Third third part of the “New Christianity” series addresses one of the goals of this false religion, which has invaded Christ’ church. This particular goal is “inclusivism”.
What exactly does this religion include???
That would be “non-believers”. It does this by fooling people into thinking that Jesus will accept them whether they repent of their sins or not. Repentance is optional. The doctrine that it uses to support this claim is known as “easy-believism”. This doctrine makes the claim that their are two kinds of Christianity. Both are approved by God; though one is more noble than the other. One form of Christian living merely accepts Jesus Christ as a Savior, but not as Lord. This form of Christian living does not obey Christ, who said, “…blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28), and, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out”. This type of Christian is called a carnal Christian. The other form of Christian living is identified by it’s obedience to Jesus’ teachings. According to this false religion, both parties should feel secure in their salvation, and one should not warn the other “daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, saying, “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Hebrews 3:13-15). The people who say this are branded a judgmental, heretical, pharisee.
This religion can be identified by it’s evangelical message, which states, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”, “you have a void in you’re life that only God can fill”, and “you need to invite Jesus into your heart and ask him to save you”. This message is usually followed by an “alter call” where people are led into what is called, “the sinner’s prayer”. At that point, Jesus is supposed to come into the person’s heart, and this is their idea of salvation. And when sin is mentioned, it is not properly addressed to the hearers.
But what is the problem with that? And what harm could this message and prayer do to anyone???
The problem with the message is that it is Scripturally incorrect, since Jesus didn’t merely come to fill a void in some one’s heart. Jesus said, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:32), and “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” Luke 19:10). This is because we “…who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3). “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And “…the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). And it was “…through one man that sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). The good news of Jesus Christ is “…when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This then leads to the harm of this message and unbiblical prayer. If we do not understand the concept of our sin and God’s righteous judgment, then we cannot understand the gospel. And without this proper understanding of the gospel, there can only be false conversions. Not to mention the wrong teaching on being born again as a sovereign act of God, in which we do not and cannot participate. And not even to mention, just yet, the lack of the doctrine of Christ’ resurrection and how it impacts the life of a believer. This wrong understanding of salvation leads people into the heart of the new Christianity and all of it’s hypocrisy and blasphemy. Therefore, it is of no surprise that many churches have abandoned baptism. Without the true gospel being proclaimed, baptism has lost it’s significance and has been reduced to a mere ritual that isn’t needed, and is even frowned upon by some. If we don’t understand the significance of sin and the need to turn away from it, considering our life of sin to be dead, as Christ was dead and buried, and that we have been raised to a new life in Christ, by the Holy Spirit, just as Christ was raised from the dead, then baptism is a waste of time to the new Christianity.And without the understanding of the resurrection of Christ from the dead, we cannot see the importance of looking forward to our own resurrection from the dead, and our eternal reign with Christ when he returns.
The significance of the gospel proclamation is that it calls people to do what only one who is born of God can do. And that is repent from their sins.
Luke 3
7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”
11 He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”
13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”
14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”
Another way that inclusivism has brought in false believers, is by the lack of the proclamation of the gospel in many churches. This is by teaching church leaders the insufficiency of the “alter-call” due to the understanding that what has recently become the traditional alter-call doesn’t produce true conversions. They then teach new church leaders to go to the other extreme by excluding the alter-call altogether. This is deception since it deliberately overlooks the fact that there is no alter-call in Scripture, but there is the gospel proclamation throughout the four gospels and the book of Acts. This false religion teaches church leaders to abandon both the alter-call (to receive Jesus into one’s heart) as well as the gospel proclamation. Instead, it teaches leaders that Christians beget other Christians when nonbelievers are in the company of other Christians. It also teaches that evangelism should not take place until a relationship has been established between individual Christians and nonbelievers, as well as between a church and the neighborhood in which it exists. However, this philosophy flies directly in the face of Scripture.
Matthew 3
1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
John 1
19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said: “I am ‘ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ” Make straight the way of the LORD,” ‘ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
Acts 16
11 Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis,
12 and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.
13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
15 And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.
It is not our relationships with people and their confidence in us that changes the heart, but the gospel.
Romans 1
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
Romans 10
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
2Corinthians 4
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
The power for salvation is the gospel message. It must be proclaimed. To try a new approach will lead to false conversions. And we are reborn by the Holy Spirit when hearing the gospel being preached. Therefore, to ask Jesus to come into one’s heart is a redundancy since he is already there, and has come without our invitation; regardless of our “free will” doctrine.
But couldn’t the mass church attendance of nonbelievers only lead to conversions, since they are in the company of other Christians???
If a church’s system is built upon affirming the salvation of people who have not repented of their sins, then the result will be (if the church prospers in it’s false evangelism) church growth in members that are dead in their sins, and will grow until they out number the true followers of Christ. Then these false believers will eventually become church leaders and continue in this false system. Then these false believers, who are now leaders, will go on to beget more false believers. From that will come all kinds of hypocrisy and blasphemy. And it will grow until the false religion of these false believers become “The New Christianity”. And that is exactly, what has been, and is happening.
So what are we to do? Should we try to stop this movement???
We are to simply obey Scripture. That is all that our Lord requires of us.
Ephesians 6
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
2Corinthians 10
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Jude 1
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rvelation 2
24 “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden.
25 But hold fast what you have till I come.
26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations
2Timothy 4
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.