Fallen and Flawed

Trevin Wax on Abortion, Anarchy and Antinomianism

If you’ve spent a lot of time around the Christian blog scene in the last year or two, chances are you’ve run into Trevin Wax.

Trevin Wax serves the people at First Baptist Church in Shelbyville, TN as Associate Pastor for Education and Missions.

He’s also a contributor to Christianity Today and the author of the forthcoming book Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals. Read excerpts. 

But I know him through his blog Kingdom People.

At Kingdom People Trevin tackles theology, church issues and he’s among the best Christian book reviewers out there. All you have to do is read a couple of his reviews and you’ll understand. 

Without  a doubt, Trevin has the pedigree and chops to articulate our Gospel faith clearly, concisely and compellingly.

That’s why I decided to approach him and nail him down on three issues I think are fracturing Christianity: anarchy, abortion and antinomianism.   

Are you ready?

Trevin Wax on Anarchy 

Demian: Do you think the American church is a cohesive or a chaotic body? 

Trevin: The American Church seems to me quite fragmented at the present hour, which is one of the side effects of living in a fragmented culture.

But we’re not only seeing fragmentation at the denominational level. You also have a breakdown of church unity even at the local level, and that should always give us cause for concern.

Many churches are dividing up their congregation based on age or musical preference. These new developments are an indication that we have brought the consumerist mindset into the church, and though evangelical churches may experience a measure of initial success, consumerism becomes deadly down the road.

Demian: Do you think there are persons or groups or movements who are trying to systematically undermine orthodox Christianity? 

Trevin: I’m sure there are some people who are intentionally seeking to undermine the church. Many people are hurting. They’ve been bruised by the church in some form or fashion. 

Demian: What do you think about The Shack?

Trevin: A book like The Shack demonstrates what is good and bad about evangelicalism today.

The good? We emphasize personal experience. A personal relationship with God is still on the forefront of our imagination and at the center of our heart’s desire. And God himself provides the answer to our suffering and sin.

But The Shack’s popularity also demonstrates the bad of evangelicalism. Too few evangelicals have the doctrinal foundation to clearly recognize what is wrong with The Shack – in its portrayal of God, in its blatantly anti-Church mindset, and its individualistic streak (just me and God, no other community necessary).

Trevin Wax on Abortion

Demian: Do you have no, mild or strong feelings on abortion? 

Trevin: I have always been pro-life. Ever since I was a child, I remember having a deep understanding that abortion is morally wrong.

About three or four years ago, I began to be cynical about the way in which abortion was used by the Republican party…an issue dangled before our eyes every four years and then put away until the next election cycle.

Bush made some progress for the pro-life movement and deserves our praise and gratitude. But much of his good work will probably be erased by Obama. And then we will be back where we were during the Clinton years.

Demian: Do you wish people would stop talking about abortion?  

Trevin: In the past couple of years, I have become less convinced that seeking to change laws is the only way forward. Instead, we need to work on a number of levels at eliminating abortion.

I am convinced that abortion is the greatest single issue of justice in our culture today. It goes to the heart of what we believe about human dignity.

I understand that some evangelicals want to broaden the scope of political issues. But let us not deemphasize abortion. It must be prioritized. We are talking about innocent human life.

So… I wish people would talk about abortion more. Not on blogs or in the media necessarily, but on the street.

I wish people would be discussing this in Starbucks, at Borders, at theaters and plays. I wish people would watch an abortion on the internet and see the horror of dismembering a baby.

Demian: Do you agree that abortion is equal to child sacrifice?

In many ways, abortion is our culture’s version of child-sacrifice. Most abortions take place because the mother decides the baby should be sacrificed instead of her emotional health, her career path, or her financial stability. In other words, something else is more valuable than human life.

Demian: Will abortion ever go away?

Trevin: But I am optimistic. If our country can turn the corner in race relations in forty years and elect an African American president, who’s to say we can’t turn a corner on the abortion issue in forty years? I hope that my grandkids will not only live in a world where abortion is illegal, but unthinkable.

Trevin Wax on Antinomianism

Demian: Do you think we are overwhelmed by people who latch onto grace but ignore the law and run wild in sin? 

Trevin: I don’t think that we have an epidemic of grace in our country. I think we have too little grace actually.

Those who latch onto grace and then ignore the law haven’t actually latched onto grace. The grace of God meets you where you are, but it doesn’t leave you in that state. It changes you. It transforms your desires.

Demian: Do you think grace-heavy/lawlesness is a non issue?

Trevin: The problem is not that we believe too much in grace…it’s that we have not yet realized the enormity of human sin.

There is no need for costly grace if sin is not a big problem. When sin isn’t a big deal, neither is grace. Neither is the law. Who needs Jesus, except as life coach and cheerleader?

What Do You Think?

Trevin’s brought up some great ideas, like the problem of antinomianism lies…not in too much grace…but in an ignorance of the severity of sin. 

Do you agree? And what about his thoughts on abortion–do you share his optimism that abortion could be gone one day? 

Share your throughts. Brutal and all. We look forward to hearing from you.

Related posts:

1. Mark Talbot on Sin and Suffering in Calvin’s World | DG 2009

Tags: Abortion, America, Grace, Think

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