Soli Deo Gloria » Culture

God, the Gospel and Glenn Beck

Jay Wingard — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:38:52 +0000

by Dr. Russell Moore reprinted here by permission

A Mormon television star stands in front of the Lincoln Memorial and calls American Christians to revival. He assembles some evangelical celebrities to give testimonies, and then preaches a God and country revivalism that leaves the evangelicals cheering that they’ve heard the gospel, right there in the nation’s capital.

The news media pronounces him the new leader of America’s Christian conservative movement, and a flock of America’s Christian conservatives have no problem with that.

If you’d told me that ten years ago, I would have assumed it was from the pages of an evangelical apocalyptic novel about the end-times. But it’s not. It’s from this week’s headlines. And it is a scandal.

Fox News commentator Glenn Beck, of course, is that Mormon at the center of all this. Beck isn’t the problem. He’s an entrepreneur, he’s brilliant, and, hats off to him, he knows his market. Latter-day Saints have every right to speak, with full religious liberty, in the public square. I’m quite willing to work with Mormons on various issues, as citizens working for the common good. What concerns me here is not what this says about Beck or the “Tea Party” or any other entertainment or political figure. What concerns me is about what this says about the Christian churches in the United States.

It’s taken us a long time to get here, in this plummet from Francis Schaeffer to Glenn Beck. In order to be this gullible, American Christians have had to endure years of vacuous talk about undefined “revival” and “turning America back to God” that was less about anything uniquely Christian than about, at best, a generically theistic civil religion and, at worst, some partisan political movement.

Rather than cultivating a Christian vision of justice and the common good (which would have, by necessity, been nuanced enough to put us sometimes at odds with our political allies), we’ve relied on populist God-and-country sloganeering and outrage-generating talking heads. We’ve tolerated heresy and buffoonery in our leadership as long as with it there is sufficient political “conservatism” and a sufficient commercial venue to sell our books and products.

Too often, and for too long, American “Christianity” has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it. There is a liberation theology of the Left, and there is also a liberation theology of the Right, and both are at heart mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barabbas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah.

Leaders will always be tempted to bypass the problem behind the problems: captivity to sin, bondage to the accusations of the demonic powers, the sentence of death. That’s why so many of our Christian superstars smile at crowds of thousands, reassuring them that they don’t like to talk about sin. That’s why other Christian celebrities are seen to be courageous for fighting their culture wars, while they carefully leave out the sins most likely to be endemic to the people paying the bills in their movements.

Where there is no gospel, something else will fill the void: therapy, consumerism, racial or class resentment, utopian politics, crazy conspiracy theories of the left, crazy conspiracy theories of the right; anything will do. The prophet Isaiah warned us of such conspiracies replacing the Word of God centuries ago (Is. 8:12–20). As long as the Serpent’s voice is heard, “You shall not surely die,” the powers are comfortable.

This is, of course, not new. Our Lord Jesus faced this test when Satan took him to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the earth, and their glory. Satan did not mind surrendering his authority to Jesus. He didn’t mind a universe without pornography or Islam or abortion or nuclear weaponry. Satan did not mind Judeo-Christian values. He wasn’t worried about “revival” or “getting back to God.” What he opposes was the gospel of Christ crucified and resurrected for the sins of the world.

We used to sing that old gospel song, “I will cling to an old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown.” The scandalous scene at the Lincoln Memorial indicates that many of us want to exchange it in too soon. To Jesus, Satan offered power and glory. To us, all he needs offer is celebrity and attention.

Mormonism and Mammonism are contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They offer another Lord Jesus than the One offered in the Scriptures and Christian tradition, and another way to approach him. An embrace of these tragic new vehicles for the old Gnostic heresy is unloving to our Mormon friends and secularist neighbors, and to the rest of the watching world. Any “revival” that is possible without the Lord Jesus Christ is a “revival” of a different kind of spirit than the Spirit of Christ (1 Jn. 4:1-3).

The answer to this scandal isn’t a retreat, as some would have it, to an allegedly apolitical isolation. Such attempts lead us right back here, in spades, to a hyper-political wasteland. If the churches are not forming consciences, consciences will be formed by the status quo, including whatever demagogues can yell the loudest or cry the hardest. The answer isn’t a narrowing sectarianism, retreating further and further into our enclaves. The answer includes local churches that preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and disciple their congregations to know the difference between the kingdom of God and the latest political whim.

It’s sad to see so many Christians confusing Mormon politics or American nationalism with the gospel of Jesus Christ. But, don’t get me wrong, I’m not pessimistic. Jesus will build his church, and he will build it on the gospel. He doesn’t need American Christianity to do it. Vibrant, loving, orthodox Christianity will flourish, perhaps among the poor of Haiti or the persecuted of Sudan or the outlawed of China, but it will flourish.

