Warren's Mulligan Theory of the Atonement: A False Gospel?

If you didn't see Rick Warren's Christmas Sermon on Fox News then you missed a dooosie of a sermon and by dooosie I don't mean that it was a good sermon I mean that it was a bad sermon.

This year's "Christmas Sermon" at Saddleback is a perfect example of the quintessential Warren sermon.

First of all, the sermon was chock full of verses ripped from their context which were cited from really bad paraphrases like "The Message". Warren delivered these verses in such a fashion that they didn't even remotely resemble what the Bible actually says and means in the original languages. (Since, when did this practice become okay?)

Secondly, his sermon barely mentioned sin and the entire context of what we need a savior for. Instead of giving us the Biblical context of sin and the gospel proclamation of a savior being born to us Warren, like a used car salesman, listed out 3 benefits that people could receive by accepting God's "Christmas Present" to them. (Warren and his apologists call this approach the 'Positive Gospel'). Here were the promised benefits.

1. Presence - You lose your loneliness
2. Pardon - Jesus gives you a Mulligan, a 'do-over'
3. Purpose - You find out who you are (discover your purpose)

The "benefit" that I want to focus on for this post is the second one, Jesus gives you a Mulligan. Here is some video from that segment of Warren's sermon.

Warren says that God wants to give us a 'second chance', a do-over and a Mulligan. Is this the Biblical Gospel? Is the 'good news' of the New Testament the proclamation that Jesus is offering you and me an opportunity for a 'do-over'? Before you answer, consider the implications of this 'gospel' very carefully.

I play golf nearly every week. My USGA Handicap Index is a 15.3. You could say that I have a lot of experience with Mulligans. Here is how a Mulligan works. When a golfer stands on the tee box, addresses the ball then takes a swing and finds to his dismay that rather than heading straight down the fairway his ball instead flies off into the woods or into a house or into a water hazard. Making a mistake like this on the tee box is not only embarrassing, it can be very costly. When a golfer finds himself in this situation (if his playing partners are feeling forgiving) he can invoke the Mulligan and re-tee his ball and take another swing. There is a catch. If your second shot is just as ugly as your first, there are no third chances. You cannot take a second Mulligan.

So if you take Warren's Mulligan metaphor and mistakenly think that is what the Biblical gospel is all about then you are going to believe a false gospel.

The Bible does NOT teach that Jesus Christ came to Earth and died on the cross so that you can have a 'do-over'. If that were the case then our salvation would still be based upon us and our keeping of God's law. That is like saying that we messed up the first time, so Jesus is giving us a 'second chance' but if we mess up another time there is no hope for us. Quite frankly, I don't need one do-over, I need hundreds of do-overs every day.

This whole do-over/Mulligan metaphor that Warren used is at best wrong and at worst is a 'false gospel'.

So what would be an appropriate Golf illustration that conveys the truth of the Biblical Gospel?

If you want to use a golf analogy to convey the true 'Good News' of the scripture it would sound like this.

Pretend you are a terrible golfer (for most there is not much imagination needed here). Now pretend that your eternal salvation depends on you scoring a perfect round of Golf (par or better for the entire round) at Bethpage Black (arguably the toughest golf course on the planet) and the course has been set up for U.S. Open conditions (7400 yards long, 8 inch rough and greens so fast it's like putting in a bath tub). But, wait just to make things even more difficult, the devil has thrown in gail force winds that are swirling and gusting as high a 60 miles an hour.

To give you an idea of how difficult this feat is, Tiger Woods at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, with practically perfect weather conditions was the ONLY golfer with a score that was UNDER par. Phil Mickleson was the only other golfer that scored an even par for the tournament. Every other golfer was above par for the tournament. But under these course conditions not even Tiger Woods has any hope of being saved. Sadly, even if Jesus gave you a Mulligan then there would still be no hope of your being saved. One 'do-over' would be quickly gobbled up at Bethpage Black under these conditions.

So then how can you be 'saved' in this scenario?

The Biblical Gospel teaches us that even under these impossible conditions, Jesus Christ shot the perfect round of golf for you at Bethpage Black and is offering you HIS scorecard as your own. He's already taken your scorecard, the one with all the sins on it, and he's atoned for those sins on the cross. In return, He will give you His perfect scorecard and let you sign your name to it as if you were the one who shot that round.

Do you see the difference between these two golf metaphors and the implications they carry regarding the Gospel?

The 'gospel' Warren preached this Christmas was the 'gospel' of the Mulligan and the do-over. But this is really no gospel at all. It puts our salvation back on our shoulders and puts us in an impossible situation by requiring us to get it right the second time.

The Gospel that the Bible teaches isn't about 'do-overs', its about what Christ has already DONE for you. He has won your salvation and is offering you a full and true pardon, complete forgiveness and His perfect righteousness as a gift.

There is a big difference between Warren's Mulligan Theory of the Atonement and the Biblical Gospel. Which are you going to put your trust in?

Comments

[Jim]

Chris,

Thank you for all the faithful work you do to sound the alarm and help open the eyes and the ears of those who have fallen under the spell of men like Warren, Olsteen, Hybels etc.

Your post certainly was a "hole-in-one".

Jim

[LorietheNarnian]

Mr. Abanes --you will not do what people keep asking. Show us the money. Yes, you are flaming in a sense. . .maybe in spirit rather than strict legal terms. Which is interesting since I am about to address missing the spirit while keeping the very letter.

