It’s all about the money
A few years ago Ruth and I had the privilege of teaching in an East African Bible school where we were training pastors. Most of our students were already pastors who were working toward their four year degree.
One of their favorite topics of discussion was to get me to tell them about the church in America.
When I would tell them about the liberal doctrines that have crept into our churches such as discounting the inerrancy of scripture, the neuter gendering of God, the ordination of homosexuals as well as issues that many pastors are afraid to address such as divorce and abortion, my students were appalled.
Their questions always came back to this, “Why won’t American pastors address these issues?”
Here is how I would answer them.
Put yourself in the typical American pastor’s position. He has a nice building or is in the middle of a building program. The church is making big mortgage payments. The pastor is receiving a comfortable salary and he is building up a nice retirement fund.
The money to meet these expenses comes from the offering baskets that are passed each Sunday morning.
If he is bold in his renunciation of these HOT TOPICS, he is going to offend some people and some issues may offend lots of people. In the American church people vote with their feet. If they don’t like the preaching, they leave. He is at risk of loosing his comfortable life style so he tells the people what they want to hear so they will feel good about themselves. The pews stay full and so do the offering baskets.
After that explanation my students all wondered how the churches allowed themselves to get into the position of such compromise.
I too wonder the same thing. In many churches you won’t hear teachings and warnings about how our beloved churches are being hijacked with a powerless gospel.
About 25 years ago a wise old Bible teacher by the name of Dr. Walter Martin warned the mainstream denominations with these words.
“There is a progression that takes place in liberal theology: It begins with a corrupt bibliology, a corrupt view of the nature and inspiration of Scripture. They have a corrupt theology because once you are picking and choosing from the Bible what you want, your theology has to suffer from it because your human reasoning is corrupt. Every major theological seminary that has turned from orthodox Christianity began with disbelief of Biblical doctrine. There wasn’t a single exception.
This corrupt bibliology then leads them to the next step. Their theology began to be touched by it, their view of the cross and the virgin birth were immediately questioned; then came the miracles of Christ. And finally they had emptied the gospel of all its content: they were simply using the outward shell so that they could go on collecting money from the people and the churches; because they knew that if the people in the pews knew that they were apostate, they would throw them out. So the strategy was, hang on to the trust funds; hang on to the money they’ve got; hang on to the properties they control, and they will gradually educate the laymen into this new approach to theology.
And finally they take control of everything. This gradual process feeds this theological poison until you become immunized enough so that you don’t know what’s happening to you. And when you wake up to what’s happening, it’s too late, they’ve got everything.”
(Taken from his book, The Cult of Liberalism).
Today’s liberal church leaders have learned their lessons well from their evil forefathers. They knew that in order for them to advance their pet projects, one of which is affirming a lifestyle of the unrepentant practice of homosexuality as a viable one for the Christian and even the clergy, they would have to attack the inerrancy of scripture.
If we as Christians will not believe the Word of God, it is clear in its pronouncement of the sinfulness of homosexuality, and stand against it, then we won’t stand at all, we will fall.
In the greatest sermon ever preached, Jesus warned us with these words, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to Hell, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to eternal life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 13:7
In the same sermon He said, “You cannot serve both God and money.”
A few years ago Ruth and I had the privilege of teaching in an East African Bible school where we were training pastors. Most of our students were already pastors who were working toward their four year degree.
One of their favorite topics of discussion was to get me to tell them about the church in America.
When I would tell them about the liberal doctrines that have crept into our churches such as discounting the inerrancy of scripture, the neuter gendering of God, the ordination of homosexuals as well as issues that many pastors are afraid to address such as divorce and abortion, my students were appalled.
Their questions always came back to this, “Why won’t American pastors address these issues?”
Here is how I would answer them.
Put yourself in the typical American pastor’s position. He has a nice building or is in the middle of a building program. The church is making big mortgage payments. The pastor is receiving a comfortable salary and he is building up a nice retirement fund.
The money to meet these expenses comes from the offering baskets that are passed each Sunday morning.
If he is bold in his renunciation of these HOT TOPICS, he is going to offend some people and some issues may offend lots of people. In the American church people vote with their feet. If they don’t like the preaching, they leave. He is at risk of loosing his comfortable life style so he tells the people what they want to hear so they will feel good about themselves. The pews stay full and so do the offering baskets.
After that explanation my students all wondered how the churches allowed themselves to get into the position of such compromise.
I too wonder the same thing. In many churches you won’t hear teachings and warnings about how our beloved churches are being hijacked with a powerless gospel.
About 25 years ago a wise old Bible teacher by the name of Dr. Walter Martin warned the mainstream denominations with these words.
“There is a progression that takes place in liberal theology: It begins with a corrupt bibliology, a corrupt view of the nature and inspiration of Scripture. They have a corrupt theology because once you are picking and choosing from the Bible what you want, your theology has to suffer from it because your human reasoning is corrupt. Every major theological seminary that has turned from orthodox Christianity began with disbelief of Biblical doctrine. There wasn’t a single exception.
This corrupt bibliology then leads them to the next step. Their theology began to be touched by it, their view of the cross and the virgin birth were immediately questioned; then came the miracles of Christ. And finally they had emptied the gospel of all its content: they were simply using the outward shell so that they could go on collecting money from the people and the churches; because they knew that if the people in the pews knew that they were apostate, they would throw them out. So the strategy was, hang on to the trust funds; hang on to the money they’ve got; hang on to the properties they control, and they will gradually educate the laymen into this new approach to theology.
And finally they take control of everything. This gradual process feeds this theological poison until you become immunized enough so that you don’t know what’s happening to you. And when you wake up to what’s happening, it’s too late, they’ve got everything.”
(Taken from his book, The Cult of Liberalism).
Today’s liberal church leaders have learned their lessons well from their evil forefathers. They knew that in order for them to advance their pet projects, one of which is affirming a lifestyle of the unrepentant practice of homosexuality as a viable one for the Christian and even the clergy, they would have to attack the inerrancy of scripture.
If we as Christians will not believe the Word of God, it is clear in its pronouncement of the sinfulness of homosexuality, and stand against it, then we won’t stand at all, we will fall.
In the greatest sermon ever preached, Jesus warned us with these words, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to Hell, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to eternal life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 13:7
In the same sermon He said, “You cannot serve both God and money.”
posted by Jim Burton at 3:13 PM
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