Five Facts Friday!

Liberal Christians are faced with a serious problem. They consider themselves to be Christians, yet are unwilling to affirm the authority of Scripture. While it is not necessary to view the Bible as inerrant to be a Christian, at the very least, the Bible must be a basically reliable and trustworthy historical document. Without this basis, to claim to be a Christian would be suspect if not irrational, since everything we know about Christianity comes from the Bible.


Here are Five Facts!


1. The Social Gospel. After having thrown out much of the Bible, liberals found themselves with little to proclaim. So they turned to social action as redemptive. Social action is a proper part of the Christian life, but it is not the gospel. The gospel is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of the sins of fallen man (1 Corinthians 15:1-11). This gospel is the central theme of the Bible! Saint Paul has multiple warnings about preaching another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9, 2 Corinthians 11:4). By preaching a gospel of works by the social gospel, liberalism actually becomes another form of legalism! Liberalism sees our reconciliation to God as a subjective exprerience found through the communal or universal love of God apart from the objective or propitiatory work of Christ on the cross. As a result, it is our human love which reconciles us to God. This is works righteousness, thus self-righteousness!


2. Unbelief in Miracles. Liberals want to give naturalistic causes for biblical miracles, or discount them all together. This is a dangerous tact. This is the view of atheists! If God exists, miracles are possible. Indeed, if God can create the universe from nothing, the miracles of Jesus such as turning water into wine should be a piece of cake. Further more, Jesus himself insisted that his claim of divinity was based on his miracles (John 10:25, 38; John 14:11; John 15:24)! To discount his miracles turns Jesus into a fraud. (Or if you deny that Jesus said these things, it turns the Bible into a fraud). Jesus' greatest miracle was his resurrection. If one denies this one, what do you think about Paul insisting that doing so turns the Christian faith into a sham—and further that Christians are most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15)? Isn't Paul saying that if you deny the miracles of Jesus that Christ that you are wasting your time pretending to be a Christian? 


3. Redefinition of the Word Justice.  The definition of justice is theadministration of punishment or reward. The Bible makes it clear that God, being perfectly just, has both aspects of wrath and of mercy. Liberal-minded Christians may emphasize only one aspect of the nature of God—his mercy. But to ignore God's wrath is to ignore huge chunks of Scripture. Try doing a Bible word search under wrath. The tragedy of this view is that one cannot understand God's mercy unless he first understands God's law and wrath. Since we are saved fromsomething—specifically God's wrath—the message of salvation makes no sense if the hearer does not understand from what we are saved. We think that if you are not preaching the wrath of God, you are not preaching the gospel.


4. Misuse of Matthew 7 Concerning Judging. Jesus says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged." (Matthew 7:1). This is one of the most quoted verses of Scripture. Opponents of the Bible may never have ever read the Bible, but they know this verse! Liberals twist this verse to mean that we cannot know the truth. Obviously this is ridiculous. The whole Bible is about making right judgments. In context, Jesus in this passage is telling us how to judge; that is, not to behypocritical (Matthew 7:5). Jesus is condemning those who make public pronouncements against an activity that they themselves participate in. Upon reflection, it is the liberals who are breaking this command, as they are the first to judge conservatives! Of course, we cannot condemn others, because only the Lord has full knowledge of a person's actions and motives (John 5:22; Romans 14:4, 10). Elsewhere the Bible commands us to "judge with right judgment" (John 7:24). We are to "test all things" (1 Thessalonians 5:21) using Scripture as the standard (Acts 17:11). We should recognize and avoid false teachers (Matthew 7:15-20; 2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:6). We should discern and rebuke false bretheren who are encouraging others to sin (Ephesians 5:7,11). As put by Henry Morris in his Defender's Study Bible (page 1015), "In other words, we should be able to judge that which is wrong, in either doctrine or practice, and avoid (or correct) those who are involved, but we must not condemn them—God will do that."


5. Universalism. Universalism is the idea that there are many paths to God. In Christianity, it is the view that all human beings are saved by Jesus Christ and will eventually come into harmony in God's kingdom. While this is a nice thought, it is not biblical. Christianity is not compatible with other worldviews or religions. They teach contradictory things. Jesus Christ claimed exlusivity. Those who want to say that all roads lead to God simply do not understand the nature of God or the nature of man. Man is sinful, and a just God cannot just wink at sin. God's justice must be satisfied, and Jesus is the only answer to this problem.


http://www.faithfacts.org/world-religions-and-theology/cults-and-heresies