Paul's Passing Thoughts

I have written many times on the new easy believism sweeping through reformed groups. The *gospel* is now a mystical narrative that we merely sit under in all its various forms at any given time; we are then automatically transformed from “glory to glory,” a “beholding as a way of becoming.” Oh, and by the way, every verse in the Bible is about the gospel. Yes indeed, it is like the grow-lamp that me and my bros formally used to make our pot grow. You are the plant, and the Bible is the light; groovy dude. But what about those commands God talks about that don’t seem to include gospel subject matter? Well, that’s supposedly due to the fact that “God is the Gospel.” Amen, pass the bong dude, and somebody turn out that hall light, it’s taking away from the strobes and the lava lights.

Here is how I sarcastically stated it in another post: “You can also greatly enhance change in your life by showing up at the “glory center” every time the doors are open and thereby putting yourself under the glorious light of the gospel that passively effects your life like sunlight causes flowers to grow.” Well, here we go again, sarcasm becomes reality as the *gospel driven life* movement becomes wackier with each passing day. The Gospel Four: Horton, Tripp, Powlison, and Piper, are always busy with the next concoction that will save God’s people from the former days of wilderness wondering under the heavy hand of the “perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25). Micheal Horton’s latest book, “Christless Christianity,” puts forth the whole grow-light idea in regard to corporate worship on pages 189-191:

“ God gathers his people together in a covenantal event to judge and to justify, to kill and to make alive. The emphasis is on God’s work for us – the Father’s gracious plan, the Son’s saving life, death, and resurrection, and the Spirit’s work of bringing life to the valley of dry bones through the proclamation of Christ. The preaching focuses on God’s work in the history of redemption from Genesis through Revelation, and sinners are swept into this unfolding drama. Trained and ordained to mine the riches of Scripture for the benefit of God’s people, ministers try to push their own agendas, opinions, and personalities to the background so that God’s Word will be clearly proclaimed. In this preaching the people once again are simply receivers – recipients of grace. Similarly, in baptism, they do not baptize themselves; they are baptized. In the Lord’s Supper, they do not prepare and cook the meal; they do not contribute to the fare; but they are guests who simply enjoy the bread of heaven. As this gospel creates, deepens, and inflames faith, a profound sense of praise and thanksgiving fills hearts, leading to good works among the saints and in the world throughout the week. Having been served by God in the public assembly, the people are then servants of each other and their neighbors in the world.”

We see five elements of the wacky world of *gospel sanctification * in this excerpt. First, this whole concept of born again Christians still being dead, and in need of daily salvation via the gospel that saved us: “The emphasis is on God’s work for us – the Father’s gracious plan, the Son’s saving life, death, and resurrection, and the Spirit’s work of bringing life to the valley of dry bones through the proclamation of Christ.” Christians today have come to like this whole idea that we are still spiritually dead. Why? Well, “when you are dead, you can do nothing.” Translation: we don’t have to do anything but gaze upon the gospel narrative; after that, whatever happens, happens. If we do something good, the Spirit did it, not us. And if we sin, hey, what do you expect from dead people? Sweet, no fault Christianity, if Christ didn’t make me do it, it’s not my fault.

Secondly, the sole purpose of the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation is to sweep “sinners” into the “unfolding drama”: “The preaching focuses on God’s work in the history of redemption from Genesis through Revelation, and sinners are swept into this unfolding drama.“ Forget about the Scriptures being profitable for “reproof, instruction, correction,” etc., Horton’s view of Scripture is here evident.

Thirdly, like Catholicism, interpretation of the Scriptures is best left to the experts and not the laity. Finding and making every verse in the Bible a “gospel narrative” is deep business indeed. So the news gets even better; you don’t have to labor in the word on your own: “Trained and ordained to mine the riches of Scripture for the benefit of God’s people, ministers try to push their own agendas, opinions, and personalities to the background so that God’s Word will be clearly proclaimed. In this preaching the people once again are simply receivers – recipients of grace.” In other words, real preaching is 100% vertical and has no instruction. It is totally grace oriented, and we are “simply receivers.” Anything that is more than the *gospel* alone in preaching is someones “agenda.”

Fourthly, our role in the corporate assembly is strictly passive. We are there to be served by God via the gospel alone: “As this gospel creates, deepens, and inflames faith, a profound sense of praise and thanksgiving fills hearts, leading to good works among the saints and in the world throughout the week. Having been served by God in the public assembly, the people are then servants of each other and their neighbors in the world.”

Lastly, We are also passive participants in the church ordinances, which also impart grace to the passive participant. This actually smacks of a transubstantiation like view of the ordinances: “Similarly, in baptism, they do not baptize themselves; they are baptized. In the Lord’s Supper, they do not prepare and cook the meal; they do not contribute to the fare; but they are guests who simply enjoy the bread of heaven.”

Furthermore, Horton then gives a contrast to the above concerning corporate worship:

“In this scenario, the people assume that they come to church primarily to do something. The emphasis is on their work for God. The preaching concentrates on principles and steps to living a better life, with a constant stream of exhortations: Be more committed. Read your Bible more. Pray more. Witness more. Give more. Get involved in this cause or that movement to save the world… Many of us were raised in conservative evangelical contexts in which preaching was chiefly an exhortation to do more, baptism was our act of commitment rather than God’s, the Lord’s Supper was a means of our remembering rather than a means of God’s grace, and many of the songs were expressions of our piety more than a recounting of God’s marvelous mercies in the history of redemption. The expectation that God was actually visiting his people to apply the benefits of Christ’s victory to sinners – both believers and unbelievers – was less obvious than the sense that we were primarily regrouping to get our marching orders.”

In closing, I am not going to address Horton’s exaggerations and numerous straw man arguments in his second scenario. But note how he makes no distinction between the lost and saved: “God was actually visiting his people to apply the benefits of Christ’s victory to sinners – both believers and unbelievers – was less obvious than the sense that we were primarily regrouping to get our marching orders.” His glaring contradictions to the plain sense of Scripture should be abundantly obvious. The book of James, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, and Hebrews, are replete with instructions concerning corporate gathering and worship. Horton chides believers for doing the very thing that Christ commands us to do in regard to the Lord’s table: “Do this in remembrance of me.” Furthermore, anyone who thinks that we gather together to “encourage each other unto good works” should apparently know better than to try personal interpretation of the Bible at home.

paul