Monergism simply means that it is God who gives ears to hear and eyes to see. It is God alone who gives illumination and understanding of His word that we might believe; It is God who raises us from the dead, who circumcises the heart; unplugs our ears; It is God alone who can give us a new sense that we may, at last, have the moral capacity to behold His beauty and unsurpassed excellency. The apostle John recorded Jesus saying to Nicodemus that we naturally love darkness, hate the light and WILL NOT come into the light (John 3:19, 20). And since our hardened resistance to God is thus seated in our affections, only God, by His grace, can lovingly change, overcome and disarm our rebellious disposition. The natural man, apart from the quickening work of the Holy Spirit, will not come to Christ on his own since he is at enmity with God and cannot understand spiritual things. Shining a light into a blind man’s eyes will not enable his to see, since, as we all know, sight requires new eyes or some restoration of his visual faculty. Likewise, reading or hearing the word of God itself cannot elicit saving faith in the reader (or hearer) unless the Spirit first “germinates” the seed of the word in the heart, so to speak, which then infallibly gives rise to our faith and union with Christ. Like unto Lydia whom “the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul,” (Acts 16:14) He must also give all His people spiritual life and understanding if their hearts are to be open and thus turn (respond) to Christ in faith.

Since faith is infinitely beyond all the power of our unregenerated human nature, it is only God who can give the spiritual ears to hear and eyes to see the beauty of Christ in the gospel. God alone disarms the hostility of the sinner turning his heart of stone to a heart of flesh. It is God, the Holy Spirit, alone who gives illumination and understanding of His word that we might believe; It is God who raises us from the death of sin, who circumcises the heart; unplugs our ears; It is God alone who can give us a new sense, a spiritual capacity to behold the beauty and unsurpassed excellency of Jesus Christ. The apostle John recorded Jesus saying to Nicodemus that we naturally love darkness, hate the light and WILL NOT come into the light (John 3:19, 20). And since our hardened resistance to God is thus seated in our affections, only God, by His grace, can lovingly change, overcome and pacify our rebellious disposition. The natural man, apart from the quickening work of the Holy Spirit, will not come to Christ on his own since he is at enmity with God and cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor 2:14). Shining a light into a blind man’s eyes will not enable him to see, because eyesight first requires a set of healthy eyes. Likewise, reading or hearing the word of God alone cannot elicit saving faith in the reader (1 Thess 1:4, 5) unless God plows up the fallow ground of our hearts and the Spirit “germinates” the seed of the word, opening our eyes to see Christ’s true beauty and excellency and uniting us to Him through a Spirit-wrought faith. So the problem of conversion is not with the Word or God’s Law but with man’s prideful heart. The humility required to submit to the gospel is, therefore, not prompted by man’s will but by God’s mercy (Rom 9:16) since no one can believe the gospel unless God grants it (John 6:63, 65). The Spirit must likewise give all His people spiritual life and understanding if their hearts are to be opened and thus respond to Christ in faith.
Definition
The Century Dictionary’s definition of monergism may be helpful:

“In theology, [monergism is] the doctrine that the Holy Spirit is the only efficient agent in regeneration [the new birth] – that the human will possesses no inclination to holiness until regenerated [born again], and therefore cannot cooperate in regeneration.”

Etymology
The word “monergism” consists of two main parts. The Greek prefix “mono” signifies “one”, “single”, or “alone” while the suffix “ergon” means “to work”. Taken together it means “the work of one”.

Very simply, then, monergism is the doctrine that our new birth (or “quickening”) is the work of God, the Holy Spirit alone, with no contribution of man, since the natural man, of himself, has no desire for God and cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor 2:14, Rom 3:11,12; Rom 8:7; John 3:19, 20). Man remains resistant to all outward callings of the gospel until the Spirit comes to disarm us, call us inwardly and implant in us new holy affections for God. Our faith comes about only as the immediate result of the Spirit working faith in us in the hearing of the proclamation of the word. But just as God does not force us to see against our will when He gives us physical eyes, so God does not force us to believe against our will when giving us spiritual eyes. God gives the gift of sight and we willingly exercise it.

