Fallen and Flawed

I am going to have to pick up that MacAurthur text.

This is a great post.

I think the “Seeker Sensitive” movement has a death grip on most churches. You’d get the same notes if you came to Kentucky and surveyed the churches here. We’re so afraid of offending people with the truth of their own sin, we miss only opportunity where people can actually be brought to a place where genuine repentance takes place. Genuine conversion happens when a person comes face to face with the depth of his sin (Rom. 3:23) and then is told through Jesus, that sin can be wiped clean. And not only that, but he’ll then be empowered to live a life that is holy and pleasing and worthy of the righteous standing that’s been imputed to him through Christ’s death and resurrection.
Instead, we’ve “Oprah-ized” the gospel and it’s all about self-help instead of self-denial. And if push comes to shove, pray to Jesus and if you have enough faith, he might make you rich and healthy on top of solving your problem.

Were you listening to Joel Osteen sermons? Maybe not, one of your points would of been: “You’re a champion” had you been listening to Joel.

Hey Don, you might want to check out J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism as well. Sounds a lot like the MacArthur text above.

Hmm, I’ll say New Testament… perhaps from a latter chapter in an epistle? I’m probably way off on that. Maybe it was a topical sermon preached with supporting verses taken from many places? There’s my best wild guess!

I feel your pain on this. While I don’t experience this in Sunday preaching, etc, this is typical of a Christian women’s books and teaching. Except instead of looking like a guide for good business practices, it looks like a guide to successful housewifery.

Often the focus on sanctification outweighs any focus on why we need it. And why we need it (namely sin), will never be realized without setting our minds to God. Without a proper view of God our sin will look little or nonexistent. So we strive to be sanctified, but forget the Source of the power for sanctification and the Reason for sanctification. Without God and Gospel in and through all teaching, application becomes simply rules and guidelines. And that looks exceedingly bleak to me and doesn’t help me become a better housewife, just striving in my own strength. I want the Gospel to be the “why” of my mothering and wife-ing. I’m tired of “to-do list” women’s ministry. Give me God and the Gospel and then show me some how-to steps.

Perhaps I’m not reading the right women’s books. I can think of a some good ones. I’ve enjoyed Corrie ten Boom and Elisabeth Elliot and our pastor’s wife Noel Piper. However the last few years I’ve stopped reading books simply because their written by women for women, but rather focus on good Gospel, Biblical writing. They usually end up being by men, often old.

I’m a new reader to your blog. I linked here through John Piper’s blog and I read a bunch of past posts. But I don’t get your point here. Maybe I need to read more from the Harvard press but I don’t see how that publication relates to the sermons you have heard.

Adam: Thanks for the question, and I apologize for the confusion. HBR publishes great articles on leadership, productivity, efficiency, and my point was simply to say that the current theme of sermons and biblical exhortation in our country tends to run along these same lines. Just look at popular Christian magazines or listen to sermons on the radio. You’re bound to hear a sermon on the OT character Joshua being the classical leader-role model type and the 10 steps to becoming a great leader like him. That’s great for HBR, just not the pulpit. Hope this helps. Take care.

I’m going to be really bold and say Acts 6.

I am going to guess Proverbs, because they sound kind of Proverb-y

But let’s be careful not put the cart before the horse. Those 10 “self-help” points look more like the evidence of the Spirit’s post-salvation work on you. That you are called to do these things and act in these ways is because of your salvation not a way to salvation, which is only by God’s grace not by our works. The Bible tells Christians how they are to act and preaching that message is good. But divorcing the message from the fundamental premise that without Christ we are dead in sin is a dangerous thing to do.

Gotta be Timothy or a similar Epistle.

I’m not going to guess but it makes me think of one of my all-time favorite alliterated outlines by Pastor Biddell (Wittenburg Door)
1. Seek Him
2. Get Slim
3. Build a Gym

@George: I love the outline!
…
@Everyone: And yeah…uh…Matthew’s been the closest so far.