Modern Christianity is failing due to the abandonment of Biblical Belief. Modern issues and political correctness take precedence over doctrine and truth. As we compromise our faith by softening our stance on current issues like homosexuality, abortion, the inerrancy/infallibility of the Bible we weaken our ability to continue to be “historic” Christian faith.
If our faith changes, or “adapts” its beliefs/doctrines to accommodate the culture it is surrounded by, it ceases to be a faith and becomes a narcissistic ideology. Refusing to stand on historic Christianity shows that modern “Christians” want to please themselves first, the world second, and God third. Our priority should not be making the Gospel relevant to the current culture, it should be to preserve and present the Gospel in the pure form that Christ our Lord gave it to us in.
2 Timothy 4:1-4
(1) I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
(2) Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
(3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
(4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
He says preach the Word, not logic, not humanism, not experience, or pragmatism. The content of preaching should always be only of the Word. Human methodologies are not necessary for success in the ministry, only scriptures are sufficient! Jesus will always be relevant, not because He adapts to the world, because in truth He is never changing, but because He is everything that all of humanity needs. He is the only source of true fulfillment we can experience, the only true source of life we can have, the only true source of atonement possible.
That is why the Gospel will always be 100% relevant and applicable, in its unaltered form, because it is the only thing capable of reconciling us with our heavenly Father. Once we change the Gospel, or bend it so as not to offend, we lose its truth and it ceases to be solely from God and becomes solely from man. Christ to the sinner is offensive. The main point of the Gospel is to show us that Christ came because we as sinners are completely unable to conform to God’s perfect Law, and therefore require salvation.
That fact alone puts the unrepentant heart into offense. It goes against the very ideals and thoughts we grew up with, especially here in
Everyday we see an increasing number of “seeker sensitive” churches leaving basic Christian truths behind. More and more of these “churches” have abandoned the Bible’s clear view of homosexuality, claiming it not a sin but a “disorder” or to some diluted souls a “gift”. They neglect the story of
I urge you to listen to the Fundamentalists, F. Bettex and Emertius Stuttgart, who stated on this issue in the 1st volume of “The Fundamentals”:
"For our Biblical faith we do not need either the encomiums of men, or the approbation of a few poor sinners. We will not attempt to improve the Scriptures and adapt them to our liking, but we will believe them. We will not criticize them, but we will ourselves be directed by them. We will not exercise authority over them, but we will obey them. We will trust Him who is the way, the Truth, and the Life. His word shall make us free."
We should never alter or interpret the Scriptures to adapt them to our liking or the world’s. To do so destroys God’s perfect work and perverts it to a selfish man made invention. If we preserve its truth, if we contend for our faith and remain in orthodoxy, we can continue to genuinely change our own lives and the world around us.
Since Christ and His apostles are of models for authentic Christian living and faith, we should look to them for inspiration and guidance. In doing so we find that Jesus Himself, Peter, Timothy, Titus, and Paul all maintained and preached the Gospel, according to Christ, to all the known world. They never once changed the Message, never adapted it or compromised to “fit” the culture they entered. Yes it is true they changed the style of their ministry, but their beliefs, their faith and their doctrine never changed and never contradicted each other.
This is why Christianity prevailed, because of its authenticity. Humanity sees authenticity as strength as truth. If we adapt to the world and its ideologies, then the world is controlling or faith, and they can see it. Defending and contending for the faith, to keep it pure, is proof that we truly believe in it. By holding to a belief that is world focused, we go from being a Christ and Him crucified centered faith, to a world centered ideology.
Sadly this process started decade sago and has already done significant damage to the Body of Christ. As we abandon the battlements of our Christian faith, we forgo the ability to minister effectively. As compromise and tolerance prevail, we show those people who maintain a higher level of integrity that we are o different than the pagan and abstract religions and movements that rose and fell through out history.
The cry of our generation has become “Relevance” rather than “Repentance”. We need the never changing Christ, in our ever changing world. The same Christ that went to the “religious” Jews, and to “unclean” Gentiles, the same savior who went to the prostitutes and tax collectors is here to give repentance to us in our time.
Saying Christ message must change to remain applicable, is equivalent to saying the Christ alone is not sufficient on its own, and needs human help to maintain His salvation power. This is heretical at the least, yet we see it on marquees and websites. Churches adding what they think the Gospel needs to be relevant, “Your Best Life Now” series, “Jesus and your Sex Life” sermons, and “Prosperity” based discipleship reign supreme over God’s actual message in our depraved era.
Christ needs nothing added, His work on the cross and His resurrection are sufficient for the task we have been given in the Great Commission.
Mark 16:15-16
(15) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
(16) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Jesus did not command us to constantly upgrade and rework His redemptive work so new cultures can understand it and fall in line. Paul did not soften the Message to the Corinthian church when he wrote to them. He severely rebuked them due to their worldliness and refusal to abandon pagan acts and sexual deviancy. To the Judaizers in
Biblical authority is a primary tenet of the Christian faith, contrary to the liberalistic view “no to Sola Scriptura”. Jesus obviously maintained a high view of the scriptures, which He quoted often not only to instruct be to rebuke and discipline. Many in the postmodern camp claim to want to follow the “lifestyle of Christ” rather than doctrinal Christianity. With short study however, we can see that following Christ “moral example” is not only not enough to enter the Kingdom, but is impossible if you abandon the infallibility of the Word. By abandoning Scripture we strip away tour foundation on which we base all our beliefs, judge current issues, and receive revelation from the Holy Spirit. Without it we cripple our ability to fulfill the Great Commission.
Romans 1 paints an accurate picture of the abomination that is man is capable of, depraved to the core mind, body and soul. How will we preserve a pure Christian faith if we decide to hold to a “Fluid” or changing orthodoxy? Our beliefs will spiral downward into the abyss that is our depravity. We as human creatures can no more maintain an unbiblical, yet Holy Christianity, than a leper can change his spots. Ideologies that are bound to human ideas or passions are destined to collapse and fail, because they are human products.
Who are we commanded to please? Man or God? Does not the abandonment of Biblical doctrine please man’s sinful nature? Is that not what a sinful and unregenerate heart would want? The destruction of the one thing that holds authority and shows the siner for what he truly is? Due to the fact that the Bible is the sole definition of God’s righteousness and the revelation that we alone can not achieve, man’s carnal nature will try to destroy and deconstruct it. Without the reality of the Law, where do we find God’s view of righteous behavior? From our hearts? Because our hearts are evil. Our minds? They are depraved.
Without a holy, unchanging standard in which our inability is revealed, a moral/righteous standard is dependant on humanity at its worst, unregenerate and dead.