Application
Monergism strips us of all hope to ourselves, reveals our spiritual bankruptcy apart from Christ, and thus leads us to give all glory to God alone for our salvation. As long as we think we contributed something, even a little bit (like good intentions) then we still think deep down that God saves us for something good he sees in us over our neighbor. But this is clearly not the case. Only Jesus makes us to differ from anyone else. We are all sinners and can boast in nothing before God, including the desire for faith in Christ (Phil 1:29, Eph 2:8, 2 Tim 2:25). For why do we have faith and not our neighbor? Please consider that. Did we make better use of God’s grace than he did? Were we smarter? More sensitive? Do some naturally love God? The answer is ‘no’ to all of the above. It is God’s grace in Christ that makes us to differ from our neighbor and God’s grace alone that gave rise to our faith, not because we were better or had more insight. No other element but Jesus mercy alone.

When the Spirit enables us to see that we fail to live up to God’s holy law, man will utterly despair of himself. Then, as C.H. Spurgeon said:

“… the Holy Spirit comes and shows the sinner the cross of Christ, gives him eyes anointed with heavenly eye-salve, and says, “Look to yonder cross. That Man died to save sinners; you feel you are a sinner; He died to save you.” And then the Holy Spirit enables the heart to believe, and come to Christ.”

To conclude, “…no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’, except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3) . …who is the deposit guaranteeing what is to come (2 Corinthians 5:5). Thus it should become plain to us that not everyone receives this redemptive blessing from Christ. God bestows it mercifully on whom He will according to His sovereign good pleasure (Rom 9:15-18; Eph 1:4, 5). The rest will continue in their willful rebellion, making choices according to their natural desires and thus receive the wrath of God’s justice. That is why it is called “mercy” – not getting what we deserve. If God were obligated to give it to all men then, by definition, it would not longer be mercy. This should not surprise us … what should surprise us is God’s amazing love, that He would save a sinner like me at all.
End

“⁵Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?–unless indeed you fail to meet the test! ⁶I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. ⁷But we pray to God that you may not do wrong–not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.” – 2 Corinthians 13:5-7 (ESV)

More often than not, we use these verses in reference to the salvation of the believer. In context, the Apostle is speaking to members of the church at Corinth and speaking primarily of sanctification. Verse 7 tells us this:

“⁷But we pray to God that you may not do wrong–not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.”

That the verse begins with “But…” is significant because. Grammatically speaking, it means that the words that precede it in verses 6 & 7 are part of Paul’s complete thought, and the remainder of verse 7 completes the writer’s thought.

Clearly, the “test” spoken of refers to what a person “does’; how he/she behaves as a believer. Paul speaks of himself and his brothers in ministry having “met the test” and immediately speaks of the believers in Corinth “doing right”.

This does not mean we cannot use these passages in reference to salvation, only that they speak primarily to the subject of our ongoing sanctification in Christ Jesus. Surely salvation and sanctification are connected! What we ‘do’ reflects our salvation, but does not save us. Also, just because a person ‘does’ right, does not mean he/she has truly received Christ as Savior and Lord. People bound by false religion ‘do’ good works in the world’s eyes.

Paul’s focus here is that if we claim Christ, obedience to God and holy living become part of our lives. If If they are not evident in our lives, we have every cause to question whether or not we are truly “of the faith”.

If that is the case, we are right to ask the question, “Am I even saved?” The answer to that question begins with another question: “What was the gospel message in which I placed my trust?” Did I receive Christ in order to have my present life “fixed?”, or did I come to Christ with a heart of repentance and for the forgiveness of my sin, in order to receive eternal life instead of God’s holy and just wrath against my sin?”

Points to ponder for the new year.

That God draws men to Himself is without dispute. Who can argue with the very words of Christ in John 6:44?

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

The point of contention has always been whether or not a person is able to, in the end, resist God’s drawing power. There are those who maintain, quite adamantly at times, that Christ’s death merely made salvation ‘possible’ for those who, on their own, ‘accept the gift’. There are also those who maintain that Christ not only paid the price for our salvation, but actually secured the salvation of the those for whom He died, just as the angel announced to Joseph (Matthew 1:20 ,21).

God does not ‘force’ salvation on anyone, but He does draw them irresistibly to himself. You could say that God offers His elect an offer they won’t refuse. You could describe it using the four steps shown below. Certain passages of scripture are offered to whet your spiritual appetites and encourage further investigation of scripture into the matter.

Concerning one of His elect, chosen before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1 & 2):

1. God convicts him of sin, and he repents. (Acts 2:36-38)

2. God enlightens him by His Spirit, and He beholds the Christ in all His beauty of salvation. (John 6:45)

3. God allures and attracts, and he longs for the God of his salvation. (1 John 4:19)

4. God seals him, and he appropriates the Christ and all His benefits. (Ephesians 1:13)

Please note that it is God doing all these things, and not man. Especially note that there is a confrontation with sin (the human condition), in all it’s ugliness! It is precisely this initial step of drawing that is either omitted or perverted in much of today’s evangelism. We just don’t talk about it, or we speak of lightly, as if sin is just our little mistakes and boo-boos. We would rather just speak of how much God loves us, what wonderful plans He has for us, how much He wants to fix all of life’s problems, etc., that speak of the real issue. In other words, we would make Christ so appealing to the natural mind and flesh (which is in rebellion against God,) that we produce a host of false converts who merely think they are saved!

God is so gracious however, that when His elect sit among the non-seeking seekers’ (Romans 3:11), He will still convict, enlighten, attract, and seal, in spite of bad preaching!

What a mighty God we serve!

May God richly bless you throughout the new year!

This is an excellent summary of the sovereignty of God in salvation, authored by John MacArthur Jr.. 

Election is the act of God whereby in eternity past He chose those who will be saved. Election is unconditional, because it does not depend on anything outside of God, such as good works or foreseen faith (Romans 9:16). This doctrine is repeatedly taught in the Bible, and is also demanded by our knowledge of God. To begin with, let’s look at the biblical evidence.

The Bible says prior to salvation, all people are dead in sin– spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-3). In this state of death, the sinner is utterly unable to respond to any spiritual stimulus and therefore unable to love God, obey Him, or please Him in any way. Scripture says the mind of every unbeliever “is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8, emphasis added). That describes a state of total hopelessness: spiritual death.

The effect of all this is that no sinner can ever make the first move in the salvation process. This is what Jesus meant in John 6:44, when He said, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”

This is also why the Bible repeatedly stresses that salvation is wholly God’s work. In Acts 13:48 we read, “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

Acts 16 tells us that Lydia was saved when, ” . . . the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.”

Romans 8:29-30 states, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

Ephesians 1:4-5,11 reads, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will . . . also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.”

Ephesians 2:8 suggests that even our faith is a gift from God.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, the apostle Paul tells his readers, “God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation.”

Second Timothy 1:9 informs us that God “has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.”

Occasionally someone will suggest that God’s election is based on His foreknowledge of certain events. This argument suggests that God simply looks into the future to see who will believe, and He chooses those whom He sees choosing Him. Notice that 1 Peter 1:2 says the elect are chosen “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,” and Romans 8:29 says, “whom He foreknew, He also predestined.” And if divine foreknowledge simply means God’s knowledge of what will happen in advance, then these arguments may appear to have some weight behind them.

But that is not the biblical meaning of “foreknowledge.” When the Bible speaks of God’s foreknowledge, it refers to God’s establishment of a love relationship with that person. The word “know,” in both the Old and New Testament, refers to much more than mere cognitive knowledge of a person. Such passages as Hosea 13:4-5; Amos 3:2 (KJV); and Romans 11:2 clearly indicate this. For example, 1 Peter 1:20 says Christ was “foreknown before the foundation of the world.” Surely this means more than that God the Father looked into the future to behold Christ! It means He had an eternal, loving relationship with Him. The same is true of the elect, whom we are told God “foreknew” (Romans 8:29). That means He knew them–he loved them–before the foundation of the world.

If God’s choice of the elect is unconditional, does this rule out human responsibility? Paul asks and answers that very question in Romans 9:19-20. He says God’s choice of the elect is an act of mercy. Left to themselves, even the elect would persist in sin and be lost, because they are taken from the same fallen lump of clay as the rest of humanity. God alone is responsible for their salvation, but that does not eradicate the responsibility of those who persist in sin and are lost–because they do it willfully, and not under compulsion. They are responsible for their sin, not God.

