I have watched, listened to, and read countless sermons in my 50+ years as a Born-Again Christian and I have noticed the continued increase in feel-good, self-help, multi-point motivational messages that are more focused upon fallen human beings than upon Jesus, who has become more of a motivational self-help life coach and spiritual guru rather than the holy Lord and Creator God of all things.
As a result, the growth of both established churches and new plants in the western world are predominantly a result of disgruntled and emotionally immature people who leave their current congregation to look for the perfect church because their 'needs' weren't met, a person "sat" in their seat, or the Pastor said something, or read a verse out of the Bible that offended them for whatever reason, etc., etc., etc. As the saying goes, 'If you find the perfect church don't join it because it won't be perfect anymore.'
Today, church attendance in the West is at record lows and growth is the slowest in Europe and North America. Yet, the church is growing dramatically throughout the rest of the world, especially in Asia, South America, and Africa which, in the last 15 years alone, has seen a growth rate of over 51%. That equates to an average of 33,000 people becoming a Christian each day, despite persecution and opposition! The center of Christianity has shifted to the Southern hemisphere. It is estimated that by 2050, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines and Uganda will dominate the top 10 Christian countries, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity.
The predominant 'denominations' taking part in this record growth are Pentecostal. They preach and teach the need for a personal relationship with Jesus as their primary focus. It is very reminiscent of the "Jesus movement" of the late 1960's and early 1970's that concentrated on the message on Jesus as the giver of life and spiritual gifts to help them live their life here on earth more abundantly.
Every denomination has their own theological idiosyncrasies, dogma, heterodox opinions and traditions, but the vast majority remain true to the essential pillars of orthodox historical Christian teaching which are the deity of Jesus, salvation by God’s grace and not by works, through Jesus alone, the resurrection of Jesus, the Gospel message of the Bible - which is the final authority, monotheism and the Holy Trinity of God - the Father, God, the Son – Jesus, and God, the Holy Spirit, which should be the focus of any fellowship with one another in order to fulfill the Great Commandment and Great Commission, rather than on their differences.
These new converts in the third world countries are experiencing a vibrant life full of God's power and supernatural gifts that are used to help encourage, edify, strengthen, and heal those they come in contact with as they take the Gospel into the community, meeting people where they live instead of expecting them to come to a church building to experience a programmatic approach to religion. They are filled with holistic enthusiasm, vitality, confidence and joy because they have experienced the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit and they want to share the Gospel message with everyone they meet.
When a person preaches from the Bible, with their audience as the primary focus, it becomes an empty narcissistic and hedonistic exercise in futility. Many churches in the West lift Jesus up and some are showing record growth. But the Jesus they proclaim is often just the “gift giver”- “blessing giver”- “wealth maker”- “peace provider” – or the “great healer.” The focus must shift from buildings, bucks, and bodies to the broken, battered, bruised, beaten and bloody body of the crucified Lord of lords and King of kings who shows by His example that one first must die before they can be revived. As long as there is the continuing attempt to meet the needs of self, there will only be the constant confrontation of personal sinfulness.
The Bible is ALL about Jesus, NOT us. Jesus said; “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39-40 ESV). Jesus explained to the Disciples that all Scripture pointed to Him; “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27 ESV).
When our reading or preaching the Word is focused on Jesus, the heart is set on things above, and the eyes will see Him first. When a person looks for Jesus within the pages of the Bible they will come to truly know Him and find hope and peace beyond comprehension, and in doing so, they will find the true meaning of life, along with their purpose, calling, and destiny as they discover that their true identity is in Christ (Col. 3:1). The abundant life is found when “self” life is lost (Matt 10:39).
HUMAN TRADITIONS
The Bible is the absolute perfect revelation of Jesus Christ and the only infallible, inerrant, inspired source of knowledge about Him and the only reliable source to hear His voice. Everything in the Cosmos is sustained by His Word.
The New Testament speaks of the teaching traditions of the Apostles that are to be passed down and taught to later generations.
“We called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” (2 Thess 2:14-15 NIV)
“I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.” (1 Cor 11:2 NIV)
The word “teachings” (Gk: paradosis) means a handing down of instructions (doctrine) for everyday conduct like the ordinances of the traditions passed down by the Rabbi’s which were made null and void by the divine teaching of the Apostles.
The Bible says that the Scriptures alone, and not church traditions, are divinely inspired. The Bible must be used to verify and test the traditions and teaching of the church and not the other way around. Jesus continually rebuked the Pharisees and called them hypocrites because they made their traditions equal to the written Word of God. Traditions should support the teachings of the Apostles and not those that contradict or transgress “the commands of God" or exceed what they say (Matt 15:3).
