Rev. David Holwick ZM
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
November 13, 1994
Galatians 1:3-10
|
I. Earthquake in political landscape.
A. Dramatic election results. (I love politics)
B. Reasons given:
1) Rejection of Big Government.
2) Rejection of Business-As-Usual.
3) Rejection of counter-cultural values.
C. "Throw bums out" mentality, or permanent change?
D. More quietly, but just as certainly, a similar shift is
occurring in the American church.
II. Torn between two perspectives.
A. There has always been tension within the church.
1) Apostle Paul faced opponents within the church. Gal. 1
a) They are not just different, they are wrong.
b) There is only one true approach to the gospel, but
many lay claim to it.
2) We face the same tension today.
B. Theological Liberalism. (not a dirty word)
1) Rationalistic - we can figure everything out.
a) God does not break in, but watches impassively from
a distance.
b) If anything is going to happen in your life, you alone
can make it happen.
2) Bible is a human book.
a) It gives good stories of human behavior, but is not
authoritative in every circumstance.
b) It contains errors.
3) Progressive revelation.
a) Modern values are superior to ancient ones.
b) Every religion has an equal claim on truth.
There is a church in Massachusetts which exemplifies
this approach.
Although they are Unitarian, they invited a Buddhist
priest to conduct a service for them.
He was from Harvard, and gave a typical Buddhist
ceremony - prayers, chants, bells, etc.
Jesus was not mentioned even once.
Afterwards, one man commented that there was a little
too much dogma, but otherwise it was O.K.
A woman said she'd been a Unitarian all her life, but
now she wasn't too sure.
#2839
4) We need enlightenment, not salvation.
a) People are basically good.
b) Education will solve most of the problems of the world.
C. Theological Conservatism. (Just as dirty to some people)
1) Supernaturalistic - God is present and can intervene in
our lives in a personal way.
2) Bible is authoritative, and inerrant.
a) Jesus claimed it was.
b) The Bible writers assume it.
3) God's values don't change, and are as valid today as
they were 4,000 years ago.
a) Bible should mold us, rather than us mold Bible.
b) Cultural values need to be challenged.
4) We need redemption and salvation.
D. The results of the clash.
1) Liberals are loosing ground.
a) Millions leaving their churches.
1> Some come to us, most stay home.
b) No clear message, so drifts into doctrinal radicalism.
2) Conservatives are holding their own.
a) Conservative seminaries are gaining ground.
b) Conservative churches are growing in proportion to whole.
c) But danger of stagnation, isolation and infighting.
III. Conservative, but not frozen.
A. Churches tend to be too conservative.
1) We get stuck in old patterns.
a) Amish preach 400-year-old sermons rather than come
up with something new.
b) Business-as-usual is key with us, as well as with
government.
2) We become complacent and do not dig for new truths.
3) We can value doctrine over people.
B. Jesus was a conservative who didn't always trust conservatives.
1) The Pharisees were a party of religious fanatics.
a) They were hidebound conservatives.
b) Jesus rarely sided with them.
2) Jesus believed the Bible just as strongly as they did.
a) But their traditional attitude kept them from seeing
the real meaning of the Bible.
b) To Jesus, the old is not automatically good. Luke 5:39
3) Some things must stay the same, but others must change.
a) Be open to what is new.
IV. What never changes and must be conserved.
A. The essential gospel. (The Fundamentals)
1) The gospel must center on what God has done for us through
Jesus Christ.
2) Jesus can change people.
a) Government programs mean well, but often stumble on
human nature.
"Crazy money" scams in inner city.
Kids not allowed to get better, because money stops.
b) Churches should be in nature-changing business.
1> It's not enough to be "nice." Renewal in store.
2> We don't take gospel demands seriously enough.
3) Different gospels must be rejected. Gal 1:6f
a) Humanistic versions.
b) Legalistic versions.
B. A commitment to faithfulness.
1) Be faithful to God.
a) Paul didn't give people what they wanted. Gal 1:10
1> He had to be faithful to God.
b) Be God-pleasers, not people-pleasers.
2) Be faithful to our families.
a) Our family is the key to success.
1> Gov't efforts to reform welfare could end up costing
tens of thousands of dollars per person.
Child care alone could bust the budget.
2> Immigrants who succeed depend on each other.
A> "A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."
Eccl 4:12
b) Churches are a form of family.
1> Churches should help people on their feet.
A> Wichita church that donated building money to
Nicaragua following devastating quake.
B> Haiti PID, exactly what gov't is proposing.
C. Love never changes.
1) It is new and old, simultaneously. 1 John 2:7-8
2) We need each other.
V. What must change.
A. Negativism.
1) Easy to be against stuff, harder to be positive.
2) Christians must be positive.
a) Not just death penalty, but redemption.
b) Against bigotry.
1> Amazing how many hate groups use our hymnals & Bible.
2> Neo-Nazis, KKK, White nationalists come from us.
c) We have something that can change the world.
B. Exclusivism.
1) California anti-foreigner initiative.
a) Solution could create a bigger problem.
2) Christianity should break down barriers.
a) Our tendency is to exclude.
b) God wants us to learn to extend our hands.
3) Jesus has a burden for the world.
a) He wants to accept all of us.
b) Only condition is repentance.
C. Determinism.
1) People are limited due to their income level, race, family
background.
a) "Bell Curve" book. Intelligence (or lack) predicts your
level of success in life.
b) Nothing can really change. (And for most it doesn't)
2) Our backgrounds are powerful, but we can overcome.
a) God is not limited, and neither are we.
b) Christianity emphasizes overcoming.
================================ NOTES =============================
I. #2838 It is worth reflecting that the word "radical" derives from a Latin term
meaning "root." A radical in the strict sense is one who goes to the root of
the matter. In this sense evangelicals must always be radicals. Again and
again we must go back to our roots. But plants grow from the roots and what
the roots supply. So we apply what we find in our roots to the needs of the
day. We do not simply bury our heads in the sand. Morris, p. 72.
II. #2838 "There are new people and new needs. The problem of the
church in every generation is to meet those new needs
of new people without forfeiting the values in its heritage
from the past. To live in the past is to fail the people
in the present." Leon Morris, CT 3/7/80, p. 71.
III. Progressive interpretations of old standards.
A. Prison issue - execution is not final answer.
B. Redemption is better than damnation.
C. Keep big issues in view.
IV. #2838 It is the duty of every generation to make the faith relevant to the
needs of that generation. This does not mean playing fast and loose with the
essentials. The necessary conservatism comes in here. The essence of the
faith is not subject to adaptation; otherwise, what we have is not
Christianity but some other religion. But the expression of the faith is
another matter. This generation has the responsibility equally with every
other generation to tell its contemporaries what Christianity means in terms
they can understand. Leon Morris, CT 3/7/80, p. 72.
V. Don't make next generation pay.
A. No free lunch.
1) Benefits always require responsibility.
B. Gov't and debt.
C. Church and debt.
1) Our elders built this church. We must also pass
something permanent on.
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Easy CHM and documentation editor