Following Judah's Lion

Only Half Orthodox

Many times we have heard about sins of commission and omission. Commission means, of course, that we can commit sins by our actions and thoughts. All of us are card carrying members of that fallen club, regardless of who claims otherwise. But there is another side to that same coin and it is sinning by omission, or not doing what the Scriptures command us to do. Again, we are all faithful members of that club as well.

But I would like to take those principles a step further in application. We who consider ourselves as “orthodox” often take issue with preachers and teachers who we consider false and teaching things that go against the clear teaching of Scripture. Men like Rob Bell, Brian McClaren, Joel Osteen, are but a few of these men. These kinds of aberrant teachings are becoming more and more prevalent in these last days, and they are also becoming more and more popular. They commit false teachings by commission.

But rarely do we mention or even understand that there is another side to that false teaching coin. There is another kind of aberrant teaching that seems very orthodox as it applies to what we have come to understand as systematic theology. These kind of teachings have acceptable statements of faith, and many would abhor the teaching of the afore mentioned false teachers. However many times these teachers teach falsehoods by the things they omit.

This kind of teaching is very clandestine and comes from very orthodox men. You see, these men can have sound doctrine in areas of theology while being wanting as in comes to practical expressions of that same theology which are taught, exhorted, and even commanded throughout the New Testament. While the hordes of evangelicals continue being active and faithful to their particular church, they have exchanged obedience to Christ for obedience to their church. And the bar that is set from the pulpit is so low and common, that almost everyone can fit easily into the parameters of some kind of disciple as projected by those pulpiteers.

To explain from Scripture the Incarnation is one thing. But how does one exegete and communicate the commands that make that a reality by behavior rather than just using words alone? Preachers explain the Trinity, the sufficiency of Scripture, the virgin birth, justification by faith, and a litany of other systematic theological truths. But as it pertains to being a living sacrifice, a peculiar people, an epistle read of all men, to owe no man anything, and even how the fruits of the Spirit should be made manifest in the life of a believer are spoken in generalities and shallow specifics. Letting a car cut in the line in front of you is an embarrassing example of fruitfulness.

The emergent movement has placed an overwhelming emphasis on how one lives and downplayed, and even made irrelevant, what one believes. That is absolutely wrong because what a sinner believes decides eternity for him. Also, I have known and interacted with emergent types and guess what? They do not live any differently than do we and they exhibit just as much flesh and carnality as the evangelical next door. What does that tell you?

Remember this: One can learn all the tenets of systematic theology in a matter of months, but to learn and exhibit the tenets of being like Jesus takes a lifetime, unless you believe that knowing systematic theology is being like Jesus. And I can stand behind the pulpit and preach the tenets of doctrine and accurately proclaim that I believe every one of them. But when I preach about being and living like Jesus, I am preaching things about which I am still pursuing and fall short. In fact, if I am preaching things that I completely exhibit and consider the normal experience of my entire life, then I am not preaching Christ.

In the coming days I wish to write about those very things.