The Bible affirms human responsibility right alongside the doctrine of divine sovereignty. Moreover, the offer of mercy in the gospel is extended to all alike. Isaiah 55:1 and Revelation 22:17 call “whosoever will” to be saved. Isaiah 45:22 and Acts 17:30 command all men to turn to God, repent and be saved. First Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9 tell us that God is not willing that any should perish, but desires that all should be saved. Finally, the Lord Jesus said that, “the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37).

In summary, we can say that God has had a special love relationship with the elect from all eternity, and on the basis of that love relationship chosen them for salvation. The ultimate question of why God chose some for salvation and left others in their sinful state is one that we, with our finite knowledge, cannot answer. We do know that God’s attributes always are in perfect harmony with each other, so that God’s sovereignty will always operate in perfect harmony with His goodness, love, wisdom, and justice.

Sadly, there are many professing Christians who hate the doctrine of election, and almost always exclaim “Calvin, Calvin!”, even though they can 1) read and 2) even though what is written in scripture predates Calvin by quite a few years. Sounds rather silly, doesn’t it? Nevertheless, many professing believers worship at the altar of ‘autonomous free will decision’, stubbornly resisting the idea that they didn’t really help God with their decision for Christ, absolutely refusing to believe that God is powerful enough to give life to the dead and then turn their very wills toward Himself, so that from there own wills, gladly choose Christ.

What an awfully low view of the God! 

I have a four old grandson who loves trucks and trains. In fact he would love to drive them. However, just because he would like to hop in an 18-wheeler, doesn’t mean he is able. Several other things must take place, chief among them being that he must be capable of driving an 18-wheeler.

“Whosoever is athirst may drink, whosoever is hungry may eat, whosoever is in need may ask, and he will receive; whosoever desires salvation may seek, and he shall find; whosoever is weary and burdened may come to Jesus for rest: whosoever will may come. … The same Bible that repeatedly emphasizes in many ways that “whosoever will may come,” also teaches very emphatically that the salvation of the sinner never and in no sense depends on the will of the sinner to come, but only on the sovereign will of God who is the Lord. … O, indeed, “whosoever will may come;” but this is also true: “no man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” And again: “Therefore I said unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given him of my Father.” John 6:44, 65 –

When a man sings or preaches, “Whosoever will may come,” he presents what is undoubtedly true. And to this we have no objection. Indeed, it is true that whoever will may come to Christ, and will surely be received. Never a man will appear in the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God who will be able to say that he longed, and desired, and willed, and sought earnestly to come, but was refused. But if a man preaches no more than this, he, nevertheless, fails to present the full truth of the gospel as it is in Christ Jesus and revealed to us in Holy writ. He speaks a half truth which, because of its deceptive nature, is more dangerous than a direct and plain falsehood. A large part, the more basic and, therefore, more important part of the truth he forgets or intentionally omits. He is unfaithful to his ministry unless he adds: no one can come unless the Father draw him”; it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”

– Herman Hoeksema, from “Whosoever Will”, Copyright 1945 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

I actually posted this previously, and I think it’s a good time to repost it. That God is totally sovereign over the salvation of men, while at the same time men are responsible to believe the gospel, is not easily comprehended with purely human logic, if not totally incomprehensible. It is taught in Scripture however, and it is not mine to argue with what God has revealed in His Word. Many of you who have truly been regenerated unto new birth will read the scripture contained in this article and receive tremendous blessing and come away with a higher view of God – higher than you have hitherto thought possible! Others who read this – clinging to the sovereignty of their own autonomous decision to receive salvation – will resist these truths and refuse to even examine the issue for themselves, while claiming to know and love God.

I judge no man, but I know that when someone is truly God’s child, there is a desire to know the truth, even if currently held opinions do not agree with the teachings of Scripture. I don’t say this lightly. I know what’s it like to be ‘cut’ by the sword of the Spirit. Enough from me. 

Below is an excellent summary, by John Piper, of God’s sovereignty in man’s salvation. These passages are far from a full treatment of the subject, however they should be sufficient for the reader in whom the Spirit of Christ dwells to desire to examine it more closely. It is my heart’s desire that this would be the case!  

