Welcome to The Word for Wednesday meme! Today I'm asking some of my regular readers to take the next step, and actively participate in this meme. As my topic this week will show, there are myriads of supposed Christians out there teaching stuff that has nothing to do with Christ. This meme is designed to counter that with the pure Word of the Lord.
C'mon, join us and post what God has put in your heart this week. Just pick a scripture passage that means something to you right now, copy it into a post with as much or as little commentary as you choose, and put your link below in Mr. Linky. It's that easy, and you may never know whose heart God touched because you took the time to share His Word.
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When I was first saved fifteen years ago, an anonymous new Christian friend put me on Joyce Meyer's mailing list. Each month, I'd receive a glossy, full-color magazine with lots of photos and snappy sayings. The Lord must have been protecting me, though, because I never really paid much attention to the content.
With the receipt of my fourth or fifth issue, though, I realized that the cover - for the third month in a row - featured a full-sized shot of Joyce striking a pose before her adoring audience. The question the Lord put into my heart was this: Who gets the glory?
For we do not preach ourselves
but Christ Jesus as Lord,
and ourselves as your bond-servants
for Jesus' sake.
2 Corinthians 4:5
but Christ Jesus as Lord,
and ourselves as your bond-servants
for Jesus' sake.
2 Corinthians 4:5
Joyce Meyer was promoting Joyce Meyer, not Jesus Christ. I cancelled my subscription.
Things have not improved since then. In fact, they've gotten much worse. A little tour around A Little Leaven will highlight some of the more blatant nonsense that masquerades as Christianity in America.
Today, though, I'm going to focus on a major proponent of what is called "the social gospel," a deception that's a little more subtle ... and a lot more popular. I did a little digging and found the best commentary on this at The Berean Call, written by T. A. McMahon and titled "The Shameful Social Gospel." If you're not familiar with this concept, I'd encourage you to go read the whole article, but here are a couple snippets, emphasis added.
Although the social gospel is common to many new movements among evangelicals, it is not new to Christendom. It had its modern beginning in the late 1800s, when it developed as a way to address the various conditions in society that caused suffering among the populace. The belief was, and is, that Christianity will attract followers when it demonstrates its love for mankind. This could be best accomplished by helping to alleviate the suffering of humanity caused by poverty, disease, oppressive work conditions, society's injustices, civil rights abuses, etc.Today the most active and "successful" proponent of the social gospel is Rick Warren. While I could write for days about the dangers of his "P.E.A.C.E. Plan" and his purpose-driven movement, it's already been done by Lighthouse Trails, so instead I'm simply going to apply the same standard to him that I applied to Joyce Meyer: Who gets the glory?
The history of the social gospel is, in nearly every case, a sincere attempt by Christians to do those things that they believe will honor God and benefit humanity. In every case, however, the practical working out of "benefiting humanity" has compromised biblical faith and dishonored God. Why is that? God's Word gives no commission to the church to fix the problems of the world. Those who attempt to do so are starting out under a false premise, "...a way which seemeth right unto a man," not God's way. So where can it go from there? "The end thereof are the ways of death," i.e., destruction (Proverbs 14:12). Furthermore, the problems of the world are all symptoms. The root cause is sin.
If you never understand the social gospel or the purpose-driven movement, if you never read another word by or about Rick Warren, you can still take the measure of this man by the way he is promoting an upcoming baptism and membership at his Saddleback "church." [Hat tip to Slice of Laodicea] Who gets the glory?
EIGHT REASONS TO JOIN THIS SATURDAY & NOT PROCRASTINATE:Many years ago, I made up my mind that I would never intentionally give glory to any man or woman, or to any church or ministry - not to Joyce Meyer, and definitely not to Rick Warren and his purpose-driven P.E.A.C.E. plan. In your life, who gets the glory?
- I'm personally teaching Class 101 for the first time in ten years.
- I'm personally baptizing after Class and you'll receive a photo & baptism certificate.
