PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY?

I SAMUEL 5:1-5: “After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, brought it into the temple of Dagon, and placed it next to his statue. When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. This time, Dagon’s head and both of his hands were broken off and lying on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso remained. That is why, still today, the priests of Dagon and everyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on Dagon’s threshold.” CSB

OBSERVATION: What is Progressive Christianity? Is it a valid expression of the Christian faith? As the voice of Progressivism increases in volume on the political stage, so too it is wielding its head in churches across the land.

Progressive Christianity makes these subtle but important changes to the Orthodox Christian faith.

BIBLE: It views the Bible as just a book of religious instruction and inspiration. The Bible is not the inerrant, infallible, ultimately authoritative Word of God that is the final word in all matters of faith and practice.

JESUS CHRIST: It views Jesus Christ as merely a good teacher who came to show us an example of how we should live. It downplays or rejects the deity of Jesus Christ and His claim to be God incarnate – the Way, the Truth, and the Life – the only way to have a relationship with God. Many will also dismiss miracles and the cornerstone of the Christian faith – the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

SIN AND THE NEED FOR A SAVIOR: Progressivism views man as inherently good. Man is not a lost sinner in need of a Savior. Man is basically good, and the Christian faith is just instruction on how to improve. There is no original sin, and the concept of sin is exchanged for moral relativism. This opens the door to the doctrine of tolerance, where everyone’s truth is embraced and even gross sin is accepted.

The story of the Philistines after they captured the Ark of God reminds me of the fallacy of so-called Progressive Christianity. Feeling themselves superior to the defeated Israelites, the Philistines proudly took the very center of Jewish worship, the Ark of God, and placed it in the middle of their temple to their god Dagon. In doing so, they were trying to mix the religion of the One True God with their powerless faith and a god made with human hands.

What happens next is quite interesting and somewhat humorous. After the first night, when the Philistine priests went into their temple, they found the idol of their god Dagon fallen, lying prostrate, face first, in front of the Ark of God. This was a strong warning to them that they were treating the worship of the One True God with contempt. They had a chance to repent. What did they do?

They simply put the statue back in its place and chalked this one up to chance.

The next day, the same thing happened. When the priests entered the temple, not only was Dagon lying prostrate before the Ark of God, but the head of the idol and its hands were broken off. The idol made with hands was rendered impotent before the God of Creation. This was another strong warning to the Philistines. What did they do?

Instead of repenting, they tried to deal with the problem by removing the ark from the temple.

God’s judgment fell upon the people of the city of Ashdod. A plague of boils came upon the people. Another strong warning and opportunity to repent. What did they do?

• They moved the Ark of God to the city of Gath.

• The same thing happened in Gath.

• Then they move the Ark of God to the city of Ekron.

• A great panic erupted in Ekron.

• Then they made a plan to get rid of the Ark of God and return it to the Israelites.

Progressive Christianity is much like the idol Dagon. It is a man-made adaptation of faith that ignores the power of God and the truth of the Scriptures. It places man at the center of the universe and relegates God to a corner of its worship. It has no power to forgive one’s sin, reunite one with the Creator, or give one the assurance of eternal life. It is a false expression of the life of Jesus, and when confronted with the truth of God’s Word, it falls to the ground, losing both its head and arms. What do the Progressives do?

They double down and try to remove the truth of God’s Word and the faithful church from the discourse.

Progressive politicians and so-called Christians walk hand in hand. They ridicule and marginalize those who preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. They relegate those who proclaim the truth of God’s Word and the Gospel of Christ as narrow-minded, ignorant, and bigoted. They continually pick up their broken idol, dust it off, and put it back on the shelf while they try to remove the true Gospel of Jesus Christ so they will not have to deal with it.

We view progressivism as something novel and new. It is neither. It is just a repackaged version of idol worship that has been with us since man’s fall into sin. The church should not be dissuaded by its rise or popularity among those who don’t want to deal with their sin and want to create their own savior. The solution is not to debate their foolishness.

The answer to progressivism is the Cross of Jesus Christ!

Our call is the same call that was given to the disciples. It is to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that Jesus taught and commanded. It is to preach Jesus and Him crucified! We do not win the battle against the false doctrine of progressivism by debate. We overcome this false doctrine by the blood of the Lamb and the preaching of the Cross!

“When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 CSB

“For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 CSB

Heavenly Father, in this day when so many are bowing down before an idol with a broken neck and no hands, may we be filled with the Holy Spirit to boldly proclaim the Cross of Jesus Christ. Grant us the boldness to rest in the fact that the message of the Cross is the power of God unto salvation!

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17 CSB

In Jesus’ Name!