Monday, September 8, 2008

Let's Cut to the Chase

How can one explain issues simply and in a short sentence or two that we common people can understand? How can we as followers of Christ warn others of false teachings without being critical and hard?

1. “The Shack.” This is a very popular novel by William Young. People have even compared this with John Bunyan’s classic “Pilgrim’s Progress.” The difference is that “The Shack” talks of theology and God without mentioning Scripture. It reads very well but is false in how it portrays God, the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit, salvation, and forgiveness. “Pilgrim’s Progress,” however, is filled with the Word of God and actually portrays salvation by faith alone through Jesus Christ, and forgiveness in and through Him.

2. “The Emergent Church Movement.” This is not as popular or large a movement as some think as a very small percentage of evangelical churches throughout North America are Emergent churches. The falsehood of the movement is that it does not hold to the inerrancy and authority of the Word of God and has done away with the Gospel of salvation in Christ and in Him alone.

3. “Open theism.” This is simply a word used for the teaching that God is not sovereign and all knowing. The Bible however teaches otherwise.

All three of these do away with God’s Word and teach falsehood. So, why do we want to read “The Shack”? Why do we want to participate in any way in the Emergent church? Open theism does away with an all-powerful God. So, stay out of the shack, and let’s move toward glory, not in prideful unbelief but in humble trust in our sovereign God, who is the Truth!

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