In Christianity like most thing you have a conservative group, a liberal wing, a moderate wing, and all points in between. The conservatives and liberals do not get along. The conservatives wish that the liberals would be more orthodox and believe in the fundamentals of the faith. The liberals wish conservatives would modernize the faith and realize that we need a Christianity more in tune with the culture. I am a conservative who believes that doctrine is important. Is there anything we can learn from liberals? I am going to look at a few topics that are not quite as black and white as some say they are.
War and Peace
Many liberal Christians are pacifist. They interpret "blessed are the peacemakers" to be people who work to stop wars. They believe God hates wars and that all wars can be avoided. Some view war as a heinous sin. Many evangelicals believe that some wars are absolutely necessary. Like WW2, the War on Terror and some Christians even say that the war in Iraq was necessary. Jehovah's witnesses and liberals believe that Christians should not serve in the military. Most early Christians did not serve in the military but some did like Cornelius who was saved while a soldier. Most early Christians were non citizens or saves and were not required or allowed to serve. I believe that some wars are necessary, like the WW2 and the War on Terror. I do believe that the War in Iraq was unnecessary. While peace is a noble goal, it is foolish to pursue it at all costs. This was proven by Nevile Chamberlains' attempt to negotiate with Hitler. We should not go to war over everything. I believe we should be discriminating when deciding if to go to war or not. War should be defensive, not offensive.
Poverty
Liberal Christians believe that the primary missions of the church should be to care for the poor. They site Jesus' words on the sermon on the mount that says "blessed are the poor in spirit." They see the poor as literally poor people. They believe we must feed and clothe the poor all over the world. Some believe that it should be our primary responsibility as Christians. While as a fundamentalist I do not believe that feeding of the poor should be the end all and be all of the faith, but I don't believe that it should be excluded. We are called to feed the poor and will be judged on whether or not we have fed and clothed the poor. Can Christian ministries focus on the poor and not go liberal? Several reformed theologians, such as Tim Keller, D A Carson and John Piper concluded that you can and should feed the poor and can do it without becoming a liberal. It involves keeping the gospel the main thing. Feeding the poor and giving the gospel must have equal weight. The gospel must be preached as well as the people fed.
Environment
As Christians we believe that our planet was created by God. We believe that God was an intricate designer who made a marvelous creation. Even with the effects of sin, the earth is still a marvel. We are called to take care of the planet. We know that the planet will pass away. (1 Peter 3:12) That does not mean we should needlessly use up resources in an irresponsible way. Liberal Christians believe we should abandon the pro life cause and the pro family cause and focus on stopping global warming. I disagree with that. What bothers me is that when president George W. Bush was in office, Christians went along with almost everything he did. We went along with his pro-business and energy policy that included drilling in the United States. Everyone agrees that the ANWR oil reserves are limited and will not give much oil. Some argue that maybe there is more than they thought. I believe that we should take care of our planet. I don't believe in global warming, but I do believe that we should be careful with God's creation. I believe we need a middle ground on the issue of environment.
I do not believe the church should go liberal. I believe we should consider some of what they say. I disagree with the tendency to always do the exact opposite of what liberals teach. Just because the liberals believe we should go extreme and care for the environment, that does not mean that conservatives should pollute and drill, drill, drill. I want us to be responsible. We should carefully consider every issue calmly and not just to group think. We should seek the best course of action with prayer and meditation of scripture.
Lorship Salvation
Steven Andersen is the pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. Many of his sermons are available on YouTube. He is a fundamentalist preacher who is opposed to lordship salvation. He says if you lead someone to Christ, and tell him he must leave his live in girlfriend, that is works. I find that funny because most fundamentalist preachers would never allow that kind of behaviour to continue and I agree with that assessment. It is odd that he would make that statement. Is repentance really a work?
Anti Lordship salvation proponents claim that lordship camp believer believe ion works after salvation. Some refer to is as back loading works. This is not true. Lordship salvation believes that a person who is truly converted will live a life consistent with that claim. It is not a work because it just happens. Will a person stumble? Yes. When they fall on the ground, they will not stay on the ground. A new convert may not stop living with his girlfriend right away but in five years if he has still not moved out and they are not married, it is a problem. True Christians are not perfect but are consistent. God did not save us for the fun of it. The Christian life is more than fire insurance. God wants us to find fulfilment in him alone. We are commanded to be holy. (1 Peter 1:6) Romans 6:11 says, "likewise reckon yourself dead to sin and alive unto God. 1 Corinthians 9:27 says "but I keep under my body and bring it unto subjection." A christian lives like it.
I am not advocating we be fruit inspectors. At the same time we should not blindly accept everyone who professes to be a Christian. If someone blatantly defies God's law, lives like the world and claims to be a believer, we are legitimately questioning him.We should not use discernment as a weapon but to edify. Everything we should do should be out of love and truth. If someone dies who did not live like a Christian, but made a profession 15 years ago, it is wrong to preach them into heaven. Those who believe in lordship salvation believe in salvation by faith alone. We believe works prove salvation, not that they make a person saved.
