What is Moralistic Therapeutic Deism? #2

What is the problem with moralistic therapeutic views to Jesus Christ, thanks for joining us on the truth. All that with John Gray, founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio hi Bill Wright, and today Don will continue teaching God's people. God's word with one of our series deception close to home and part two of a message titled what is moralistic therapeutic deism last time. Don first offered a broad definition of the term, and then began looking at one term. At the time to be moralistic is to be pleasant and nonconfrontational, ignoring doctrinal errors to be therapeutic is the idea that faith should make you feel good about yourself and God, whereas Scripture says we must be humbled on today's program.

Don will examine the meaning of deism in full context. So friend have your Bible open and ready as we join Pastor John Green right now in the office. May I point out to you that moralistic therapeutic deism is the religion of Joel O'Steen and all those like him about how God wants you to have your best life now and God's on your side without any indication that God was ever against you in the first place. The God is a righteous judge was angry with sinners every day is Psalm seven says none of that. Romans one. None of that has any place in moralistic therapeutic deism because the whole purpose of God is to make you feel better and why would he be angry with you, then if that's the purpose of life and religion MTD is driving a gospel presentation that leads with the idea that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Let me tell you that God can help you God can fix you.

God can make you feel better. That's what they mean. That's what this sense of therapeutic means in MTD blood. But here's the problem. Here's the problem as long as you're happy as long as you feel happy, then you don't need to fuss over what the truth is, you don't need to fuss over what true doctrine is you don't even need to fuss over what what the real gospel message is if you feel good.

Religion.

Faith has attained its purpose and there is nothing further to explore. There's no reason to discuss it any further.

That's lethal. It's dangerous what I want you to see again is that this is all earthbound tall man centered. The whole purpose of faith is to give you subjective benefits it provides therapy for you as you go through the challenges of life and the spirituality of this worldview than is geared toward the inner feelings of people rather than a revealed standard of righteousness from a holy God that has been made known in the 66 books of the Bible you don't need the Bible if MTD is true. You don't need the Bible as long as you feel good about yourself. It divorces truth from religion. Let's go to 1/4 point here number four what does deism mean in moralistic therapeutic deism that means this the deism of this worldview of this set of presuppositions relates to its view of God and the deism is this. This is so very important that God exists, who created the world and defines our general moral order, but he is not particularly personally involved in your affairs. He keeps a safe distance. In other words, he allows you your autonomy. You can go through life as you wish. God does not have a standard of righteousness that he applies to you or by which he will judge you. He keeps to himself.

Pretty much this God is not demanding this God makes no assertions. Moral requirements upon your soul or upon your life. In fact in this worldview God can't be like that God can't be demanding because Ptolemy here beloved God can't be like that because God's job is to solve our problems and to make people feel good. That's why he exists is so that you would feel good now, if the point is to make you feel good in what sense could he ever make demands unwelcome demands upon you, you can do that and be contrary to the reason he is in what sense. If God is keeping a safe distance in what sense is there any room for what Jesus said the ministry of the Holy Spirit would be that he would convict the world of sin and judgment, and righteousness, that under the worldview of MTD God is something like a roadside assistance mechanic driving along cars doing well. You don't need the roadside mechanic. There's no reason to know, you don't know who he is is no personal relationship there that roadside mechanic makes no demands on your life. He has nothing to do with your life in normal circumstances, but when something breaks down when you're stranded alongside the road. He will come and fix it for you with no expectation of a personal relationship. Afterwords he'll come and help fix things for you, get you going again but there's no expectation, no demands, he's just there to get you up and running again as soon as possible. This God of MTD God" with a small G. This is a nice God who helps you be nice and to feel nice if you're sad if you're discouraged, he helps you feel better. If you have problems he'll intervene. He'll help you.

But beyond that he's not involved in the affairs of your life or of the world. He accepts you as you are and he makes no demands upon you now.

What's a natural outcome of that when it comes to death in heaven and hell in this MTD framework. Most everyone goes to heaven when they die.

Why wouldn't they.

Why would God send me to hell I'm nice and he likes me and who would like me I'm nice I'll beloved for people who want autonomy and pleasant circumstances. This religion of moralistic therapeutic deism is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Hi just want to live my life without any problems.

