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The American Church – 4 – The Early Church enters the Middle Ages 325-1054

Posted by :admin On : September 25, 2015
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Category: American Church, Archives

The fall of the Roman Empire

The ascendance of Christianity came too late to redeem the social fabric of Rome and the western half of the empire. The Roman world was culturally and spiritually impoverished and no longer had a unifying common core of belief. Its citizens had abandoned their reverence for the old Roman virtues that had once provided cohesion within its far-flung empire. It had been in decline long before the Edict of Milan in 313, and the newly sanctioned Christian virtues had not time to infuse life into the dying empire. The Roman world was culturally and spiritually spent and in a slow motion death spiral during the latter part of the fourth century and early fifth century.[1]

Historians mark certain milestones in the demise of the once mighty empire. To the north lay the barbarian German tribes and behind them were the Mongolian Huns. In 376 the German Visigoths (west Goths) crossed the lower Daube and were the first barbarian tribe to enter the eastern half of the Roman Empire (Byzantine). They were soon followed by the Ostrogoths (east Goths). Even though declining, the empire was still large and had strength enough to drive out the barbarians in 378. The barbarians moved their attacks to the West, and for the next one hundred years hordes of barbarians plundered the western portion of the empire and killed or brought into captivity many of its citizens. The sack of Rome at the heart of the empire by barbarian warlords occurred in 410, and the city was again plundered by the Vandals in 455. The dying body of the empire had its head cut off in 476 when the last western emperor was killed by a Germanic warlord exactly one hundred years after the first invasion of the Goths. The date is more symbolic than meaningful as the empire had ceased to function long before 476. However, that year was far more significant in another way for it marked the beginning of the Middle Ages which lasted for a thousand years until the fall of Constantinople to the Muslims in 1453.[2]

Emergence of the papacy and doctrinal compromise

The second major event to dramatically influence the course of the church’s history occurred in 461 within the church. Out of its second century struggle with the Gnostics and Montanists, the church developed the episcopal form of government (church recognition of a governing authority of bishops) to establish its authority and to determine the meaning of the Bible because even heretical groups claimed biblical authority in promotion of their heresies. At first the organizational structure of the church was relatively simple in that the officials of the church were elders and deacons. Elders were called presbyters. In Greek, overseer meant episcopos or bishop. Bishops were deemed to be the successors of the apostles, and in time the office of a bishop became the leader of group of presbyters.[3]

As the church grew and spread, so did the hierarchal nature of church leadership. Bishops in larger cities (metropolitan bishops, later called archbishops) were eventually looked upon to be of higher rank than bishops from smaller churches. Over time, the bishops of five cities in the Christian realm were recognized as having the greatest authority. Four of these cities were in the eastern and Greek portion of the Roman Empire: Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople. Muslim conquests eventually removed forever the bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria. Only the patriarch of Constantinople in the east and the bishop of Rome in the west were left. In time the bishops in the western and Latin portion of the empire recognized the bishop of Rome as their superior. By the year 461, the papacy had been fully established under Pope Leo I in the western portion of the empire. As previously noted, the last western emperor was killed as the Germanic tribes of the north conquered Rome fifteen years later in 476. Remarkably, the barbarian conquest of the Roman Empire enhanced the power and prestige of the Roman popes who were successful in mitigating much of worst excesses of the invaders. Many of the barbarians who invaded Italy had become Christians and were in awe of the bishops of Rome. Soon the church sent missionaries to the barbarous, unlearned, and diverse tribes of the harsh wilds of northern of Europe. Among these uncivilized peoples, many churches were established which became the foundation of Christendom over the next one thousand years.[4]

When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi with his disciples, He asked them who men said the Son of man is. Following their response, He asked his disciples who they said He was.

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” [Matthew 16:13-20. RSV]

Since the second century many Christians believed that the bones of St. Peter were buried on the site of the Vatican church in Rome. Over time the belief grew that the presence of Peter’s bones was proof that he was the first bishop of Rome. Based on Christ’s words that Peter was the rock upon which he would build His church [Matthew 16:18], the Roman church eventually declared that Peter was the founder of the episcopal line of successors (popes) which has never been broken. But the Roman church’s reliance on Matthew 16:18 to establish the papal chain did not exist until approximately 250 and then only marginally until the fifth century.[5] Although the power and authority of the papacy over the Roman church had not come into full flower until the rule of Leo I (440-461), the Roman Catholic Church lists 48 popes before Leo I.[6] Once the papacy had established its supreme authority over the church in the late fifth century, thereafter, all subsequent popes wanting to exert or expand their authority did so based on the church’s interpretation of Christ’s words to Peter. As an example, Gelasius I (492-496) claimed that the popes had ultimate authority to change the decisions of any bishops.[7]

With the authority of church government fully consolidated and vested in the head of the Roman church, a single man now had the power to change or ignore the meaning of scripture, and the church began to deteriorate. Church historian B. K. Kuiper lists many of the unscriptural doctrines that had infiltrated the church by the end of the fifth century.

