How Nice People are Destroying the Church
Having just finished preaching thru Galatians, Pastor Emilio Ramos wrote the following thoughts:
I recently heard a popular evidential evangelical apologist speak about the differences between Reformed Christianity and the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). What troubled me about the discussion was the grand influence of this particular apologist upon the church of God. Refusing to call the RCC what it is, he used terminology that I can only deem unbiblical regardless of how ‘nice’ it may seem. Believers must understand that once a tradition, whether Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, or Liberalism, has departed from the truth of the gospel, we must call it what it is. Paul put it this way,
“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” – Galatians 1:6-9
The central issue in all of this is the definition of “the Gospel”. What is “gospel” and what is a departure from the gospel. The Galatians had come dangerously close to complete apostasy (Gal. 1:6 | Gal. 3:1-5 | Gal. 5:4, 7-12). Having spoken to many Catholics and those from the Eastern and Greek Orthodox tradition; often times, adherents of these persuasions have erred in the area of what is essential to saving faith. I recall a conversation with a person that was investigating the theology of the Eastern Orthodox church. This person had the misunderstanding that the only essential issue was concerning the Deity of Christ. As essential as the Deity of Christ is, it is not the only essential truth of the faith. One can believe in Jesus Christ all they want but if they reject the doctrine of Sola Fide (as the Galatians were being pressured to do i.e. through legalism), that salvation is through faith alone, the heresy is equally damning.
Getting back to the apologist’s talk on the differences between Christianity and RCC, he mentioned that because the RCC had not moved from the pronouncements of the Council of Trent, responsible for adding the apocrypha, and condemning anyone believing in salvation being by grace through faith alone apart from human effort as heretics; this apologist used language like “squirmy” and “touchy” etc. to describe the way it made evangelicals feel in response. In the attempt to ‘be nice’ he failed to use biblical language in defending the truth and renouncing heresy.
Nice people who refuse to call heresy “heresy” and orthodoxy “orthodoxy” are destroying the foundation of the church which is “truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). Regardless of what the church is facing whether liberalism, the cults, occults, emergent post-modern quasi-evangelicalism, regardless what the error may be, we must speak the truth in love. If we refuse to call heresy damnable and soul destroying we surrender the flock to hirelings who care nothing for the sheep and will allow wolves to consume the church (Jn. 10:12 | Acts 20:28-31).
” So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?” – Galatians 4:16
The truth is, is that the Church has been handed a very soft form of Christianity. Christians have been told to avoid confrontation at all cost. Being confrontational and irrational or argumentative is one thing, but contending for the faith and upholding the truth of Scripture is a mandate not an option. Sadly, many Christians are simply spineless and have no valor, doctrinal integrity, or zeal to contend earnestly for their faith (Jude 3). But this is what we are called to do. Paul did not seem to suffer from that cowardly form of Christianity we see so much of today,
“But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.” – Galatians 2:4-5
Solus Christus!
Pastor Emilio Ramos