Is “Progressive Christianity” Truly Christian?

Is progressive Christianity truly Christian.

That's just one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity why this is Bill Meyer along with Pastor Israel Sanchez and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. Would love to hear from you and here's our phone number it's 833. The Corps will be taking calls for the next 25 minutes or so. So jump on your phone 1-833-843-2673. Now, as always, you can post your question on one of our social media sites you can also watch a drill in the studio right now on YouTube and send us a message through our YouTube channel. You can always email us your question at questions at court, Christianity.com first up today let's go to Anthony in Turlock, California Anthony what your question for Pastor Israel. I wanted hear his take on blasphemy.

I was I was battling with this for about a year real bad because I had gotten really mad at God, and I kinda cursed out God and and I Christology as an afterthought Holy Spirit and I kinda said something that I regret and I and it was it was very much. It consumed my life for a good year before I end up telling somebody.

I just wanted to see what his but what what an opinion was done on on how that affects you and me can you verbally just condemn yourself in that instinct by saying all things are or is it something that you know you can you can be forgiven for because it's enough of it unforgettable. Hey Anthony, I'm grateful that you gave us a call and I guess we just one follow-up. So this was a period of your life where it sounds like you were very upset at God and in you said some things that now you you regret that now you're concerned about might you know it. Does this mean that I'm forever lost is that with what you're saying yeah I had an event happen where at that instant you know, things went dark for me and it was daytime. You know like Q3 with my dad and were in the truck and everything went dark and I kinda seen a darker image kind of like right in front of me, look down and shake his head, and I see I I just can't went through this horrible period of time thinking you know that I commit just gadget committed last week.

I was just really mad and I said things that I yeah well let me read the passage in the New Testament. It mentions talks about one of the passages. It talks about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in the gospel of Mark.

Mark chapter 3 because you mentioned blasphemy of of the Holy Spirit. And then I want to get to your question.

It says in verse 22 and the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying he is possessed by BL's a bull by the prince of demons he casts out the demons and he called them to him and said to them in parables. How can Satan cast out Satan. If the kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand in if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand and if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is coming to an end, but no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man then indeed he may plunder his house.

Thus, I say to you all sins will be forgiven. The children of man and whatever blasphemies they utter but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin for they were saying.

He has an unclean spirit. Now right there. Jesus makes it clear, doesn't he that there are blasphemies that people commit that are and will be forgiven by the Lord. I am blasphemy assists in its it is sacrilege. It's a sin against God. His worship his name. It's cursing him is as you said, but Jesus here makes it clear that all sins will be forgiven. The children of men whatever blasphemies they utter but there is one kind of blasphemy that cannot be forgiven and that is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and we get calls from time to time. Anthony, with people wondering have I committed that sin am I eternally lost in there gripped by fear by by just concern.

Deep concern for their souls and usually wouldn't when someone calls and like that.

I say look if you had committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit you wouldn't be calling core Christianity, you wouldn't be concerned for your soul regret what you had done that, the people who did this in Jesus's day were people who had seen his signs and wonders had experienced in one sense is powerful working even his grace there sing it on display all around the countryside and the city as Jesus performs miracle after miracle as he's teaching and preaching. And yet, these people say he's demon possessed. He he he filled with the spirit of BL Sibyl, and in other words, they they so reject Christ and his work and the work of the Holy Spirit that they identified as the work of the evil one and when a person rejects Jesus when they are so hardhearted and unbelief that they identify him is Satan right that's that's unforgivable the in in the sense that the beef people are not believers and if we don't believe if we reject the gospel for reject God's grace will that there is no forgiveness because it's only through the gospel. What Jesus is done for us that we have salvation, and so I would say to you, you look back on that dark time of your life and you you realize God, I I sinned, I sinned greatly in cursing you but I trust in your mercy, and I cast myself upon you. God be merciful to me a sinner and I just want to say to you, Anthony, when you call out to the Lord like that weighed down by your sins by what you've done. You will find him to be gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. When we go to him confessing our sins, repenting of them. He doesn't cast this out. He doesn't reject us he receives us and he cleanses us he washes us of all of our sins and so I hope brother that you have done that you've gone to the Lord. After this dark season and that you've said to him, be merciful to me and let me just tell you he is merciful to us when we call upon him some great words of assurance Sam Anthony, thank you so much for your call. We appreciate you being one of our regular listeners.

This is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez. It's now officially November. That means that Thanksgiving is just a couple of weeks away and we have a special free resource for you.

Just in time for that holiday diet. It's one of the resources were really excited about.

As you prepare for Thanksgiving with your family and we want you to give thanks to the Lord for his goodness to you for his grace to you for the blessings that you have boy with the end of the season that we've just gone through many of us over the last couple of years. It's easy to to grow ungrateful to be bitter to be cynical. We really, as Christians, as as Paul Nino says ought to be a people who give thanks always and in all circumstances.

And so we have a resource called five biblical reminders for Thanksgiving and it's yours for free over it.

Core, Christianity.com be something great to share with your family or your small group at church. Just go to core Christianity.com/offers to find out more again.

