WHAT DO CAR THIEVES AND CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANITY HAVE IN
COMMON?
The other morning I turned the TV on and the COPS show was on
where they set out the bait car with doors unlocked and keys in ignition and
wait for someone to steal it. Then the
cops follow the bait car, and by remote control turn off the engine and lock
the doors so the occupant/s can’t open the doors from the inside. The crooks are caught red-handed and can’t
get away. The thieves nearly always lie
and make up some story about how some lady asked them to drive it over to such
and such a place or how they were on their way to turn it in at the police
station. They don’t realize everything
they have said and done has been videoed.
I have watched this show several times and each time I am struck
with how quickly thieves show up and steal the car. It’s like almost everyone on the streets in
the inner cities are ready to steal with no reservations or hesitations. (I know, they may wait a long time for the
cars to be stolen but video is edited for TV.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of takers out there ready to steal.) They
steal cars like you or I would pick up a quarter we saw lying on the sidewalk.
I believe this is a reflection of a society that is crumbling
from within, having lost all basis or foundation for morality, honesty or
integrity and it is most obvious in the big cities where the crumbling has been
the worst. The thieves have no concern
for anyone or anything except their own greed, lust and good times. Why should they care about anything or anyone
else?
We see the same loss
of morality and integrity across the board in society at large in business,
government, politics, media, education, etc.
So many are out only for their own power, wealth or whatever makes them
happy. Rules and laws “be damned”! The
only thing that’s wrong is getting caught.
In a society that has lost its compass and foundation there
is no right or wrong. Each individual
determines his or her own truth or lack thereof because there is no authority
recognized that is higher than the individual.
The autonomy of the individual is a trademark of Western progressive
politics, democracies and religion. It’s
even portrayed as having divine authority and blessing. To be sure, in the
beginning this autonomy was understood to be anchored in the concept of God and
truth but it is only a matter of time until it reaches its logical conclusion
and the “individual” trumps God, Himself. If you delve into these ideas you will soon
discover that Western concepts of democracy in politics and religion are
actually, albeit in a subtle and unintended way, forms or expressions of
atheism disguised as deism. The concept
of the autonomy of the individual is atheistic in its essence. But this is another topic for another day.
Turning to contemporary Christianity, as I read discussions
on the internet and have discussions with co-workers on Christian beliefs it is
obvious that the vast portion of contemporary Christianity is not much
different from the car thieves in terms of having any convictions about right
and wrong or truth and error. One belief
is as good as another even if they contradict each other. You can believe in Calvinism or you can
believe in free will, it makes no difference even though both cannot possibly
be true. You can believe that baptism is
salvific or you can vehemently deny such but everyone is still one big
Christian family and the differences don’t matter even though they are at the
heart of our salvation and what it means to be a Christian. You can believe like the Charismatics or not,
it doesn’t really matter. Charles
Stanley and Billy Graham are praised even by those who reject their teachings
on eternal security. Why? Because it doesn’t matter. It’s all perceived as just different opinions,
different hermeneutical principals of interpretation. There is no right or wrong, just different
points of view. There is no absolute
truth except on a few things like the divinity of Christ, His death,
resurrection and second coming. But even
on these subjects there is a wide variety of interpretations and disagreements. It seems that most of the Bible is completely
unnecessary. It could easily be reduced
to a few lines on an index card. Heresy? There is no such thing anymore in
contemporary Christianity. But there was
for the apostles and there has been for the True Christian Church throughout
history.
Since contemporary Christianity is so big on Bible study,
let’s see what the Bible says about all of this.
It is said of the early Church that they continued steadfastly in the apostles’
doctrine…
This consisted of much more than a few “cardinal” doctrines
since the apostles sometimes taught the people in a given place for two or
three years and their Epistles are filled with doctrines. When a pastor tries to avoid doctrine he is
in direct opposition to the apostles and is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
St. Paul’s charge to St. Timothy: …I
besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou
mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine. I Tim 1:3
It is clear from this that there was a clearly defined
apostolic doctrine from which no deviations were permitted.
Rom 16:17: Now I
beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to
the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
When was the last time your pastor preached from this
text? Seen any Calvinist and Armenians
applying this verse lately? Instead they
pray together and bless one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Both of these doctrines cannot be
apostolic. One has to be contrary. If you think the other is contrary from yours
and that yours was taught by the apostles why don’t you abide by this
Scripture?
2 John 9, 10: Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in
the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He
that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
If
there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine receive him not into your
house (house church), neither bid him Godspeed.
For he that biddeth him Godspeed is a partaker of his evil deeds.
The doctrine of Christ includes all that is given in the
four Gospels and much more as taught to the apostles, some of which is in their
Epistles. To say “God bless you brother”
is to bid him Godspeed. Notice that
false doctrine is not just a different opinion but is an evil deed.
Gal 1:8: But though
we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have
received, let him be accursed.
Of course many try to reduce the gospel to essentially
“Jesus loves you” but that is not the context here nor is it the understanding
of the word throughout the New Testament.
It embraces all that Christ taught and passed on to His apostles.
Eph 4: 11-14 St. Paul says that God gave apostles to
establish the Church in a unity of faith so we would not be “tossed to and fro, and carried about with
every wind of doctrine…”
All the Epistles admonish the Church to all speak the same
thing and to be of one mind and one spirit. Divisions of doctrine and practices are
portrayed as expressions of carnal self-will. The only real unity in contemporary
Christianity is the belief that all beliefs are opinions and no one can really
say which is right or wrong.
St. Paul admonished the Corinthians for following after
different teachers claiming allegiance to one teacher or another. It was akin to our age with some saying I am
of Calvin or I am of Luther or I am Rick Warren, etc. He reminded them that
there is only one Spirit and one Truth and all such divisions are carnal and
evil and contrary to Christ who established one Faith and one Truth.
When divisions, debates and variations of practices arose in
the early Church, the apostles sent directives or went themselves to bring the
churches into a unity of faith and practice and admonished the churches to have
no fellowship with those who walked contrary to their teachings.
One of the signs of the apostasy of the last days is that people
will not endure sound doctrine but will follow teachers that please their
ears. This sounds like all the
contemporary groups of “What’s Happening Now” who downplay doctrine and
anything that will offend or keep the crowds from coming. What an evil perversion of the understanding
of the Church of Christ whose mission is not to please the crowd but to worship
the Holy Trinity in Spirit and in Truth.
Thus contemporary Christianity is shown to be a complete
deviation from the teachings of Christ, the apostles, martyrs, confessors and
the True Christian Church. It has lost
all sense of right and wrong, much like the car thieves in the bait cars. Only the bait car is not a car but
contemporary Christianity.