• Prayers for the dead
• Belief in purgatory (place in which souls are purified after death and before they can enter heaven)
• The forty-day Lenten season
• The view that the Lord’s Supper is a sacrifice, and that its administrators are priests
• Sharp division of the members of the church into clergy (officers of the church) and laity (ordinary members of the church)
• The veneration (adoration) of martyrs and saints, and above all the adoration of Mary
• The burning of tapers or candles in their honor (martyrs, saints, and Mary)
• Veneration of the relics of martyrs and saints
• The ascription of magical powers to these relics
• Pictures, images, and altars in the churches
• Gorgeous vestments for the clergy
• More and more elaborate and splendid ritual (form of worship)
• Less preaching
• Pilgrimages to holy places
• Monasticism
• Worldliness
• Persecution of heathen and heretics[8]

Church and state joined under the papacy

We have previously written that the intertwining of the affairs of church and state began with the legalization of Christianity in 313 under Emperor Constantine and later establishment as the official religion of the empire in 380. This mixing of affairs was a corruption of God’s design for each realm and would last for more than a thousand years.[9]

At first it was the state that interfered with the church. But three hundred years later the church was fully involved in the affairs of state. The most important pope in the first half of the Middle Ages was Gregory I who ruled the church from 590 to 604. He became the example for all subsequent popes that assumed broad political powers over the barbarian kingdoms following the vacuum left by the failed Western Roman Empire. Not only the head of the church, Gregory was heavily involved in the secular realm of European politics and governments including appointment of heads of cities, raising armies, and making peace treaties. Simultaneously, the church also cared for the poor, educated the people, and pursued a measure of justice. Much of Gregory I and his successors’ involvement in civil affairs appear to have been the lesser of two evils during the period in which the church dealt with the trauma and transition of a primitive society that existed in the first centuries following the barbarian invasions. Without the church’s involvement in its civil affairs, European civilization would have remained far longer and deeper in the valley of cultural and spiritual darkness.[10] Nevertheless, the consequences of mixing the ecclesiastical and civil governments would haunt the church until the Reformation and beyond.

The division of the eastern and western churches

At the end of the church’s first millennium, its two branches had grown apart to the point of complete separation. In the west the church was located in Italy but with the fall of the western portion of the Roman Empire had expanded into France, the Netherlands, England, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Scotland, and Russia. The church in the eastern half of the empire lasted another thousand years until it fell to the Muslim conquerors in 1453. But even though the eastern branch of Christianity survived the on-slough of the barbarians, its history in the Middle Ages was one of retrenchment having lost Syria, Palestine, and Egypt to the Muslim Arabs. It was confined to Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsula. Unlike the vibrant, vigorous, and expanding western church, the east was comprised of an old and exhausted people treading water in a stagnant pool.[11]

The character of the two churches had become significantly different. The western church had changed dramatically and had taken on a decidedly Germanic character. The eastern church had a distinctive oriental flavor.[12] Their language, literature, and cultures had drifted apart. The final schism occurred because of differences in the exercise of church authority. Eventually, push came to shove, and Pope Leo IX of Rome sent a letter of excommunication to Michael Cerularius, the patriarch of Constantinople. Cerularius in turn excommunicated the pope. The Greek Eastern church and the Latin Western church had completely divided by 1054 and would go their separate ways.[13] Hereafter in this commentary on the history of the church, the discussion shall be confined to the western branch of Christianity.
______

The accomplishments of the church in the first thousand years of its history are truly remarkable. In the first five hundred years a tiny Jewish sect that claimed a Jewish man named Jesus was the Son of God had suffered, grown, and eventually conquered heathenism in the highly civilized Roman Empire. In the next five hundred years following the collapse of the empire, the church conquered the highly uncivilized barbarians of northern Europe.[14]

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order, (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gateway, 1991), p. 132.
[2] B. K. Kuiper, The Church in History, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1951, 1964), pp. 48-51.
[3] Ibid., pp. 18-20.
[4] Ibid., pp. 39-42, 75-77.
[5] Paul Johnson, A History of Christianity, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1976), p. 166.
[6] Kuiper., p. 139.
[7] Johnson, p. 167.
[8] Ibid., p. 44.
[9] Alvin J. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2004), p. 266.
[10] Kuiper, pp. 57-58.
[11] Ibid., pp. 88-90.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid. p. 98.
[14] Ibid., p. 58.

The American Church – 3 – The Early Church 33-325

Posted by :admin On : September 18, 2015
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Category: American Church, Archives

The struggle for sound doctrine

Dorothy Sayers was a masterful mystery novelist during the first half of the twentieth century and was counted as an equal among such famous authors as Agatha Christie, G. K. Chesterton, and Baroness Emma Orczy. But her greatest love and calling was as a theologian and Christian apologist. She was friends with several of the greatest Christian writers of the era including C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and J. R. R. Tolkien. In one of her essays titled “Creed or Chaos?” she wrote of the importance of the Christian doctrine.

It is worse than useless for Christians to talk about the importance of Christian morality unless they are prepared to take their stand upon the fundamentals of Christian theology. It is a lie to say that dogma does not matter; it matters enormously. It is fatal to let people suppose that Christianity is only a mode of feeling; it is vitally necessary to insist that it is first and foremost a rational explanation of the universe. It is hopeless to offset Christianity as a vaguely idealistic aspiration of a simple consoling kind; it is, on the contrary, a hard, tough, exacting, and complex doctrine, steeped in a drastic and uncompromising realism. And it is fatal to imagine that everybody knows quite well what Christianity is and needs only a little encouragement to practice it.[1]

The enormous importance of doctrine (dogma, creed, belief, principles, teachings) can be seen throughout the 2000 year history of the Christian church. In God’s master plan, the first revelation was given to the Old Testament Hebrews and pointed to the coming Messiah. Jesus came as the final revelation of God. “In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom he created the world.” [Hebrews 1:1-2. RSV] But the Hebrews rejected the promised Messiah. Thus, the Gospel was sent to the Gentiles. But the Christian faith of the New Testament traces its ancestry to the Hebrew religion because Christ was the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament.[2]