1. God elects, chooses, before the foundation of the world whom he will save and whom he will pass by and leave to unbelief and sin and rebellion. He does this unconditionally, not on the basis of foreseen faith that humans produce by a supposed power of ultimate self-determination (= “free will”).

Acts 13:48, “When the gentiles heard this they were glad and glorified the word of God. And as many as were for ordained to eternal life believed.”

Romans 11:7, “Israel failed to obtain what is sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened.”

John 6:37, “All that the Father gives to me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out.” John 17:6, “I have manifested my name to them whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them to me.” (John 6:44, 65).

2. The Atonement applies to the elect in a unique, particular way, although the death of Christ is sufficient to propitiate the sins of the whole world. The death of Christ effectually accomplished the salvation for all God’s people.

Eph. 5:25, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

Heb. 10:14, “By a single offering he perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

John 10:15, “I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Rom. 8:32, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?”

3. Because of the Fall, humans are incapable of any saving good apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. We are helpless and dead in sin. We have a mindset that “cannot submit to God without divine enabling.

Rom. 8:7-8, “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, it does not submit to God’s law; indeed it cannot. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.”

Eph. 2:1,5, “You were dead through your trespasses and sins.”

4. God’s call to salvation is effectual, and, hence His grace cannot be ultimately thwarted by human resistance. God’s regenerating call can overcome all human resistance.

Acts 16:14, “The Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul.”

John 6:65, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by my Father.” (Matt. 16:17; Luke 10:21)

1 Cor. 1:23-24, “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

5. Those whom God calls and regenerates He also keeps, so that they do not totally and finally fall away from faith and grace.

Rom. 8:30, “Those whom he predestined, he also called and those whom he called he also justified and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

John 10:27-29, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me; and I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.”

Phil. 1:6, “I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.” (1 Cor. 1:8).

1 Thess. 5:23, “May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”

Conclusion:

Romans 11:36, “From him, through him, and to him are all things, to him be glory forever amen!”

______________

This is a direct comment from a reader, left on a previous post here at the The Battle Cry:

“The God of Abraham, which is also Jesus, is a God who draws me to him, who created me so that I would have a chance to know love and serve him, who sent his son to die for my sins so that I could be forgiven, but who also loves me enough to allow me to decide whether I will accept his gift.”

I lifted it out of the earlier post to address the thought that ‘God loves us so much he allows us to decide whether or not to accept His gift of salvation’.

Well, it’s true! God does love us so much that he gives us a choice to accept or reject the precious gift of salvation.

The inescapable question is WHY does one person accept the gift and another reject it? 

It is certainly true that any person who receives God’s gift of salvation by faith in Christ, needs to have made a decision to do so. The above comment’s author makes it sound like a person’s salvation ultimately depends on his/her ‘decision’, making the decision the determiner of one’s salvation, and God beholden to mere mortals, if He would have a people for Himself. Salvation is therefore a matter of man cooperating with God, and in essence, saving himself! 

This ‘man cooperating with God’ in salvation’ paradigm is also known as ‘synergism’. While ‘synergistic’ salvation is not to be found in scripture, it has been valiantly ‘prooftexted’ for hundreds of years, and is in fact the most loved theory of how God saves men.

The contrasting theory of how men are saved is called ‘monergism’ , meaning that it is God who saves men, from beginning to end. Yes, there is still a decision, but it is not an autonomous human decision, but nevertheless a decision of human will.

The difference is the nature of the human will. In synergism, man has sufficient resources to figure it all out and make an autonomous decision, in and of himself. In monergism, man has been so affected by the sin of Adam that every part of his being has been corrupted, including the human will. It takes a supernatural act of God to so affect the human will, that a person formerly in rebellion against God, unwilling and unable to even seek God, will not only seek God, he/she will find God and eternal salvation will result.

In contrast to synergism, monergism is taught explicitly in scripture and needs no prooftexting. The truth that salvation is of the Lord is taught from Genesis through Revelation!

I would therefore like to modify the comment with which I began this post to say:

“God loved me SO MUCH that, since left to my own devices, I would never accept His gift of salvation, He so changed my depraved human will, that I could and indeed would ‘freely’ choose Christ!”