I want to be my own boss, and I want things to go well with me if something happens and I need some help will call upon God like George Bailey did and it's a wonderful life.I'm not a praying man but I don't know what to do here and so I need your help here on the assumption that God will just automatically jump in and respond to them just because they ask so if you want a life without God making any demands upon you, you want to live free from moral obligation. If you simply want out of life good circumstances that are comfortable without any challenges or trials that you have to go through then you are a prime candidate to be deceived and sucked in by this worldview that we have called moralistic therapeutic deism. If you just want to be happy. That's the place to go if you just want to be happy man spool up Joel O'Steen and let the image that is Denniston's hairstylist have put together in an external way take you for a ride it'll be smooth as silk.

It'll go down like syrup.

Why wouldn't you know, why wouldn't you do that why don't we all become moralistic therapeutic DS except for the fact that it takes a lot longer to say that and say I'm a reformed Baptist, you go and tell somebody your moralistic therapeutic DS. They've given up on you by the sixth syllable in the go off to something else. What's the problem with this worldview.

What is the problem with moralistic therapeutic deism. What stands in the way of it to words.

It is the same two words that guarantee you the authority of the old and new Testaments of the Bible there is that the problem with moralistic therapeutic deism is Jesus Christ.

He runs the whole system. He is the mortal enemy of moralistic therapeutic deism, and if you wanted to add 1/5 point to your notes here. You could just write it out as Christ and MTD Jesus Christ and his clear words in Scripture reject the horizontal moralism of MTD. Let's turn to the gospel of John chapter 3 the words of Christ reject the horizontal moralism of MTD. He said in John chapter 3 verse three.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God unless you've been born from above unless God does a work in your heart, you cannot enter the kingdom it's immediately vertical with Christ unless you're born of the spirit, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. He says in John chapter 3 verse five in verse seven he says you must be born again. There is no place for the new birth.

There is no need for the new birth.

There is no need for regeneration in MTD because everybody's just fine the way they are. Christ will have none of it says you have to be born again. And if you're not born again, you're not going to heaven.

There's no room for that in MTD. Christ is an uncomfortable presence for those who hold to this mindset. For those who govern their life. According to this this man centered, false approach to God and life. I point out something else. Talked about the moralism of MTD, meaning that you know people need to be someone people like no, no, that can't possibly be true because people just remember remember the whole problem with MTD is Jesus Christ.

He is the whole problem with this worldview and the problem here that Christ presents to this worldview may I remind you, is that men did not like him. They called him BL Zabul attributed his works to say 10 when the word torn and they crucified him. We will not have this man reign over us. We have no king but Caesar crucify him, crucify him, crucify him.

They cried out the pilot they hated him. There is no possibility that the worldview of MTD is true. If it can't include Jesus Christ. Not only that Christ himself rejected any idea of a therapeutic self absorption about feeling good about your self with John chapter 8 turn there with me in John chapter 8 verse 21 Jesus said to the Jews. I go away and you will seek me and you will die in your sin, where I am going, you cannot come. Jesus tells them plainly you you you are going to die in sin. He's not making them feel good about themselves. He is warning them about their spiritual condition that they are on the brink of eternal progression.

Jews didn't pay it.

Verse 22 Shirley won't kill himself. Willie since he says where I'm going, you cannot come in. He was saying to them you are from a below on from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. You have nothing to do with the realm of God. That's hardly going to make them feel good.

In verse 24 says therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.

MTD encourages people if if by nothing else by its silence to bypass Christ as a means of reconciliation to God. It teaches people that they can just call out to God. However, they are whoever they are, wherever they are, they can just cry on, God will immediately bend to their will and do whatever they want to do to make him feel better deals have nothing of that is unless you believe in me. You're going to die in your sins. So Christ rejects her moralism, demanding that they be born again, he rejects this therapeutic self absorption.

I hope you feel better. I want to make you feel better and comes alongside a worn figure on a diner sentence without me. There's another aspect, the deism of of MTD the words of Christ reject this idea of a distant, undemanding God. You cannot reconcile that the God of MTD with the words of Christ. John chapter 14, while look at a couple of passages here John chapter 14, familiar passage in verse six he says I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but through me. He speaks all of humanity is fixed every man, woman, boy and girl that is ever lived and ever will live in less you come to God through me you will not come to him at all.

That's pretty demanding.