The defense of the truth and integrity of God’s revelation and the faith that flows from it is a central theme throughout church history. The last books of the New Testament were written in the first century following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that signaled the beginning of the Christian diaspora. Even during those early days of the church, its doctrinal foundations were under constant attack. In the last half of the second century, two heresies know as Gnosticism and Montanism arose and threatened the foundations of the faith. Certain gnostic sects had infiltrated the church and spread its two central perversions. Gnostics believed in a dual world of good and evil and the existence of a secret code of truth transmitted only by word of mouth or by obscure secret writings. Gnosticism was a spiritual parasite that attempted to debase the truth of Christian creedal beliefs and separate it from its historical roots.[3] One of its heresies taught that Christ never dwelt on the earth in human form.[4] Among other heresies, Montanism denied that the Comforter promised by Christ in the upper room the evening before his crucifixion did not come at Pentecost but was now at hand.[5]

During its first three hundred years of existence, the church not only grew spiritually and numerically, it grew organizationally out of necessity. From its beginning church councils have been held to deal with problems within the church, almost all of which arose from doctrinal issues. Recall the earlier discussion of Paul’s journey from Antioch to Jerusalem that resulted in the first council ever held by the church. Known as the Council of the Apostles in Jerusalem, it dealt with resistance of some in the church to the extension of Christianity to the Gentiles.

The challenges from the heresies of Gnosticism and Montanism in the last half of the second century led the church to the Apostles’ Creed and clarified the heart Christian doctrine for everyone in the church. From this struggle came the canon (list) of books that comprised the New Testament.[6] In compiling the New Testament, church leaders were not picking and choosing from among the best of those early writings they wished to include. There were many Christian writings at that time which competed with the writings that were consistently recognized as the absolute authoritative and inspired word of God. As new heresies attempted to infiltrate the doctrines of the church, it was necessary to identify and consolidate the canon (list) of authentic and inspired works of the New Testament writers. By doing so, the New Testament canon was separated those from writings that were merely historical by nature but not divinely inspired accounts of Christ, the apostles, and the early church. They also discarded those writings that contained heresies hostile to the truth of the inspired word of God.

Even as the canon of the New Testament emerged as a result of the controversies surrounding various heresies, many leaders of the church still did not have a deep knowledge of the Bible. A hundred years after Christ, even the writings of the Apostolic Fathers who were said to have been personally taught by the Apostles did not reflect an in-depth understanding of the profound truths of the Bible. As a result, there was an on-going misunderstanding of many fundamental articles of faith which led to questions and controversies.[7] One issue that beset the church for three hundred years was the question of Christ’s divinity. Arius stood against Athanasius, both presbyters in the church of Alexandria. Arius preached that Christ was not fully God but is the first and highest of created beings. Wishing to settle the dispute, Emperor Constantine called a council in 325 to meet at the small town of Nicaea forty-five miles from Constantinople. The council pronounced the views of Arius as heresy and resulted in the very first written creed of the church. Known as the Nicene Creed, it affirmed the deity of Jesus. Other early councils clarified and conformed significant questions as to the meaning of certain fundamental biblical truths: the Holy Spirit is God (Council of Constantinople 381), human beings are totally depraved (Council of Ephesus 431), and Christ is both man and God (Council of Chalcedon 451).[8]

Loss of separation of church and state

For three hundred years the church fathers had maintained separation between the affairs of the church and secular rulers and governments in whatever countries to which they had been dispersed. Their only desire was to worship Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. For the Romans and the ancients, the concept of separation of church and state was both incomprehensible and an irritant for religion had always been linked to the city and state. The Romans were not anti-religious and dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to all gods. The Roman rulers were not averse to Christians worshiping Jesus. The problem arose because they worshiped only Jesus as God and his Father the infinite, personal God. This was viewed as treason because it was a particularly significant threat to the unity of the state. Also, Christians believed their God established the absolute universal standard by which to judge not only one’s personal morals but the actions of the state as well. In the Roman Empire, any group that presumed to question its actions or judge its authority could not be tolerated and were treated as enemies of the state.[9]

Because of this, the church received little to no sympathy from those rulers and as a consequence the church suffered severe persecution. Even though the persecuted church was bathed in the blood of its martyrs who had carried the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire, the church grew spiritually and numerically. But something remarkable was about to happen that would forever change the history of the church.

In late October 312, the Roman Emperor Constantine believed he had received divine help from the God of the Christians during a battle that made him the supreme ruler of all of the western part of the Roman Empire. Subsequently Constantine professed Christianity, and in 313 issued an edict in the city of Milan which put a stop to the persecutions and made Christianity and equal of other religions before the law throughout his empire. The Christian church that began with a tiny band of severely persecuted followers of Jesus Christ in the small and hated nation of Israel had astonishingly conquered the heathen world within a span of three hundred years.[10]

Christianity’s legalization in 313 had for a season ended much of the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. Christianity became the professed religion of the Emperor and was now seen as the avenue to material, military, political, and social success. Thousands joined the church, but many were Christians in name only as the narrow gate was made wide which allowed a flood of corruptions to flow into the church.[11] By 381, Christianity was officially deemed to be the state religion of the empire.[12]

