When Worlds Collide (Part 2)
May 21st, 2008
(By John MacArthur)
In a pluralistic age, it is critical that the Christian message be proclaimed with clarity and conviction.
Below I have outlined six distinct components of a Christian worldview, as promised in yesterday’s post. These components are especially important in a relativistic age – in which the very concept of absolute truth is under attack. In upcoming posts we will look at some of these in more detail.
1. Objectivity — Authentic Christianity starts with the premise that there is a source of truth outside of us. Specifically, God’s Word is truth (Psalm 119:151; John 17:17).
2. Rationality — A second key word that helps define an authentically Christian world view is rationality. We believe the objective revelation of Scripture is rational. The Bible makes good sense. It contains no contradictions, no errors, and no unsound principles. Anything that does contradict Scripture is untrue.
3. Veracity — Biblical Christianity is all about truth. God’s objective revelation (the Bible) interpreted rationally yields divine truth in perfectly sufficient measure. Everything we need to know for life and godliness is there for us in Scripture (2 Peter 1:3).
4. Authority — An understanding of the Bible’s authority is the fourth foundation-stone for a proper Christian world view. Because we believe Scripture is true, we must proclaim it with conviction and without compromise or apology. The Bible makes bold claims, and Christians who believe it ought to affirm it boldly.
5. Incompatibility — Scripture says, “No lie is of the truth” (1 John 2:21). As Christians, we know that whatever contradicts biblical truth is by definition false. In other words, truth is incompatible with error. Incompatibility is therefore a fifth essential key word in describing a biblical world view.
6. Integrity — Rounding out our list of essential principles for a biblical world view is the word integrity. This flows naturally from all the preceding principles. Since Christianity places such a high premium on truth, we must acknowledge that integrity is an essential virtue and hypocrisy is a horrible vice.
Unfortunately, the evangelical movement today is drifting from these fundamental principles and has already begun to embrace post modern ideas uncritically. Evangelicalism is losing its footing; people’s confidence in the Scriptures is eroding; and the church is losing its testimony. Fewer and fewer Christians are willing to stand against the trends of this generation, and the effects have been disastrous. Subjectivity, irrationality, worldliness, uncertainty, compromise, and hypocrisy have already become commonplace among churches and organizations that once constituted the evangelical mainstream.
The only cure, I am convinced, is a conscious, wholesale rejection of post modern values and a return to these six distinctives of biblical Christianity. We must be faithful to guard the treasure of truth that has been entrusted to us (2 Timothy 1:14). If we do not, who will?
Sadly my personal experience has confirmed John MacArthur’s view that so called “Evangelicals” are absconding from the truth. They confess with their mouths, yet do not in deed. It is becoming clear that some will cliam to hold to truth, but their actions truly “speak louder than words”.
As James rightly says, “Faith without Works is dead”. If we say we believe and yet do not ACT in accord with what we confess in words, what good is it? It is like salt that has lost it’s flavour.
Let us pray for the defence of the Gospel of Grace, that we may not speak a great deal only, but that we may TAKE ACTION in accord with the Truth of Scripture, that we may walk in the Integrity of the light, doing Spiritually led good works that Glorify our Father. Never forsaking LOVE nor TRUTH, but in unity of BOTH procliam the remission o sins in Christ, repentance and Transformation by the Spirit through the outworking of the Word of God.
May we pray in this also for more Shepherds and Elders to be raised up with aconvcition by the Spirit to care for the souls of the many, for Deacon s/nesses who willingy will labour amongst the Church of Christ and then the lost. May we continue to pray for those in authority in and outside the Church, that the LORD Himself may grant them of His good fruit in their service to us and our Communities.
By merciful grace alone, convicted of the Scriptures by the Spirit.
“The only cure, I am convinced, is a conscious, wholesale rejection of post modern values and a return to these six distinctives of biblical Christianity.”
I am likewise convinced, and have been convinced for a long time now. Biblical Christians must lovingly confront Christian brothers and sisters who are syncretizing postmodern values with biblical Christianity.
I fully and heartily support Pastor John MacArthur for doing exactly that.
