“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth.” – Revelation 3:16
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Welcome back, dear friends. I said in Part 5 of this series that I could probably write an entire book if I were to address all my problems with Carl Lentz’ interview. Why? Because I think “the Lentz problem” is indicative of what’s wrong with the American Church in general. In pulpits across the nation, many “pastors” are compromising Biblical truth for the sake of filling their buildings and offering plates. The hard truths are being softened (or discarded entirely) in the name of being “seeker friendly,” and, sadly, their membership is exploding. The Biblical Jesus who says, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me (Matt. 16:24),” has been replaced with a non-Biblical buddy Jesus who exists for the sole purpose of loving and blessing everyone who accepts His pleading cries to “come into our hearts.” The problem, dear friends, is that this fictional Jesus they are “selling” can’t save anyone because He doesn’t exist. It breaks my heart to wonder how many people will end up in Hell because they’ve been deceived by these false teachers.
Shady Celebrities
If you do a Google search on “Pastor” Carl Lentz, you will find very little about his past onImage may be NSFW.
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the internet. It’s as if his background has been purposely scrubbed. I did find an interesting entry on a watchdog blog entitled “Who is Pastor Carl Lentz?” that is highly disturbing. But that is pretty much the extent of his past–prior to Hillsong NYC–that can be found. Based upon this article as well as his interviews I have watched, I believe Lentz is a man of the world: a friend of the world, who knows just enough about the Bible to twist it for personal gain. His charisma and air of authenticity draws people–even secular celebrities–to him like a moth to a flame. Here’s the problem: the Word tells us, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4)” Because of this, when you see “preachers” being embraced by the world, appearing on television shows, taking photos with celebrities, and even getting their own satellite radio stations (you know who I’m talking about), that should raise a red flag. Why does the world love these “celebrity preachers” so much? Since Lentz likes to point out what Jesus didn’t say, let me share Jesus did say: “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it. (John 15:59)” He concludes by saying, “As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” Hates? No, no, the world loves Carl Lentz and the “celebrity preachers!” Based upon Jesus’ own words, why do you think that is?
McChristianity
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Jesus warned us in Matthew 7:15 to, “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.” Knowing this, I do not believe we can be too cautious in who we choose to listen to. False teaching is not only dangerous to our salvation, but it is also seductive to our fleshly man. There are those who have called the “seeker-friendly” or “relevant” movement McChristianity. It doesn’t require repentance, rejecting sin, and holy living. Instead, it says, “Jesus loves you just the way you are, so don’t change a thing!” or “I’ll love and bless you and be your travel buddy on ‘your journey!'” The problem is that these are absolute contradictions to Jesus’ call to “count the cost (Luke 14:28)” of following Him. Why? Because it costs us everything to follow Jesus! In fact, Jesus said, “If you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be My disciple.” Let me be blunt here: people were murdered on crosses. To pick up your cross means to willingly kill your flesh. Jesus said earlier in Luke 9:23, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Carrying a cross requires a willing sacrifice of our lives. The good news, however, is that whoever gives up their life for Jesus’ sake will receive eternal life (Matt.16:25). But make no mistake: there can be no crown before the cross, and anyone who tells you differently is lying to you.
I love J.B. Phillips’ translation of 2 Timothy 3:5, “They will maintain a facade of ‘religion’, but their conduct will deny its validity.” This is really what McChristianity is. It is a facade of religion–and we all know that religion won’t save anyone. We are saved by faith in Christ alone, or “Sola fide, solus Christus.” But here’s the thing… this “facade of religion” is lukewarm at best, and completely false at worst. And, as I shared at the beginning of this blog entry, Jesus will vomit those who are lukewarm from His mouth. And He does not mean that He will vomit them into Heaven. Since this is true, what will become of those who place their faith in this facade of religion with its buddy Jesus?
The Truth
When I was a young boy, my mom and dad taught me “The Romans Road of Salvation.” If not familiar with this term, I will share some of it here. It is a simple way to present what is required to follow Jesus. If your church isn’t teaching these truths, find a church that does. And don’t let anyone within the church organization call you a wolf in sheep’s clothing just because you question their teachings that don’t line up with Scripture. Everyone is ultimately accountable for his or her own soul and no true pastor of the Gospel will ever dismiss the concerns of their flock with a flippant,”If you don’t like the way we do things here, go somewhere else.” Yes, I have heard this from the pulpit, and it really bothered me that the pastor didn’t feel any greater sense of obligation to those who sit under his teaching (not to mention God Himself). Imagine if the entire church were “good Bereans” (see Acts 17:11) with the same concerns. I can only imagine what these “ministers” would do if everyone got up and walked out together!
But I digress. Let’s take a “walk” on the Romans Road together…
Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
Don’t believe me? Read the 10 Commandments. And it gets worse. Jesus said if we commit these sins in our hearts and minds, we are guilty of breaking them. No matter how good we think we are, we have all sinned against God–no exceptions. The problem with sin is that it separates us from fellowship God. And that’s not all…
Romans 6:23 – “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The penalty for our sins–yours and mine–is death. And, not only physical death, but the death of our spirits in Hell. None of us wants that! So how can we receive forgiveness for our sins and this gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ? Well, the Bible tells us that Christ died in our place (Romans 5:8). In other words, our price to pay for sinning is death, but Christ paid our debt for us on the cross, and all we have to do is…
Romans 10:9-10 - “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Repent of your sins. Ask God to forgive you. Tell the Lord Jesus you believe He died for you, and that He was raised from the dead and is alive today at God’s right hand. Ask Him to give you this gift of eternal life.
If you have repented of your sins, Jesus tells us what He told the adulterous woman in John 8:11, “Go and sin no more.” You see… if you have placed your faith in Jesus, God has given you the faith to believe in Jesus, and, even more wondrous, He’s given you His Holy Spirit to live within us. He doesn’t want to leave us the way we are–He loves us far too much to do that. He wants to radically transform us into the image of Jesus Christ! You see, Mr. Lentz is partly right in that Jesus accepts us as we are. He does. But He wants to make you perfect! In Romans 12:2, the Apostle Paul tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern [the pattern of sin] of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Don’t worry, if you surrender your will to Jesus and are obedient to His Word (yes, you need a Bible right now) and the leading of His Spirit which lives within you, He will do the work! And, though we may fail along the way, He will never give up on us or abandon us.
Moving Forward
This is just the beginning of a wondrous “journey” with Christ. If you have repented of your sins and placed your faith in Christ, you need to find a good church–not a McChristianity church. If you need help doing that, please send me an email at asktheparson(at)gmail(dot)com, and I would be thrilled to help you. Or, if you have a family member or friend who is a follower of Christ, ask for their help. I’m certain they’d be only too pleased to help you.
GET A BIBLE. You need a Bible. I would recommend beginning with the Gospel of John. Of course, this is personal preference, but you should begin reading about our phenomenal Savior. It will bless you and nourish your soul and help you grow.
PRAY REGULARLY. Perhaps you’ve heard the saying: “How do you spell relationship? T-I-M-E.” This is true in building a personal relationship with God. You need to spend time talking with your Heavenly Father. Oh, yeah–did I mention that placing your faith in Christ means that God has adopted you into His family?! Yes, seriously! Welcome to the family! You are now a joint-heir with Jesus! So talk to your Heavenly Father regularly. He wants to build a relationship with you. And, trust me, it will be the most fulfilling, amazing relationship you will ever have.
So there you have it. I love you and appreciate you taking the time to read all of these posts. God bless you, and God bless His True Church.
In Christ’s perfect love,
Dwight
The Parson
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