Not only did the church suffer much corruption from within, it quickly learned that Constantine and his successors would extract a most severe price for their newfound liberty. Separation of the church from the Roman state soon disappeared as the state demanded a say in church affairs. In 353-356, Hosius, bishop of Cordoba, Spain, reprimanded one of Constantine’s three sons (Emperor Constantius II) for meddling in church affairs by attempting to get Western bishops to oppose Athanasius of Alexandria for supporting those who rejected the Arian heresy (which denied the divinity of Jesus). Hosius invoked Christ’s words in Matthew 22:21, “…Then sayeth he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.” [emphasis added] Hosius then warned the Emperor, “Intrude not yourself into ecclesiastical affairs…God has put into your hands the [secular] kingdom; to us [bishops] He has entrusted the affairs of His church.”[13]

This does not mean Christians are to abandon the civil arena. To the contrary, Christians have a dual role as both followers of Christ and citizens in the civil sphere. One of the roles of the church is to speak truth into society and government and call attention to those areas where civil authority fails in performing its duties. But the church must not usurp the role and duties of government such as laying its hand to the sword. In spite of early resistance, the church eventually succumbed to the non-biblical intertwining of the ecclesiastical with the civil realm.

Because of the compromise of certain doctrinal beliefs, incorporation of worldly thinking and practices, and unbiblical alliances between the church and state, great damage has been done to the cause of Christ and consequently many dark chapters were written in the church’s history.

Sola scriptura – the Bible only. Yes, but…

Throughout this series much will be written of the importance of the scriptures as the wellspring of all truth. But the church’s devotion to the Bible does not mean we begin with a blank slate in each generation. In their haste to cast off the wisdom and experiences of generations of our Christian forefathers, evangelicals have mischaracterized the meaning of sola scriptura which led to a measure of anti-intellectualism and spiritual shallowness. The church must not reject its rich history and knowledge gained over the centuries which are invaluable to understanding of scriptures. The successes and failures of the church through the centuries serve as priceless lessons that both illuminate and elaborate upon the Bible’s teachings. The teachings and writings of the great minds of the Christian past such as Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin give much insight into a right understanding of the scriptures.[14] Given the benefit of hindsight, we know they got some things wrong, but without a doubt they were profoundly right on many things.

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Dorothy Sayers, “Creed or Chaos?” Letters to a Diminished Church, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2004), p. 49.
[2] B. K. Kuiper, The Church in History, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1951, 1964), pp. 3-4.
[3] Paul Johnson, A History of Christianity, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1976), p. 49.
[4] Kuiper, p. 17.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid., p. 18.
[7] Ibid., p. 15.
[8] Ibid., pp. 30-31, 33.
[9] Francis A. Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live? (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 1976), p. 24.
[10] Kuiper, pp. 24-25.
[11] Ibid., p. 27.
[12] Schaeffer, p. 26.
[13]Alvin J. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2004), pp. 265-266.
[14] Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2004, 2005), pp. 280-281.

The America Church – 2 – Knowing God

Posted by :admin On : September 11, 2015
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Category: American Church, Archives, Truth

To know God is the universal and unending quest of all mankind. No culture or age is exempt, whether ancient or modern. In man alone among all of God’s creation there exists an incompleteness which compels him to seek solace. Earthly things do not satisfy, and man’s gaze is inevitably drawn to the heavens which stir in him vague memories and ancient voices from the past that pierce the soul and hint of a time when he was whole. It is God whom he seeks and must know to assuage the loneliness and emptiness of his existence.

Ancient man knew there were “…things, not of this world, but mysterious and superior, and worthy of being sought to the exclusion of everything else.”[1] And through religion he sought to know his Creator. Speaking of a time before God revealed himself to the ancient Hebrews and first century Christians, the Apostle Paul wrote of this perceived truth.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. [Romans 1:19-23, RSV]

The perceived truth of which Paul spoke, those things not of this world, are the norms, the permanent things, to which mankind must adhere in order to live. It is a moral order that transcends time. It is not instinct or learned behavior through time. Those norms or permanent things are applicable to all of mankind and to all ages. Following the fall of man and separation from God, men knew of good and evil.[2] But as time advanced man’s understanding of good and evil diminished.[3] Recorded over a 1,600-year span of time, the revelation to the Hebrews and the first century Christians brought illumination, order, and meaning to those pre-revelation norms or permanent things and which mankind had forgotten but perceived and endeavored to know. Man could not only know of God’s power and deity, they could know Him as Father God.

J. I. Packer asks a question and then answers it with regard to the purpose of mankind: “What were we made for? To know God.”[4] John the Apostle gives the answer as to “why” knowing God is the most important quest of one’s life. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” [John 17:3, KJV] It is only through knowing God, not just knowing about Him, that we can have eternal life with God. And we can only know God through knowing his Son Jesus Christ the mediator for “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father but by me.” [John 14:6, KJV] To know God is to repent of sin and accept Jesus Christ as one’s Lord and Savior. Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross bridged the chasm caused by man’s broken relationship with God. This is the only remedy that will provide solace for lost man’s loneliness and emptiness in this life and eternity hereafter.

