Posted on 06/20/2005 4:38:37 AM PDT by HarleyD
”Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God" (Rom. 11:22). “
In the early part of this century liberalism took mainline Protestant churches by storm. It might be argued that the first half of the present century ushered in the most serious spiritual decline since the Protestant Reformation. Evangelicalism, which had dominated Protestant America since the days of the founding fathers, was virtually driven out of denominational schools and churches. Evangelicalism managed to survive and even thrive outside the denominations. But it never regained its influence in the mainline groups. Instead it has flourished chiefly in relatively small denominations and non-denominational churches. In a few decades, liberalism virtually destroyed the largest Protestant denominations in America and Europe.
One of the most popular spokesmen for liberal Christianity was Harry Emerson Fosdick, pastor of the Riverside Church in New York City. Fosdick, while remaining strongly committed to liberal theology, nevertheless acknowledged that the new theology was undermining the concept of a holy God. Contrasting his age with that of Jonathan Edwards, Fosdick wrote,
Fosdick was never so right. He correctly saw that liberalism had led to a warped and imbalanced concept of God. He could even see far enough ahead to realize that liberalism was taking society into a dangerous wasteland of amorality, where "man's sin, his greed, his selfishness, his rapacity roll up across the years an accumulating mass of consequence until at last in a mad collapse the whole earth crashes into ruin." 2
Despite all that, Fosdick ultimately would not acknowledge the literal reality of God's wrath toward impenitent sinners. To him, "the wrath of God" was nothing more than a metaphor for the natural consequences of wrongdoing. Writing in the wake of World War I, Fosdick suggested that "the moral order of the world has been dipping us in hell."3 His theology would not tolerate a personal God whose righteous anger burns against sin. Moreover, to Fosdick, the threat of actual hell fire was only a relic of a barbaric age. "Obviously, we do not believe in that kind of God any more."
Fosdick wrote those words almost eighty years ago. Sadly, what was true of liberalism then is all too true of evangelicalism today. We have lost the reality of God's wrath. We have disregarded His hatred for sin. The God most evangelicals now describe is all loving and not at all angry. We have forgotten that "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31). We do not believe in that kind of God any more.
Ironically, this overemphasis on divine beneficence actually works against a sound understanding of God's love. It has given multitudes the disastrous impression that God is kindly but feeble, or aloof, or simply unconcerned about human wickedness. Is it any wonder that people with a such a concept of God defy His holiness, take His love for granted, and presume on His grace and mercy? Certainly no one would fear a deity like that.
Yet Scripture tells us repeatedly that fear of God is the very foundation of true wisdom (Job 28:28; Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 15:33; Mic. 6:9). People often try to explain the sense of those verses away by saying that the "fear" called for is a devout sense of awe and reverence. Certainly the fear of God includes awe and reverence, but it does not exclude literal holy terror. "It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread" (Isa. 8:13).
We must recapture some of the holy terror that comes with a right understanding of God's righteous anger. We need to remember that God's wrath does burn against impenitent sinners (Ps. 38:1-3). That reality is the very thing that makes His love so wonderful. We must therefore proclaim these truths with the same sense of conviction and fervency we employ when we declare the love of God. It is only against the backdrop of divine wrath that the full significance of God's love can be truly understood. That is precisely the message of the cross of Jesus Christ. After all, it was on the cross that God's love and His wrath converged in all their majestic fullness.
Only those who see themselves as sinners in the hands of an angry God can fully appreciate the magnitude and wonder of His love. In this regard our generation is surely at a greater disadvantage than any previous age. We have been force-fed the doctrines of self-esteem for so long that most people don't really view themselves as sinners worthy of divine wrath. On top of that, religious liberalism, humanism, evangelical compromise, and ignorance of the Scriptures have all worked against a right understanding of who God is. Ironically, in an age that conceives of God as wholly loving, altogether devoid of wrath, most people are tragically ill-equipped to understand what God's love is all about!
