BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY VERSUS THE PROGRESSIVE VERSION

A liberal/progressive Christian wrote me to explain why he prefers his brand of Christianity. I responded:

“Let me try to contrast the bright picture you have painted of Liberal Christianity with a more Biblical Christianity.

The first and greatest commandment, according to Jesus (and the rest of the Bible), is unequivocally:

·       “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38)

How do we love Him? It is again unequivocally a matter of trusting in and keeping His
Word. This means that pragmatic considerations are secondary. It also means that loving others is a matter of keeping God’s teachings:

·       By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:2-3)

This might sound harsh or sterile to you, but it isn’t to us. Actually, it is our life and a joy to serve Him. It is also to love others. Let’s use the example of transsexuality. If we really love those who want to pursue a sex change, we will warn them about the consequences.

First of all, we would be giving them a false hope by claiming that they can enjoy eternal life with the Savior and still refuse to repent and turn from their sins.

In contrast, some misleadingly claim that Jesus accepted all. Well, He did, but He also insisted that they had to repent:

·       And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:2-5)

Secondly, we might talk about the empirical costs of this lifestyle which are overwhelming. However, I do not want to overwhelm you, so I’ll quit here.”