The essence of God is truth. To know God is to know truth. Christ came to earth as man but also God incarnate to testify unto the truth. The night of his betrayal, Christ stood before Pilate who asked Jesus, “…‘Art that a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice.’” [John 18:37, KJV] [emphasis added]

For 2000 years this has been the goal of the faithful who claim to hear his voice: to know God and therefore to know truth. Why is it then that the various branches of the church who claim to know God preach truths that point in so many different directions? Several answers suggest themselves: man is a fallen creature and has a corrupt nature, man has freewill, and there is tempter who seeks to strike at God through destruction of His creation. And every generation of the church (the people of God) have faced Satan’s snares and deception in their quest for truth.

Every generation since Christ’s crucifixion has faced the same difficulties. Even the apostles and early giants of the church encountered dissension and corruption while sorting out truth under the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps one of the most important disputes within the early church is recorded in Acts 15 and Galatians 2.

The dispute arose over some men who came from Judea to Antioch and taught that unless the Gentile brethren were circumcised as commanded by Jewish law that they cannot be saved. Paul and Barnabas took great exception to this teaching and traveled to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and elders regarding the matter. The essence of Paul’s argument was that nothing, be it circumcision or anything else, was necessary for justification other than faith in Christ Jesus. James and the other apostles readily agreed with Paul and sent letters of instruction to the Antioch church that circumcision was not a requirement of salvation. [Acts 15]

These instructions were compatible with an earlier revelation to the Apostle Peter while visiting Simon the tanner whose house was next to the seaside in Joppa. After falling into a trance, Peter had a vision that challenged his Jewish conception of the larger issue of who could be a part of God’s kingdom. Somewhat doubtful of the message brought by the vision, God had arranged a divine appointment for Peter with a Roman army officer by the name of Cornelius, a Gentile but a devout man who feared God. Through this encounter Peter recognized that Gentiles were to be included in Christ’s kingdom. [Acts 10]

Even with all of his faults and impetuousness, Peter was the pre-eminent disciple of the twelve. Deeply emotional, he was passionate in his love and devotion to the Savior. It was to Peter that the Father revealed Jesus as “…the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” [Matthew 16:15-17. KJV]

Paul, having neither Peter’s spiritual credentials nor having been a disciple when Christ was on the earth, counted himself unworthy to be called an apostle because he had persecuted the church of God. Yet, he was bold in his proclamation of the truth and not apologetic about his labors. “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me.” [1 Corinthians 15:10, RSV]

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul spoke of his encounter with Peter when he came among the Gentiles at Antioch. At first, Peter fellowshipped and ate with the Gentiles. But when other Jewish Christians from Jerusalem arrived, Peter feared their disapproval and separated himself from the Gentiles. Because of his stature and influence in the church, other Jews and even Barnabas followed Peter’s example (see Galatians 2:11-13). Commenting on Peter’s cowardice in the face of possible criticism from other Jewish Christians, Matthew Henry wrote of “The weakness and inconsistency of the best of men, and how apt they are to falter in their duty to God, out of undue regard to the pleasing of men,” and of “The great force of bad examples, especially the examples of great men and good men.”[5]

Led by the Spirit, fearless Paul rose to the challenge and publicly rebuked Peter, his elder in age and prestige, because of Peter’s actions and example and the others for following him (see Galatians 2:14). This was a monumental moment in the history of the church because the whole course of Christianity and the way of salvation were at stake and depended on the correct understanding of truth. Peter’s actions and example could not be ignored for the sake of unity or the greater good. If one accepts that all scripture is inspired by the leading of the Holy Spirit, Paul’s account of the confrontation in his letter to the Galatians is divine affirmation of Paul’s understanding of the truth and is also consistent with Peter’s earlier acknowledgement of the inclusion of the Gentile’s in Christ’s kingdom.

The modern evangelical church in America is in great distress and suffering attack from within and without. In the following chapters we shall briefly survey the history of the church down through ages. With this foundation as a guide, we shall extensively examine the afflictions and failings of the evangelical church over the last 125 years that have led to its demise as a moral force necessary to stem the decline of American culture. These afflictions have arisen over the centuries because the church has made its authority the equal or superior to the Bible in many areas, has absorbed the spirit of the world, and has misinterpreted its proper role and relationship with government and other spheres of life.

Christians must once again plumb the depths of truth found in the unadulterated Word of God and follow the examples of Paul and others of the faithful from generations past who faced persecution and death as they spoke truth in the face of error, heresy, weakness, worldliness, and inconsistencies within the church. The revival of the church rests on knowing God. And knowing God begins and ends with the sola scriptura—the scriptures only.

Clarification of the meaning of truth

In the following chapters we may speak of biblical truths, scientific truths, or attach some other adjective to truth or truths. This is done for purposes of narrowing the discussion and illumination of the topic under consideration. However, these various labels applied to truth are not meant to imply that there are categories or types of truth in which each stands alone. This is what modern secular society does when it compartmentalizes truth and labels each compartment as containing a different kind of truth. For example, the world classifies scientific knowledge as fact which is binding on everyone. Such truths are termed rational, objective, and universally valid and apply to science, economics, politics, and the rest of the public arena. The remainder is consigned to religious truth deemed to be personal preferences, feelings, and individual choices which are non-rational, subjective, and relative only to particular groups. One of the consequences of this dichotomy is that religion is no longer considered a source of objective knowledge and therefore does not have a voice or authority in other realms of society. Thus, values are detached from the realm of true and false.[6] But as Francis Schaeffer points out, there is only one truth.