Anti Lordship salvation proponents claim that lordship camp believer believe ion works after salvation. Some refer to is as back loading works. This is not true. Lordship salvation believes that a person who is truly converted will live a life consistent with that claim. It is not a work because it just happens. Will a person stumble? Yes. When they fall on the ground, they will not stay on the ground. A new convert may not stop living with his girlfriend right away but in five years if he has still not moved out and they are not married, it is a problem. True Christians are not perfect but are consistent. God did not save us for the fun of it. The Christian life is more than fire insurance. God wants us to find fulfilment in him alone. We are commanded to be holy. (1 Peter 1:6) Romans 6:11 says, "likewise reckon yourself dead to sin and alive unto God. 1 Corinthians 9:27 says "but I keep under my body and bring it unto subjection." A christian lives like it.
I am not advocating we be fruit inspectors. At the same time we should not blindly accept everyone who professes to be a Christian. If someone blatantly defies God's law, lives like the world and claims to be a believer, we are legitimately questioning him.We should not use discernment as a weapon but to edify. Everything we should do should be out of love and truth. If someone dies who did not live like a Christian, but made a profession 15 years ago, it is wrong to preach them into heaven. Those who believe in lordship salvation believe in salvation by faith alone. We believe works prove salvation, not that they make a person saved.
Abuse in the Church
I want to start out this post with a declaration. I was physically abused as a child. My father was a Sunday school teacher, deacon, chairman of the business meeting, Sunday School superintendent, you name it, he did it. He was even an ordained minister. He also had a problem with using foul language and inappropriate conversation with teenagers. He was not disciplined until he clashed with a lady in the church. Even then, he was not fully kicked out of the church until he threatened a lawsuit. They never went to the authorities. This is not an uncommon problem. In both Catholic and Protestant churches children have been abused physically, sexually and emotionally, and the church has done nothing. This has given fuel to people like Bill Mahr who already have an anti Christian bias. We say, "oh, it's rare," but is it?
The church has a problem. Why does abuse happen in the church? Jesus answered that question when he said, "Not everyone that sayeth unto me, 'Lord" shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. but he that doeth the will of him that sent me." It is difficult to spot pretend believers among true believers. That is not my story. My father was a horrible pretender. The clues were there. People refused to see those clues until he crossed the wrong person. She went after him because he would not do what she wanted. In my case, people for whatever reason, just did not care. Usually people think it can't happen here. They bury their heads in the sand. They just don't want to believe it. Sometimes they say the victim is lying. Other times they say, just suck it up.
One of the things that you often hear is that you need to forgive. That's true; Christians need to forgive. Jesus said to forgive seventy ties seven. We are called to forgive. The church has interpreted that to mean that we should not report the offender to the authorities. The victim needs to forgive and forget. The Bible says we need to obey the law as long as it does not interfere with God's law. The government exists to prosecute evil doers. (Romans 13:1-5)Crime should be reported. The church should not participate in cover ups of abuse crimes. Yes, we should forgive. That does not mean to shove it under the rug. Those who fail to report abuse cases are co-conspirators and criminals. They should go to jail as much as the offender.
The church needs to care. They need to take accusations of abuse seriously. I know that there are fake victims, however, it is not for us to decide. We should report it and let the police sort it out. We need to not help those who help the church hurt us more. Let's not legitimize their hatred. We need to be a force for good. We serve the living God, the only way to salvation. We need to act like it. We need to not be a club that protects its own. We need to change.
I write this hoping that people will get serious about this topic. I've heard so many stories of abuse in the church that have not been dealt with. Churches need to examine past actions. Sins of the past need to be confessed. We need to have clear policies of reporting and investigating allegations. We need to have clear checks and balances within the church. I do not support a McCarthyist witch hunt system. I've seen that, too. do want to truth to come out, because after all, that's what we're about, isn't it.
The church has a problem. Why does abuse happen in the church? Jesus answered that question when he said, "Not everyone that sayeth unto me, 'Lord" shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. but he that doeth the will of him that sent me." It is difficult to spot pretend believers among true believers. That is not my story. My father was a horrible pretender. The clues were there. People refused to see those clues until he crossed the wrong person. She went after him because he would not do what she wanted. In my case, people for whatever reason, just did not care. Usually people think it can't happen here. They bury their heads in the sand. They just don't want to believe it. Sometimes they say the victim is lying. Other times they say, just suck it up.
One of the things that you often hear is that you need to forgive. That's true; Christians need to forgive. Jesus said to forgive seventy ties seven. We are called to forgive. The church has interpreted that to mean that we should not report the offender to the authorities. The victim needs to forgive and forget. The Bible says we need to obey the law as long as it does not interfere with God's law. The government exists to prosecute evil doers. (Romans 13:1-5)Crime should be reported. The church should not participate in cover ups of abuse crimes. Yes, we should forgive. That does not mean to shove it under the rug. Those who fail to report abuse cases are co-conspirators and criminals. They should go to jail as much as the offender.
The church needs to care. They need to take accusations of abuse seriously. I know that there are fake victims, however, it is not for us to decide. We should report it and let the police sort it out. We need to not help those who help the church hurt us more. Let's not legitimize their hatred. We need to be a force for good. We serve the living God, the only way to salvation. We need to act like it. We need to not be a club that protects its own. We need to change.
I write this hoping that people will get serious about this topic. I've heard so many stories of abuse in the church that have not been dealt with. Churches need to examine past actions. Sins of the past need to be confessed. We need to have clear policies of reporting and investigating allegations. We need to have clear checks and balances within the church. I do not support a McCarthyist witch hunt system. I've seen that, too. do want to truth to come out, because after all, that's what we're about, isn't it.
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