And there will be a new generation, in America and elsewhere, who will be ready for a gospel that is more than just Fox News at prayer.

by Dr. Russell Moore reprinted here by permission

Give Us Men Who Know the Truth!

Jay Wingard — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:43:17 +0000

Pictures of God and the Second Commandment

Jay Wingard — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:54:26 +0000

“The images or pictures of God are an abomination and utterly unlawful, because they do debase God, and may be the cause of idolatrous worship. It is not lawful to have pictures of Jesus Christ, because his divine nature cannot be pictured at all, and because his body, as it is now glorified, cannot be pictured as it is; and because, if it do not stir up devotion, it is in vain; if it do stir up devotion, it is a worshipping by an image or picture, and so a palpable breach of the second commandment.” (Thomas Vincent, An Explanation of the Assembly’s Shorter Catechism (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, n.d.) 162.)

“Perhaps more people living today have derived their ideas of Jesus Christ from these typically ‘liberal’ pictures of Jesus than have derived their ideas of Jesus from the Bible itself. Such people inevitably think of Jesus as a human person, rather than thinking of him according to the biblical teaching as a divine person with a human nature. The inevitable effect of the popular acceptance of pictures of Jesus is to overemphasize his humanity and to forget or neglect his deity (which of course no picture can portray).” (Johannes G. Vos, The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 2002), 292.)

The Second Commandment

Fighting Lust and Sexual Immorality

Jay Wingard — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:10:54 +0000

Sexual immorality is rampant in today’s culture and sadly it is a tremendous sin within the church today with pornography statistics that are so saddening – even among church leaders. One cannot help but to be bombarded with sexual temptation given the amount of sex on television, movies, the internet and even on billboards. I’ve been reading an excellent book entitled The Good News We Almost Forgot by Kevin DeYoung. In this book he steps through the Heidelberg Catechism giving a wonderful exposition of this wonderful catechism of faith. In his discussion of the seventh commandment he nails it on the head concerning the correct way a Christian must handle sexual temptation. I wanted to share this excerpt from his book…

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8). This has been the most helpful verse for me in fighting lust and the temptation to sexual immorality. We need to fight desire with desire. Satan tempts us by holding out something that will be pleasurable to us. We aren’t tempted to gorge ourselves on liverwurst, because for most it doesn’t hold out the promise of great pleasure. But sex does. Pornography does. A second look does. The Bible gives us many weapons to fight temptaton. We need to fight the fleeting pleasure of sexual sin with the far greater, more abiding pleasure of knowing God. The fight for sexual purity is the fight of faith. It may sound like nothing but hard work and gritting your teeth, the very opposite of faith. But faith is at the heart of this struggle. Do we believe that a glimpse of God is better than a glimpse of skin? Do we believe that God’s steadfast love is better than life. (Psalm 63:3) We’d probably sin less if we spent less time thinking about our sins, sexual or otherwise, and more time meditating on the love and holiness of God.”

How true is this! May we see that sin truly is a “fleeting pleasure” that can never satisfy and will always destroy and more importantly is an offense and an affront to the Living Holy God. Let us be reminded of the truth that we are seated in the heavenly places with Christ and how shall we who have died to sin continue to live in it? (Rom. 6:2) May our minds and hearts be drawn upward to Christ to see that to desire Him above all is the true ever-flowing wellspring of peace, joy and eternal contentment.

Soli Deo Gloria.

The Christmas Tree

Jay Wingard — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:49:19 +0000

My wife and I have this tradition that on her birthday (which is a couple of weeks before Christmas) we head out to the Lowes down the road to pick out our Christmas tree. My wife’s favorite Christmas movie is the Charlie Brown Christmas and we both chuckle at that pitiful little tree they decorate with one ornament. So our tradition is to go to Lowes and look for the tree that no one else wants. We eagerly search out the one with the gaping hole in the back or the one that has just a few limbs or very few needles. That is the tree we choose and for us it means so much.

For us, like many families, it is a joy to setup the tree and decorate it. The Christmas tree is really one of the things that seems to kick off Christmas. It’s interesting that in many Christmas cards, web sites and movies the Christmas tree is a focal point of Christmas. Some people even put up several trees in their homes.

I received an email from a friend today that had pictures of all kinds of Christmas trees. It included everything from the tree in the White House to the tree in New York City to the tree that we typically see in most homes. The title of the email was simply, “This is a Christmas Tree”.

