Salvation from what?

Arthur W. Pink once wrote:

The nature of Christ's salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day "evangelist." He announces a Savior from hell rather than a Savior from sin. And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness. The very first thing said of Him in the New Testament is, "Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people (not "from the wrath to come," but) from their sins." (Matt. 1:21) Christ is a Savior for those realizing something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, who feel the awful burden of it on their conscience, who loathe themselves for it, who long to be freed from its terrible dominion; and a Savior for no others. Were He to "save from hell" those still in love with sin, He would be a Minister of sin, condoning their wickedness and siding with them against God. What an unspeakably horrible and blasphemous thing with which to charge the Holy One!

 Pink, here, points out the foolishness in a message that focuses on Hell rather than freedom from our own wickedness.  A desire to be freed from the sin that separates us from God, and thereby be reconciled to God, is what ought to drive a sinner to his knees.  But, oh, if Pink only knew what was to come after the preachers of his own day!  At least the preachers who wrongly focused on Hell were still preaching that which was true.  We are saved from Hell by Christ's death and resurrection even if our escaping Hell is not the thing we should rejoice in as much as our reunion with God is.  But today the situation has deteriorated into almost unfathomable lows.  Prosperity Gospel preachers like Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland would have you believe that you are saved from your sickness and poverty.  Leftists like Jim Wallis and Katharine Jefferts Schori would have you believe that salvation isn't really about the individual anyway, its about the kingdom of God (meaning leftist politics) and that it is the environment that is to be saved.  Then you have Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, and all of their copycats that don't really seem to know what salvation is but they are sure it has nothing to do with Jesus dying to save us from our sins.  Finally, you have people like the leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church who just recently officially recognized three lesbians as pastors within their denomination.  For them the clear teaching of scripture that homosexual conduct is a sin didn't seem to be a valid reason to call for their repentance rather than their promotion.  Much to the contrary, it was the leadership's failure to commit this travesty sooner for which they apologized.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20

 I really do fear for people like that.  Rather than preaching that Jesus sets us free from our sins, they have gone so far in the opposite direction that they are condemning the idea that sin needs to be repented of or that there is really anything that "feels good" to them that could possibly be considered sin.  It is a sad state that our Church is in today.  If this isn't the beginnings of the Great Apostasy then I can't even begin to rap my mind around how bad things will be when it comes.  Heaven help us.

Endless accommodation

I was reading an article from Albert Mohler's blog about the Catholic Church's accommodations to evolutionary theory 60 years ago in the papal encyclical Humani Generis. (article here) In rapping up the article Mohler says:

"For evangelicals, the direct lesson is that any accommodation to evolutionary theory comes with huge and inescapable theological costs. There is no way to affirm an historical Adam while holding to any mainstream model of evolution, and there is no way to affirm the Gospel without an historical Adam."

This is an insight which captures well the heart of many discussions that I have had with people over the theory of evolution and attempts to harmonize it with the truths found in the Bible.

The article also touches on the reality that even if a compromise position is put forward to those holding an ideology that is simply incompatible with Christianity the debate is not over.  Those holding a position alien to the Gospel are still going to push for more and more concessions that will only lead further and further away from the teachings of Scripture.  But honestly who can blame them.  They are simply being faithful to their creed.  In this case, it is the Christian who is not.

It is the truth to say that in most situations where Christians are willing or even eager to make such concessions, they are possessed by a motive that is looking for credibility in and approval from the wisdom of the world.  And if that is our goal then we have denied our master.

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours."                                               -John 15:18-20