Procrastination's Cure: The Emergent Church

Few things infuriate me more than the Health & Wealth Gospel, how Osteen and others even less subtle are leading millions to hell by holding out a Jesus who was betrayed, tortured, and murdered just so you can drive a Bentley or get a promotion over the "unfaithful" or never get cancer or have your best life now.

Perhaps a close second are the truth-for-tolerance traders in the Emergent Church. Sure, Brian McLaren can turn a clever phrase. And Donald Miller helped me to remember that true faith is proven in faithful living, that Jesus meant what he said when he called his disciples to clothe the naked and feed the hungry and provide for the poor. However, in the name of relevance, the Emergent movement has lost its belief. To make Jesus more attractive to its hearers, Emergent reps don't mention the virgin birth, the wrath of God, the responsibility of people, Jesus' resurrection. Along the way, they've lost Jesus and present their hearers a prescription for peace, when they have no peace.

With papers due and finals coming, I have too much to do in the next two weeks. And when I get overwhelmed, shamefully, I procrastinate. During my putting off, I stopped by my daily blogs and found John MacArthur's Pulpit Magazine, which just responded to Emergent leader Rob Bell's new show, "The Gods Aren't Angry" (see the review, here). And I was reminded why I study: False gospels abound. Ministers of the gospel (including those who make their living in other ways), give yourselves to the faithful study and proclamation of God's word!

Till people see the glory of their Creator, who deserves His creature's obedience and allegiance...till they see that all have gone astray and sinned against their holy God, and that God's wrath is rightly aimed at them for unfaithfulness...until then, no one will know his need for a Savior. He will not see Jesus, who lived the life no other man did, and who, on the cross, took the punishment deserved by the sinners He came to save (Isa 53, 2 Cor 5.21). Alas, sinners will only know peace with God when they trust in Jesus only for salvation. And from that salvation, yes, believers' lives will be changed, and they will relate to God and others rightly.

We do listeners more than a disservice when we mislead them into believing that God is not angry with those who do not believe in Jesus. Rom 1.18-23: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Paul--not Joel and not Rob--reveals the real good news of the gospel--that God is wrathful and loving. Rom 5.8: God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Though the time has come when people have accumulated for themselves teachers to suit their passions (love of self and money), contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints!