You may be thinking that the header before you is of a monstrous proportion, but the effect of this reality in our children, in our churches and in the preaching of the cornerstone of the Christian message is nothing short of a monstrosity!

I have posted on this before in the context of parenting for the heart, and as it relates to the children of our youth, I was reminded of this again, very recently, in discussions with my son about the Christian life that affirmed to me, again, the significant importance of articulating the good news of the Gospel, which we must do again, and again… and then some more, as our hearts and our culture, can and often are, more attuned to replace the Gospel with religion, to replace the Gospel with Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism, of replacing the Good News of Gospel that elevates what God has done, through the finished work of Christ, and replace this with a message that is counterfeit to this reality!

You may be asking what is Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism?

Christian Smith, a Sociologist, who completed a study in the context of teenagers in the US, went on to co-author a title, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, where they downloaded the results of this study, the nature of this in practice, and coined this terminology as being reflective of this reality.

In another article, they summarise what this looks like with the following descriptive details…

1. A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth.

2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.

3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.

4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when he is needed to resolve a problem.

5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

You can read the entire PDF article, by following this link… HERE!

If such does not read “PROBLEM”… then, you may need to move to Houston… or keep reading on, where the heat of the “Light” will be turned on, and remember, as the saying goes, the way to hell is paved with good intentions!

Albert Mohler, many moons ago, penned a piece, in light of this reality, which you will want to read or re-read, where there is much that is overtly significant as we think about the Gospel and our witnessing to it and of it… You can find this article… HERE!  Just as we need to keep glorying in the Gospel as the fulcrum of our faith, which is reflected in our proclamation-to-dissemination of it, the perspectives that Mohler affirms is something that we need to be re-reflecting on!

Dr. Michael S. Horton, from Westminster Seminary, California, has recently spoken on Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism, and its implications, which is embedded for your viewing…

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In the final and following video message of this post, Matt Chandler does an excellent job of articulating the Gospel, not merely as a means for justification, but as the grounds for our growing sanctification, and the problem of our assumptions that are too-often left undeclared, which you should view soon-to-now.  Also, some in a New Zealand context, may have read much on CNNZ about Chandler’s cancer context, with such being an opportunity to hear his heralding…

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Never Assume the Gospel… Proclaim it!  When we assume the Gospel, the result can be that we can very easily lose the Gospel, as a functional reality and practical fuel in and for the living of our lives.  This in turn affects our proclamation, thereby emasculating our commission!

The Gospel is Good News because there is bad news to begin with, the Gospel is light, because it is coming into the darkness.  Until the Lord comes, we need to remember that the lights are still off, and by grace He has called us to keep our candles-to-blow-torch on!

Assuming this is perfunctory will be pernicious!

For the Fame of His Name

Man of Spin

H/T: Resurgence, Justin Taylor