Core, Christianity.com/offers and look for five biblical reminders for Thanksgiving.

Our phone lines are open. If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, theology, Christian doctrine may be how your faith walk intersects with today's cultural issues give us a call right now.

Here's the phone number it's 833. The core 833 the core and you can always email us at core Christianity questions at core, Christianity.com got this email in April. This is from Caitlin and she says I was raised in a Christian household.

After going to college, I lost my religion because of problems with the way the Christians around me acted. It wasn't in a loving way. I've now started to reintroduce Christianity into my life in a new life that some people would consider progressive or liberal.

I'm pro-choice and I believe in LGBT Q rights. I really just believe it's all about loving one another. No matter what and protecting others right to be happy.

Is this actually Christianity. The way the Bible states it or should I try to find a religion that better suits my beliefs will thank you for giving us that email Caitlin, the first thing we just based on what you said there at the end. Is this actually Christianity. The way the Bible states it or should I try to find a religion that better suits my beliefs well Christianity doesn't bend to our beliefs and wants what is the core of the Christian faith. It is what God has accomplished for us in history. It's a reality it's a fact that God sent his son into the world to save sinners and that his son died for sin and rose again on the third day that is the essence, the core of Christianity and Jesus risen from the dead, ascended is at the right hand of the father and he commands all people everywhere to repent. What does that mean repentance is in the New Testament a change of mind.

It means were turning away from ourselves, our sins, our wants our desires, even at times those desires that are distorted according to God's word and were saying, Lord, I'm heeding the call to follow you, Jesus. It's not Jesus you know you don't just let me do whatever I want and you give me the stamp of approval. That's not Christianity.

Now progressive Christianity or liberal Christianity. I'm thinking in particular of the, the, you know, you think of the 20th century liberalism that was growing in some circles there was a guy named Adolph on her neck, a German historian and theologian who basically said look at the core of the Christian faith. The Col. of Christianity is not the miracles. It's not that the death and resurrection of Jesus.

It's it's loving one another.

Kind of like what you said there Caitlin and boy, isn't that just something that's easy for every we can all except that we can all embrace that.

Let's just love each other and and be good to one another and be kind to one another what that's not the essence of the Christian faith. The essence of the Christian faith. As I said is the gospel what Christ has done.

Now he calls us to love one another. That's the law of God and so as believers united to Jesus Christ, redeemed by his blood, we should be a people who are concerned about the world around us about social issues about how we can love our neighbors that's that's a part of God's law and so I'm sorry to hear that you, your experience was, you know you you and you know that you're not alone in this, that you had these friends who were Christians who were just maybe not so loving, maybe not gracious, maybe not caring for the people around them but we need to go to Christ and what he says in his word. We need to follow him and we can find examples of of Christians who have done bad things terrible things as we go back to the word and back to Jesus Christ and and what he said and what he says is follow me, follow me believe in me, receive me, receive my grace, which is for you and it doesn't just say hey live however you want, do whatever you want, believe whatever you want it says repent of your sins and receive my grace and know me and and that's okay so I would say you know don't go looking for another religion that will just sort of suit your needs and what you want. At the end of the day. If you're if you're inventing a religion on your own and it's just however you feel whatever you feel you can rest assured that that's probably not true because if everybody did that them is certainly not true. If everybody did effort is inventing religion for our own were treating it as this sort of crutch if you will, that makes me feel better about my so that's that's not Christianity. It's that that the work of Christ for us objectively and so I would say the Christian faith as it is a so much better greater more awesome then then you're then you're assuming right now Jesus rose from the dead, so that you can have life in him. I would say go to him and go to his word and receive him and follow him. While what a great explanation of God's truth of the gospel. Thank you offer that it wrought something that we should be sharing with all of our friends who are questioning what Christianity is all about and what we believe and again that's what were about her this program at core Christianity so so thanks for that!

If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life doctrine or theology. Here's the phone number to call.

It's 833 the core. You can also watch a real live in the studio on YouTube right now and message us through our YouTube channel. Here's a question from one of our YouTube of viewers. Are there any examples in the Bible of someone losing their salvation. No next question how to shut it well look that this is something obviously that that Christians have have debated about for for a long time and there are passages of Scripture that that really, at least you know for some people that lately. They seem to suggest that you can you can certainly lose your salvation.

That is, you might be a child of God. He belong to the Lord you've been justified and yet you do something are you continue living in a way that causes God to remove his grace your ear you went from being a child of God to no longer being a child of God and and you've been left if you will, or you've left the Lord and thereby lost your salvation that I don't think that that's that's the case and and so oftentimes people go to passages like Hebrews chapter 6 or Hebrews chapter 10. What I would say is this, individuals can have a really close relationship to the church they can see and experience the working of Jesus in a powerful way they can be a part of the Christian community hear the truth of the gospel over and over again be able to articulate it. Maybe even have this sort of reformed life where the other used to do all sorts of bad things and and then because of this sense of God in this new community. These experiences, you know that they've changed their ways and so that that there seems to be this this dramatic shift and yet I think people can have all of that and still not truly believe the gospel, that is not receive it for themselves.

