Deism: the belief that God has created the universe but remains apart from it and permits His creation to administer itself through natural laws. In other words, God wound up the drummer boy (the universe) and let him go on his merry way without directing or redirecting his course (so he doesn't fall off a cliff). The drummer boy is on his own and his creator is "hands-off."
While here for college in Chicago one of my arduous tasks this past school year has been to locate a church home. Not only do I need a church to go to each week, but I also need to start thinking seriously about internship possibilities. This process is always a difficult one. As a friend's mom expressed recently, "Why can't God just show us which one He is happy with and tell us to go there? We'd be happy to go!" (paraphrased) There is much that could be said in answer to this question, but the frustration is a familiar sentiment. It's important to note up front that there is no perfect church, but how far do we take that statement? How many "lesser evils" can and should we tolerate? Perhaps this question is to be approached on an indvidual level and in individual circumstances. There have only been 2 times in my life when I've set out to find a good local church and one of those times is the present occasion that motivates me to write. For me I try to first seek out the churchs' major doctrinal distinctions. This goes beyond the general things that makes a church Protestant, evangelical, and Christian. Whether or not a church calls itself Non-denominational they all have their own distinctives and particular leanings. These can be found out through a doctrinal statement on a church website, by casual friendly conversation with those who attend, books the church sells in a bookstore, titles of past sermons, sometimes the Bible translation used, the sermons you're there to hear, and most helpful... direct discussion with leaders, teachers, pastors, and elders themselves. During this process I ask about a few things important to me. These include...
1. What kind of evangelistic/outreach efforts has the church been involved in? This is telling. Every church wants to be evangelistic and the point is that they are trying. However, the kind of efforts can quickly reveal the heart of the leaders. Advertising the church and church information is not necessarily outreach and certainly not evangelism. The gospel is the message they need to hear... magnify the gospel message and the person of Christ and minimize the church info! Charity efforts, social work, and "invite a friend" Sunday are also missing the point. If the people are trained and equipped to share their faith they will be sharing on their own and won't need to place their hopes and confidence in one particular service or sermon.
2. (to the pastor) Where do you see the church in 7-10 years? This question is a nice way of asking about the pastor's view of church growth. If the first response is a hopeful discussion of how many numbers in membership the church could reach in this time you might be in for a difficult discussion. Church growth is not about programs, models, trends, or the number of bodies in the pews (...or stadium seats). Church growth is about the Christ-likeness of the people. It's about the spiritual growth of the flock, not the amount of people in the room. This perspective is a very important one. Google "church marketing" or get on amazon and search for a few books on this subject and as you read you will see how vital this is.
3. Where do you stand on the "Lordship Salvation" debate? I ask this question because many leaders (especially who went to Bible college in the 80's and early 90's) have a false understanding of this discussion. The issues center on the definition of repentance and its' relation to the gospel response, but also the existence/emphasis on true and false conversion. Tied to these issues is what the life of the believer looks like... can it be worldy or not? To what degree, etc.? I ask about this because I lean toward the Lordship side of things as this blog entry will show below...
4. The last things I look for are; a. a high view of God, b. humility in the church leaders, c. a strong belief in the suffciency and authority of Scripture, d. a balance and perhaps emphasis on expository preaching, e. sincerity and genuineness in those who teach and preach the Bible
On the Lordship discussion I've only recently begun reading the books involved in the debate. The major ones I'm aware of are these; The Gospel According to Jesus By John MacArthur, So Great a Salvation By Charles Ryrie, Absolutely Free! By Zane Hodges, and The Gospel According to The Apostles (or Faith Works) By John MacArthur. This summer I found a couple of those books for cheap and have been reading the one mentioned last on that list. I'm just over halfway done and am refining my view on this issue as I read. It's been interesting to look into it and frankly be affirmed (thus far). MacArthur quotes his sources diligently and I've been thankful for that, although I'd like to read the other books at some point anyway. One of the concepts presented in MacArthur's book is the certainty of sanctification. It's dealt with primarily in chapters 6 and 7 of The Gospel According to The Apostles. This concept has become more relevant to me as of late because of last Sunday's church service. Early last week I had the chance to speak with the pastor about these issues and was reasonably pleased with the discussion. At church the following Sunday the pastor summed up a topical sermon series he was doing on Discipleship... that is, being a disciple of Christ. One of the major ideas presented in the content he used and therefore in his own sermons was that there's a difference between being an average Christian and a disciple. The implication is given (explicitly in the sermons I heard) that there is this "higher life" we can attain as Christians. This life is one that does the spiritual disciplines and grows while many Christians aren't doing anything in their walk.
