Paul's Passing Thoughts

If you are reading this, you have probably heard of the spiritual “revival” at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. The event has become famous, with everyone from the blogsphere to Tucker Carlson of Fox News weighing in on the event. Journalists like Carlson were persuaded not to do any onsite reporting on the event in order to, supposedly, “keep Jesus front and center.” By the way, considering the critical thinking skills of the average American, I deem it necessary to inform you that Jesus did not attend and speak. However, thousands of attendees able to jump and chant at the same time spoke many things for Jesus throughout the revival. This reminds me of the various church councils throughout history where dogma was determined by church authoritarians; we must remind ourselves that Jesus did not attend any of them. Basically, if you accept the authority of any of these councils, you are trusting the musings of men rather than the one who received ALL authority IN HEAVEN and ON EARTH (that pretty much covers everything) from God. The Bible is clear on this; the Bereans vetted the apostle Paul’s teachings with their own understanding of the Bible and were commended for it by the Holy Spirit. If the apostle Paul did not have the authority to tell people what to believe, no one does.

There is one common theme throughout the reporting of this event; it’s some sort mysterious moving of the Spirit that no one understands. Be sure of this: It’s not the Spirit’s work, and what is going on is perfectly understandable. The vast majority of American churchgoers don’t know why they do anything they are told to do, nor do they know anything about what they supposedly believe. So, the first element is mystery, then there are two more subthemes that define the event: “Brokenness,” marked by confession and repentance (which sparked the revival), and praising God.” These two define the lion’s share of the event’s activity. That’s because these two elements define the Protestant doctrine of mortification and vivification. And few of them, if any, know that this is what’s driving the activity because, again, people who go to church don’t know why they do anything except for the assumption that it is getting them to heaven because some pope or pastor said so.

So, what is the doctrine of mortification and vivification? Well, instead of defining the new birth as a one time act of God upon an individual that seals them with the Holy Spirit for eternity, mortification and vivification defines the new birth as a perpetual reoccurring event that must be pursued with intentionality in order to remain saved. Also, this doctrinal endeavor must take place in a location ordained by God and under the auspices of his appointed authoritarians, viz, church. That’s why this “revival” took place in a chapel. And, it’s why the event is marked by nonstop praise and worship, as that defines the vivification (rebirth) part of the process. The participant partakes in repentance for “present sins,” leading to brokenness (death, or mortification of sin, or death to self), which results in the Spirit re-resurrecting you (vivification, or what John Piper calls, “exultation”). John Calvin referred to it as a re-visiting of our original baptism, which signifies our death and resurrection with Christ (new birth). According to the biblical gospel, water baptism is only a picture of what God does spiritually to make us a once-and-for-eternity child of his, but Calvin and Luther both defined water baptism as an ordinance that supplies the power needed for continual re-salvation through the mortification and vivification process. Also, according to Luther and Calvin, water baptism initiates us into the church marriage covenant, where we have access to the ordinances that make mortification and vivification possible.

Asbury is just the practice of mortification and vivification x 10, or as one person put it, “nothing but a long church service.” And yes, it’s works salvation, or Jesus + church ritual…clearly. Hence, the number of people showing up shouldn’t surprise us; Asbury is a place to get a stronger dose of Jesus, which is efficacious for the progression of salvation.

paul

Originally Published in 2016; Edited and Revised

My original salvation experience was very powerful and full of joy as I sought to add to my faith with much zeal. Initially, a lot of sin that formally enslaved me seemed powerless, and many of the former sinful desires had disappeared. Then church happened.

While seeking for the “right” church to “worship” in, my interim experience between saving faith and seeking out a place of worship, as aforementioned, was marked by joy, zeal, and power. As I invested more and more in church; more and more confusion, doubt, and fear ensued. Church made me a pathetic, joyless, and broken person. And by the way, most churches will tell you that is a good thing. In fact, most churches are clear in regard to that being their very goal. This makes you see your need for more salvation. They say it plainly all of the time.

As I read my Bible more and more…more and more of my church experience failed to add up; particularly, the incessant weekly re-visitation of the gospel. And keep in mind this was well prior to the Neo-Calvinist movement. “Why are we always talking about the gospel at church? Aren’t we already saved?,” I would often ask myself. If I would have only known way back then that the answer to that question is, “NO.”

Yes, according to orthodoxy, Protestants aren’t saved. Church is a “race of faith” and the prize for winning the race is salvation. And, the race only takes place at church. Sure, sure, they will tell you that you are already saved according to the Protestant doctrine of, “already—not yet.” What’s that? IF you are entered into the race by being faithful to church, you have hope that you are already saved, but not yet because you have not finished the race of faith alone in which the prize for winning the race is “final justification.” And by the way, even if you are one of the already, not yet crowd, you won’t know that for certain until the “final tribunal.”

This, in and of itself would be humorous if not so sad, but it gets better. Pastors, and this according to their own precious orthodoxy, in black and white, and in no uncertain terms, have authority to proclaim you an alreadian. Yep, this is the “power of the keys” doctrine that will bind in heaven whatever the church binds on earth, and the same for the loosing stuff as well. Do adults really fall for this stuff? Yep. Is this why pastors are so revered in the church and placed on a pedestal? Ya think? Ultimately, they decide where you spend eternity, and they are your wildcard that bypasses the uncertainty of Protestantism’s “already, not yet.” Supposedly, there are two things standing between you and a wrathful God that hates humanity: Christ and His “undershepherds.”

Well, this is nothing new. Church is a mirror image of every foul thing that God’s prophets fought against as documented in the Scriptures. Before we go on, what is “church”? Church is the institutionalization of Christ’s assembly that occurred in the 4^th century. Simply stated, it moved the temple of God from the bodies of believers to brick and mortar temples making worship a place, not a practice of truth wherever a believer is breathing. The fellowship of Christ’s body was replaced with authorities other than Christ operating in corporate temples. Authority replaced leadership, and membership replaced fellowship. “Follow me as I follow Christ” was replaced with “Obey God’s anointed or we will take your salvation away.”

