This is the battlefield

Posted by Gary on February 23, 2007

The Church of Christ is always at battle and will be until Christ returns. Currently we are the Church militant, we will assume our status as Church triumphant in a little while. There is one battlefield in the realm of truth which continues to rage and I am convinced always will, this battle concerns the necessity of the atonement. The Christian faith rests on the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ on behalf of sinners. In short, on the cross, Jesus received the punishment that sinners deserved. God’s holiness demands justice and for salvation to be possible, the price of sin must be paid and Jesus paid it receiving justice at God’s hand in our place.

Man does not like the idea of the atonement because it declares the holiness and justice of God. The atonement also bespeaks man’s sinfulness, guilt and need to repent. Throughout her history the Church has had to stand for the truth and necessity of the atonement. Those who would have us believe that sin and justice do not matter to God continually attack this foundational doctrine.

Enter Katharine Jefferts Schori Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA. In a recent article in USA Today Schori is held forth as as a source of light. The article written by Cathy Lynn Grossman begins: “Every time Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori dons her personalized vestments, there’s a vision of sunrise.”

Note well the comments of Jefferts Schori, they make it clear that the battle for the atonement is far from over. Here is a sampling:

“Yes, sin “is pervasive, part of human nature,” but “it’s not the centerpiece of the Christian message. If we spend our time talking about sin and depravity, it is all we see in the world,”"

Does not Jefferts Schori understand that it is because of sin that we need the Christian faith? If there were no sin, we would not need the faith, we would still be walking by sight with God in the Garden of Eden. It was sin that caused Adam and Eve to be cast out of the garden. Prior to sin Adam and Eve did not walk by faith, they were in the presence of God Himself, there was nothing separating them from God to require faith or a Savior. Jefferts Schori’s statement could not be more incorrect, sin is the centerpiece of the Christian message (Christ is the height of the Christian message, the One who purchased forgiveness of sin).

With the following, Jefferts Schori sets herself in oppostion to the Savior she claims to represent. For the fullest flavor and most accurate picture I leave the statements in the context of the framing statements of the article author:

“She sees two strands of faith: One is “most concerned with atonement, that Jesus died for our sins and our most important task is to repent.” But the other is “the more gracious strand,” says the bishop who dresses like a sunrise. It “is to talk about life, to claim the joy and the blessings for good that it offers, to look forward.”"

Apparently the Bishop does not want to be a part of the strand that Christ is a part of:

Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”

Notice that Jesus did not say, “The time is at hand, talk about life, and claim the joy and blessings for good that it offers”. The passage above mentions John the Baptist, what message did John preach?

Matthew 3:1-2 “Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

According to Jefferts Schori, one strand is most concerned about the atonement and that Jesus died for our sins and stresses that our most important task is to repent, yes, the strand that Jesus and John the Baptist were a part of. The truth is that there are not two strands of Christianity, there is only one and Jefferts Schori is not a part of it.

This woman is not from God, her message contradicts the Son of God Himself. She is a servant of Satan. Why such harsh treatment? Many reasons: the glory and truth of God, the stakes (human souls) and the fact that this woman holds herself forward as one who knows the truth of Christ and as a shepherd of others. Jefferts Schori’s gospel is not the gospel of Christ, the Scripture could not be more plain in its condemnation of false teachers:

Galatians 1:8-9 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!

What does all this mean for the Christian?

It means that we must embrace what the Bible has told us we will need to if we are to be faithful. In particular, we must embrace the fact that if we are faithful to God’s truth the world is going to hate us. Be prepared Christian to be called extremist and hateful and dangerous. I included Jefferts Schori’s picture in this post because I want us to understand even the imagery involved here. The world has here a gentle smiling face, a woman who dresses like the sunrise. The Church is coming of age, a woman leader and her message is not narrow but wide, it is not demanding but appeasing. According to this messenger you can have God without atonement and without repentance. This is what you are going to battle against and what is the world going to think of you for opposing this smiling woman dressed as the sunrise? You will be called the enemy of God and a demon.

I fear that the Church at least in America does not have the stomach for this battle. Our greatest concern is being viewed as friendly and nice by the world. Most Christians today do not want to appear nasty or judgmental, better said, they don’t want to go to battle. Be prepared for more of this…more easy path to God in wonderful packaging (don’t be blind to what it means that this is a female package). Yes, to be faithful Christian you are going to have to battle women, dressed like the sunrise who declare that Christianity has repented of its harsh, narrow way.

I believe the devil has thrown down a gauntlet here, “Are you going to speak against a gentle woman dressed in purple?” “Don’t you know what those who are looking on will think of you and Christianity if you attack her?” Is the atonement worth the cost? Yes. Without the atonement there is no Christianity, there is no forgiveness, there is no salvation.

Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

Comments

One Response to “This is the battlefield”

1. Bill says:

   February 23, 2007 at 11:12 pm

   I really enjoyed this post.