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From The Pastor's Desk
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AMERICAN PELAGIANISM
The interesting thing as we look at society, both with
its mixture of several philosophical ideas, and several religious ideas,
is the fact that everybody wants to cling to their own righteousness;
their own way or understanding of getting to heaven and truth seems to
be lost in confusion of messages. As a result, what many churches
believe on paper are not exercised in their congregations -- and this
includes us as Lutherans.
A good bit of that influence comes from
"Pelagianism." If you’ve been in some of my Bible classes you have learned
of Pelagianism as a precursor to decision theology.
Pelagians deny original sin. Pelagians believe that man
has a total free will. The free will was not tainted by the fall, which
we find taught much differently within the scriptures. The psalmist says
of Psalm 51:5 “in iniquity did my mother conceive me.” Pelagians
overlooked this and other scriptures and taught otherwise. The effects
of this teaching go well beyond that; in fact, the self-help
Christianity that’s out there today is very much a reflection of this
kind of thinking. We might identify this as a natural heresy to our
desire to be self-saviors. The old sinful nature wants to fix things for
itself and yet it leads to a disastrous end. Unfortunately, much of
American Protestantism, as well as reformed Lutheran bodies, has taken
on this false teaching.
These modern day
approaches, in attempt to be relevant, lose the message altogether.
Many times this kind of preaching of
today's Christian message comes from a lack of proper teaching. As a result, you
always return to what you know. What the old sinful nature knows is its
roots in Pelagianism -- or what we might also refer to as semi-pelagianism
or synergism.
In America, we see a lot of this kind of
thinking from Charles Finney, an early American evangelist who very much
held to pelagian ideas. People like Billy Graham have called Finney one
of the greatest evangelists since St. Paul. However, taking a closer
look, we see that there is much difficulty in the teachings that are
contrary to the Scriptures and undermine the atonement of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. Charles Finney believed that we are only guilty
and corrupt when we choose to sin, believing in total free will
and not believing in a sinful disposition we described as original sin.
As a result, he believed that Christ’s work on the cross could not pay
our debt and was only a moral example for us. So, the goal in Finney’s
theology is to bring about repentance and obedience; obedience that
brings about salvation, not the blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. Finney
says “the atonement is only an incentive to virtue.”
As a result, we see this having a great
effect on American theology today. Many pastors are in the pulpits
preaching moralism and psychology; a “be better" theology, rather than a
theology where the blood of Christ covers our sin, brings forgiveness,
hope and freedom to all.
This fall,
in the first session of W.O.W. (Word On Wednesday), we will be taking a
closer look at influences such as Pelagianism on our American way of
Christian thinking. Working under the title “Christianity without
Christ” we’ll take a close look at who we are and what we have become
and how close that is to what we believe, teach and confess. Come join
us on this journey as we measure and test the waters of Christianity
today.
Pastor Ken Farnsworth
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Reviews and Reading Recommendations
from the Pastors
Fatal Flaws:
What Evolutionists Don't Want You to Know
by Hank Hanegraaff
As more and more so-called experts
challenge what the Bible says about the creation of man, we must take
aim with straightforward, Christ-centered answers.
Today's generation is bombarded with theories about humankind and its
origins. In Fatal Flaws, now in paperback with a study guide included,
Hank Hanegraaff keeps Christians from falling prey to corrupting
scientific speculation about the origins of life and reminds us that we
are God's creation. This common-sense approach puts the concept of
evolution in the grasp of everyday Christians and reminds us that
ultimately the key to our purpose in this life comes from understanding
whose we are and who created us.
The Apocalypse Code
by Hank Hanegraaff
Breaking the code of the book of Revelation has become an international
obsession. The result, according to Hank Hanegraaff, has been rampant
misreading of Scripture, bad theology, even bad politics and foreign
policy. Hanegraaff argues that the key to understanding the last book
of the Bible is the other sixty-five books of the Bible--not current
events or recent history, and certainly not any complicated charts.
The Apocalypse Code offers sane
answers to some very controversial questions:
• What does it mean to take the book of Revelation and the rest of the
Bible literally?
• Who are the “Antichrist” and the “Great Whore of Babylon,” and what is
the real meaning of “666”?
• How does our view of the end time change the way we think about the
crisis in the Middle East?
• Are two-thirds of all Jews really headed for an apocalyptic holocaust?
The Apocalypse Code is a call to understand what the Bible really
says about the End Times, and why how we understand it matters so much
in today’s world.
Christianity in Crisis
by Hank Hanegraaff
Christianity in Crisis confronts head-on a deadly cancer that is
ravaging the body of Christ. Unless this cancer is halted now, the
consequences for Christianity will be catastrophic.
Influential teachers are utilizing the power of the airways as well as
scores of books, tapes and magazines to distort the biblical concept of
the Creator and promote anti-biblical doctrines that boggle the mind.
The result is nothing less than a systematic subversion of the historic
Christian faith.
Yet, this is a cancer which has a cure.
Christianity in Crisis not only exposes darkness to light, but
provides solutions for averting the crisis in Christianity and restoring
a Christianity centered in Christ.
Hank Hanegraaff is the
host of Bible Answer Man, heard daily throughout the United
States and Canada. He is president of the Christian Research Institute
and author of the Gold Medallion award-winning Christianity in Crisis
and The Face that Demonstrates the Farce of Evolution. Hanegraaff
resides in North Carolina with his wife, Kathy and their eight children.
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/bible_answer_man
Please
visit the Resource Room for past selections.
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