Eternal Approach

You know how you can hear something discussed a thousand times until one day the reality of what is going on finally dawns on you?

I was listening to a sermon the other day where, as always seems to be the case, “love” was lifted up as the standard of proper Christian living. Meaning, that being loving, kind, humble, gentle, non-critical, non-judgmental, non-divisive, etc., etc. is what a Christian should be.

Above all else.

As opposed to those believers who dare to criticize or question what a minister or ministry says or does. As opposed to those “critical” Christians who just doesn’t keep quiet and get to work.

The Christians who won’t sit, lie down, and roll over like good little believers.

A major point of that sermon was, once again, how those who are contrary to the general flow of the church are modern-day “Pharisees” or “legalists” or “fruit inspectors”.  

OK. I’ve said all this before. 

But what is different for me this time is just the realization that we are actually dealing with a new kind of Pharisee today. A kind of “legalist” who is actually enforcing a different set of rules. And following a different “law”. 

A new “Love” Legalist. 

A New, Strange, Unbiblical Standard 

It’s like this. If you make biblical truth the priority, instead of love, you will be called a “legalist” in the average Evangelical church. 

That term would include those of us, who stand without apology upon truth. We are the ones that are beaten down constantly from every quarter of the church. Being made to feel like we are the problem. Like we are the unloving ones. 

But this can only be true IF something other than biblical truth is in play here. If some other, non-biblical standard, is governing and driving our churches today.  

A standard that rules over us which is based upon a strange mix of humanism and the Bible. With humanism perverting the meaning of the gospel; instead of helping it. 

A Downward Trajectory 

Now, generally, leaders will take a position on moral stuff.

They may speak out against pornography, and drunkenness, idolatry (which has taken a whole new meaning in contemporary Christian circles), theft, adultery, lying, sex outside of marriage, and other stuff like that.

And some of our church leaders may still actually take a stand against homosexuality.

But it’s hard to see how long they will keep that up. The church’s trajectory on this issue, in mainstream Evangelicalism, does not look good. 

Because as younger leaders take more and more positions within our churches, they bring with them the growing compromises rampant in the Christian colleges and seminaries. Which are evidenced by the continual quoting and promoting of the philosophies of “woke” or modernist-leaning authors and pastors in the sermons of the young. 

In fact, it would be instructive to do a search of the top 10 most quoted leaders in sermons today.

Though I’m not sure how that could be verified exactly. But it would probably be a real eye opener. 

The point being that all the main Christian influencers are leaning toward a humanist / social-gospel bent. Even though they would deny that they are leaning in that way. 

But that is how things are actually playing out.

More often than not, these mainstream Christian influencers are participants in very “loving” ministries that focus on humanitarian works and other forms of social-engagement with the culture. Influencers who are drawing more and more of our church leaders into compromised partnerships, associations, and initiatives. 

Influencers who have chosen to sacrifice biblical faithfulness to accomplish humanist ends. 

Believing, of course, that THIS “more-loving way” is what we must do to “win the world to Christ”. 

To “put flesh on the gospel”.

Which is, in effect, DENYING Christ in order to win people to Christ!

What is Sacrificed to Fulfill this New “Law of Love”?

The basic issue of the church today is how far will they compromise in order “to do the Lord’s work”?

What will they sacrifice in order to fulfill their “law of love”?

How far will they disobey the word of God in order to fulfill “the Great Commission”?

The answer is that the church has already gone way too far down that path. They have already justified a bucket load of crap in order to:

• Get people to come to church
• Get people to “make a decision for Christ”. 
• Get people to stay in the church
• Keep the young people from leaving the church

The new Pharisees enforcing their “law of love” have allowed humanism to become the new rule.

And the sad, tragic thing is, it’s not really “love” that they are teaching. Nor is it “the heart of Jesus”. Nor is it “the heart of the gospel”.

It’s something else entirely; but which kind of looks like love.  

This is the case in virtually every church you might go to. It makes little difference where you go.  

Because, for most leaders today, the humanistic philosophy of the world has eroded their spiritual integrity. 

As they enforce their “rules of love” on those who love the Lord and His word more than the faddish compromises of the mainstream Christian culture.

Image by nathalieluna_arr from Pixabay