The simple fact is that we cannot appreciate God's love until we have learned to fear Him. We cannot know His love apart from some knowledge of His wrath. We cannot study the kindness of God without also encountering His severity. And if the church of our generations does not regain a healthy balance soon, the rich biblical truth of divine love is likely to be obscured behind what is essentially a liberal, humanistic concept.
Notes
1. Harry Emerson Fosdick,Christianity and Progress (New York: Revell, 1922), 173-74 (emphasis added).
2. Ibid., 174.
3. Ibid (emphasis added).
As I mentioned earlier, I have only another 1/2 hour before I leave.
I said earlier that my beliefs are based on what God has put inside of me, which, for want of a better phrase, are self-evident.
The fact that I must obey the Gospel in no way diminishes what God has done for me. I earn nothing by obeying God.
That belief, however, doesn't appear to be a Trinitarian, saving faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who died to pay for our sins so that we would see Paradise with Him.
I encourage you to read the Bible and see if God has another, richer path for you to follow. I have every confidence that if it is there, by His grace, you will find it.
***Apparently He hasn't, or I would believe differently.***
How long would you survive if you held the same attitude towards eating that you do towards finding out the truth?
I.E. "If God didn't want me to be hungry then He would have have food fall from the sky into my mouth."
You would go hunting for food pretty soon I'de bet!
The Bible claims to be the revelation of God to man. The bible gives Christians the experience it claims it will give them. The bible presents a plausible understanding of the universe and the God who created it. The miraculous nature of the bible demonstrates the supernatural involvement of God. The bible prophecies more than 300 references to the Messiah, then records the fulfillment of all them. The bible reveals the life of Jesus Christ and how he is the fulfillment of these detailed prophecies. The bible is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, & true. Where do you find truth? I believe it is in the Word of God, the bible.
Excellent point.
By reading the Word of God, we know that all men are fallen and will deny His absolute truth, unless and until God turns them from the darkness to His light.
And this truth plays out before our eyes every minute of every day.
Read the Bible. It will answer your questions. There is no truth without it.
Thank you.
Luckily, those two are not related.
"Can you show this to be true?"
"Why would He punish us for doing something that He has designed into us to do?"
"If God knew what David would do, and He still created David, how did David have a choice?"
"Could David have done something that God knew he would not do?"
A fixed standard of human behavior?..is it wrong or right to take a human life?
A claim is not proof.
Amen, S.J.
The more Scripture we read, the more miraculous life becomes.
The Bible is a perfectly-written scenario with the beginning, middle and end all composed by God in an instant. All action leads up to Christ's resurrection; all action flows from Christ's resurrection.
All for the glory of God and to the merciful benefit of His saints.
The questions are to you.
***Luckily, those two are not related. ***
Ha!
But they are!
"And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." - Luke 4:4
Right, we each have differing faiths.
Why would God design us in a way He didn't want us to be?
If David could not do otherwise, then where was his freedom of choice?
I do not know or believe that all men are fallen. I believe we are as we are, good or bad.
It is easy to say that man has fallen, when your reference describes fallen behavior as the behavior that man has exhibited since the beginning of time, but many do not use the same reference as you.
My questions to you, are directed back to me...why?
stuartcr: "I believe just is something for us humans here on earth, besides, how do you know God is perfectly just?"
The Bible tells me that God is just. Christ has said that God is just and the prophets and apostles have attested that God is perfectly just.
These are all trustworthy sources that have been tested for many centuries. Besides, logic tells us that if God is the creator of all things, He is by definition just. It would be like questioning the designer of a board game whether the rules he wrote are right. The designer establishes the rules and conduct of the game.
If you believe that God is the creator of all things, you must logically conclude he is just.
Most Christians would question your "faith," Stuart, since it is not based on Scripture, and would fear for your salvation.
We would hope God has "designed "you to eventually read the Bible and receive His mercy through faith in Jesus Christ.
Yes, I'm sure, if one believes as you do.
The questions in post #85.
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