______________________

NOTE: I intentionally omitted specific scripture references that teach the monergistic view of salvation. After all, the theme that it is God who saves men, without our ‘help’, runs throughout the entire Bible. Should you be reading this and thinking otherwise, it is my sincere prayer that you will not rest until you have examined scripture and discovered the truth of the matter.

May God richly bless you –  now and throughout the upcoming new year!

-Albert Mohler, Author, Speaker, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

As the celebration of Christmas fast approaches, our attention quickly goes to the familiar words of the infancy narratives found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.  This is a healthy reflex.  After all, the Gospel of Jesus Christ rests upon the historicity of the events that took place in Bethlehem as Christ was born. Our understanding of the identity of Jesus Christ is directly rooted in these narratives and our confidence is in the fact that Matthew and Luke give us historically credible and completely truthful accounts of the events surrounding the birth of Christ.

A closer look at the narratives in both Matthew and Luke reveals a richness that familiarity may hide from us. Matthew begins with the genealogy of Christ, demonstrating the sequence of generations as Israel anticipated the birth of David’s Son — the Messiah. Luke, intending to set forth “an orderly account” of the events concerning Jesus, begins with the anticipation of the birth of John the Baptist and then moves to tell of the virgin conception of Jesus.

A careful reading of Matthew and Luke reveals both the elegance of detail and the grand expanse of the story of Christ’s birth. Matthew gives particular attention to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The virgin birth, the birth of Christ in Bethlehem of Judea, the Herodian massacre of the innocents, the flight to Egypt, and the role of John the Baptist as forerunner are all presented as the fulfillment of specific Old Testament prophecies.

Every word of the Old Testament points to Christ. He is not only the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies concerning him, he is the perfect fulfillment of the law and the prophets — the entirety of the Old Testament Scriptures. The Christmas story does not begin in Bethlehem, for Israel had been promised the Messiah. As Luke reveals, Simeon beheld the baby Jesus in the temple and understood this infant to be “the Lord’s Christ” — the Davidic Messiah.  Simeon understood this clearly — the Christmas story did not begin in Bethlehem, or even in Jerusalem.

So, where does the Christmas story begin? In the Gospel of John we read: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” [John 1:1-3]

The prologue to John’s Gospel points to creation and to Christ, the divine Logos, as the agent of creation. Yet, with language drawn directly from Genesis, John begins his gospel “in the beginning.”

In other words, the Christmas story begins before the creation of the world. As we celebrate Christmas and contemplate the Christmas story, we must be very careful not to begin the story in Bethlehem, or even in Nazareth, where Mary was confronted by Gabriel with the message that she would be the mother of the Messiah.

We must not even begin with Moses and the prophets, and with the expectation of the coming Son of Man, the promised Suffering Servant, and the heralded Davidic Messiah. We must begin before the world was created and before humanity was formed, much less fallen.

Why is this so important? Put simply, if we get the Christmas story wrong, we get the Gospel wrong. Told carelessly, the Christmas story sounds like God’s “Plan B.” In other words, we can make the Christmas story sound like God turning to a new plan, rather than fulfilling all that he had promised.  We must be very careful to tell the Christmas story in such a way that we make the gospel clear.

Christmas is not God’s second plan. Before he created the world, God determined to save sinners through the blood of his own Son. The grand narrative of the Bible points to this essential truth — God determined to bring glory to himself through the salvation of a people redeemed and purchased by his own Son, the Christ. Bethlehem and Calvary were essential parts of God’s plan from the beginning, before the cosmos was brought into being as the Son obeyed the will of the Father in creation.

The Christmas story does not begin in Bethlehem, but we appropriately look to Bethlehem as the scene of the most decisive event in human history — the incarnation of the Son of God. Even as we turn our attention to Bethlehem, we must remember that the story of our salvation does not begin there. That story begins in the eternal purpose of God.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” That is where the Christmas story begins, and John takes us right to the essence of what happened in Bethlehem: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” [John 1:14]

Let’s be sure to get the Christmas story right, start to finish.

