When I say that God hates American Christianity, it sounds almost comparable to the extreme claims of the Westboro Baptist Church. So let me be clear: God loves you, and he desperately desires for men to come to him. But there are aspects of American Christianity that does not lead men to God, but leads men far from God and grieves his Spirit. How do I know this? How can I speak with such an authority about what God hates? Easy: I have the inerrant, inspired, and authoritative word of God, against which I can measure American Christianity. When I do so, it becomes painfully obvious that there are at least 5 reasons that God hates American Christianity.
1 – The Sinners’ Prayer
If you examine American Christianity and evangelism, you will find that there is a vile methodology that radically compromises the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that we need to flee from the wrath to come, that we are guilty sinners before a holy and righteous God. It tells us that because he is good, and we are not, we are rightfully condemned to Hell. But God made provision for us to be saved, that is, receiving the Lord Jesus Christ and being conformed to the image of the Son so that we can stand before God without sin. To do that, we must repent of our sin and believe the gospel.
But instead, American Christianity teaches that if we hold the hand of an evangelist and recite a little prayer, then we are saved. They will dim the music in the church and dim the lights during the alter call and they will psychologically manipulate people to get them to say a prayer. When they do that, they preacher will tell them that because they said a little prayer, that therefore they are saved. They can walk out of the building and never think of God again. But so long as they say this little prayer, they are saved. This deceptive method of evangelism has guided people to Hell as much as any other heresy. God hates the Sinner’s Prayer.
2 – Emotional Authority
There are so many times that I see people measuring the word of God by their own emotions and what they prefer. If I provide a Bible verse condemning some aspect of their life that they love, they will immediately think, “How can I refute that?” They look for loopholes in the word of God rather than working it out with fear and trembling. They try to find ways around what God has said. If I say, “No sexually immoral, idolater, thief, greedy, drunkard, or homosexual will inherit the kingdom of God,” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) they will wonder how they can refute that. How can we get around this troublesome verse?
Did it ever occur to you that perhaps we should not try to find a loophole around the word of God? Perhaps the God who created the sun, the moon, the stars, DNA, the entire known universe and everything in it, knows something that you do not know. Perhaps he is more moral than you are. So rather than judging the word of God by your standards, begin by questioning yourself, and asking what is wrong with your morality. Remember the words of Satan: “Did God really say that?” (Genesis 1:3). Are you taking heed to those words, or are you taking heed to God’s word?
3 – The Prosperity Gospel
Another perversion of modern theology is this view that Jesus Christ died so that we could live in abundance. Jesus suffered poverty so that we would not have to. Jesus gave himself up so that Joyce Meyer could have a five house complex. When somebody looks to Christianity, we are compelled to tell them what great carnal things God has in store for them. They are looking for a means to make themselves happy. They have tried sex, drugs, alcohol, crime, and now, why not give Christianity a try? Perhaps it will make them happy.
The problem is that is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible does not teach that if you become a Christian, God will bless you abundantly with worldly blessings. Indeed, the first 11 apostles were murdered for their faith. The only one who lived to a ripe old age was John. Thus to us, Jesus tells us, “If you do not pick up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of me.” (Matthew 16:24). As Paul Washer said, Jesus promises us two things. A cross to die on and eternal life.
4 – Disorderly And Unintelligible Worship
I am specifically referring to the Charismatic movement. The Charismatic movement has been so described by John MacArthur as an offering of strange fire. They give worship that is displeasing and grievous to the Holy Spirit. Are there true Christians in the Charismatic movement? Absolutely. But there is so much false teaching and vile practice within. They claim that their ministry is focused on the Holy Spirit, but their congregations are so filled with confusion, and disorderly and unintelligible worship. They are filled with practices that are literally indistinguishable from Pagan practices.
Paul explicitly and unequivocally condemned this sort of worship in 1 Corinthians 14. He tells people that they need to have order during worship. If somebody speaks in tongues, they need to have an interpreter, or they need to speak quietly to themselves and to God (v. 27-28). Paul argues that this sort of disorderly worship is just confusing, has no real substance, and the Holy Spirit is not the author of confusion (v. 33). The worship of the Charismatic movement is not the worship of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, God hates this movement.
5 – Condemning The Body Of Christ
We seem to have an odd need to label each other all of the time. Are you a Calvinist? Augustinian? Cambellite? Ussherist? Lutheran? For me, this raises the question of why I need to identify with a church father at all. It may be a matter of convenience to summarize the doctrines that you believe, but to hold your identity as a Christian in these church fathers, I think, is dangerous. After all, was Calvin crucified for you? Were you baptized under the authority of Ussher? You may notice, this is an identical argument to the one Paul made in his letter to the Corinthians when they were becoming divisive.
Now I am not condemning people who hold to these views or saying that God hates when people claim to be Calvinists. But when we separate and then condemn members of the body of Christ on the basis of these separations is when we get ourselves into trouble. Salvation comes by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). When somebody throws themselves on the mercy of God and repents of their sin, God will make them a new creature and they will be born again, even if they do not associate with John Campbell. We cannot condemn brothers in Christ over these secondary issues.
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