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There are all kinds of false ideas about God floating around that seem right at first to those who have a limited knowledge of God and the Bible. And if we don't know (have knowledge of) the real thing, we might even feel satisfied with their half-truths and misrepresentations. One of these false ideas is the modern trend of progressive Christianity.
This counterfeit gospel is under the guise of Progressive Christianity. Yet, if you hold this doctrine up to the light it will be missing the watermarked face of God. This doctrine is worthless and void of truth and robs the soul of true joy in Christ, do not be deceived. Some of the core ideas spread by this relatively new sect are fragmenting through the body of Christ like shrapnel. We must guard our hearts and minds with the armor of God and respond with the sword of Truth.
What Is Progressive
Christianity?
The movement called progressive Christianity seeks to redefine what it means to be a Christian. Although it is marketed as "the real thing," core essential doctrines are abandoned or radically redefined. Progressive Christianity utilizes Scripture, employs Christian vocabulary, and claims to follow the teachings of Jesus. Although it looks, smells, and sounds like the real thing, it ends up being more like fake brie than the historic Christian gospel. At the end of the day, the unifying beliefs of their movement add up to counterfeit truths.
1st Counterfeit Truth Of Progressive Christianity: You Are Perfect Just As You Are -- In progressive Christianity, the doctrine of original sin is abandoned and replaced with "original blessing" or "original goodness." In their comprehensive survey of progressive Christianity, progressive authors David Felten and Jeff Procter-Murphy write, "Far from being fallen creatures trying to return to a mythical Eden, human beings are emerging as a species from more primal and baser instincts to become more responsible and mature beings." Although most progressive Christians will acknowledge that humans are "broken," they typically avoid identifying that brokenness with sin, but rather, attribute it to immaturity.
Historically, Christians have believed that humans have a sinful nature that was passed down from Adam and Eve after they rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden. The Bible teaches that sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2; Ephesians 2:12; 4:18), which puts us in quite a predicament. Put simply, we need a Savior. However, in progressive Christianity, it isn't our sin that separates us from God, but our own self-imposed shame.
According to this counterfeit truth, you don't need to deny yourself and repent. You just need to realize that you were never separated from God in the first place. You are perfect just as you are. This is a total deception contrary to biblical truth.
2nd Counterfeit Truth Of Progressive Christianity: Jesus Didn't Need To Die On The Cross -- If sin doesn't separate us from God, why then did Jesus die on the cross? According to progressive Christianity, Jesus didn't die as a blood sacrifice offered to God for the sins of the world. He died to show us how to forgive our enemies by allowing Himself to be crucified by an angry mob.
The Bible is chock-full of different metaphors and motifs to help us understand what Jesus accomplished on the cross. There are themes of Jesus taking our punishment, paying our debt, reconciling us to God whereas we once were enemies. There is language of being adopted into God's family, following Jesus' example of forgiveness, and being cleansed from our sin. Scripture speaks of Jesus defeating the power of sin, death, and hell through his death and resurrection. There is almost no end to the beauty of what Jesus accomplished when He went to the cross!
However, in progressive Christianity, the view historically known as penal substitutionary atonement, which has to do with Jesus being punished in our place - as our substitute - is perceived to be an abusive doctrine that implicates the character of God. The logic goes like this: If God the Father requires the blood of Jesus His Son, doesn't that make Him something like a divine child abuser? According to this counterfeit truth, Jesus didn't need to die on the cross to save us from sin, but submitted to it out of love. Once again contrary to biblical truth.
3rd Counterfeit Truth Of Progressive Christianity: The Resurrection Doesn't Have To Be Historical To Be Meaningful -- Although not all progressive "Christians" outright deny the resurrection of Jesus, it is common to de-emphasize the historicity of Jesus' miracles and focus on the meaning behind the biblical accounts. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Progressive Lutheran minister Nadia Bolz-Weber commented on Christian beliefs like the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the miracles of Jesus. She said, "I believe that all of it's true. Whether every single bit of it is a fact or not doesn't interest me." In an article written to help Christian parents explain Easter to their children, a progressive pastor wrote a blog post claiming, "Stories don't have to be factual to speak truth. And it's okay to question a literal resurrection." No, facts are critical.
Historically, Christians have believed that the resurrection of Jesus was an actual historical event. Even the apostle Paul wrote that if the resurrection didn't happen, Christianity as an entire belief system would be false. He wrote, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins" (1 Corinthians 15:17). But this is not so important in progressive Christianity. As Felten and Procter-Murphy write, "Today, the metaphor of resurrection stands for many Christians as a symbol of the call to new life, as an appeal to practice resurrection here and now."
According to this counterfeit to biblical truth, it's not necessary for a Christian to believe in the miracles of Jesus -- including His resurrection. Rather, it's enough to simply focus on the meaning and moral lesson behind these narratives. How deceptive is this notion.
4th Counterfeit Truth Of Progressive Christianity: God Isn't That Concerned About Who We Sleep With -- One of the hallmarks of progressive Christianity is a rejection of biblical sexuality, and an affirmation of same-sex marriage and premarital sex. In her book Shameless, Nadia Bolz-Weber argues for a new Christian sexual ethic that allows for moderate pornography consumption, one-night stands, same-sex encounters, and virtually any sexual activity that demonstrates a "concern for each other's flourishing regardless of the unchanged intact biblical directives.
Authentic Christianity holds true to God's design for sex is between one man and one woman within the covenant of marriage. Jesus himself affirms the purpose of sex and marriage: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh" (Matthew 19:5). Jesus also condemned "sexual immorality," (verse 9) which was understood by his Jewish listeners to be any sexual activity outside of marriage. But by redefining the word "holiness" to mean "the union we experience with one another and with God," Bolz-Weber creates an false justification to declare sex outside of marriage as not just acceptable, but holy.
According to this counterfeit truth, human sexuality is based on what makes someone feel happy and fulfilled, rather than on God's stated holiness and purpose for sex. Again anti-biblical.
5th Counterfeit Truth Of Progressive Christianity: The Bible Is An Ancient Travel Journal -- For progressive Christians, and often even unbelievers, the Bible is a wonderful work of literature that reflects what people believed about God in their times and places. It gives us an inspired and faithful account of how ancient Israel interacted with God, and how Jesus' disciples and apostles understood Jesus' life-story.
Authentic Christianity holds true to the Bible being inspired by God and authoritative for our lives. When the biblical authors wrote things like "God says" or "It is written" or "Thus says the Lord," they were actually speaking for God, not just communicating their best understandings of Him. Because of this, we continue to believe the Bible is God's Word and should be obeyed. But in progressive Christianity, the authority for our beliefs, behaviors, and practices shifts from the Bible to our own thoughts, feelings, and preferences.
According to this counterfeit truth, the Bible is viewed more like a book of suggestions and possibilities than an authoritative standard for truth of which it was intended.
Follow the Real Jesus
Learning to spot these blasphemous contrived ideas to embrace sin will ensure that you are following the real Jesus and believing the real gospel -- not a counterfeit version of Christianity that will inevitably end up looking a lot like what you see in the mirror. After all, a god made in your own image is not the God of the Bible, and it's not a god that can save you. Look to the one and only authentic God.
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Finding Faith is written by area pastors. This week's column comes from Rev. Don Grant of Hillview Wesleyan Church, Flemington.