Paul wrote Timothy telling him in the last times perilous times will come; men will have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. Today fully buzzword-compliant streams of nonsense infect the church — social justice, universal salvation, post-this, emerging-that, and so on. Are we living in the age of apostasy as groups abandon the solid rock of God’s Word for the shifting sand of trendy philosophy?
Apostasy means turning away from the basics of your religion. Simply put, denying what makes Christianity Christian. For example, some may call the fad of social justice integral to the gospel, yet when Paul defined the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15, no mention of social justice appears.
Thus, if someone replaces Paul’s gospel with the gospel of good works, liberalism, and social justice, by definition they’re apostates (denying the basics of Christianity).
You must choose — are the modern fads correct, or the apostle Paul? Since they proclaim completely different gospels, they can’t both be right.
Paul certainly understood false teachers would infect the church — posing as sincere Christians while leading the flock away — as he spent three years warning the Ephesians about it.
Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that for the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears. (Acts 20:28–31)
Trendy fads turn Christianity into apostasy by denying the Gospel. Many of these heretical fads flow from post-modern philosophy and its bizarre, illogical idea of no absolutes.
How insanely illogical is post-modernism? It denies absolutes (substituting value relativism), except for the one rule declared absolutely — that being no absolutes exist.
What?
Post-modernism makes as much sense as the Cretan saying “all Cretans are liars,” as it suffers from a logical error commonly known as the liar paradox — a statement which can’t possibly be true because it would invalidate itself.
That’s the foundation liberals what us to interpret the Bible with? Sure, what could go wrong?
Why has the church been seduced by an absurd foundation of post-modernism and liberal theology? The church has swallowed the same ridiculous philosophy under a host of buzzwords. Universal salvation. Common good. Social justice. Collective salvation. Modern theology. Growth. Progressive. Emerging. Liberal.
All buzzwords. All wrong.
Action Plan
So what do you do?
- Study and Learn the truth. If you want a firm basis to build on, Chuck Smith’s C-3000 series can be yours for about $30 from The Word for Today, christianbook.com, and amazon.com. It’s the best complete study available (and also the best value).
- Politely challenge people shoveling fads like social justice to Biblically prove their positions. Most likely you’ll discover supporters use post-modern philosophy or other tactics of rebellion to justify ideas not taught to the church in the New Testament by Jesus or any apostle. If you complete step one above, you’ll be on solid ground and ready to challenge absurd ideas.
- Learn basic logic. Sadly, it’s not taught much anymore; a good beginning is Jason Lisle’s book “Discerning Truth”. You’ll quickly learn how frequently people base their ideas on illogical foundations.
Be prepared. Post-modernists and liberals don’t like being told their emperor has no clothes. You will encounter hostility, but always remember, liberals and progressives (by any trendy name) base their philosophy on the liar paradox of claiming no absolute truth exists — absolutely.
It’s one thing to deny Jesus, God, and the Bible as everyone is free to do that as they wish. However, when so-called pastors and other leaders in the church do the same, it’s dangerous to your spiritual well-being.
Are we living in the age of apostasy? If you’ve experienced new fads infiltrating your church, let us know. It sure seems like it’s popular to deny the Bible, all while claiming to be Christian.