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Paul said “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”
We live in an age where much of Christianity has been reduced to a mere Experience… and for most Christians this Experience has been reduced to a mere Decision.
Once the “Decision” has been made… Once the “Experience” has been Experienced… the Modern Christian has very little real need for God in his life, and unless he is in the middle of a personal crisis the Modern Christian feels very much in control of things and as the writer of the beloved hymn 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing' says; he is “prone to wonder”.
(This is the wisdom and spirit of this Modern age in which we live.)
In my opinion this casual approach to our relationship with God is a result of two doctrines that when combined has had the same effect on Modern Christianity and the Modern Church as yeast and water have when added to flour … They are: (1) Decisional Regeneration and (2) The Eternal Security of the Believer.
Modern Christianity, under the influence of these two doctrines, is like modern bread… it is altogether: ”light, and fluffy… puffed up… and full of air”.
Grace Always,
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8 comments:
Greg,
I know this is not related to your post, but I thought you might be interested in leaving a commnet at my newest post, related to a short converstaion we had a while ago.
Can A Regenerate Christian Be Totally Depraved?
God Bless,
Ben
All Arminians are light and fluffy. They are heretics and have no conception of the doctrine of God...buncha open theists claiming the "sovereignty" of God under the guise of systematic theology.
Ben,
Thanks for the invite to debate this subject again… But having went and read some of the 93 comments on your blog on this topic, and having found many good arguments from both sides, and having a really busy schedule right now, I must pass at this time.
Perhaps I can find some time to address this topic in a future post of my own?
Grace Always,
Marvin,
Ok… I know I have a well earned reputation of “hammering” my Arminian brothers pretty hard. So I guess I can accept the fact that you would, by past experience, naturally think that I was talking about Arminians when I wrote this post.
However, I was not thinking about my Arminian brothers when writing this post at all. What I was thinking about, and what I am lamenting, in this post is the combined effect on the modern church of the doctrine of “The Eternal Security of the Believer”, (which is a Calvinistic doctrine) and the modern phenomenon of seeking “Decisions” as the primary focus (and end all) of all our evangelistic efforts.
By and large, getting “decisions” has replaced making disciples in both the Calvinistic and Arminian churches of our time… and when you combine this with the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer (once saved always saved) in the Calvinistic churches you have… well… you have the mess you see in many churches today.
Grace Always,
I wasn't sure who exactly you were speaking of, Brother Greg. However, I do believe in your assessment that the modern church is all-too-often "light and fluffy" because the flesh desires eternal security via its own decision (good insight, btw). I was just reaffirming your argument while adding that I believe this condition results from Arminian doctrine (and irresponsible biblical exegesis) being taught in churches across the land.
Marvin,
Ok… no problem… I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that I consider this a problem that transcends theological camps.
More to the point… I am of the conviction that when a Calvinistic Church adopts an approach to evangelism that is designed to produce quick results (Decisions) and follows that up with a strong dose of teaching “Once Saved Always Saved” to those who have yet to prove that they were genuine in their repentance… they do great harm to; these individuals, the Church, and the long term witness of Christ in that community.
Grace Always,
You're right, Brother Greg...but I think a truly Calvinistic church will teach that Jesus makes the decision, NOT the sinner. At least, that's what the Bible teaches (cf. John 15:16).
In Ecclesiastes it's written that we all go to one place.
The decision makers too.
I think a tender encounter with God at the end of life is made a model from Job, comfort for us all.
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