I hear what you (and MacArthur) are saying, and I tend to agree. The question I want to pose, though, is this: are the words that we use to relay these things getting in our way? Here’s something I posted a while back on a different issue but which kind of gets to the heart of what I’m thinking here. I’d love to know what you think.
Grace and Peace,
Raffi
Parables of a Prodigal World
Raffi,
It’s not proper to replace “God” with “Love” or “Agape.” While we know that 1 John teaches that God is Love, we should also know from the rest of the testimony of Scripture that God is not only love. When we don’t see the glory in God’s terrible wrath that burns actively and passionately against sin, we miss the fact that (from 1 John also) God is Light, in whom there is no darkness at all. If His wrath isn’t aroused against sin, against that which is so opposed to Him, He isn’t righteous, isn’t holy, and so isn’t God. He’s just an indulgent old grandfather, who pats the head of sinners and smiles as if they don’t know any better. Consider this from Jonathan Edwards:
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It is a proper and excellent thing for infinite glory to shine forth; and for the same reason, it is proper that the shining forth of God’s glory should be complete; that is, that all parts of his glory should shine forth, that every beauty should be proportionably effulgent [=radiant], that the beholder may have a proper notion of God. It is not proper that one glory should be exceedingly manifested, and another not at all… Thus it is necessary, that God’s awful majesty, his authority and dreadful greatness, justice, and holiness, should be manifested. But this could not be, unless sin and punishment had been decreed; so that the shining forth of God’s glory would be very imperfect, both because these parts of divine glory would not shine forth as the others do, and also the glory of his goodness, love, and holiness would be faint without them; nay, they could scarcely shine forth at all. If it were not right that God should decree and permit and punish sin, there could be no manifestation of God’s holiness in hatred of sin, or in showing any preference, in his providence, of godliness before it. There would be no manifestation of God’s grace or true goodness, if there was no sin to be pardoned, no misery to be saved from. How much happiness soever he bestowed, his goodness would not be so much prized and admired, and the sense of it not so great . . . So evil is necessary, in order to the highest happiness of the creature, and the completeness of that communication of God, for which he made the world; because the creature’s happiness consists in the knowledge of God, and the sense of his love. And if the knowledge of him be imperfect, the happiness of the creature must be proportionably imperfect. (Jonathan Edwards, “Concerning the Divine Decrees,” in The Works of Jonathan Edwards (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1974), p. 528)
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So you see, it’s infinitely loving for God to be wrathful against sin and punish sin in wrath. That’s what Romans 9:22-23 says: “What if God, willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory.” He endured the vessels of wrath to make the riches of His glory known to His people.
Consider the witness of the rest of Scripture on the propriety of God’s wrath.
“As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you.” — Ezekiel 20:33
“I will also clap My hands together, and I will appease My wrath; I, the LORD, have spoken.” — Ezekiel 21:17
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” — John 3:36
But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) May it never be! — Rom 3:5 (IOW, if God shows His righteousness against sin, is He wrong? Is He unloving? No. May it never be!)
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. — Rom 5:9
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. — 1 John 4:10
And that last one really speaks to your questions. God’s wrath against sin is the very stuff of what the love of Christ is made of. Jesus’ satisfying (or propitiating) the wrath of the Father for us and our sin is that in which is love. It is the very way God loved us in Christ.
But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief. …
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. — Isaiah 53
But the greatest of these is Love.
CS Lewis said “God is love, but love is not God;” I think that describes the Biblical position well.
I suspect the reason many evangelicals are embracing postmodernism is that they’ve been unable to find objective and rational proof of the veracity and authenticity of the Bible, and their integrity prevents them from insisting that the Bible must be true until they’ve found solid evidence to back the claim up.
Biblical verses themselves can show us the unity of the Bible and its internal consistency, but for us to know the Bible is true I believe we also need to see that the Bible is consistent with scientific and historical evidence in the world. Evangelicals who’ve been unable to find this evidence, whether that be because they’re lazy, not given the opportunity, or because the evidence simply isn’t available, understandably turn to postmodernism, in order to justify their continued belief in something they’ve been unable to find proof for. In postmodernism almost anything can be called true if it’s a beautiful enough idea,