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Christian Perspectives: Christianity in a Post-modern time
August 12, 2016 · 0 Comments
By Rev. Gord Horsley
Abiding Place Fellowship
The world and society is falling its nature course (Romans 1:18-32) we Christians need to be discerning in the days we live.
We are not of this world! So, should we be like this world? Believe like this world? The Bible makes that very clear: No! Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds! (Romans 12:2).
I am not writing to people who do not believe in Jesus Christ, who belong to this world, but to us who claim to know Christ and believe we are destined for a glorious eternal life through Him and with him.
I believe the post-modern thinking or philosophy of this world is creeping into the body of Christ and some of us are embracing it with open arms. That has me concerned. What do I mean by post-modernism? A philosophy that says absolute truth does not exist. This leads to a loss of distinction in matters of doctrine and truth, morals and life style.
Thomas Aquinas said, “It is the task of the philosopher to make distinctions.” What he means is that truth is dependent upon the ability to discern. If Absolute truth does not exist, in the case of Post-modern thinking, then everything, like science, one’s faith, one’s experience in life, is subject to one’s own interpretation, experience and feeling override reason.
Because experience is valued more highly than reason, truth becomes irrelevant. So, if the Bible is not our source for absolute truth as a Christian, if we believe the author of the bible does not possess the correct interpretation of his work; it is the reader who actually determines what the writer means!
If that is the case, we are in big trouble!
We are reading into the word of God what we believe and understand by our desires and our experience and not reading and believing what is actually meant by the author. We begin to miss the mark, the standard in which God has called us to, a moral and pure life, following the example of Christ, obeying the truth of God’s word.
Humanism, universalism, pluralism, and Mysticism, all big fancy words, that are beliefs that threaten the Body of Christ, the gospel, the apostolic teaching in our time, as did the Gnostic teachers and Nicolaitians did in the early Church.
They challenged the moral standards and absolute truth.
I guess such a stance provokes some to say I am arrogant, intolerant, not loving, I quote Paul; so I have become your enemy by telling you the truth! (Galatians 4:16) I said all of this because of Love, I plead with the body of Christ, have discernment! Don’t let our experiences or feelings our culture and society interpret scripture for us! But conform ourselves to Christ, be transformed, live life according to Scripture.
The Bible says; Romans 14:10-12 “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat ….. so then, each of us will give an account of himself to God” 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the Bema seat or judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
This is not the great white judgment in (Rev 20:11-15) of the unbeliever. The Bema seat of Christ does not determine salvation, that was determined by Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf (1 John 2:2) and our faith in him (John 3:16) but the Christian will be judged on his work for him, and his walk with him, rewards will be given, crowns will be passed out (1 Corinthians 3:11-15) we will have to give an account even of our words as well (Matthew 12:36,37).
I pray all of us will hear the sound of the Lord our God say; “well done good a faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23) because we stood according to the Lords standard on the truth of his word. Keep up the good fight, truth will prevail, may God richly bless you!
