What is Wrong With Evangelicalism?

by Mike Ratliff

We have spent a great deal of time over last several posts on two very important topics, the Sovereignty of God and the Deity of Christ. I was talking with Ken Silva this evening about that and he and I agreed that there is nothing more important for the Church to grasp than those two things in light of the total depravity of man. These things taken together make the Bible make sense. On the other hand, if you take what is preached and taught in much of the visible church in our time and try to reconcile them with the message of Sacred Scripture it becomes a tough job indeed. What am I saying? The Word of God teaches that God is Sovereign and Christ is God and the natural man is desperately lost and in need of a Saviour. 

At lunch today I was navigating through one of my favorite websites, The White Horse Inn, and came to their F.A.Q. page. Under the heading Theology and Organization I saw some very interesting topics which I went to and read with number 5 being the one that got my attention the most. Here is the content of that link:

5. What’s wrong with evangelicalism?

Every kind of church in every period of church history has faced the temptation of accommodation over faithfulness. Evangelicalism is no exception. Exacerbating the problem is the lack of a defining center for evangelicalism. Other forms of Christianity have a history and definable set of beliefs that identify and guide the church. Evangelicalism, on the other hand, has generally stressed personal experience and piety over more ordered and formal ways of defining and describing the church. This has made it perhaps even more susceptible to the modern day cults of personality and myth of influence that have eroded evangelicalism’s base.

When Ken and I had our discussion earlier this evening I mentioned this as we discussed the rampant apostasy we are seeing in the visible church in our time. It is very telling when a major Christian music artist can come out of the closet, proclaiming to be a Lesbian, go on Larry King Live and confront a Pastor on that show who cannot tell her why her sin is any worse than the sin of overeating. When the leadership is ignorant of God’s Word, the sheep will be as well. The utter devastation that the climate of evangelicalism has wrought on Christianity in our time is incredible. People define their “faith” via feelings and personal experience and piety instead of opening God’s Word to see what it says.

Our Lord says in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Yes, that is right. That is what He said. This is something our Lord told his disciples on the night before He was crucified as He was promising the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Now, reflect on what point 5 says about the susceptibility that some churches have to the modern day cults of personality and myth of influence that have eroded evangelicalism’s base. This susceptibility has come because of this focus on accommodation over faithfulness. Church discipline is nowhere to be found. A person’s testimony is good enough for membership regardless of how they actually live, et cetera. This has increased the climate for hypocrisy as well. It has removed Sola Scriptura as the bases for truth in our churches. Religiosity has become the focus.

For the White Horse Inn’s solution to these issues, which I do agree with, I suggest you go back to the F.A.Q. page and read items 2, 3, & 4. In the meantime, please continue to pray for this ministry and the leadership in your church. Pray for God’s reformation to continue there and for His Word to be preached with power and boldness there. Pray that God will give me that same boldness to minister before Him in ways that will bring Him glory and edify the Body of Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria!