An Old Axe With A New Handle & Blade
By Tony Ripley
I think I woke a sleeping serpent. Its camouflage appears to be harmless and its demeanor "Christlike" until provoked. When approached, its teeth appear and its breath smells of liberalism and apostasy. It is the contemporary approach to Christianity and the conversion of souls, using old methods which never worked, and justified by the implication that the
"end justifies the means."Sadly, some brethren are illustrating through their modern cultural methods, that the gospel can not convert the soul by itself. It is because we are living in a totally different culture and environment with people who have a different mentality than people did in the first century. This is stated like a true apostate. They opt to change the signs on their buildings to new contemporary slogans, hoping to catch the eye of a passer-by.
"A Church Of Christ Meets Here: UndenominationaI Christianity." It seems ironic that the Methodist Discipline says the same thing, "The Methodist church is a church of Christ in which the pure word of God is preached..." (Discipline Of The Methodist Church, 1959, page 3 - emphasis mine). The reason for changing the sign is because it "never served its purpose the way it was before." Therefore, in order for it to actually serve its purpose, it must be changed to be more appealing to the public I wonder why it doesn't read - "Anti-Denominational"? - For the same reason. It might be offensive to non-Christians. Rick Warren, a sectarian preacher and author of The Purpose Driven Church, stated that fish must be caught on their own terms (page 195). This same philosophy is being introduced by some of our "conservative" brethren today. The mentality is that fish live in a different culture than the fisherman and each fish must be caught with different baits and hooks unique to its culture and species. The bottom line is that these brethren have lost faith in the gospel's power to save! I still believe what Paul said in Romans 1:16: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." I further am persuaded that the gospel transcends all cultural lines for all eternity! Converting the lost is not a cultural problem. It is a heart problem. Those who seek truth and have a desire to learn will respond just as all have in the past. We are not in the business of baiting trot lines. God doesn't need our help in embellishing His Divine Word. He demands that we take His word and teach it to the lost, giving them the choice as to how they will respond to it. I am aware that many people are tired of traditional religion and are looking for something new and refreshing. This is why most of the newer denominational groups have placed the phrase: "Undenominational Christianity" on their signs (and now some of our brethren)When people pass by, they are impressed with the slogan and are lured into the web. It is nothing more than bait. The problem with some of our brethren is that they have forgotten that when Jesus sent the disciples to be fishers of men, all He gave them was the inspired word. But now, that's not enough. Jesus obviously didn't know what he was doing and lacked foresight as the cultural changes that would take place in the year 2000. Who can believe it? We as Christians must realize that we do have something new and refreshing to offer to the lost -- TRUTH! Non-Christians have been pummeled with commercialism, money grabbing, and false teaching and promises. The truth of God's word is refreshing in the light of all they have experienced before.
More and more, churches of Christ are appealing to novel ideas and slogans claiming that the success outweighs the poor judgement involved. These are the brethren who lack faith in the power of God's word to save. These are the folks who are having the assembly hold hands during prayer. These are the brethren who are inviting the assembly to stand and hug his/her neighbor. These are the brethren who advertise the "come as you are", "informal and casual" environment. (Of course, we would not dream of showing up at someone's funeral in Bermuda shorts, tee shirt, and flip flops, but the assembly to worship is just an informal gathering). 'These brethren depend on their "door greeters" to politic Christianity. They drool friendliness and salivate affection to woo the non-Christian to be a part of the local church family and them introduce the teaching. Our more liberal brethren used to just tape a five-dollar bill underneath the bus seat! It produced the same affect. Furthermore if the teaching is predicated upon the same structure as the baits and lures that are employed, it is probably not teaching at all, but an encouragement to a consensus of the group as a whole. Thus our worship is directed toward ourselves instead of toward God as the object of worship.
Brethren, these gimmicks are just new handles and blades for an old axe. It is perceived that if the end is positive, then the method must be all right as well. Try telling that to Moses who hit the rock instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20). He got water and a seat on the mountain watching everyone go into the Promised Land without him.
Date page last updated: March 03, 2003