Several nights ago I watched Rick Warren and his Pupose Driven Life interviewed on CNN. Then John MacArthur was interviewed to explain some of the problems of the book. For those of you who see the inherent problems of The Purpose Driven Life Gospel and the obvious bias against MacArthur during the interview, you can read a little more about the MacArthur interview. Click Here.
Why most Christian leaders seem to remain quiet on this issue I am not sure. MacArthur is right. The Gospel is a stumbling block for those who are perishing. If the gospel becomes popular due to some marketing scheme, we need to ask "Why?" Is the Gospel being watered down? Is the Gospel really about finding oneself? Or is it about denying oneself, taking up the cross of Christ and following Him? Simplifying theology is one thing. Making the Gospel so simple that it does not reflect the Gospel of Scripture is quite another.
I simply can not think of any preaching of the Gospel that says, "Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life" anywhere in Scripture. In fact, it is just the opposite. Peter preaches the first sermon that convicted men of their wickedness and rebellious sin (Peter holds men accountable for murdering the Son of God). When men recognized their sin, Peter then preached a Gospel that demanded repentance and forgiveness in Christ. Believing in Christ alone for salvation is the only means of receiving Eternal Life.
Weekend A La Carte (December 21)
20 hours ago
6 comments:
I am not a christian. But I find your efforts to read scripture and keep it within the confines of the text to be quite interesting and, you might find surprising, hopeful.
I was once a republican because I believed they stood up to the masses for what was correct and took blows as needed to stay the proper course. I have since grown-up and am now politically independent since THAT republican party no longer exists (if it ever did.)
It is interesting to see boundaries, where they stand and where they fail. All institutions need boundaries, sets of immutable beliefs or structures, in order to survive. But they also need a certain amount of openness to change in order to survive as well. An institution impervious to all things starves analogously to a body that does not eat.
Hey How,
I understand your point, that it's about personal sacrafice and so on. But do you realize what you just said
"I simply cannot think of any preaching of the gospel that says - Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life - anywhere in the scripture. In fact its just the opposite"
The gospel does says a lot more, but it does include the above.
Could you show me where? I do understand that Jesus loves His people with an everlasting love. There is no place in Scripture that teaches us to say rebellious sinners, "Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." In fact, how can we tell a rebellious sinner God loves him or her if they never repent and believe in Christ? Could you look at person who is in hell, and say, "Jesus loves you." If so, in what sense?
Hey Fish:
I think the Gospel *does* say that God has a plan for me personally -- but that it's not the plan we necessarily find in the PDL.
For example, God's plan for me includes killing His son so that He doesn't have to condemn me to hell. God's plan for me includes perfecting me to the image of His obedient son -- who, btw, died on a cross for the sake of people who hated Him.
The message of "you are a sinner", the message of the blood and the atonement, is almost completely absent from PDL, and that's why I find it less than useful as a Christ-centered view.
God's plan for me does not include a lot of cars and a lot of money, necessarly (although, as you can imagine, I wouldn't really mind). While the PDL doesn't promise that, it does make the mistake to say that a reason to take heart in God's plan is that our assignment here is "only temporary". Dude: I dunno about you, but I take heart in the fact that even in this temporary thing I can hear God's call and see His hand at work. I take heart in the eternal nature of God and His certain will.
I'm about to ramble, so I turn your blog back over to you.
:D
I do believe that Jesus loves even the rebellious sinners. One of his last words on the cross was "Forgive them father for they know not what they do". Nothing but love for the rebellious sinners that killed him could bring these words out of his mouth. There are people that change their ways at some point in their life. Jesus doesn't start loving them on that day. He started loving them the day they were born. And Jesus does have a plan for all of us, weather or not we follow that plan is up to us (free will)
I know you already know all this. I understand the point you were trying to make with the origional blog, I'm not sure you really wanted to go for the arguement that Jesus does not love sinners. I think you just don't want poeple to fluff up the gospel to make it appealing to the masses, that is understandable.
"I think you just don't want poeple to fluff up the gospel to make it appealing to the masses, that is understandable."
Then you understand the original point.
"Jesus doesn't start loving them on that day. He started loving them the day they were born."
I would even say before that.
"And Jesus does have a plan for all of us, weather or not we follow that plan is up to us (free will)"
This is a philosophy taught nowhere in Scripture.
"Nothing but love for the rebellious sinners that killed him could bring these words out of his mouth."
Agreed. I am the chief among them. The original point was "how" are we taught to preach the gospel. Saying "Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life" is a philosophical assumption taught nowhere in Scripture.
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