There is really one true Christmas tree. The true Christmas tree is the cross of Jesus Christ. It is the tree that God lifted up His gift of Christmas to the world so that all eyes would look to Him. It is the true Christmas tree in that we are humbly reminded that “cursed is anyone who is hung on a tree” (Gal. 3:13) and to remember that the Child in the manger is God’s gift to His Church (John 3:16) for His glory. Because of Christmas, we can say along with Paul, “I determine[d] to know nothing but Christ Jesus and Him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2)

Let us never, ever separate the cross from the manger. Let us remember that Christmas points to the cross. Jesus Christ humbled Himself to become a man so that He could die in full obedience to the Father to demonstrate God’s love and His justice simultaneously. Christmas is also a time to rejoice knowing that death could not hold our King and that His resurrection points us to the glorious truth that at this very moment He reigns at the right hand of the Father waiting for His enemies to be made a footstool to His feet. While we look back on our Lord’s first Advent this Christmas, let us also expectantly look forward to our Lord’s Second Advent when He will come in with all the angels in fire to collect His elect from the four corners of the earth! This, my friends is the Christmas story.

Merry Christmas!

The Manhattan Declaration

Jay Wingard — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 02:04:38 +0000

I’ve gotten a few emails from friends and church leaders encouraging me to sign the Manhattan Declaration – a rather short document that addresses certain moral concerns our nation (and world) is facing. On the surface it all sounds great. However, a careful read of the document has some serious issues that would cause the discerning Christian to think twice before putting their name on such a document. Why? Because the very gospel of Jesus Christ is at stake. I realize that many well-meaning Christians will completely disagree with me but the issues are too great to simply overlook.

I completely agree with the declaration’s cry against moral sins such as same-sex marriage and abortion. However, the problem is that this document does not address the one and only cure for such problems: the gospel. This is just simply another “can’t we all get along” document that folks like Chuck Colson have been pushing for quite some time. The big question is how can Protestants, Orthodox and Catholics come together when the very gospel they claim to believe are all inherently different. The Roman Catholic gospel is another gospel – it is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. The declaration also encourages believer and unbelievers to come together in unity. How? While their may be some capability of moral conformity (as seen in the RC Church) there is no true reformation of the heart and soul as there is in the true regenerated believer of Jesus Christ.

The Manhattan Declaration is simply another attempt at ecumenical madness and sadly there are very few who seem to be able to see this. I was quite surprised to see Al Mohler’s signature and not surprised to see names like Chuck Colson and James Dobson. However, there are men of God standing up for the gospel and it was refreshing to see that Dr. John MacArthur has written on his web site why he refuses to sign such a document. Dr. James White also has voiced his strong concerns over this document, as well as a few blogs that have a discerning eye.

Will our children and children’s children look back to see men and women who will fight for the true gospel of Jesus Christ or are we seeing a steady crumble of the very truths men of God died for? It is sad and troubling to see such a lack of Biblical discernment – especially among prominent protestant church leaders. I fear it is simply a sign and a result of the church in America refusing to preach and teach the gospel! Lord help us and forgive our foolish ways.

So True…

Jay Wingard — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:00:17 +0000

“One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time.” – John Piper

The Cross – 3 Hours

Jay Wingard — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:41:51 +0000

If only most of the preachers behind the pulpits of the American church would preach like this rap singer sings. I’ve stated before in another post that I am usually not a fan of most rap music. Most of the rap music out there is full of foul language and sexual perversion but here we see a young man named Shai Linne who proclaims the glorious gospel in his music with conviction and love. Oh how many “preachers” today could learn by listening to this…

Sobering Truth

Jay Wingard — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:42:38 +0000

Father, forgive our foolish ways…

Proclaiming the Truth!

Jay Wingard — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:20:03 +0000

This is War!

Jay Wingard — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:44:15 +0000

Paul Washer says it like it is…

Don’t Waste Your Life

Jay Wingard — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:58:56 +0000

As a classically trained musician I have never had much of a taste for rap music, heavy metal, etc. However, there is a small group of rap artists of the reformed flavor that have been rising up to bring glory, honor and praise to the Lamb who was worthy to be slain. One of those artists is LeCrae. (They have an upcoming tour.) I also have been impressed especially with a song entitled “Martyrs” by another rap artist named Shai Linne. The lyrics to these men’s rap songs have more gospel in them and more correct theology than most Sunday morning sermons in the typical American church. Here is the music video to LeCrae’s “Don’t Waste Your Life” song. While the musical style may not be everyone’s taste we should rejoice at the young people these artists are reaching with the gospel of Jesus Christ! Amen!