[anncoulteriscool]

I think alot of the points here are most valid especially here in the south where the church can take on the form of a social club.

[anncoulteriscool]

PING!

[RnMomof7]

I am currently reading "What Happened to the Gospel of Grace" By Boid

He asseses the condition of Evangelical Churches ..it is not a pretty picture.

I would reccomend it to any that have an interest in the growth of the INVISIBLE Church

[anniegetyourgun]

Having only recently moved to 'the south', I'm finding that to be (sadly) very true. At least when I lived in the most unchurched area of the U.S., generally speaking, only those who were sincere were willing to put up with the hostility and ridicule that came with being (at a minimum) a twice/weekly attender.

[DouglasKC]

Easy-believism handles the message differently, but the effect is the same. It is the promise of forgiveness minus the gospel's hard demands, the perfect message for pragmatists. It has done much to popularize "believing" but little to provoke sincere faith.

Once again MacArthur nails it. I think this is the number one biggest problem today. Just "believe" , say the sinners prayer and that's it. No need to put on the righeousness of Christ.

[whipitgood]

Thanks for posting this. I totally agree with this article. It is amazing to read the sermons of preachers from 100 years ago (a favorite hobby of mine) and compare them to what is currently being preached in many of our churches. It gives me an appreciation for sound doctrine.

[FactQuest]

Nearly all the popular versions of the message encourage and legitimize a self-centered perspective.

Hmm, that has a lot of good sound bite, but isn't there a strong element of this in the REAL gospel? We want to save our eternal souls from hellfire, we want to live forever in heaven with Jesus, and not be punished by a wrathful God for our heinous sins.

Seems rather self-centered from the start, right?

Our church is about halfway between Southern Baptist and Reformed. Moving towards more Reformed. But, I fear we may lose the zeal for evangelism, as we drift into a calvinist elitism... say it quietly once and a while, and if God wants them to hear it, they'll hear it. I mean, don't we think God draws A LOT of people? Shouldn't we at least assume that, and strive to get the gospel out there?