Personally, by faith, and I think this is precisely the problem that that the author to the Hebrews was addressing as he writes to them, and I mentioned that it's in the book of Hebrews that oftentimes people go to point to certain Texas ACU you can lose your salvation, but really the issue. There was, you have good people who had seemingly embrace the gospel they are part of this Christian community.

But they were going back to the old covenant to the types and shadows of the sacrificial system, and in doing so, they were essentially saying Jesus is his blood. His work is not sufficient for my salvation and the operative that the Hebrews is the real problem here is it it it's an issue of faith. It's an issue of truly laying hold of those gospel promises that God extends to his people.

Hebrews chapter 4 makes this very clear verse one. Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it for good news gospel good news came to us. That is the end of the church that is writing to. Just as to them is beacon of the wilderness generation, but the message they heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listened for we who have believed enter that rest, that is, these people write it in the wilderness as if they were coming out of the of Egypt.

They saw the powerful working of God. They have a lot delivered to them. But the problem was right. They had good news preached to them. The problem was, it didn't benefit them because they didn't mix that word with faith. And so what I'm saying is there people can.

It looks like it a bit in the church there blessed in one sense or participating in the bill the rituals. The ordinances of the church and yet they haven't laid hold of the gospel for themselves by faith and and so II think that a person can lose those things. But that's not losing salvation. That's not losing our born-again status if you will that's that's losing the externals and so I'm I'm convinced based on what Jesus hasn't been places like the gospel of John that when we belong to the Lord for born-again.

He's gonna raise us up at the last day that we have that promise were knocking to be were knocking to be abandoned when I can be snatched out of the father's hand out of his hand. Jesus says in John chapter 10 and so I think he keeps all those who are truly his your listing to core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez, just a reminder we have that free offer just in time for Thanksgiving.

It's called five biblical reminders for Thanksgiving. It's absolutely free and you can get that by going to our website. Core, Christianity.com/offers.

Let's go to a voicemail received from one of our callers earlier this week. Christians believe that the only spiritual sexual union could be between a man and ally. I'm almost 33 years old and I have never met a man who wanted to get married before they yeah I think I know you're going to say there. So what's the big deal right with with admin.

Essentially, the Christian sexual ethic, where we say, on the basis of I think with the Bible teaches in the old New Testament that people should not be having relations prior to marriage that marriage is key and you see this and in various places from the lips of Jesus himself. But even prior to that in the book of Genesis in Genesis chapter 2 where God brings Adam and Eve together. Verse 24 therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Jesus quotes from this in the gospel of Mark and his teaching on divorce Mark chapter 10 in verse eight right Jesus as the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. And so the sexual union is in one sense that the actualization of that that one flesh, bringing together coming together by the grace of God and so we believe you shouldn't be doing that, apart from that one flesh union that this is just this is just too important. This is too serious and and we have a high view of a sex and what God made for minimum. Truly, it's that we don't have heaven and negative view of the something God created that God it was it was it was his idea. If you will. The problem is just like with so many of God's good gifts. We twist them.

We use them in ways that are harmful to ourselves and to others and I love what CS Lewis said long ago. I'm not too long ago, but in his book mere Christianity on on this very question.

You know he's he's not answering this question about you know outside of marriage, and he says, and in mere Christianity in his chapter on Christian marriage. The monstrosity of sexual intercourse outside of marriage is that those who indulge in it are trying to isolate one kind of union the sexual from all other kinds of union which we were intended to go along with which were intended to go along with it and make up the total union, the Christian attitude does not mean that there is anything wrong about sexual pleasure any more than about the pleasure of eating. It means that you must not isolate that pleasure and try to get it by itself, any more than you ought to try to get the pleasures of taste without swallowing, and digesting by chewing things and spitting them out again. Love Lewis is a such a way with words, but a single click. That's the problem is is you think about society today and how how many people think about sex in it. We just are treated as this willy-nilly thing but it's a part of that one flesh union and apart from the one flesh union that we should be doing it in and the reality is is is within marriage or why did God give us this. It's to to have children to start families to serve each other and yet so much of it in our culture today is is the exact opposite. It's a way of taking from another person of objectifying people made in the image of God for our own sexual gratification and we see the damage that that's doing all around us in society in culture in people's lives.

The wreckage, but the good news is there's a God whose gracious there's a God who heals there is a God who calls sinners of all sorts. People who struggle with sexual sin and who have passed to himself to receive his grace to walk in purity and to walk in holiness and so I'm sorry to hear that you know in terms of your interaction. You've not met very many guys who are interested in waiting until until marriage that that the thing is, we need to we need to pursue people who are going to prioritize God and his word more than their own sexual pleasure being of the apostle Paul said in the in the last days, men would be lovers of themselves, lovers of pleasure and we see that all around us today. We need to be a people and in our relationships pursue you know others who prioritize God his word purity walking in the light, and in doing so are loving us well caring for us as well and so may the Lord bless you and be with you and I really appreciate that question. Thank you for giving us a call here at core Christianity. Thanks for listening to core Christianity request your copy of today's special offer.

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