This is the fourth in a series concerning postmodernism, based on articles written by Gary Gilley, pastor of Southern View Chapel, an Independent Bible Church in Springfield, Illinois. This material is drawn from the fourth article in the series, and focuses on postmodernism’s effect on the church.

“Postmodernity and the Church”

At certain points in history the church has served as a rebuke to the secular mindset of society. At such times Christians have challenged and exposed the popular fads that ruled the day, revealing those fads for what they were, shallow and empty, mere “broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13). Sadly, now is not one of those points in history. Rather, the Christian community at the present time appears to be in lock step with the world system. Whatever the world is selling Christians seem to be buying. They may perfume it a bit, hang some religious ornaments on it, and throw some scriptures into the mix, but when stripped to its essence evangelicals frequently find themselves mimicking the world’s philosophy.

Culture has always influenced the church, but in a real sense the postmodern culture has engulfed the church – and in many cases defined the church. We see its fingerprints everywhere we turn. We want to investigate some of the most obvious evidence of postmodernity’s influence within the evangelical community in this paper. It will not be a pretty sight. In what ways has the postmodern worldview, which has only been in full bloom for less than two decades, impacted the evangelical community? Consider the following:

A Felt Needs Gospel

Gene Veith tells the story of an evangelical church which wanted to grow numerically and decided to use postmodern strategy. First came the market survey, which pinpointed a number of steps necessary to implement such growth in a postmodern age. For example, it was determined that the church must change its name because the term “Baptist” was a turn off in the community. And people would only come to church if it were convenient, so it was necessary to relocate to a prime location off the freeway. A modern facility was erected with all the bells and whistles that reflect a materialistic society. On the other hand religious symbols, such as the cross, were offensive to some, so the symbols were expunged. Not only symbols but words are offensive as well; it became necessary, therefore, to eliminate terms such as redemption and conversion. Of course, negative subjects such as hell and judgment had to be replaced with positive ones. “In abandoning its doctrine and its moral authority and in adjusting its teaching to the demands of the market place, the church embarked on a pilgrimage to postmodernism.”

Read some of the observations by respected Christian leaders who see what has happened. D. A. Carson writes,

Weigh how many presentations of the gospel have been “eased” by portraying Jesus as the One who fixes marriages, ensures the American dream, cancels loneliness, gives us power, and generally makes us happy. He is portrayed that way primarily because in our efforts to make Jesus appear relevant we have cast the human dilemma in merely contemporary categories, taking our cues from the perceived needs of the day. But if we follow Scripture, and understand that the fundamental needs of the race are irrefragably tied to the Fall, we will follow the Bible as it sets out God’s gracious solution to that fundamental need; and then the gospel we preach will be less skewed by the contemporary agenda…. If you begin with perceived needs, you will always distort the gospel. If you begin with the Bible’s definition of our need, relating perceived needs to that central grim reality, you are more likely to retain intact the gospel of God (emphasis in the original).

Douglas Groothuis laments, “Some Christians are hailing postmodernism as the trend that will make the church interesting and exciting to postmoderns. We are told that Christians must shift their emphasis from objective truth to communal experience, from rational argument to subjective appeal, from doctrinal orthodoxy to ‘relevant’ practices. I have reasoned throughout this book that this move is nothing less than fatal to Christian integrity and biblical witness. It is also illogical philosophically. We have something far better to offer.”

Veith is on the mark when he comments,

Instead of preaching that leads to the conviction of sin and salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ, the churches preach ‘feel-good’ messages designed to cheer people up. Some have described postmodernist culture as a ‘therapeutic culture,’ in which a sense of psychological well-being, not truth, is the controlling value. The contemporary church likewise faces the temptation to replace theology with therapy…. Evangelism, according to this model, does not involve proclaiming God’s judgment against sinners and His gracious offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Rather, evangelism simply educates people as to how much God loves them. God really does not want to punish anyone; He wants all to feel good about themselves, to lead a full life, to be happy. Those who turn away from God will miss out on this abundant life, though the Holy Spirit may well bring them to Heaven even though they never knew Christ.