That's a vertical assertion over against the idea that God is just distant and undemanding. All he wants to do is help you out when you got a problem that's making you feel bad Christ steps into this mindset and obliterates it by his authority and by his claims turned back to the gospel of Mark chapter 8, a distant, undemanding deity, not Christ. Mark chapter 8 verse 34, he summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. He demands personal allegiance and self-denial. If you are to become a Christian. If you don't want that if you just want to keep it to yourself. He says in verse 35 whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul. Get everything you want out of life. He says well and good. You just lost your soul make a choice. What do you want without me you can gain the world, and lose your soul. Beloved Christ did not come to affirm you in your goodness he came to save you from sin in Luke chapter 5 verses 31 and 32. We don't need to turn there is that I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are set so the only people that are reconciled to God are those who come to Christ for forgiveness of sin.

Otherwise they are lost. No matter how good they feel about themselves during this lifetime. The last thing the Christ did was to come in to affirm people with a preoccupation with the horizontal matters of the things of this temporary life. John 15 John 15 and this idea that the whole purpose of of religion. The whole purpose of morality is to make you somebody that the world will like. I remember someone telling me over 30 years ago. You know if if if people could just be nice if we just be Christians and just be nice and smile at each other people more people would become Christians. What a foolish simplistic statement that has nothing to do with anything that Scripture says about the matter.

Christ said the exact opposite in verse 18. He says if the world hates you, you know that it is hated me before it hated you. If you are of the world, the world would love its own because you're not of the world, but I chose you out of the world. Because of this, the world hates you. True Christians those who have pardon the expression, true religion. Those who are truly in Christ are not going to be loved by the world at all why you think it is a Facebook silence of so many Christians in the things that they say elsewhere.

The apostle John said in first John chapter 3 verse 13. You don't need to turn there to brief verse he said do not be surprised.

Brethren, if the world hates you. Don't be surprised. This is the nature of true life in Christ is that it sets you in opposition to the world and if the world crucified Christ, you better believe that he's going it's going to hate his true disciples.

They hated the master the latest servant. This is a difficult in the sense that it's not hard to understand, and so beloved, we come to the end of our time today with the recognition that the spirit of moralistic therapeutic deism opposes biblical Christianity.

It is a seductive soul killing flattery of the pride of man and the autonomy of man and the fact that teaching like this predominates in a lot of Christian pulpit should not restrain us from condemning it and exposing it and warning people that what you are hearing is not true Christianity.

According to the words of Jesus Christ at all. Our only defense against this when it so flatters our minds and is so appealing to our carnal desires are only defense against this is the words of Christ found in Scripture in the inerrant word of God teaches us the truth that teaches us to deny ourselves and to come to Christ pick up our cross and follow after him, something that has nothing to do with this worldly spirit that passes for religion in our perverted integrated age so friends it's worth asking after time like this.

Who is your God is the God of the Bible as he is made himself known in the Lord Jesus Christ review been seduced and following after this God of moralistic therapeutic deism, who is no God at all is simply a God of your own selfish heart wanting what you want wanting your autonomy wanting pleasant circumstances without any regard to Christ. You don't need to be a Christian want your circumstances to go well will need to be a Christian to want to pray to a God who will help you whenever you demand his presence to jump and serve you.

You and I don't need to be a Christian for that.

That's not fishing. I haven't even gotten started with what I want to say we will spend the next few weeks. Dismantling it and come to clear convictions about what we believe and what were privileged as we been reminded today on the truth pulpit, we can't achieve godly goodness in our own power. We must rely only on the righteousness of Christ. That realization puts the lie to moralistic therapeutic deism or what will call MTD for short.

Next time, Don will take a closer look at the contrast between MTD and the one true God. So plan now to join us as we continue our series deception close to home right now though, there again is done with news of a special resource.

All my friends as we wrap up today's broadcast. I just want to say a quick word about the tremendous pressure that our culture is bringing against biblical morality.

Even Christian leaders are starting to waffle on these most basic issues of biblical truth and righteousness. But God's word has not changed and I know that you if you're a familiar listener to this broadcast. You want to stand firm on this issue. Just like I do what we want to do is put into your hands are series titled the Bible and homosexuality. It's available by CD or by free download and my friend Bill is going to help you find it right now.

Just visit us at the truth. Pulpit.com and click on radio offers to learn more. That's the truth. Pulpit.com Pineville right and will see you next time. As Don Greene continues teaching God's people.

God's word here on the truthful