I watched a sermon from a church that sends invites by mail to my home regularly. They claim to be about reaching people with the Gospel, teaching them the Bible and sending them out to impact the world. I watched the forty minute sermon (see link below) on the movie Avatar and all the ways we need to be like the star in the movie. I heard the "preacher" say how their church will do whatever it takes to reach the lost including doing very loud music and strange sermon series (such as the one under discussion), because people were dying without Jesus and going to hell.
Agreed, but I wonder if anyone will really find out who Jesus is, let alone learn His word so as to be able to spread the truth about Him from listening to a sermon without the word, Jesus or His work as the focus. I fear that when he asked his listeners to invite Jesus into their hearts, they could not possibly have known what it means to repent and believe the gospel - unless they had been taught it elsewhere! If you want to be purely evangelistic, at least get that right by defining the Gospel and making its purpose/importance clear. If you want to make disciples (be a church), you need to actually teach the Bible. I fear what we have here and at so many "seeker" churches is really just the world gathering on Sunday morning to discuss and imitate the latest cultural trends while trying to be "good people" and earn their way to heaven.
I just checked out the link of Benji's website, and am at a loss for words. The saddest thing would be if this church actually thought they were answering God's call for evangelism. I may have been too hasty in only giving it 15 or so minutes, but figured I had seen all I needed to. A few thoughts...
ReplyDeleteLack of love for and knowledge of God's Word accounts for so much confusion about so much. It is assumed that if you don't steal, murder, rape, among a list of other things, then you are good to go in God's eyes. James 2:10 refutes this. Much of what is passed off as the Gospel is no Gospel at all, but merely self-focused, positive message. This "preacher" was basically saying to do better we must model ourselves after whoever. Find your inner fighter and unleash him. We must always be aware of Satan's goal, which is not neccesarily to make you a murderer. It is to keep you away from Jesus Christ. Could go on and on, but will leave you with the TRUE Gospel summed up beautifully in Galatians 1:3-5, and our warning in 1:6-10 tj
I don't blame you for not making it through the whole "sermon" it was painful. This is only one of many ways to do "church" without every necessarily being the church of Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteWow..... I guess if I were lost and went to "church" and found out that my life can really be like what they show in the movies, this would be great news. It is only by God's Grace that it's not me sitting in the pew of that church getting filled with this kind of garbage. Unless I missed something, the first scripture given wasn't until 19 minutes in. 2 Timothy 4:2 says Preach the Word!(NKJ)
ReplyDeleteRomans 10:17 says So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God.(NKJ) How can you have church without His Word???? We wonder how people are decieved into thinking they are saved when they are seriously lost, This is what they are hearing from the pulpit? Or science lab rather? I don't get it. On another note I don't know if anyone watched till the end, but I kind of skipped to the end after about 25 minutes. He actually asks the "church" if they have granted JESUS permission to come into their life and changed the way they see things. I don't think it is in the Bible anywhere that Jesus needs my permission to do anything. But the good news is, Jesus is still Lord even though we have churches teaching that man is in control of everything. Thank you Keith for sharing this. Just one more reminder of how good God is and how unworthy I am and that I need to pray for people that are being decieved and I need to be in His Word so that I can share it with others and be more about His business.
--Tori
Thanks for the comment Tori.
ReplyDeleteI think the giving Jesus permission thing is bad theology, but some will take Rev. 3:20, in a letter written to a church, which says "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me." Interesting that it doesn't say anyone will hear His voice and not open the door and not have Him come in. Makes sense when he tells us in John 10:27 "my sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me" and John 6:37 "all that the Father gives Me will come to me..." If He speaks to us, we hear because the Father has granted it and used the Spirit to give us ears to hear/rebirth, then we will hear, listen, He will come in and we will have wanted/invited Him!