I responded to a blog from a former Preacher (50 years in the “institutional church”) who now has a huge on-line following. He is a “Christian” deconstructionist who is against the organized Christian church and, in this article, attempts to separate Jesus from Christianity. His premise is that Jesus is “love” and the Church is so fractionalized and faulty that it has no value. Below, I am exclusively responding to his premise that to follow Jesus we need to show only temporal love, rather than eternal love.
My Response to Jim’s Blog
Jim, with all due respect, all I could think of as I read this blog was Genesis when the serpent in the garden, speaking to Eve said,
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
Satan loves it when folks try to separate Christ from Christianity (note the similarity in the words) in order to focus on only one side of His personality. What you conveniently ignore is that Christ is part of the Trinity, made up of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As you know, They are one. So, when God in the Bible (Old Testament and New) makes general statements using the word “all”, He is not just referring to the Pharisees as you so conveniently suggest.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
- Matthew 12:36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,
- Isaiah 47:11 But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing.
- Psalms 37:13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.
Jesus and the Holy Spirit are part of that Biblical condemnation. You know all that, and you are teaching your “followers” nothing more than Joel Osteen apostasy (the cotton candy preacher). If your one-sided theology focused exclusively on God’s love is correct, then we will all spend eternity in Heaven. If your theology is wrong… that our God is not only a God of love, but a just God of righteousness against sin (all sin – Romans 3:23), then your false teachings will keep you and your followers from Heaven. This is something for which I am deeply and sadly sorry to say will come to fruition in condemnation at the Judgement Seat of Christ.
Jim, the words you write have power (Matt. 12:37) as a teacher of Christian theology (regardless of how you may frame it). You will be judged for that (James 3:1) as we all will be judged by the God who created us.
Summary
I know some of my words may appear harsh and, in the near future, I am going to write in more detail regarding the value and cost of challenging those who’s theology is sending people to Hell, juxtaposed against the teachings in verses such as James 2:13. I do think that teachers offering false theology on Salvation by implying that all we need to do is show God’s love to our neighbors to go to Heaven, should be called out.
