matter.  The reality is though, as with almost every aberrant movement, there is a nugget of truth in there.

Observation in these things sometimes has merit, but application is where most go overboard.  The observation that the Evangelical church (do I need to define Evangelical church?) has failed to speak into some of the social issues of our day (except abortion) is true.  That we have abandoned the cities for the comfort of the suburbs is not all true.  You know the rest of the story. 

McLaren and his folks way of dealing with this is to literally reshape the gospel into one that is not the gospel, so you end up with a gospel that supposedly solves all the "Global Crises" as McLaren puts it, but ultimately doesn’t save anyone from a Christless eternity in Hell. His solution reads something like this, "Equity, Security, and Prosperity (What McLaren sees as our Christian duty) come through a sacrificial (wait for it…) people (dang, he almost got it) who embody reconciliation (who to whom?) and bring peace through justice and love, the Kingdom of God is at hand!"

Wow!  Doesn’t that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?!  We can take it to the bank that this will send people straight into the pits of Hell!  This is not the gospel.  Jesus said it a lot more simply.  I believe His words were, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 4:17)  If we are not going to the cities, the suburbs or around the world with this message in tote, we are not doing what Jesus did!  All the social programs in the world can not ultimately save any one!  It might speak to their current need (which we need to do) but it must come packaged with the truth that can set them free spiritually, even if the social program fails to do so physically (which many will.)

As I continue to read Above All Earthly Pow’rs by David Wells, his insight continues to amaze me.

The above title is a paraphrase of something he said in his chapter on the “Veiled Nihilism of the Postmodern” (my words not his).  I find this so interesting and convicting.  How often to I through my material purchases, try to construct myself as something I am not?  I try to “be” a certain person by dressing a certain way, which of course is determined by the clothing choice I make in a given purchase.

The real question is, “Am I cognizant of the ‘why’ of my purchase?”  What is my heart in the purchasing of the next pair of shorts or the next big electronic gizmo?  I own a MacBook.  Did I do that for status or because of a need.  If I did it for the latter, could I have purchased something cheaper to accomplish this need? (Side note:  the reality is I am a tech junky, and have always been curious about Mac, that is my motive.)

The reality of my life as a Christian as defined by the Scriptures is that I am to be identified with Christ.  It is found in the meaning of the word Christian.  It is defined in Scripture:

Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live, it is Jesus Christ who now lives in me.  And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

All other attempts at fulfilling purpose and identity will fail in emptiness.  It is only in Christ that one will find ultimate fulfillment.

In all the hubbub surrounding “Emergent/Emerging” I find it interesting that the overarching route that is being taken by the who posture this movement, is one that is not to far removed from an early 20th Century mainline protestantism. By saying this I am not covering new ground, but one of the particulars of the mainline church’s movement away from Scripture, was in overdoing social and abandoning the Evangel.

James 1:27 states that, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (NASB 95) This is the verse most often touted by the “E” types as what the “traditional” church has failed to do. So in reaction we must say that Scripture is unclear, except for the parts we want to be clear and condemn everyone else by.

I do agree that most evangelical churches have failed to accomplish this well in their days. This fault needs to be recognized and needs to be dealt with. However the 800 lb. elephant in the room is that, there is so much more missing from the context of what James is trying to get across in this passage. Let’s look at the full treatment, James 1:21-27 (NASB 95):

21 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

In a general overview we see that there is a Gospel application here. We see the word implanted which is able to save your souls and as a result of that you should prove yourself to be a doer of the word and not just a hearer. What sort of things does it produce? Inwardly a change (v.25-26) and outwardly an action (v.27).

Now I understand this is the simplest of interpretations (maybe I will draw this out a bit in future posts), but it is none the less a balanced view of what it means to be a Christ follower, and it is implied that when we are taking care of the widow and the poor, they are aware of why we are doing so.

I remember recently handing a banana to a beggar in the streets of Springfield, IL on a visit there a few weeks ago. As I handed it to him, I also shared the gospel, to which he responded that he already knew it. I hope that there was a further watering of the Gospel that day. If I had simply handed the banana and said nothing, would that have been good? Sure. But a Mormon or Sikh could have done that. I wanted to attach what I was dong to the reason for doing it, and I need to do both more.

Is it important for us to seek these social opportunities out? Yes, but then we must ask ourselves, “To what end am I doing this?” Is it simply to fulfill some social agenda or is it to fulfill what Christ has called us to in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)?

We need to see these opportunities as ones to which we attach “feet” to the Gospel and that the Gospel is central to what we are doing.

Your argument might then be, “Well then your motivation is all wrong!” Is it? I can think of no more of a loving thing to do, than to let someone know as I feed them or care for them, that their empty stomach or their broken home is the condition of their heart of sin, that needs to be brought from utter emptiness and brokenness and deadness to repentance and that by repenting and trusting in Christ’s death and resurrection alone, they can be made right with God, as I have been made right with God, in spite of my sin, and hence the reason I am doing what I am doing when I choose to feed and care for them.