Justice, and Why Christians Leave Church
“It’s not about injustice, It’s about Jesus.”
~ Producer of “Unearthed”
Justice: One Reason People Don’t Go to Church: Romans 13:1-7
1. Romans 13:1-7
A. What does this have to do with people not going to church?
b. Everything.
2. “Unearthed” video clip.
A. Seems to be EVERYTHING Christians would agree on as well as all moral people.
a. “You can’t legislate morality; you have to change people’s hearts.”
b. It calls men to stand up and be moral, and therefore circumventing the demand for porn.
c. Tim Keller
- A man’s “sense of justice.”
- The men are victims too; they are slaves.
- The gospel is the key. (the collective soul will be explained).
d. Mark Driscoll
- It hurts EVRYBODY, not just the man enslaved to porn.
† Voice of reason; man is an island is a misnomer hurtful to society.
†† The collective good.
e. It’s the “portal”; soft porn ultimately leads to sex trafficking.”
f. You can’t keep picking the fruit (ie, stop the behavior), you have to cut off the root.
g. If we do this, it is hard telling what society will “look like” versus BE like.
h. We want move beyond the problem and make a film about the solution.
- Title: The Hearts of Men.
- Christ moves beyond symptoms and deal with the HEARTS of men.
† Interpretive question: what is the “heart.”
i. Action.
- Primarily pray for the victimizers as well as the victims.
- Share
- Give Money
3. What is really going on here?
A. Their definition of the gospel is the societal collective Psyche.
B. Their definition of the heart is the soul of man.
4. The construct defined.
A. Image #1
a. The collective psyche is the root.
b. All things progressing toward restoration is the fruit.
c. Image #2—the tree in the video.
d. Church historian and author John Immel
- Image #1
- The root is IDEAS.
- The fruit is what society “looks like” as a result of the ideas.
B. The soul.
a. Like a tree, the “heart” has a root and fruit.
b. This is the Heart Theology of Neo-Calvinism.
- Pastor rant: “I am sick of the “root and fruit gospel”
- What is it? Image #3
- Man is totally depraved/incompetent, therefore, his root ideas must be supplied for the collective good of society.
- Moreover, his ideas should be compelled by force for the betterment of society.
- What man thinks is what society is.
† This is the collective soul making the collective psyche resuting in the ideal society.
- This is Plato: man’s soul is a mirror image of society; society is a tree of fruit and root, and man’s soul is a tree of fruit and root.
- Image #4
- Compare to Image #1
- Image #5
c. The video NEVER states that man changes; it states, like communism, that society is the manifestation of man’s thinking, and that man does not know what to think, and must be compelled to think the right things through being educated by the enlightened, and for the betterment of society, by force if necessary.
d. Man is too incompetent to be a problem, bad ideas are the problem. The Neo-Calvinist therefore deems him as someone who should be prayed for, and at times agrees with the state that he/she should be executed if they refuse to repent of their own ideas—for the collective good of society. It’s nothing personal, it just so happens that your body is the bearer of bad ideas that are hurtful to society. No man is a bad person per se, ideas are the problem.
5. Justice: the story of two realities.
A. The justice of Romans 13:1-7 versus the justice of Plato’s Republic.
a. Government is a gift to man by God and is His servant for the good of man.
b. God exhorts man to have a sense of justice and to follow Him, and man is capable of doing so, and has a free will to do so.
c. However, when injustice takes place via the choices of men, God warns Christians and the unregenerate alike (throughout the New Testament) that the government is His servant to enforce justice and punish injustice. Hence, God is pleased with the natural flow of justice, but warns that He will enforce justice sooner or later; presently by government, or in the future via His White Throne Judgment.
d. Man is without excuse because he is created with a conscience—Paul exhorts Christians to live by their consciences.
B. Plato’s Republic insists that ALL justice comes from the root because man is incapable of knowing good and reality. Therefore, it does NO good to enforce behavior, what man believes is what must be enforced, and this root will result in societies fruit.
