The Pastor Said What?? Deception in the Last Days
My Letter to the American Church
Before we begin, I want to thank you for your overwhelming response to last week’s post, “What Happens When We Die.” I’ve enjoyed reading the comments on the various social media platforms. Apparently, we’ve struck a chord. If you missed that post, there’s a link at the bottom of the page.
This past week, Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church, hosted a pro-LGBT+ conference at his church. Holding an informational seminar on the topic isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. But when the focus is to normalize sexual depravity in the church—rather than offering compassionate ministry and an opportunity to repent—that’s a problem.
This is the same man who, in 2018, instructed his congregation with this admonition: “Thou shalt not keep the Ten Commandments.” Yes, you read that correctly.
Stanley said, “Here’s what the Jerusalem Council will say to the Gentiles. ‘You are not accountable to The Ten Commandments. You’re not accountable to the Jewish law. We’re done with that. God has done something new.’ He would say to you, ‘Thou shalt not obey The Ten Commandments because those aren’t your commandments.”
In case you think he didn’t really say that the link for the video is listed below.
Imagine that. How arrogant and narcissistic would you need to be to think that the 10 Commandments no longer apply to you? The same Commandments established at the creation of the world which have ruled every civilized society for the past millennium. Rejecting the natural law is inviting chaos and destruction into your life. What a reckless statement for a pastor to make.
President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Albert Mohler remarked that Mr. Stanley has departed from the Christian faith. You can read the recent World Magazine column entitled “The Train is Leaving the Station” here.
When ‘Love’ isn’t Love
As tragic as this is, it’s also predictable.
“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
2 Timothy 4:3
My spiritual GPS tells me that we have arrived.
How did we get here? I’ve observed that this slow but steady descent into the dark hole of a morally depraved society typically starts when church leaders embrace the “Love Gospel” doctrine.
This teaching says that we are simply to love everyone all the time. We must accept them and welcome them with open arms. If we are kind to those who don’t agree with us, they will come back to church and have the opportunity to hear the gospel. Eventually, they will become followers of Jesus, just like us.
Most importantly, we’re to not offend anyone. We should avoid potentially inflammatory topics and just “love on them.”
False Premise
Don’t get me wrong, I wholeheartedly agree with the need to be kind and compassionate to everyone. Our love for each other is, after all, the trademark of a true believer, according to John 13:35.
The problem occurs when spiritual leaders tell believers in Jesus Christ to stand down on hot-topic issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, pedophilia, and transgenderism. Just love everyone. Don’t judge. Don’t talk about sin or teach what the Bible says about the consequences of harming children or sexual immorality. If we’re accepting enough and not judgmental, they’ll eventually come around to our way of thinking.
But they haven’t. And—as always happens when evil is left unchecked—the crisis escalates.
Sexual predators are actually being invited into public elementary schools for Drag Queen Story Hour. Teachers are talking to our first graders about choosing their own gender. Disney and other corporations are over-sexualizing our preschoolers through non-binary cartoon characters. We would be fired for saying these things in the office, but now third-grade teachers can talk to kids about sex without the parents’ knowledge. Should we stand down on these issues, too?
If we don’t educate people who attend our churches on Sundays by providing informed, compelling, yet tempered arguments for the defense of human life, the value of traditional marriage, the evil of sexual immorality, and the need to advocate for Christian values in our political system, who else will?
When the American church abdicates this responsibility, we leave the morality of our culture in the hands of politicians. Just think about that.
Personally, I think some in our churches have mistaken cowardice for kindness. Are we lulling people to sleep with a false sense of security when we should be shouting the truth from the mountain tops?
Thankfully, some pastors love lost people AND stand for the truth by speaking about these uncomfortable topics. When they do, they face cancelation, harassment, or worse. But we should expect that. It’s in the original job description. (More on that next week.)
Yes, we need to be kind. Yes, compassion should always be our first response. Yes, we need to love those who disagree with us. But we still have an obligation to tell them the truth.
The Wrap Up
What a long way we’ve come from preaching Jesus’ words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” to assuring the unrepentant that “He Gets Us.” The latest multi-million-dollar advertising campaign asserts just that—as if we’re at the center of the universe. How is this different from pagan religions claiming we are gods? (More on that at another time)
The question shouldn’t be if He gets us, but do we get Him?
God’s love for humanity, as grand and profound as it is, doesn’t save us. Jesus’s death on the cross does. Paul wouldn’t have told us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling if it were that easy. It always requires obedience and sacrifice. Always.
Matthew 7:13- 14 says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Have we made the narrow path far too wide? Has our populist appeal to the masses led them down the wrong road? I fear we have sacrificed the truth on the altar of appeasement.
We are in a war. It’s time to stop playing “Paddy Cake” at the edge of the abyss. Is it possible that we could be showering lost people with gifts and buying them lattes while the flood waters rise? Just like in Noah’s day, God is closing the door fast.
Thanks for reading. If you share the sentiments expressed here, would you kindly share this post with your network?
But, if I have offended you today, good. I love you too much to care what you think of me. I would rather upset you than risk losing souls to Hell.
NOTES:
If you missed “What Happens When We Die,” you can read it here.
Andy Stanley: "Thou Shalt Not Obey the Ten Commandments" - YouTube
Please keep "offending" me regularly with content like this, Amy. Well spoken, as usual.
Well said.