LifeWay’s “Gospel Project” Will Keep Children From Entering the Kingdom
Proponents of New Calvinism’s false gospel of progressive justification are targeting children through LifeWay Publisher’s Gospel Project. The church now stands silent as this massive program will prevent untold thousands of children from entering the kingdom. And I have news for American pastors: your ignorance on this issue will not excuse you before Christ in regard to the eternal wellbeing of Children, especially if you are soliciting them to attend your VBS. Spiffy teacher’s manuals with the word “gospel” on them doesn’t equal truth-driven gospel.
Much could be said biblically about God’s preference for children, but it’s interesting to note that God made a specific covenant between Himself and children, and New Calvinism seeks to interfere with that covenant. The apostle Paul explains the covenant as follows:
Ephesians 6:1 – Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
The fifth commandment is the command with a promise, and the four after it are uncharacteristic of the first five in regard to being short statements. This means they probably relate back to the fifth commandment: children dishonor their parents by stealing, etc. New Calvinism circumvents this covenant (which is obviously still in force or Paul would not have referred to it), and thereby circumvents the promises to children associated with it, circumvents their ability to honor their parents, and circumvents their ability to love God.
How so? New Calvinism’s gospel-centered theology is progressive justification and sanctification by faith alone. The “big picture” method of “Bible learning” is the vehicle for enabling Christians to live by faith alone in their Christian lives. This is nothing new and is the mentality that James pushed back against in his epistle. The Bible becomes a tool for gospel contemplationism, and whatever we see in the “gospel story” is imputed to our lives. This imputation is always accompanied by gratitude (fueled by the “crosswork” that we see in the Bible), joy, and a willing spirit. All obedience out of duty is “obedience in our own efforts” which would include anything that we don’t feel like doing. Ya, teach that to kids. Brilliant.
Kids will be instructed to see all of the commands in the Bible as works that Christ accomplished for us while He lived on earth. That’s what the term, Christ for us means. We are still totally depraved and unable to keep the law in sanctification, so Christ lived for our sanctification and died for our justification. As we see all of the commands in the Bible that Christ kept for us, that obedience is imputed to our (justification) account by faith alone.
Note: we supposedly have a salvation account that needs continuing forgiveness and righteousness deposits to keep us saved. The Bible is then a tool that enables us to “see” what Christ has done, not anything we do. This is a supposed increase of faith that only perceives without any direct acts of love which would be deemed a “rightousness of our own.”
Instead of Christ obtaining our salvation by “one act” of obedience, we must contemplate his many “saving acts” (John Piper) in all of the Bible so that those acts will be continually deposited in our salvation account. Salvation is not a finished act according to this false gospel.
Worse yet, it makes the standard for justification a perfect keeping of the law; therefore, part of Christ’s salvific works was perfect obedience during His life on earth so that His works can be imputed to our sanctification by faith alone—the same way we were saved. This effectively keeps us “under the law” which is a designation for the lost throughout the New Testament. For all practical purposes, we are still under the law and that’s why Jesus must obey for us. Since sanctification finishes our justification (really progressive justification), if we don’t live the Christian life by faith alone—we are toast. Supposedly. Children will be taught that “making every effort” (2Peter 1:5-11) to obey mommy and daddy is works salvation.
Hence, there is really no choice to obey “in our own efforts” and therefore no way to love God and please Him. Supposedly, If we really love Jesus, it shouldn’t take effort. As Francis Chan states: “If it feels like work—it’s work. If it feels like love—it’s love.” There are just no words for the vileness that is behind the efforts to teach this to our children.
Moreover, it’s plainly a false gospel that denies the new birth. In the new birth, the “Helper” enables us to appropriate the fact that our minds are now enslaved to the law rather than sin (Romans 7:25). The ability to obey the law and please God is the very definition of a born again believer (Romans 8:7).
Of course, these doctrinal ideas will be assimilated into their minds by methods that teach on their level of understanding. The production is also top notch and designed to mesmerize children.
But this will be the result: the ability for our children to use the Bible to love God and others with all of their heart, soul, and minds will be circumvented. And our view of sanctification reveals what our view of justification is. We are either free from the law to serve another with our actual obedience, or enslaved to the law which necessitates a substitution for our loving acts using the Bible for the mere purpose of gospel contemplationism.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
Reblogged this on Clearcreek Chapel Watch.