Christianity is not a series of truths in the plural, but rather truth spelled with a capital “T.” Truth about total reality, not just about religious things. Biblical Christianity is Truth concerning total reality—and the intellectual holding of that total Truth and then living in the light of that Truth.[7] [emphasis added]

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Larry G. Johnson, Ye shall be as gods-Humanism and Christianity-The Battle for Supremacy in the American Cultural Vision, (Owasso, Oklahoma: Anvil House Publishers, 2011), p. 77.
[2] Genesis 3:22, KJV.
[3] William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, Vol. 1-Book I & II, (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1910), pp. 25-28; Acts 17:30, RSV.
[4] J. I. Packer, Knowing God, (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Books, 1973), p. 33.
[5] Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, ed. Rev. Leslie F. Church, Ph.D.,(Grand Rapids, Michigan, Zondervan Publishing House, 1961), p. 1840.
[6] Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2004, 2005), pp. 20-21
[7] Ibid., p. 15, quoted from Francis Schaeffer’s address at the University of Notre Dame, April, 1981.

The American Church – 1 – Love letters to my family

Posted by :admin On : September 4, 2015
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Category: American Church, Archives, Truth

Following the feast of the Passover the night Jesus was betrayed, He spoke to his disciples of a new commandment.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. [John 13:34-35. RSV]

Clearly, Jesus intends for there to be a special love between all true Christians by which is meant everyone in the world who has been born again and walks in the historic biblical faith regardless of denomination or fellowship. This special love binds the church in oneness or unity as expressed by Christ when he prayed for the church.

I do not pray for these only (the disciples), but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me. [John 17:20-23. RSV]

We Christians haven’t done a very good job of becoming “perfectly one” before a watching world, especially when differences arise within the church. But differences will always occur within the body and must be resolved. It is how those differences are addressed that determines our witness before the world. If there is a lack of true love one for another, those differences will lead to great strife, turmoil, and bitterness. To achieve God’s standard of oneness requires Christians to simultaneously practice God’s holiness and God’s love. God is holy and God is love. Love without holiness is compromise. Holiness without love leads to harshness, strife, and discord.[1]

So how does the church and individual Christians do a better job of addressing their differences before a watching world? Francis Schaeffer believes that we must obey the Bible equally in doctrine and the way we live in all facets of life.

But if we truly believe this, then something must be considered. Truth carries with it confrontation. Truth demands confrontation; loving confrontation, but confrontation nevertheless. If our reflex action is always accommodation regardless of the centrality of the truth involved, there is something wrong.[2] [emphasis in original]

I have titled the first chapter on the American evangelical church as “Love letters to my family.” They are love letters which I write with a grieving heart. I love the evangelical church and all of my born-again brothers and sisters in Christ. But today’s evangelical church is not simultaneously practicing God’s holiness and God’s love, and we are at a time of confrontation. There are many godly men and women who are far superior to this author in biblical knowledge, Christian love, and spiritual maturity but who also believe it is a time to confront the spirit of the world that has invaded the church.

In the first part of this book we shall briefly survey the history of the church since its inception two thousand years ago. Understanding the central themes, successes, and failures in its history is important and will give insight and perspective to the issues faced by today’s Christian church. More importantly, we shall extensively examine the infiltration of the modern church by the spirit of the world which has led to its demise as a moral force necessary to stem the decline of American culture.

The spirit of the world

Over the course of its history, the church has suffered attack from within (theological compromise) and without (cultural compromise), but the principal thrust of both attacks can be described as nothing less than the diminution and final abandonment of biblical truth. As will be seen in the upcoming chapters, this diminution and abandonment of truth has occurred because the church has failed to recognize and resist the spirit of the world which has invaded the church.

To recognize the spirit of the world is to know that it is the complete antithesis of the nature and character of God. Where God is truth, it is a lie. Where God is just, it is injustice. Where God is love, it is hate. Where Godliness means life, it leads to death. Where God is goodness and mercy, it is sin and cruelty. The spirit of the world is Satan’s chameleon—always refining its outward allure to match the demands of a culture but remains unchangeably corrupt within. The spirit of the world has plagued mankind since Satan tempted Eve in the Garden. It has been Satan’s tool of choice by which he attempts to destroy the church.

The spirit of the world during an age of rampant humanism has redefined and compartmentalized the meaning of truth in all spheres of American life. Decades of this humanistic view of truth has been absorbed by most Christians and evangelical churches. They now unconsciously accept the heresy that there are two sources of truth—religious truth and all other truth newly enthroned by the enlightened age of science and reason. In one half of the dichotomy are matters of science and reason. This truth is considered to be public truth and applies to all individuals and to all spheres of public life including the physical sciences, social sciences, politics, economics, and the arts. The other half of humanism’s dichotomy of truth is limited to religious truth which is oriented toward religion and involves matters of personal opinion such as the existence of God, values, and morality. Since these are deemed to be personal beliefs, they are considered as being non-rational, subjective, and have no basis in fact in the natural world and therefore privatized which is to say they have no voice in the affairs of the other spheres of American life.[3] Particularly since the age of Enlightenment and its codification of the humanistic philosophy, this false dichotomy of truth is the modern veneer which covers the unchanging spirit of the world present since the fall of mankind.

However, biblical truth can never be shoved into a compartment in which religious matters are only allowed to contribute suggestions as to values and standards of morality in a pluralistic, independently functioning culture. To the contrary, the biblical revelation is the only correct answer to the scientists’ perpetual quest for a “theory of everything.” The Bible gives truthful answers as to where man came from, describes what went wrong with the world, and tells man how he can get out of the mess man he has made. Nevertheless, many evangelicals have bought into the humanistic dichotomy of truth, and it has been a catastrophe for the church and culture in America.