It is no wonder then that Groothuis shares one of my concerns: “One great danger of postmodernity is false conversions and the consequently hollow praise offered to God for saved souls that, in fact, are not saved. Those holding to a postmodernist view of truth may appear very ‘spiritual,’ and to go along with Christian belief to a point, just so long as religion meets their felt needs. Nevertheless, unless one knows Jesus Christ and his gospel to be true, one cannot be a Christian at all. One remains entrapped in the kingdom of darkness.”

Inclusivism

Following closely on the heels of the new age gospel message is the necessary rise in the popularity of inclusivism, or the idea that the Lord has sheep in other religions – some who will never hear the name of Christ. Inclusivism teaches that adult adherents of other religions can be saved by being good adherents of their own religions. This is the natural conclusion of pluralism. If no one is right, then everyone is right. Who are evangelical Christians to make the absurd claim that only they have found the key to eternal life? Such an attitude we expect from the unbeliever but as postmodernism invades the church, inclusivism is rapidly being accepted there as well. We might expect Clark Pinnock, John Sanders and maybe even John R. W. Stott to be inclusive adherents but some are surprised to discover J. I. Packer and Billy Graham among the ranks. Packer writes, “We can safely say (i) if any good pagan reached the point of throwing himself on His Maker’s mercy for pardon, it was grace that brought him there; (ii) God will surely save anyone he brings thus far; (iii) anyone thus saved would learn in the next world that he was saved through Christ.” Billy Graham agrees. He stated in a television interview with Robert Schuller, “Whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ because they have been called by God. They may not know the name of Jesus but they know in their hearts that they need something they do not have, and they turn to the only light they have and I think that they are saved and they are going to be with us in heaven.”

A Mystical/Pragmatic Faith

If truth is nonexistent, as the post modernist insists, then by default we are left with religious experiences, devoid of objective content, and pragmatism. Biblical Christianity has always run counter to both these errors. Colossians chapter two, for example, warns of trading in the substance found in the true knowledge of Christ for the shadows of mysticism and empty philosophies of a godless age. We dare not allow our times to mold our theology. Os Guinness warns, “Whereas both the Bible and the best thinkers of Christian history invite seekers to put their faith in God because the message conveying that invitation is true, countless Christians today believe for various other reasons. For instance, they believe faith is true, ‘because it works’ (pragmatism), because they ‘feel it is true in their experience’ (subjectivism), because they sincerely believe it is ‘true for them’ (relativism), and so on…. The Christian faith is not true because it works; it works because it is true. It is not true because we experience it; we experience it – deeply and gloriously – because it is true.”

Postmodern Christians have reversed this order and now evaluate all truth claims and doctrine by experience. The notion that we know certain things to be true (at least true for us) because we have had some experience is running rampant within Christendom. And woe to the one who would insinuate that someone’s experience does not meet the test of Scripture. Such a person is judgmental and critical, and worst of all negative. So when experience and mysticism become the litmus test for truth in our personal life, we would expect that it would shape our corporate worship as well – and it has.

Worship Services

If experience is the chief goal of our personal spiritual lives, then we should expect that experience would become the chief goal of our public worship as well. Too often the music, the prayers, and even the sermons are attempts to arouse emotions and provide an experience rather than convey truth. Monte Wilson is correct when he writes,

For the modern evangelical, worship is defined exclusively in terms of the individual experience. Worship, then, is not about adoring God but about being nourished with religious feelings, so much so that the worshiper has become the object of worship. When we study the ancient approach to worship, however, we see that the church did not overly concern itself with feelings of devotion, but rather with heartfelt and biblically informed obedience…. Probably the majority in modern American evangelicalism – having utterly neglected any commitment to the content of the Word and have ended with narcissistic “worship” services where everyone drowns in a sea of subjectivism and calls it “being bathed in the presence of the Holy Spirit.” These people come to church exclusively to “feel” God (emphasis in the original).

Postmodernity has even changed the preaching. In an article advocating leaving expository preaching for story-telling, George Barna says, “Busters are non-linear, comfortable with contradictions, and inclined to view all religions as equally valid. The nice thing about telling stories is that no one can say your story isn’t true.” And so Christian postmodernists advocate leaving the authority of the Word of God because Busters will not believe it, and replacing it with the authority of “my story.” We have to wonder, as the modern unbeliever takes a look at the modern church, are they seeing anything but their own reflection?