Truth Triumphs – ProliferateTruth.Net

Ephesians 4:14 - "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive."

Judges 17:6 – "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

Isaiah 5:20-21 - "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!"

Introductory Statements:

The "Emerging Church" is among MANY movements today which have captured the minds, imaginations, and spiritual lives of perhaps millions of people.

In the past several centuries, just in this country, we have seen the advent of a number of cults and false religions, including the Mormons, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Family Radio, and many more, not to mention the general drift of the ecumenical churches, and the popularity of non-Christian cults and worldviews.

But among the most pernicious and diabolical is this movement which is known as "The Emerging Church."

The Emerging Church is a movement which is difficult to accurately quantify and define – not because they have no beliefs or agenda, but because those beliefs, and that agenda, are so extremely difficult to "nail down," as it were; in some ways, trying to understand the Emergent Movement is like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall – you may be able to pin it down temporarily, but it will readily, and easily, escape your grasp.

To better understand the Emerging Church (also known as the Emergent Movement), it would be beneficial for us to examine the actual history of the movement, so that we have a frame of reference from which to work. It would also be good to do the best we can to identify the doctrinal stance of the Emerging Church Movement, a task we will take up in the first full lesson of this series.

But before we begin, let us read, examine, and draw some truths, from three key passages of Scripture, which address the issues of false doctrine and a thing called "Moral Relativism," a philosophy which is the driving force behind the Emerging Church Movement, and which is also the credo held by the world we live in.

I. Doctrinal Indifference

A. Ephesians 4:1-24, esp. v. 14: "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But ye have not so learned Christ; 21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

B. Notes:

     1. Vv. 3-16 = The Utterly Essential Nature of Sound, Solid Doctrine.

     2. V. 3 = UNITY – A Common Faith in the Common Truths of God - such as …

          a. One God: Christ.

          b. One Faith: Christianity.

          c. One Baptism: The Baptism of the Spirit Into the Body of Christ.

          d. One Gift Giver: Christ.

          e. One Buried and Ascended Savior: Christ.

          f. One Goal: Christlikeness.

     3. V. 14 = One Strategy, Part A: The Love of Truth.

     4. Vv. 17-24 = One Strategy, Part B: Separation, Distinctiveness, Standards, Convictions, and Self-
          Discipline, Under the Power of the Holy Spirit.

II. Self-Determination

A. Judges 17:1-6, esp. v. 6: "And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son. 3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee. 4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

B. Notes:

     1. This is Moral Relativism.

     2. This is Self-Rule.

     3. This is Rebellion Against God’s Authority.

     4. This is Lack of Godly Leadership – perhaps, lack of leadership altogether, both by man, as well as by self.

     5. This is A Time of Rampant, Unrestrained Self-Gratification!!!

III. Reversed Morality – Isaiah 5, esp. vv. 20-21.

A. Vv. 1-8, esp. v. 8 – "Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. 8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!" – This refers to the monopolizing of the resources of the land – representing Injustice.

B. Vv. 9-12, esp. vv. 11-12 – "In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. 10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. 11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! 12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands" – This represents Debauchery, Lack of Standards, and Lack of Self-Restraint.

C. V. 13 - "Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst" – Knowledge is Essential, as is Truth, to Society’s Well-Being.

D. Vv. 14-16 - "Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. 15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: 16 But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness" – Multitudes are being led Directly into the Very Real Hell by These Types of People!

E. Vv. 17-18, esp. v. 18 - "Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. 18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope" – These people are Laboring to Live in Sin!

F. V. 19 - "That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!" – In other words, "Let God Do His Worst!"

G. V. 20 - "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" – These people are Calling Good, Sin, and Calling Sin, Good – in other words, there is a Great Moral Inversion taking place here, which we can Plainly See Today!

H. V. 21 - "Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!" – In other words, "We Know What’s Best For Ourselves!" "Don’t Tell Us What to Do – We Know What’s In Our Best Interest!" "God: STOP INTERFERING IN OUR LIVES!!!"

I. Vv. 22-23 - "Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: 23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!" – These are people who are Consumed with Evil – such as Hollywood, Pay-Per-View Cable Providers, and The FCC, for example. [Why the FCC? Because they are responsible to APPROVE and DENY ALL content that appears on the airwaves - the fact that they approve godless vulgarity and sensual materials to appear on Television and via Radio and the Internet, says that they aren't nearly as serious about keeping that material from the public as they claim to be.]

J. V. 24 – "Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel" – Therefore, God will Destroy Them.

K. V. 25 - "Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still" – Therefore, God has Removed His Favor from His People.

L. Vv. 26-30 – "And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: 27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: 28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: 29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. 30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof" – And Therefore, God’s Judgment upon His People will be Final, and it will be Complete.

Concluding Remarks:

What we have just seen here is the perfect definition of what the Emerging Church calls "Postmodernism" – which is, by definition, a departure from solid truth, and an embracing of moral relativism, which exalts the individual over God.

And, sadly, what we have just seen here is the perfect definition of the Emerging Church itself.

Over the next several weeks, we will see that philosophy in action.

We will examine the doctrine, history, proponents, and philosophy of the Emerging Church movement.

And, we will emphasize a Christ-centered, Bible-centered approach and response to this pernicious modern movement.

We read in Proverbs 25:28, that "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls" – in other words, when there are no walls – no boundaries – which we use to keep out the evil, and to keep in the good, we can only expect to be overrun by all of the ignorant and false doctrines that exist in our world – and as we shall see, this is what has happened to the Emergent Church.

And all of the above issues are issues that have not only permeated the society and the world in which we live, but they have infiltrated the movement known as the Emerging Church, just as they have infiltrated the unguarded church of Christ in the world.

We must – WE MUST, WE MUST, WE MUST!!!!! – know what we believe, and why we believe it. And we must STAND for the faith that men have, for two millennia, DIED to PRESERVE for US. The Emergent Movement doesn’t believe this to be true. And that’s what makes it such a dangerous movement.

So let us examine the background, philosophies, and doctrines of the Emerging Church in more detail. And prayerfully, as we conclude this series, we’ll be able to come out of the series with a better understanding of this dangerous, pernicious, and destructive movement, with a better understanding of how to recognize and respond to it in our personal worlds, and with a firmer and greater understanding and appreciation of why we hold to the timeless, inerrant, and in all reality, PERFECT truths of Scripture!

"Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding" (Proverbs 23:23).