Extreme Theology

Scholarly Critical Look at Purpose-Driven Methods

Bob Dewaay, the author of the book "Redefining Christianity" has recently put together a series of radio programs that cover each of the chapters of his book. I particularly like his shows on redefining the gospel and the misuse of bad translations. They are worth taking the time to listen to. You can find them by clicking here.

A Sign of Things to Come? I Pray it is.

Warren’s False Dichotomy

Rick Warren is spending A LOT of time talking up HIS vision for a second Reformation or a Third-Great Awakening. Sadly, every time he speaks about this he sounds like he is bashing creeds.

Here is a soundbite of Pastor Warren talking about HIS vision for a Second Reformation. In this soundbite Warren is literally setting up a dichotomy between Creeds and Deeds. Once that dichotomy is established, Warren makes it clear that his preferential focus is on deeds.

In the recent series of articles that ran in the Orange County Register regarding Rick Warren and Saddleback church, this disturbing quote appeared. “In Warren's vision of Christianity, past arguments over politics and doctrine are subsumed by agreement on incontrovertible causes. The divisiveness of words gives way to the unity of works.”

Referring to the creeds as “divisive words” belies a disdain or a distaste for the creeds. This is a bad message for Pastor Warren to be sending and one that I hope he is not intentionally trying to send.

To be fair to Pastor Warren, it is important to understand that what he is trying to do is chart a course between fundamentalism which emphasizes personal salvation and Liberalism which emphasizes ‘Social Action’.

Warren wants to create some sort of hybrid between the two positions. In short, it is a Warrenized form of Ecumenicalism that he hopes will spark a new tone and unity within the church. He hopes the the common denominator will be a unity of action and deeds. He explains this very well in an interview he participated in on May 23, 2005 for the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Click Here to read it.

Here’s the flaw in Warren’s vision. Unity of Deeds is NOT True unity. A simple analogy will suffice to demonstrate this.

Let’s imagine that a Christian Evangelical and a Mormon both volunteer at an AIDS Hospice. One works the day shift and the other works the night shift.

Both are performing a good deed. Both are united by doing the same good work.

During his shift, the Christian reads the Bible to the patients in his care. He shares the Gospel with them and tells them that Jesus died for all their sins and is offering them salvation and full remission of sins by grace alone through faith alone.

During his shift, the Mormon reads the Book of Mormon to the patients in his care. He tells them that the Bible is full of errors and that Joseph Smith restored true Christianity to Earth through the angel Moroni. That they have to believe the doctrines of Mormonism and that if they are worthy enough they will become 'gods’.

On the surface, both the Christian and the Mormon are united by their deeds. But, when you examine the doctrine and the message they bring along with their deeds you discover that they are literally engaging in spiritual warfare. The Christian is fighting for Jesus Christ and his Kingdom, the Mormon is fighting for the devil and his kingdom.

Scripture tells us to “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Eph. 5:11).

The Biblical Reality is this, True Christian Unity can ONLY be achieved through creedal and doctrinal unity; only then, can “deedal” unity have any significant meaning. To think that unity can be achieved through deeds that ignore or impugn creeds is naïve at best and deceptive at worst.

Below is a chart that shows the relationship between deeds and creeds. In it, I am making the case that the standard that Christian pastors are called to is one of Creeds and Deeds. Not one or the other.

The chart measures Creeds on the Horizontal Axis and measures it from Low to High. Low = Shallow or False Doctrinal Content, High = Deep and Correct Doctrinal Content.

It also measures Deeds on the Vertical Axis from low to high.

Here is the key to understanding the quadrants in the chart.

		Creeds
		Shallow or False Doctrinal Content	Deep and Correct Doctrinal Content
D e e d s	M a n y G o o d W o r k s	Shallow or False Doctrinal Content / Many Good Works False Religion - Pietism, Liberalism, and the Cults. Biblical Illiteracy and/or Biblical Mis-Interpretation Man Centered Preaching Self-Help or Moralistic Sermons. Complete misunderstanding of the difference between God's Law and the Gospel. The Law is preached as if it were the Gospel. Sacraments Administered According to the Law. Motivation for Good Works: A Belief that Your Good Works Will Save You and Make You Pleasing to God. Exposes a pervasive unbelief and lack of trust that the Bible IS the Word of God and will deliver what it promises through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They instead trust in their methods, programs and efforts. This is a VERY dangerous form of deception due to the fact that followers feel that their good works are making a difference in the world and are therefore earning 'browny points' with God. "Christian" churches that fall into this are hard to distinguish from Mormon churches. Many times these are HIGHLY moral, good, pious and religious people. They are deceived, none-the-less and need to hear and believe the Gospel.	Deep and Correct Doctrinal Content / Many Good Works True Biblical Christianity and Discipleship High Biblical Literacy Christ Centered & Cross Focused Preaching Expository Preaching of God's Word Correct Distinction Between Law and Gospel. Sacraments Administered According to The Gospel. Motivation for Good Works: To Visibly Share the Love of Jesus Christ through Deeds. To BE Jesus to your Neighbor. The Disciple DOES NOT believe that His Good Works Will Save Him. They are done as an act of Thankfulness and Worship for Christ's love and mercy. Good Works Begin with One's Vocation Husband / Wife Mother / Father Employee Student Then it moves into the community Caring for the poor, the sick, and those in need. Teaching Sunday School. Working full-time in the Ministry. Exposes a DEEP belief and trust that the Bible IS the Word of God and will deliver what it promises through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the goal and measure by which All Christian pastors and churches should be measured.
	N o G o o d W o r k s	Shallow or False Doctrinal Content / No Good Works Paganism	Deep and Correct Doctrinal Content / No Good Works Antinomianism Faith in Faith Those who believe this are deceived and believing a lie. Read This Sermon on the Epistle of James