So, there is a reason why you go to church and hear about the same gospel that saved you week, after week, after week. There is a reason why the Lord’s Table is a solemn ceremony marked by self-denigration. There is a reason for alter calls. There is a reason why the pastor speaks from a fancy podium on an alter raised above where the congregants sit, and alters where the other important dictators of the church sit in gaudy chairs behind the podium. It’s crazy; this stuff does not cause people to ask what in the heck is really going on.

Scriptural examples abound, but this post is about Hebrews 6. Let’s set the table. As Christ’s assemblies meeting in private homes (because we are God’s family not members of a corporate temple named Salvation Inc.) moved forward in true discipleship, they endured persecution from the pagan-state and Judaism. In essence, they were getting flak from every angle in regard to the culture of that time, but primarily from Judaism which was clearly salvation by temple ritual. And by the way, most of the persecution from the pagan-state was instigated by the Jews politically.

Hence, many Christ followers were hedging their bets and playing both sides of the fence. Like today’s institutional church, excommunication meant the loss of salvation, and in many cases, difficulty in obtaining financial income. Be sure of this; likewise, as the economy weakens in the U.S., many cling to the institutional church for career connections, viz, financial security. There is absolutely no new thing under the sun.

This is what the Hebrew writer was addressing specifically: the continued sacrifices for maintaining salvation versus sacrifices of love performed by our bodies, which are now the temple of God indwelt by the Spirit (ROM 12:1). A return to the same gospel that saved us denies the new birth and the holiness of the believer. The holiness of the believer is part and parcel with “moving on to maturity” (HEB 6:1). A return to the basic, or elementary principles of salvation harkens back to the shame of the cross, which Christ despised (HEB 12:2) and denies the purpose for which he endured it: the glory which was set before; ie., bringing many sons to glory. By striving for maturity and adding love to our faith, we fulfill the purpose for which Christ endured the cross. But, returning to the cross…

“seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”*

Shockingly, in spite of Scriptural clarity on this issue, many Protestant scholars brazenly endorse a return to what Christ despised, and make that the replacement of the very purpose for which He endured the cross; to make many holy for purposes of offering themselves in love many times as opposed to worshiping what Christ despised. Making our bodily members available for love 24/7 is our worship, or our “logical service.” True worship is no confined to a time or place.

Hence, worship is redefined by returning to the basic principles of salvation in a temple, rather than the worship of offering holy sacrifices of love in sanctification wherever we are found breathing. We then meet together to encourage each other in this worship (HEB 10:25). The Hebrew writer addressed those who ratcheted back from meeting in the home fellowships because of persecution from the temple worshipers.

And that’s church. And that’s what you do every time you go there: you sing praises to what Christ despised, and disparage the purpose for which He endured the shame.

And for some insane reason, you pay 10% of your income for the privilege.

paul

*”Those who cannot be restored to repentance” pertain to that time when they witnessed the power of the Spirit being manifested firsthand. Being exposed to the full light of the truth in such dramatic fashion and then afterward returning to a ritual of re-justification made it doubtful that they would ever be fully persuaded.

See, a tree is not known by its fruit. In fact, apparently, a well can have fresh water and bitter water both. Many Churchians are anxious to point to events at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky this week as set against the usual weekly trends of church scandals. Supposedly, there isn’t a problem with the concept of church, it’s just full of a bunch of sinners saved by grace, and periodic “revivals” are God’s accreditation of his appointed authority over salvation on earth.

There is a lot I could write here, but I will keep it simple. With all the churches and all of the different denominations that supposedly set them apart, they all share common tenets that are problematic and antithetical to primary Bible principles.

First, church defines God’s ekklesia as an authoritative institution rather than the literal family of God functioning like a family. Institutions are driven by authority, and not the cooperation of various members that together contribute to the functioning of a body. The homeostasis of a body is determined by the health of each member and its cooperation with the other members. The health of an institution depends on obedience to authority as truth.

Secondly, church, as an institution, limits worship to a place and time, instead of being defined as one’s whole life. At Asbury, time was tossed out of the window, but notice how this supposed revival was once again, limited to a place, with the focus being, “standing room only.”

Thirdly, this “revival,” per the usual, isn’t defined by positive acts of love, but rather “brokenness” and “repentance,” leading to joyful singing (“worship”), which has been the primary focus of the church for more than 500 years (“confessionalism”). This is actually the common church doctrine of mortification and vivification, which is common in all forms of church to one degree or another. How’s it workin’ for ya?

By the way, Asbury had the same kind of revival in 1970, which was recently highlighted at the university. Hmmmmmm. However, the bigger point follows: what significant change came from it or any other revival of church history? The present-day church has never been a hotter mess or a larger train wreck.

I will keep the points basic here without visiting the the Wesleyan doctrine of the university, which is a whole other cause for skepticism.

I believe I witnessed the only true church revival ever, which was the impact of the original biblical counseling movement in the early 90’s after it began in 1970. That movement was decimated and replaced by the Neo-Calvinist movement. True spiritual revivals are going to have a broad positive impact on the lives of many people in many different ways, and are not going to be the focus of a particular place marked by emotional drama. Sure, it can start somewhere, but the true test is results over time.

let me give you an example. The first nurses were the 1st century deaconesses. Had that ministry not been wiped out in the 4th century when the ekklesia was institutionalized, we would not have a shortage of nurses today. A real revival is going to impact society in concrete ways. It will be the result of intentional loving acts, not emotional bloodletting at some alter limited to a place and time.

paul