The evangelical church has been especially susceptible to the humanistic spirit of the world for two reasons. One is theological and the other is cultural.

Biblical illiteracy

Within the theological realm, the evangelical church has exhibited a marked growth in biblical illiteracy in the last decades of the twentieth century and continues to the present day (by which is meant a remarkable lack of familiarity with the Bible and its central themes and teachings). In the spirit of the age, consistent and thematic biblical teaching has substantially declined in many evangelical churches. Here we speak of the decline in Sunday school training for all ages and the discontinuance of children and youth organizations within the church that promoted scripture memorization and biblical knowledge for decades.

At the same time, there has been a significant decline in expository preaching as preachers began emphasizing the therapeutic realm of personal relationships and feelings. This has led to a drift away from preaching the great organizing themes of the Bible such as the nature and character of God; the creation, fall, and redemption; the historical narratives of the Old and New Testaments; and the Christian walk in a hostile world.[4] There is a time for pulpit teaching on topical and peripheral subjects, but for many it has become the rule rather than the exception. An excess of topical preaching leads to fragmentation by which is meant fragmentation of the Christian worldview. Furthermore, fragmentation of the Word causes man to descend from the glorious heights from which one can clearly see truth to a forest of facts and minutia that hide truth and ultimately destroys within men’s minds the concept that truth exists. Fragmentation tends toward relativism in which selected facts are arranged to fit the desired outcome and results in loss of context.

Evangelicals must evangelize, and it does not occur under sterile laboratory conditions but in a messy, hostile culture residing in Satan’s domain. To effectively evangelize is to spread the gospel message but not in a hit and run fashion. We have a responsibility to engage individuals and the culture by being prepared to give reasons which support the credibility of the Bible, especially when challenged by skepticism and pagan philosophies.

In the early part of the twentieth century, the fundamentalists effectively disengaged from and abandoned the culture to the secular humanists and their toady colleagues in the liberal churches. Later mid-twentieth century evangelicals once again began engaging the culture to counter the spirit of the world. But following the tumultuous 1960s, the last three generations of the evangelical church have retreated and failed to adequately defend the culture from alien philosophies such as humanism and false religions in a skeptical, post-modern age. Even when past generations of evangelicals knew their Bible exceptionally well, historically they were not well-versed in apologetics, the history of the church, and the wisdom of the great Christian thinkers and writers of the past. As a general rule, evangelicals have never fared well in presenting and defending their faith when challenged by skepticism and hostile ideas and ideologies. This must change.

Accommodating the spirit of the world

On the cultural front, the evangelical church has not only not countered the spirit of the world but accommodated much of it in the church. Instead of evangelizing the world, the world has evangelized the church. Many in evangelical leadership will vehemently deny this assertion and point to their success in reaching out and being relevant to the culture in which we find ourselves. We cannot dispute the fact that the church must translate unchanging Christian theology into the contemporary language of each generation. But irrespective of the claims of many in evangelical leadership, there is a difference between evangelism through accommodation of the spirit of the world occurring in many evangelical churches today and that of earlier eras when evangelism meant an uncompromised presentation of the word of God in the face of ridicule and rejection by a hostile culture. While the evangelical churches proudly boast of their effectiveness in fulfilling the great commission by winning the lost, such conversions accomplished through accommodating the spirit of the world ring hollow when large numbers of those converts do not subsequently exhibit commitment to a Christian lifestyle.

To a significant extent, the modern church has not stood against the spirit of the world in the church or in the public arena. Whether occurring through compromise, adding to, taking away, misinterpretation, disregard, neglect, or ignorance, the process of accommodation, however subtle, has diminished the authority of scripture. Writing thirty years ago, Schaeffer succinctly describes the importance of fidelity to scriptural authority in both word and deed.

What seems like a minor difference at first, in the end makes all the difference in the world…in things pertaining to theology, doctrine, and spiritual matters, but it also makes all the difference in things pertaining to the daily Christian life and how we as Christians are to relate to the world around us. In other words, compromising the full authority of Scripture eventually affects what it means to be a Christian theologically and how we live in the full spectrum of human life.[5]

Schaeffer points out that the pre-Reformation church believed in the inerrancy of scripture, but they had allowed many non-biblical theological ideas to infiltrate the church. These ideas were placed alongside of the Bible and in some instances were regarded as superior to the Bible. Eventually, these non-biblical teachings and practices led to abuses which brought about the Reformation.[6] Likewise, many of today’s evangelical churches are allowing questionable practices to infiltrate their churches which are contrary to both the words and meaning of the scriptures. Although the statements of faith of many evangelical churches proudly list the inerrancy and authority of the scriptures, their preaching and practices say otherwise.

In summary, the diminution and/or abandonment of the Bible as the infallible and inerrant truth of God is occurring in varying degrees in many evangelical denominations, churches, fellowships, and organizations. It occurs because of a growing ignorance of evangelicals in Bible knowledge and accommodation of the spirit of the world within the churches.

Evangelical churches arose during the First Great Awakening and have been at among those at the forefront of all that has been good in the church world and America for over three hundred years. They are not perfect and never have been, and they will continue to make mistakes. But the evangelical church must continually examine itself and make necessary course corrections when error enters in order to avoid those heartbreaking words spoken by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount.