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Take a look at the contributers or advisors or whatever they called them. All Calvinists. Even James MacDonald, the one who wrote “congregationalism is from Satan” and also has a blog dedicated to his 63 million dollar debt he put his church into while building his mansion and asking for a big raise. (Elephant Debt)
But it will be a huge success because a ton of PR/Marketing has gone into it including a big wine and dine where bloggers were flown in to be a part of the slick marketing by Ed Setzer and his boy wonder, Trevin Wax.
A cradle to grave curricula for the SBC which will subtly indoctrinate over time. They are taking a new tact on this one as most are totally unsuspecting it has anything to do with REformed thinking.
The NC’s say, prove it, prove it! Give us one line out of the curriculum that proves it is Calvinism. They are very clever on this one.
From what I have read so far, it seems the real focus is to slowly indoctrinate on the Reformed definition of God’s Sovereignty and from there, they own you for life until you are totally immersed in the fatalistic determinist narcissist god paradigm and do not think you can do anything about anything. Perfect for those who want docile followers to tithe more, eh?
So what I am warning folks in the SBC concerning this curriculum is too see if anywhere it speaks of our volition in any real way. And to beware of subtly being indoctrinated with the Reformed view of God’s Sovereignty because many think they are using standard non Cal definitions in context when they are not.
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Hello from South Africa. Have you seen or done any evaluation of the “Good Soil” Program and Materials developed by ABWE for use by its missionaries?
Marc Sr. Cape Town
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drmsbsr,
No, but stand by….
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drmsbsr,
It uses the New Calvinist “meta-narrative.” Bible as “big story of redemption.” ALL interpretation will be the product of two trajectories: God’s holiness and our total depravity. The goal is a deeper and deeper understanding of our depravity as set against God’s holiness. Same stuff going around everywhere. A shame, it’s just a blatant false gospel.
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[…] via Lifeway’s “Gospel Project” Will Keep Children From Entering the Kingdom. […]
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Steven,
Your comment has been removed because it does not meet with PPT moderation policy for comments.
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Right, not one point stated in the post was addressed. Rather, the post was answered with reformed talking points. We no longer do that here.
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I guess I don’t understand why a theology that emphasizes God’s work on our behalf is “truthless”? I understand that some interpretations of may differ, but to declare differing theologies as baseless is indeed prideful. I urge you to be humble in how you emphasize YOUR reading of the Holy Scriptures. IN MY OPINION the genre that clearly dominates scripture is narrative instead of proposition, etc. The truth is found in story, IN MY OPINION. I think it gravely unfortunate that people could draw so firm a line in their observation and interpretation of truth as presented in the scriptures. Thank you for unfortunately confirming my belief that brother and sisters in Christ can be so negative and disconcerting toward other believers they disagree with…
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“Chris Browne,”
And thank you so much for supplying a statement for my new book project. I am working on the first chapter which addresses the Reformed/Protestant counter-reality that they/you lie about. Of course the Reformed must read the Bible as narrative/story because that’s how they interpret reality itself. Pretty clear: the Bible has NO propositional truth, but is to be interpreted as a prototype “story” of redemption. The idea is to see ourselves clearer in the type. So, for instance, the commands in the Bible are not meant for us to follow, but rather show us what we can’t do, and what Jesus did for us. The story of how people in the Bible tried to obey God but couldn’t is our story also. Furthermore, reality is a redemptive story prewritten by God. History itself is a redemptive story. If we believe the Bible possesses propositional truth to be learned and applied by us, we are supposedly playing God by trying to create our own reality. As you may know or not know as a typical Reformed Kool-Aid drinker, this was the basis of Martin Luther’s Theology of the Cross. Moreover, in regard to assurance of salvation, one must ultimately wait and see how God’s historical narrative plays out in regard to their own life that has been written into the narrative.
I reject all of this out of hand Bubba, and that doesn’t make me “arrogant” or a hater. The real haters of history are the Gnostic dweebs such as yourself. Why don’t you desist from being the typical Reformed coward who comes here and state your real name and the church you go to along with your Reformed credentials if you have any other than the chief of all Kool-Aid drinkers. That way the citation will be more complete.
paul
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