September 24, 2006

Cawson St. Church of Christ

Hopewell, Virginia

Mural Worthey

 

Common Religious Mistakes--#6

 

Introduction: “Emphasizing One Part of the Gospel Rather than the Whole”

a.     In this series, I have tried to present topics that apply to religious people generally, regardless of the culture or age.

b.     There are common failures because we are human beings and share faults and errors.

c.      School teachers can tell you what mistakes the new class is likely to make due to their experiences in teaching.  It is understandable why beginning students confuse the q and p in the alphabet.  The stick is either on one side or the other, but which is it?

d.     Religions make some predictable mistakes.  We should know by experience what they are by now.  Jesus pointed out many of them.  History teaches us some other common errors.

e.     Another common mistake that religions make is to emphasize one part of the Gospel rather than the whole of it.  We could call this mistake the “Toys ‘R Us” concept.  Everyone knows that this store specializes in toys for children.  They do not carry any other merchandise.  You cannot buy a lawnmower there!

f.       One thing that I noticed in New York City is that merchants of similar products are grouped together.  All those who sell jeans are located on these two blocks.  Light fixtures are in another part of town.  Chinese restaurants are found in China Town.

g.     Religions can be sorted in a similar way.

 

‘The Toys R Us’ Religions

 

Churches have become known for emphasizing one thing.  There are a group of churches who practice a high form of church worship.  That is, their worship is very elaborate, ritualistic, and symbolic.  No one comes expecting casual worship there.  This appeals to some people, but not everyone. Others must go elsewhere if they want casual, simple, low form of church worship.

 

One church gives primary emphasis upon the Holy Spirit.  If you want the Spirit, you will have to go over there.  They promote the Spirit and spiritual gifts.  Other churches say very little about the Holy Spirit and even deny that the Christian’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  They even point to the Bible and pat it when they speak of the Holy Spirit as if they are one and the same.  To them, the Bible, the Word of God, is the Holy Spirit. 

 

John Wesley believed that other Protestant bodies had forgotten the important doctrine of sanctification, and that God had given him the responsibility of bringing it back into proper focus.  Calvin and others had laid emphasis on the doctrine of justification, but not sanctification.  Wesley believed that once a person is fully sanctified that he could then properly live the Christian life without the burden of sin.  He believed that some had reached the state of perfection in this life, being able to live above any sin.

 

Some among us claim to have mastered the biblical teaching on baptism and first principles.  In depth research has given them insights to this subject that others have missed.  If you want to learn anything about baptism, you must consult this group.  As one preacher said, “Baptism ‘R Us.”  This subject has become so important that some seem to think that if one gets baptism right, then he is saved.  If he misses some of the finer points of it, then his salvation is in jeopardy and must be rebaptized until he gets it right.

 

Churches caught up in this common mistake rarely venture outside their area of expertise.  It is as if they are afraid to speak on any other subject.  They lack knowledge and familiarity with it.  Some churches are experts on End-time matters.  They know all the signs of the times and are sure that it is near.  Political struggles in the Middle East are all connected to biblical prophecy.  Armageddon is coming soon.  Religiously, everything hangs on the differences between pre-millennial, post-millennial and amillennial views of the Kingdom of God.  You must also get it right concerning pre-trib, post-trib, and mid-tribulation.  You cannot blunder those concepts and truths.  You will miss heaven if you make a wrong choice concerning these matters!  To them, “End-time issues ‘R Us.”

 

For others, “Sabbath Day Topics ‘R US”; “We are the people with the right translation of Scripture”; “Evangelism ‘R US”; “First Principles ‘R US,”  etc.  The list goes on and on.  Denominationalism claims to be only one part of the whole, but what is being claimed by the “Toys ‘R US” groups is that their emphasis is all you need.  Get this one thing right and you do not need the rest of the Gospel.

 

Biblical Statements

 

Paul said to the Ephesian elders, “Wherefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men; for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”  (Acts 20:26-27, KJV.)  Earlier he said that he “kept back nothing that was profitable to them.” (20:20.) Other translations say, “The whole counsel of God.”  (20:27, ESV) and ‘the whole will of God.”  (20:27, NIV.)

 

Jesus promised the apostles that when the Holy Spirit would come to them, He would guide them “into all truth.”  (John 16:13.)  Jesus said that he had many other things to teach them, but they could not bear it now.  (John 16:12.)  The apostles would need all the truth, not just part of it.

 

Some Helpful Analogies

 

Can you imagine playing baseball with only a pitcher on your team?  Instead of having a full team of nine players, suppose you had only one or two on your team?  You would not be able to win many games.

 

One author, Vern Poythress, titled his book, Symphonic Theology.  He described theology as a symphony where many musicians play many different instruments.  I heard an obo being played on the radio recently.  By itself it sounded terrible, but in a symphony it blended it with all the other sounds to make beautiful music.  Such it is with theology.  We need the whole truth, not just part of it.

 

Paul used the analogy of the human body with all of its members.  (Rom. 12 & 1 Cor. 12.)  His point is that all the members of the body are needed for the human body to function as it should; in like manner, the church needs every member.  The hand should not say to the foot, I have no need of you.  If the whole body were an eye, how would the body walk or talk? 

 

Some Aspects of the Whole

 

We need to hear about the goodness and the severity of God.  (Rom. 11:22.)  One without the other misrepresents God and the gospel.  It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance.  (Rom. 2:4.)  It is his severity that causes us to reverence and fear God.

 

Man is made of body, soul and spirit.  Therefore, we need to sanctify the whole of man.  (1 Thess. 5:23.)  The Gospel is designed to appeal to the mind, heart and soul.  We need to submit the will of man to the will of God.  There is a problem when we start choosing one part of the Word of God over others.  Some believers choose the devotional material of the Bible; they dislike the tough doctrinal teaching of Romans or Revelation.

 

The Bible speaks about who we are as well as what we do.  It teaches us to be ready unto every good work.  (Titus 3:1.)  But the seven graces are not about deeds to be accomplished, but rather they are traits of one growing in the image of Christ.  (2 Pet. 1:4-7.)  We need both; Christianity is about who we are and what we do.

 

We need justification and sanctification.  These two terms describe a wholeness that is often missed in Christianity.  Justification is about how God sees you in Christ and a righteousness that is bestowed upon the believer.  Sanctification is about the person you become as you grow in Christ.  For salvation at every age, we need to be counted as righteous while we grow in righteousness.

 

Errors of Partial Theology

 

1.     We need the whole counsel or will of God.  The Gospel applies to the whole of our lives, not just to a part of it.  (Acts 20:27.)  A good diet must have some of all the food groups.  Eating just one food is not healthy physically or spiritually.

2.     Partial theology distorts the very subject that it claims to have mastered.  An over-emphasis upon any one biblical topic will produce a mistaken view of that subject.  Each biblical subject must be kept in context with the whole Bible.

3.     Partial theology produces divisions by the emphasis given on that one subject.  Many of the Protestant divisions can be understood in light of a single subject that they have championed.  Some examples are: the Sabbath Day, the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, end-time events, baptism, justification by faith, sanctification, form of church government, etc.

4.     Partial theology can be found in the form of those who constantly go from one brotherhood issue to another.  Their doctrine depends upon what the “hot-button issue” is this year.  Most of these issues are negative, controversial, divisive and destroy the Spirit of Christ in the hearts of believers.  Issue-oriented preaching is not edifying and has no goal of its own to teach the whole counsel of God.  I am convinced that the brotherhood would have been better off if it had ignored the current issues of the day and stuck with preaching the great subjects of the Bible.  Once the issues have passed, we rarely deal with those all-important topics again!  Have you noticed?