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers. [Matthew 7: 21-23. RSV]

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Francis A. Schaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster, (Westchester, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1984), p. 168.
[2] Ibid., p. 64.
[3] Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2004, 2005), pp. 20-21.
[4] Ibid., p. 301.
[5] Schaeffer, pp. 44-45.
[6] Ibid., p. 45.

The American Church Series – Will your house be left unto you desolate?

Posted by :admin On : July 10, 2015
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Category: American Church, Archives, Christianity, Truth

[This is the 125th article I have written over the past 125 weeks. I feel it is time for a short sabbatical. This article will be the last for about eight weeks and serve as an introduction for a series of articles beginning in September on the plight of the American church. Given the significant moral decline of America over the last half decade, it is necessary to examine the symptoms and root causes that have been present for well over a century. In this series of articles we shall briefly survey the history of the church since its inception two thousand years ago. Understanding the central themes of its history is important and will give insight and perspective to the issues faced by today’s Christian church. More importantly, we shall extensively examine the afflictions and failings of the modern American church that have led to its demise as a moral force necessary to stem the decline of American culture.]
———
The modern American church is in great distress and suffering attack from within and without. The forces of attack include secular humanism and false religions. But the greatest threat to the church comes from within and can be described as nothing less than the diminution and for some the abandonment of biblical truth.

This series of articles focuses on the American church and its role in the nation’s moral decline. However, regardless of how dark the future may appear for the church, we must always know that God is still on His throne and born-again Christians are ultimately on the side of victory. I was reminded of this by a sermon preached this last Wednesday night by our associate pastor at the church I attend. The text for his sermon was taken from Isaiah.

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. [Isiah 60:1-2. RSV]

Matthew 5:14-15 tells us that, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.” And even the “thick darkness” that covers the people of this age can be driven out by the light of God’s people. But if His people fail to be the light of the world and do not remember their first love, God will remove their lampstand unless they repent. [See: Revelation 2:4-5.] The lampstands of many American churches have been removed or are in danger of removal because they have let the light of God’s truth be dimmed if not completely extinguished which has resulted in the deterioration of American moral culture.

In his letter to the Ephesian church, the Apostle Paul described the nature of the enemy and the Christian’s preparation for battle.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. [Ephesians 6:10-18. KJV]

The church’s first essential in putting on the armor of God is girding its loins about with truth. To gird means to surround, enclose, and prepare oneself for action. Writing three hundred years ago, Matthew Henry describes the importance and centrality of biblical truth in the Christian’s armor.

The apostle specifies the particulars of this armour, both offensive and defensive. The military girdle or belt, the breastplate, the greaves (or soldier’s shoes), the shield, the helmet, and the sword. It is observable that, among them all, there is none for the back; if we turn our back upon the enemy, we are exposed. Truth is our girdle. This is the strength of our loins; and it girds on all other pieces of our amour, and therefore is the first mentioned. I know no religion without security.[1] [emphasis added]

It appears that the majority of modern American churches are failing to gird themselves with the truth of the Word of God. Through compromise, adding to, taking away, misinterpretation, disregard, ignorance, perversion, or complete abandonment of biblical truth, they have little or nothing on which to hang the other pieces of their armor. To varying degrees this diminution and/or abandonment of the teachings and prophecies of the Bible as the infallible and inerrant truth of God has occurred in substantially all Protestant denominations, fellowships, and associations and the Catholic Church as well.

Not only has the church diminished or abandoned biblical truth, it has turned its back on the enemy and lies exposed. The modern church has not stood against the onslaught of the enemy in the public arena but fled in silence all the while trading away America’s Christian heritage of virtue, morality, justice, and decency through accommodation, compromise, and even abject surrender. Unless there is repentance by the church for its apostasy and cowardice in its failure to stand against the wiles of the devil, the glory of God will depart America, and its shame shall be a byword unto the entire world as “Ichabod”[2] is written above the door of its house.

Although this series of articles focuses on the dire straits of the church in America, it is not a time for Christians to run and hide in a cave as Elijah did following death threats from Jezebel after he had the 450 prophets of Baal put to death. In great fear Elijah fled for his life into the wilderness and eventually to Mount Horeb where he hid in a cave. God asked Elijah, “What are you doing here?” Elijah complained to God that although he had been faithful to Him, “…the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” [1 Kings 19:13-14. RSV] But God told Elijah that He had seven thousand faithful servants in Israel who had not bowed to Baal.

Many in the church have the fearful mindset of Elijah. But faithful American Christians are not a small remnant that must cower in fear and silence in the face of enemy attacks. There are millions of God-fearing, born-again Christians in thousands of churches across America that unflinchingly stand for the truth of His word and who shine forth His glory. They are the hope of the church. But they must not be silent but speak the truth of God’s word so that their churches “…may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Larry G. Johnson, Ye shall be as gods – Humanism and Christianity – The Battle for Supremacy in the American Cultural Vision, (Owasso, Oklahoma: Anvil House Press, 2011), pp. 123-124.
[2] Ichabod was the grandson of Eli and son of Phineas. When Phineas’ pregnant wife heard the news that the Ark of the Covenant was taken during a battle with the Philistines and that her father-in-law and her husband were killed, her travail caused her to give birth to a son. “And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said. The glory is departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken.” [1 Samuel 4:21-22. KJV] Christ also portrayed the glory of God departing Israel as He left the Temple for the last time following his warnings to the Jewish religious establishment. “Behold your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” [Matthew 23: 38-39. KJV]