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17)
EXPERIENTIAL REVELATION
It is true that a normal Christian life is filled with miraculous and supernatural experiences. God does speak today personally and directly, just as He spoke to His people in the past, by using His own words of the Scriptures. That is easily affirmed by anyone who has heard His call to church ministry. However, He will NEVER contradict or add to, what He has already said in the Bible. The authority and sufficiency of Scripture cannot be separated.
Christianity, without the supernatural, has no legitimate power, yet those who actively believe in the miraculous are often held with contempt, and their beliefs ridiculed and even condemned. You will most often find more skeptics in church pulpits than outside of it.
It is my belief that ALL Christians are called to live supernatural lives every day that has the touch and power of God upon them to affect change in those they come in contact with. Living a supernatural life is the most powerful yet practical way for a Christian to live.
The biblical truth is that the supernatural is the natural environment of God. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit lives in, and empowers, every Christian (1 Cor 6:19). It would be logical to posit that the natural environment of God exists within them as well. Taking that thought a little farther, it would also seem logical to surmise that God wants every Christian living naturally in the supernatural, with the miraculous accompanying them as they live normal lives. That is purely an ambitious objective because it is a lived reality for only a very minute number of Christians who are often scoffed at for their so-called experiences.
There are those who believe that the 66 books of the Bible are not enough, so they constantly look for private prophetic words, dreams or visions for a more meaningful personal experiential revelation from God. If a private “revelation” given to (or by) someone does not agree or align with Scripture, it is false, and if it does, then it is not needed.
The voice of God is the Bible. God’s written Word must be used as the primary source to confirm a person has heard the voice of Jesus. God speaks with absolute authority from the Bible alone. He alone is truth and Christians must learn to hear His voice. Jesus said in an allegory; “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27 NIV). When Jesus was tempted by the devil, it was not His opinions or experience that defeated him. He was defeated with ‘It is written!”
The Bible is the only single special revelation from God that human beings possess today. Experience cannot be trusted as it is a type of hearsay. Christians are commanded to believe what is written in the Bible because it is the only pure word from God and is unquestionably sufficient in itself (Psalm 119:160).
In the great high priestly prayer of Jesus for every Christian, He said, “Sanctify them by the truth: your word is truth” (John 17:17 NIV). The daily sanctification work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of every Christian is to bring them closer to Jesus by pointing out both strengths and weaknesses and reminding them that the blood of Jesus has washed away all past, present, and future sin. His job is to illuminate what has already been written in the Bible. He does not provide through Angels or by direct “fresh” revelation anything that would add to it in any way, manner, shape or form.
Just as food, air, and water are essential and adequate to keep a human being alive, the inspired Scriptures are essential and sufficient to give the "wisdom that leads to salvation." The Bible is more than sufficient to fully equip the Christian for profitable service and “every good work” because it is the very counsel of God.
I once heard it said that the Bible is completely true about everything to which it speaks, but it does not speak about everything there is to know. The Bible reveals that human beings can acquire knowledge of God by general revelation and draw conclusions about right conduct through observation, rational, reflective reasoning and astute observations of the Cosmos.
However, those are just tools to direct a person to the perfect revelation of Jesus Christ. The Bible is the only special revelation and has the absolute authority to provide ALL sufficient knowledge needed to know Jesus and receive the gift of salvation, as well as what God’s commands are for every Christian. Because the “heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” the sensory experiences of touch, sight, taste, smell, and hearing and are not reliable (Jer 17:9 KJV).
The Bible is the only dependable source for humankind to know God’s voice. It alone has the answers to all eternal questions. Someone once said, "If you want to hear God's voice, read the Bible out loud." Jesus and the writers of the New Testament considered the Scriptures as the final rule of authority. When the enemy tempted Jesus in the wilderness, He used only the authority of Scripture to come against him.
The Bible is the blueprint of Heaven and the only reliable source of authoritative truth and is sufficient for teaching because it contains all moral and spiritual information by which humans can successfully live each day as well as build a foundation for any endeavor that is needed for “life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV). The primary intent of the New Testament is so that people “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” so that “by believing” they will “have life in his name” (John 20:30-31 ESV).
It is vital that every Christian rely completely upon the Holy Spirit to direct and guide them in understanding and effectively applying God’s Word in every situation they find themselves in. The Holy Spirit has the responsibility to illuminate the Scriptures so that God’s will can be understood. It is His responsibility to see that the “good work” that was started in each Born-Again Christian at the moment of salvation “will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6 NIV). Christians have the responsibility to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and respond to Him.
The Bible is also the primary source to interpret the Bible. Without reliance upon the Bible as the infallible and supreme source for knowing God’s voice - and as the authoritative rule of faith and conduct - a huge door is opened for the possibility of error and heresy to creep into a person’s beliefs. It must be God’s written Word, which is the cognitive concrete foundation, to base all decisions and belief. The Bible must be studied from God’s perspective. Only the Bible is truly God’s Word, and it declares that Jesus Christ is the “Word of God” (Rev 19:13 NIV) and is its author.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1 NIV)