MacArthur makes the point in his book that this sounds awfully similar to Pentecostal "second blessing" theology. This is when the baptism of the Holy Spirit is confused for the filling of the Holy Spirit in modern Pentecostal circles. Being filled with the Spirit is a temporary empowering for God's Work in some form or fashion. We are called to be filled with the Spirit. Pentecostal theology goes a step further to say this is a one-time experience that is accompanied by speaking in tongues. From that point on you are better able to do ministry, your ministry is more fruitful, and you will live a holy (or holier) life that is closer to the Lord. MacArthur talks about this on pg. 106-107 as he says in relation to the Lordship discussion, "A second-level experience is necessary [commitment after being saved] before practical sanctification can ever begin. Thus no-lordship theology divides Christians into two groups-the haves and the have nots. The terminology is slightly different, but this theology is nothing but a repackaging of second-blessing sanctification. It sends Christians ona futile quest for an experience to supply what they already possess-if they are true believers."
Elsewhere he makes the brief point that this is really a debate that centers on the sovereignty of God. The more I read and the more I think about this and frankly the more I grow to love this truth... the more I see how true this is in relation to this discussion. If God is the author of our faith, He is also the "perfector" of our faith. If however we choose to be saved entirely of ourselves then it would make sense that it would also be entirely on our shoulders to grow spiritually or not. The latter of these two is not only re-packaged second blessing theology as MacArthur is suggesting, but can also be what I would call Deistic Sanctification. In essence they're saying God is the one who orchestrates our salvation and gives us the ability to turn from sin and trust in Christ (if from a Calvinistic presupposition), but then He leaves us on our own to somehow try as hard as we can to live the Christian life and please Him. Life then becomes a never-ending struggle in the dark to find the light switch only for the switch to at some point fall down again and for us to forget where it is again. While the implications of this blog are great I know and there are many issues to discuss and questions to answer I certainly can't handle them all practically on this blog and the discussion could last forever. MacArthur does a good treatment of the common questions the book I am reading so at the very least I would suggest you pick it up and dig into the discussion with a Bible in hand. Check these things and take God at His Word as it is plainly read. Read Romans and 1 John with these issues in mind. The strength in the drummer boy will run out one day and I honestly (if I were him) wouldn't want to be the one try to get myself going again without God's help. I do believe we cooperate with God in some sense. I do believe the Christian life is a struggle. I do believe also however that if God's Holy Spirit lives in us we won't be left to our clever devices to grow in the faith. I do believe there will be growth in the life of a Christian and that he or she will be different from the world.
"17Therefore if anyone is (A)in Christ, he is (B)a new creature; (C)the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
2 Cor. 5:17
"3seeing that His (C)divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true (D)knowledge of Him who (E)called us by His own glory and excellence."
2 Peter 1:3
"9Or (A)do you not know that the unrighteous will not (B)inherit the kingdom of God? (C)Do not be deceived; (D)neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor [a]effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will (E)inherit the kingdom of God. 11(F)Such were some of you; but you were (G)washed, but you were (H)sanctified, but you were (I)justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."
1 Cor. 6:9-11
"1(A)What shall we say then? Are we to (B)continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2(C)May it never be! How shall we who (D)died to sin still live in it? 3Or do you not know that all of us who have been (E)baptized into (F)Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4Therefore we have been (G)buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was (H)raised from the dead through the (I)glory of the Father, so we too might walk in (J)newness of life."
Romans 6:1-4
"6knowing this, that our (L)old self was (M)crucified with Him, in order that our (N)body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;"
Romans 6:6
" 14For (A)sin shall not (B)be master over you, for (C)you are not under law but (D)under grace."
Romans 6:14
"18and having been (A)freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."
Romans 6:18
"9No one who is (Y)born of God (Z)practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10By this the (AA)children of God and the (AB)children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who (AC)does not love his (AD)brother."
1 John 3:9-10
"8For (A)by grace you have been saved (B)through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is (C)the gift of God; 9(D)not as a result of works, so that (E)no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, (F)created in (G)Christ Jesus for (H)good works, which God (I)prepared beforehand so that we would (J)walk in them."
Ephesians 2:8-10