God's Words vs. Man's Words

Click Here to Download the MP3 Audio File

The notes for this class are available by clicking here.

Originally taught at Capo Valley Church, San Juan Capistrano, California on Sunday, Oct 8, 2006.

The Sermon is a Meal

Every sermon, every Sunday school lesson, every small group discussion is the equivalent of a ‘spiritual meal’. There is just as much variety offered to us in ‘spiritual meals’ as there are ‘physical meals’. Some are healthy, some are junky, some will make you fat, some will fuel profound spiritual growth while others will kill you.

When Jesus restored Peter after Peter had denied him three times, Jesus asked him “Simon Son of John, do you love me?” Peter, wounded by the question answered, ‘You know that I love you.” Jesus then gave Peter this command, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-18)

This command to “Feed my sheep”, applies just as much to today’s Jesus loving Pastors as it did to Peter. This command also makes it clear who owns these sheep, it is Jesus who owns them. The church is His flock. Pastors and teachers are charged by Christ to care for and feed HIS sheep.

What do sheep eat? What is the best diet for them? What do they need to stay healthy, grow and stay strong? The answer from scripture couldn’t be clearer. “man does not live on bread alone but on EVERY word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” (Deut 8:3)

In other words, pastors are given the charge of feeding Christ’s sheep with the words of God; not just some of it, but EVERY word of it. Is it any wonder then why Paul admonished Timothy to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction.” (2Tim. 4:2)

This begs an important question. Is your Pastor feeding you healthy meals or is he feeding you junk food or poison?

Many will immediately respond by saying, “my pastor always preaches from the Bible” or “he has changed my life” or “he does a good job of connecting with me on a personal or entertaining level”. However, neither of these results are useful for discerning whether you’re being fed properly or are suffering from spiritual anemia.

The chart below provides a good comparison. Which column best describes your pastor’s sermons?

Healthy Spiritual Food	Spiritual Junk Food
Sermons Focus on Christ His Words His Righteousness His Sacrifice for Sins	Sermons Focus on You Your Purpose Your S.H.A.P.E. Your Ministry Your Obedience
Problem Solved is Sin The Biblical themes of Sin, rebellion against God, hell, redemption and saving faith are faithfully taught week after week.	Problems Solved are American Suburban Stresses Low Self-Esteem Career Stress Marital Stress Parenting Stress Addictive Behaviors Financial Stress
High Biblical Content God's Word is Served in Heaping Portions Purpose it to help listeners understand what God's Word says and means in context and in its entirety. Reliance on Accurate Bible Translations	LOW Biblical Content God's Word is used to season or flavor the Sermon. Many times one or two verses is all that is needed. These verses are ripped from their context and listeners have no clue what those verses really are teaching in their full context. Reliance on Bible Paraphrases such as "The Message"
Biblical Doctrine is Imparted (Titus 1:7-9) Creeds AND Deeds (2 Tim 3:16-17)	Pop-Psych and Self-Help Fads are Imparted Deeds NOT Creeds (2 Tim 4:3)
End Result Healthy and strong Disciples of Jesus Christ who trust in Christ and His Promises for Salvation. Zeal with Knowledge Hearers are Biblically Literate, Doctrinally Grounded and are Capable of Teaching Others What the Scriptures Teach.	End Result Spiritually anemic, Self-Centered and Self-Focused people who trust in themselves for their Salvation. Zeal without Knowledge (Rom 10:1-4) Hearers are Biblically illiterate with little or no clue what the Bible actually teaches and are anti-doctrinal in their thinking. Ironically, these people are tasked with the job of leading 'small groups' and discipling other Christians.(Heb 5:11-14)