Infantile

Steven's post on "What Does Rick Warren Really Believe" got me thinking.

Saddleback Church’s ‘statement of belief’ reveals a serious shortcoming in ‘purpose driven churches’, they are Biblically infantile.

Statement 1 “God is bigger and closer than we can imagine” sounds a lot like the first table prayer I taught my children when they were toddlers.

God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our Food. Amen

That prayer isn’t deep doctrine or theology. But, it served its purpose in helping to teach my children to thank God for their daily food.

Two of my children are now teenagers. Imagine how silly it would be if they still prayed that prayer before every meal. What type of father would I be if I had never taught my children the deeper aspects of the Christian faith?

If I had stopped with that prayer, my children wouldn’t know that God became a man. That His name is Jesus. That Jesus lived a perfect and righteous life. That He atoned for their sins. That he rose bodily from the grave three days after His crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. They wouldn’t know that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ. They wouldn’t know that He is coming again to judge both the living and the dead.

In short, if I had only taught my children that prayer and nothing more they would still be spiritual infants despite the fact that two of them are old enough to drive and my youngest is in the 5th grade.

Does our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ call us to a life of spiritual infancy or does He encourage us to grow and mature in our faith? I know that the answer to this question may seem like a ‘no-brainer’. However, before I give the Biblical answer to this question, stop and think about this. If we take the statement of belief from Saddleback Church and consider it to be the ‘doctrinal target’ that they are shooting for, then we have no choice but to believe that one of the largest churches in America is nothing more than a Mega-Nursery for Spiritual Infants.

Here is what scripture says on the matter.

In Ephesians 4:11-15 we read this about ‘spiritual infants’…

Ephesians 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

This passage tells us that, Christ called some to be apostles, some to evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers. Verse 12 makes it clear that pastors and teachers are to prepare God’s people for works of service and to help them to become spiritually mature. The way they accomplish this divine task is by building them in knowledge of the Son of God. When pastors and teachers do what they are supposed to be doing, their hearers will no longer be spiritual infants. What is the mark of a spiritual infant? An infant is one who is tossed about by every wind of teaching and deceitful scheming.

The author of Epistle to the Hebrews chastises the recipients of his letter for being spiritual infants when they should have already been teaching others the faith. Here is what he has to say on this matter.

Hebrews 5:11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Again, scripture does not have ‘kind’ words for spiritual infants. The author of this letter is admonishing his hearers to grow up. How? Through Doctrine. A.K.A. ‘teaching about righteousness’. This is why Jesus tells us in Matt 28:19-20 to go and ‘make disciples’. We are not told to go and make ‘converts’ or to go and make ‘spiritual infants’. A disciple is a mature Christian who is thoroughly trained and taught in God’s word and is grounded in true Christian Doctrine. A disciple is equipped to defend the faith as well as teach others. Pastors and teachers serve the church and fulfill the great commission by ‘making disciples’.

Consider this: The statement of belief put out by Saddleback Church is at best, watered down spiritual milk. Anyone who makes this type of ‘food’ their primary spiritual diet will be stuck in spiritual infancy. Their spiritual growth and maturity will be severely stunted, and worse, they will be left vulnerable to every bad ‘wind of doctrine’ and scheming that comes down the pike.

Could anyone explain to me how this is supposed to be a ‘better’ way to do church? I really don’t get it.

Comments

[Lootershootersnakeeater]

Seems like Rick Warren is trying to be an Evangelist and not a pastor. Seems like a job description is what is needed here.