Warrens uses of common colloquialisms, metaphors etc. are so simple and commonly used it needs no college degree, there is no my way, your way of understanding these simple terms-- any one who has played kickball knows full well what a do-over is. This is one geeky kid who would have loved it when I was twenty points behind, struck out a fourth time --If someone would yell "DO OVER--- YOU WON! Let's go home now and plan that Dungeons and Dragons theme Park we have always wanted to build."

Regarding that Mr. Warren is accused of BOTH easy believe-ism and legalism . . . This is only shocking to those who do not understand Reformed teaching, the Bible, or just plain reality. Legalism and Easy believe-ism are two sides of the same fake Galleon. (Lepruchan gold or a thinly veneered bronze Knut???- Discuss amongst yourselves)

The discussion and fuss over legalism always mystified me. I kept thinking "Where are these people?" I went to many churches and never met one, I saw a few on tv but that was it. I later learned that illogical people have never met a straw man they didn't like to take to dodge ball games, because they can knock the stuffing out of him and he can't even yell "Do-over!"

This flip side connection is increasingly evident post modern world-- there are no morals or taboos and we are daily growing more violent, yet we hyperventilate about smoking or the size of our carbon footprint, or whether we use nice words and include everyone properly.

Legalism and Antinomianism are necessary flipsides-- The Pharisees WERE the ones that allowed people to break the spirit and substance of the law by saying "This is Corban" and other such nonsense. If you are antinomian --you must be legalistic. Actual antinomians are as rare as true anarchists, really they are just throwing out the old order to impose a new one. (Generally one that cannot legitimately take over.)

We have an internal need for law the way the Englishman has an need to have words which end in the r sound. For the sake of propriety, and beauty he eliminates the unpleasant "er" sound on words like there, saying "they-ah" only to have them reappear on words like "Bannaner" which sounds horrifying to everyone but him.

Only our laws are bound to be much easier to keep than the true law of God. Since they aren't really important we can all have endless discussions on proper keepage and who is the biggest legalist or hypocrite. The fact that you don't get why he can be called both at the same time reveals more than you know.

To have a Christlike attitude-- False teaching must be pointed out, verbally chastised and the occassional whip taken out to knock down the book tables and starbucks stores now present in our churches... If you really want to find converts go OUT to the REAL Starbucks and discuss. Don't expect the fish to hop in your ice chest man.

(OK so I swill coffee whilst reading a good many books, but I try not to confuse this activity with worship or especially not with making disciples, admittedly, both may be accidental by-products of such activity. My deep sounding discussions are only overweening pride at being semi-literate and coffee, while popular at present, produces a breath not winsome. The law of God is alas ever with me ever convicting and the Gospel ever pardoning. And I am ever being reformed.

This post like this thread lost the eye of the needle along time ago!!

[RL Schultz]

Chris-
Thank you for this wonderful blog! The faithful and discerning Christians here have certainly "outed" Rick Warren and his lapdog, Richard Abanes. The best that I can say about Rick Warren is that he is a pompous fool and a wolf in sheep's clothing. Every time that a false prophet is exposed, there are always those who will rush to their defense. I also believe that the argument that says "we can glean something good" from the PDL baloney is wishful thinking at best. I know many sincere Christians who rushed out to get the PDL when it first came out. It has proved to be a fad as Rick Warren has moved on to "bigger and better things" with his P.E.A.C.E. plan and playing kissy-face with the U.N.

[Tim Brown]

Abanes said:

"Public debates are bad enough, let alone a public debate about an issue like this, when more than enough information has been exchanged to bring clarity."

So, what on earth was he even here for???

[RL Schultz]

Chris-
Thank you for this wonderful blog! The faithful and discerning Christians here have certainly "outed" Rick Warren and his lapdog, Richard Abanes. The best that I can say about Rick Warren is that he is a pompous fool and a wolf in sheep's clothing. Every time that a false prophet is exposed, there are always those who will rush to their defense. I also believe that the argument that says "we can glean something good" from the PDL baloney is wishful thinking at best. I know many sincere Christians who rushed out to get the PDL when it first came out. It has proved to be a fad as Rick Warren has moved on to "bigger and better things" with his P.E.A.C.E. plan and playing kissy-face with the U.N.

[TC Rez]

How tragic it is to read these blogs and see Christians slamming each other because they want to take a simple illustration by a kind, caring man, analyze it to death and twist it into something unbiblical. What is so unbiblical about a second chance? I, for one, went down a very bad path in my late teens and I thank God every day for the second chance He gave me to get right with Him.

My unsaved in-laws attended this Christmas service at Saddleback and they understood exactly what he was talking about. Am I sitting around obsessing over the terminology Rick Warren used and picking it apart so that I can demonstrate to my fellow Christian brothers and sisters my deep theological knowledge? No, I am continuing to pray for my in-laws salvation.

Some of you might want to find more productive ways to spend your time, like praying for the lost. I'm sure you know some people that don't know the Lord, don't you?

[matt]

I love how the abbreviation for The Message is "Mes" aka the Mess, or as I like to call it "The Massage" version, because that's what it is..

No mention of sin here.

[Mulligan]

Could the mulligan story be a link to, and an ad for, a Ken Blanchard book?

http://www.themulligan.org/

"God is the architect" = masonic reference?