Apologetics
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When is a church not a church? When it's foundation is not Jesus Christ our Lord.
Years ago, a Westminster Theological Seminary student I worked with told me that a conservative, traditional protestant church has more in common with the traditional Roman Catholic church than it does with its liberal protestant counterparts. He expressed some disagreement with the Catholic church, such as the deification of Mary, but said it isstill a church. The liberal protestant church, the seminary student said, is apostate, that it completely abandoned the faith. It is a church in name only.
Former Princeton Theological Seminary Professor J. Gresham Machen argued that "liberalism teaches not a lesser form of Christianity, but an entirely different religion." Because of his stance, Dr. Machen lost his position at Princeton Seminary and his church declared him guilty of insubordination and stripped him of his credentials as a minister. Sounds like an experience I had with a liberal at the Salvation Army where she blocked my opportunity to write for the Salvation Army because I didn't agree with her that the homeless should be kept out of the library just because some other patrons don't want them there.
Liberals and liberalism have no place in the church! ExpressioUnius Est ExclusioAlterius, which means that the expression of one thing excludes another.
Professor Machen challenged Princeton Seminary planting board members who were tolerant of liberalism, which reflected the worldly views of mainstream Presbyterian churches at the time. Unable to turn the apostate seminary around, Dr. Machen started Westminster Seminary and brought senior facility members who were of the same mind with him in 1929. He also hadyoung scholars who helped restore the noble tradition of Princeton Seminary.
The professor left a prestigious position at Princeton because he didn't want to compromise the truth of the Bible and knew that theological compromise would harm the spiritual power of the church.
Christians should live in the world but not be of the world.
Today it’s amazing that so many churches have caved in to the world. Research shows that that support among Americans for same-sex marriage has grown from 31 percent in 2004 to 55 percent in 2016. This support is growing about the same for churches – for the progressive ones. There is a cultural divide in our country, and it's found in the modern church.
It's not just a mere coincidence that in the early part of the 20th century, as churches compromised Biblical principles, crime and poverty increased. As the late talk show host Tom Marr said "when there is liberal rule, there is more crime and poverty."
It's also no coincidence that we have a drug abuse epidemic today. Drug abuse is not a disease that can be kept at bay by busting all the drug dealers. We discovered we could not stop people from drinking by banning booze for everyone. What resulted was higher crime rates and wasting tons of the taxpayers' money.
In Bucks County, PA there's a major anti-drug campaign "Push Out The Pusher", where people are nudged to report suspected drug dealers. The root of the problem is not the pusher, but that we pushed out God in our society.
The church must have Jesus Christ as her foundation. Anything else will pull you into the quicksand!
The Church's One Foundation
The United Methodist Hymnal Number 545
Text: Samuel J. Stone, 1839-1900
Music: Samuel Sebastian Wesley, 1810-1876
Tune: AURELIA, Meter: 76.76 D
1.The church's one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is his new creation
by water and the Word.
From heaven he came and sought 1her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.
2. Elect from every nation,
yet one o'er all the earth;
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.
3. Though with a scornful wonder
we see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed,
yet saints their watch are keeping;
their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song.
4. Mid toil and tribulation,
and tumult of her war,
she waits the consummation
of peace forevermore;
till, with the vision glorious,
her longing eyes are blest,
and the great church victorious
shall be the church at rest.
5. Yet she on earth hath union
with God the Three in One,
and mystic sweet communion
with those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
like them, the meek and lowly,
on high may dwell with thee.
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Well done article. Any church that compromises Christ and His teachings, cannot, in my mind truly be a church.
Christ must be at the center of the church, and it's cornerstone.
We must always proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior.
Also, thank you for the kind review of my article today. I sincerely appreciate you taking time to read and comment on my posts.
God bless you and your work for the Lord. He smiles down upon you!
Roland