Fractured Foundations

We understand and appreciate to a point, that with every generation comes the questioning of traditions that they know, challenging the beliefs of the past generations, and introducing their new ideas and thought process. In fact, this very procedure has brought tremendous advancement in science, health care, the incorporation of diversity, and technology to list a few.

The problem does not rest with the questioning of ideas, or the change that a new generation brings. The problem occurs when the new generation dismisses everything from the previous generations and attempts to silence their voice, to destroy their way of thinking, and how they have lived their lives. In short, the new generation says, “We are right and you, the previous generation(s) are wrong.” Obviously, we, the previous generation(s) have a strong response to their accusations and their attempts to silence us.

History provides thousands of years of illustrations to impact my point. I wish we had the time to cover them in a chronological format. Many books have been written in such a chronology, if you are interested in further study.

This is not the first time that our cornerstone truths of the church have been attacked. The enemy has been and continues to persist in trying to erode and destroy the fundamental truths of God’s Word, the Holy Bible. Such attacks on accepted long standing historical Christian teaching is dangerous and derogatory to the church and its mission. The great deceiver, Satan himself is the architect of such damning heresy.

What is so tragic and threatening about this perpetual attack is that the heresy is presently coming from within the church; from its pulpits and its pews. Remember the words of Jude, “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 4).

To make this point, a couple of weeks ago the United Methodist Conference in Minnesota and the Episcopal Church in the USA took bold and unbiblical action.

• The United Methodist Conference Removes ‘Father’ From Apostles’ Creed for Worship Service at the multiday Minnesota Conference, May 30–June 1, 2018. The Apostles’ Creed is an affirmation of Christian faith that goes back to the early Church and is still common in many churches that include liturgy as part of worship. Liturgical folders reportedly included a copy of the creed that removed gender specific language for God, changing “God the Father Almighty” to “God the Creator Almighty” and “Jesus Christ His Only Son” to “Jesus Christ God’s Only Son.” Since the 1980s, the UMC has pursued efforts to make their liturgy, hymns, and sermons more “gender inclusive,” by removing or discouraging use of terms like “men” or referring to God with male pronouns. By Michael Gryboski , Christian Post Reporter Jun 7, 2018 7:10 AM
• In an effort to become more gay-friendly, the Episcopal Church in the United States has decided to scrub the words “husband” and “wife” from Episcopal wedding ceremonies.

The changes to the denomination’s revered Book of Common Prayer removes the phrase “the union of husband and wife” and replaces it with “the union of two people,” and replaces the section that talks about part of God’s intention for marriage being “for the procreation of children” with the phrase “for the gift of children” to make it more acceptable to same-sex couples who may wish to adopt. Bob Ditmer May 18, 2018

The apostle Paul warns us of this “last days” attack on and the falling away from these “corner stone truths.”

• “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2 Tim 4:3-4).

• “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron” (1Tim 4:1-2).

• But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (2 Peter 2:1-2).

• Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts (2 Peter 3:3).

Church, we cannot and must not allow this to happen on our watch!

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower fades away: 25 But the word of the Lord endures for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you (1 Peter 1:24-25).

Over the next weeks, I want to address four issues from historical Christian doctrine that is presently being attacked again. Obviously, there are many more than four specific attacks that need to be addressed, but the four I am highlighting are presently front and center in today’s church culture.

The first attack I want to expose is perhaps the most dangerous to circumventing lost humanity from coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord. Many Christians presently believe and pulpits are preaching and promoting that Jesus Christ is NOT the only way to God, the heavenly Father. Please know with absolute certainty that this teaching is absolutely contrary to the Bible, God’s Holy Word.