Eternal Approach

“The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18)

There is a spirit of laziness in many pastors and church leaders today.

They seem to blindly follow whatever their favorite author or teacher is pushing. They neglect being personally taught by God. Instead, they depend upon what someone else has studied and concluded.

And so, many leaders aren’t sure what to believe anymore. They don’t know where to find solid ground.

Like the culture of the world, they believe what the media tells them. They believe in the popular wisdom of the Christian scholars.

Without searching for truth themselves.

This is caused by the erosion of faith in God’s word.

Because the word of God is no longer the first authority in determining what direction the church should go. And how leaders should respond to the influences of the world.

Because the words of God are no longer the foundation for truth in Evangelicalism. General ideas and thoughts are now the foundation. They have taken the place of the specific words of God.

Words have lost their authority in an age of a thousand translations. With each version having its own way of saying something. Each with its own style and perspective. Many removing or adding whole verses as the varying foundational texts or translators’ preferences dictate.

Consequently, we live in the age of the Message of Jesus or the Story of Jesus. As opposed to the words of Jesus.

Changing the Words of the Gospel

Changing the words of truth is changing the gospel within Bible churches. It’s muddying the gospel.

Today, the gospel is all about love, and compassion, and trying to live out the life of Jesus.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23)

Today, most Evangelicals believe that to “keep” His words simply means to do the things that He said for us to do. With the emphasis on doing stuff. Such as good works, good deeds, charitable work. Or to do justice – as the Evangelical woke-culture says.

Which, in a sense, is true (minus the woke stuff). But it means far more than that.

Truth vs Unity

Jesus used specific words to teach specific things. Today’s Christian is not good with specifics. In fact, he avoids specifics. Because people start disagreeing with each other when you start going into detail.

In this Ecumenical age, specifics are not “helpful”. In an age where compromise with truth is common, words get in the way of “unity”. They tend to gum up the works and lead people to stand upon pesky doctrines.

Ecumenical unity cannot exist in an age of specifics. Things have to be fuzzy for that to work.

How the Lord Reveals Himself to Us

Today, one is supposedly able to become a Christian, to have assurance of salvation, and to be a disciple, without actually believing the specific words of God. Since it is all about believing in Jesus, loving Jesus, and following Jesus.

Do you see the point here?

Today’s Christian can supposedly be all that he can be without a solid belief in the literal truth of God’s word. As long as he loves Jesus. As long as he loves other believers. As long as he loves other people.

But, how in the world do Christians think they are really going to know the Lord apart from the specific words that He gave them to believe? Words that He gave us in order to teach us who He really is?

So that we will be able to distinguish Him from all the other “Christs” that are in the world today? From all the false “Jesuses” that are being pushed in the world today?

We have in our hands the only thing that can lead us to salvation and to know the Lord – the words of God.

In this Christmas season, let’s begin setting aside all the other trappings in this Evangelical whirlwind and seek the Lord in His word.

Where He will reveal Himself to us In Truth.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

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