Conclusion
History tells us that Plato’s construct does not work. And because it has become the premise of the church’s Heart Theology, church doesn’t work. Hence, people stop going to church for the same reason that people do not move from America to Russia.
“It’s not about injustice, It’s about Jesus.”
~ Producer of “Unearthed”
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
Reblogged this on Clearcreek Chapel Watch.
LikeLike
I’m confused. Watching that “unearthed” video, is this supposed to be a solution for saved or unsaved people? (I know this is a rhetorical question, but it seems to me they want to “change” people apart from the regenerating power of salvation).
LikeLike
The focus is changing society–not people although they deceptively put forth the idea that it is about changing “the hearts of men.” What it really is: a socialist agenda dressed in biblical garb.
LikeLike
It has always been about a socialist agenda no matter what garb you dress it in- power is the ultimate seducer.
Power and money.
They can dress it up in whatever they want – if one is not ignorant to their disguises, it is easy to spot their deceit. They love to spout off their “compassion and fairness in equality”, but they are as self-absorbed and narcissistic ones they “claim” are cheating off the masses. Here the Calvinist blames the churchgoer for his depravity as being the corrupter (which cannot be helped for he was predestined) as the socialist politician blames the capitalist “pig” (which can’t be helped for he was born ignorant) for the poor.
LikeLike
…and it is deliberate deception. Keller knows grade-A well that people listening to the clip will think he is talking about people change rather than a manifestation dictating by a divine government. This is deliberate deception.
LikeLike
…and herein we have the Plato connection: Plato believed that society was a reflection of man’s soul, or “heart.” Hence, society is a tree of root and fruit (see clip), and man’s heart is a tree of root and fruit (Reformed “Heart Theology”).
LikeLike
…for them, clearly, the same construct that expands man’s EXPERIENCE also is manifested in society.
LikeLike
…church should be a fellowship of believers–not part of institutional Socialism.
LikeLike
…exactly right, power and money, most of these guys vote Democrat and that perplexes people.
LikeLike
…and the mind can go interesting places here: if we become transformed along with creation by following the philosopher kings, well, you fill in the blanks.
LikeLike
The “Portal argument” Entirely ridiculous. are we really going to say that Missionary position is the “portal” to rape? Drinking milk is the portal to Jim Beam?
Truly ridiculous.
LikeLike
Andy –
It’s for the saved, but not yet saved 😉
It’s what I feel like sitting in church on Sunday. I come together to worship and share God’s love with others, but end up feeling like a nonbeliever in the town square. 😦
LikeLike
Well, that’s the gig–you come to church to get resaved (Calvin Institutes 4.1.21).So church is to come and be mortified, but to leave vivified. Listen to the lingo week after week, even the Arminians are more Calvinistic than they know.
LikeLike
Skinny Jeans are the “gateway” to stripping.
LikeLike
Where to go with all of this–if you go to where Unearthed Media sells their T-Shirts, the girl models are wearing short-shorts that show a whole bunch of leg. And of course, they are not lacking in cup size either. Really? Also, on their twitter account, they brag about getting a large cash donation and say that’s the kind of donations they like, along with something about #mafia. From photographs, it is apparent that these young punks are all kinds of cashed-up; ie, going to expensive resorts to brainstorm etc. The institutional church has lost its mind and the day that I step into another one is when pigs fly. “But Paul, not all churches are like that.” Right, in one regard only, no protest about it.
LikeLike
Yea… there is so much in this video that needs unraveled . . . Aren’t these the same guys that preach female subordination? Aren’t the doctrines within the patriarchy movement the same kind of sexual oppression? Demanding that a wife be always available to her husband? Demanding that she be willing to have a “quiver full?” If the issue is “exploitation” then how is a doctrine that demands sexual subservience enforce by “wife spanking” any different than the local Pimp slapping his hoes around?
LikeLike
Preaching . . . the “gateway” to mystic despotism.
LikeLike
Thanks Argo. That was our morning meeting–the one I did the same evening was horrible! So, I had the morning one to fall back on.
LikeLike
Softball is the “gateway” to lesbianism.
LikeLike