- You'll get a free one year subscription to Purpose Driven Connection magazine. (Never offered before)
- You'll get free copy of The Purpose Driven Church book.
- Your name will be included in the historical list of Saddleback Pioneer Members who joined in our first 30 years. (This Easter is our 30th Easter and I want you included in this list.)
- The class is 1 hour shorter than normal. You can watch session 3 here online now.
- You'll be a part of making Christian history! The largest membership class ever!
- We love you & want you in our family. There is no good reason to procrastinate.
I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them. O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want. (Psalms 34:1-9)
Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." (Revelation 19:6-7)
4 comments:
Good points, and I think I'm in agreement with most or all. My only reservation is that it seems to me that the term "social gospel" sometimes functions as a code word and ends up meaning something to one person that it might not mean to another. On the one hand, I can find lots of scripture that commands the believer to "fix" some of the "problems of the world" ... the book of James as a whole jumps quickly to mind here, and Jesus seemed to think that robbery victims shouldn't be left lying in ditches. On the other hand, lots of folks (the first one I think of here is Tony Campolo) seem to think that the believer's obligation to help others who are in need is fulfilled by lobbying the government to put the gun to the heads of their fellow-citizens and force them to render such assistance, though a bureaucratic army of middlemen and to those who maybe aren't really in so much need anyway.
As with everything, the "whole counsel" of scripture is definitely called for.
Great post, Jean. Good point about who gets the glory. Not only is it solid grounds for exposing the flaky fake "Christianity," but in exhorting us to seek to glorify Him, and to do nothing that would draw attention to ourselves instead of Him.
Thanks for sharing.
First, I apologize for taking so long to respond to your comments. It's been an insanely busy week, and I don't do "busy" very well these days.
Jim - Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You're right that I did not clearly state that we, as Christians, are without doubt supposed to help those in need. I'm not throwing the baby out with the bath water.
That said, I suspect I neglected "side A" simply because most everybody these days parrots "side A," whether, as you say, they do so by insisting the government do the work of the Christian; or, and this is my main objection, that the act of serving others has become Christianity ... but without the messy objections to Christ Himself. In biblical terms, I'm talking about dead works.
This subject came up from a little different direction in the comments on Herky's 3/27 FFQF, starting with one left by JP Schilling, found here:
http://meetthefounders.blogspot.com/2009/03/ffqf-john-adams-on-national-liberty.html
It's a point that I think many Christians overlook. I'm sorry I wasn't clear.
So thanks for your thoughts - and thanks for posting this week! I'm off to peruse your WFW.
Herky - Thanks for your thoughts. "Who gets the glory?" is a multi-purpose question, and quite obviously, not one that I dreamed up myself. Only the Holy Spirit could make it so simple. :)
I'm coming to this discussion very late, but I thought I'd throw in a little historical perspective from one who has studied this era of the Social Gospel and the work of Charles Finney, its main proponent.
I don't know where McMahon gets his idea about the Social Gospel, but he has it all wrong. "The belief was, and is, that Christianity will attract followers when it demonstrates its love for mankind." Totally untrue in its historic definition!
Finney, Moody, Sunday, and other evangelists of that time certainly did not believe this. The Social Gospel was, and still is, that Christians ought to be active in society. Period. Anything more than that is a twisted view of the evangelistic movement of that era.
Finney said that, as Christians, we should take a stand against slavery; as Christians, we should take a stand against discrimination of women (discrimination against women in churches is largely a Catholic doctrine); that, as Christians, we should be godly and equitable to all in our business, social, and familial relations. This was news to an America where Christian living was limited to the clergy; where "regular" Americans lived their lives and left the "religious" life for the clergymen, or for Sunday church-going.
Finney and Moody's activities could be compared to the feeding of the widows as recorded in the book of Acts, as the "love" shown toward the brethren in giving to the needy, healing the sick, being kind, and sharing the gospel to all who ask the reason for the hope in us.
Rick Warren has perverted the Social Gospel precepts. But that in no way disqualifies the Social Gospel itself.
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