The Moralistic Turn

Introduction

What would things look like if Satan really took control of a city? Over a half century ago, Presbyterian ministry Donald Grey Barnhouse [of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA] offered his own scenario in his weekly sermon that was also broadcast nationwide on CBS radio. Barnhouse speculated that if Satan took over Philadelphia all of the bars would be closed, pornography banished, and pristine streets would be filled with tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The children would say, “Yes, sir” and “No, ma’am,” and the churches would be full every Sunday…where Christ is not preached.

If the average American were asked, “what is Christianity”, what would many answers include?

Define Christianity based upon what the Apostle Paul wrote in

1 Cor 15:1-4

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 ESV

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Christianity is outlined in the gospel

The gospel is meant to be preached

The gospel must be believed

People are in need of saving

The gospel is God’s message (according to the Scriptures)

The gospel declares that God demands payment for sin

The gospel declares that Jesus paid the penalty of sin on the cross

The gospel declares that Jesus died

The gospel declares that Jesus rose from the dead three days later

In the first chapter of “Christless Christianity”, Michael Horton identifies some of the problems that exist in American Christianity and in the churches. He notes that these problems are not limited to a particular political party, denomination, generations or even to churches and theologians who are known to be theologically conservative or liberal. In my view, the problems that Horton names reflect certain assumptions that many Americans (and I’m sure others around the world) make. What are these assumptions?

Principal Problems

Gnosticism

Developed in the 2nd century church

strict separation between the material and spiritual worlds

A higher, mystical secret knowledge which can be found within, of the spiritual world

The material world is corrupt but the spiritual part of ourselves is divine.

The goal of the gnostic was to return to the spiritual and heavenly of which the inner self is the divine spark.

The inner self is becomes a god of sorts

In this system of belief, God exists not to disrupt our lives but to support what we have determined for ourselves.

Pelagianism

Pelagius was a monk in the 4th and 5th centuries who was appalled by the immorality he saw in Rome.

Taught that salvation was dependent on human choice

People are able to be good, they just need to be convinced to be good.

Rejected original sin, that is the teaching that Adam’s sin was passed on to his descendents, so that people are inheritantly guilty and corrupt.

Eventually, Pelagianism was condemned as heresy by the Council of Carthage in AD 418

So this doctrine teaches that sin a universal human condition but a choice that people make. What are the implications of this belief?

Problematic Assumptions

1. People are in a position to define what is relevant.

Typically, what is the criteria people use to determine relevance?

Whatever is going to help us get to where we have determined to go.

There is an emphasis on what is regarded as practical. Pragmatism is the lense through which life is viewed.

2. Preservation of personal pleasure is primary.

If there is any truth to this, how might this show up in the lives of professing Christians and in churches?

The way of life is to avoid pain at all costs. God is looked to as the power to achieve this end.

If we are in the throws of pain, the goal is the ending of it as quickly as possible and God becomes a means to that end.

3. Personal & public problems are obstacles that need to be fixed or removed.

For people who understand problems in this way, why might they think these problems exist in the first place?

Why do people avoid or reject the concept of sin?

4. Preeminence is found within

Just to clarify, by preeminence, I mean to suggest that many, even professing Christians, live as if they are standing alone at the top of their lives. They are in charge.

If this is true of someone, on what basis do they make decisions? How do they relate to others?

There are more, but I want to move onto some of what the bible teaches to get a right perspective on this.

Paul’s Answer

1 Corinthians 1:20-24

1 Corinthians 1:20–24 ESV

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Ridiculing questions (20)

Where is the one who is wise?, Where is the scribe?, Where is the debater of this age?

These are not calls for those who have presumed themselves to be one of these to come into the fold. This is a declaration of victory over all. Ultimately, in context, declaring the victory of Christ.

The wisdom of the wise, the teaching of teachers and the philosophy of the philosophers of this age are nowhere to be found, for all that they put forth and claimed have been destroyed.

The three questions represent three types of people:

the rationalistic scholar

the Jewish legal expert and

the rhetorician

And whether or not we consider ourselves to be scholars, this is a warning to guard against adopting dominant, popular paradigms of thinking from the world.

Remember the last sentence of verse 20: Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? In other words, the wisdom of the cross judges the values of the world, and Christians in all walks of life must live in ways that are consistent with it.

There is a fourth question, and it is clear that it is meant to be answered in the affirmative: Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? Yes He has.

The world here is that in our culture, experience that is opposed to God.

The wisdom of the world is that which seems right according to all that the world holds forth to be true, right and good. This wisdom claims insight for the attainment and preservation of that which is worldly.

Real wisdom (21-23)

The beginning of verse 21 makes clear that the world cannot come to know God through its own wisdom. But how did God design it that people could know Him?

Middle of verse 21: it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. What did Paul preach? Verse 23 - we preach Christ crucified

The First Letter to the Corinthians a. The Cross Divides the Human Race Absolutely, 1:18–21

“In the cross, God puts both Jew and Greek, wise and foolish, trained and untrained, on the same level, canceling out all human enlightenment on the subject of salvation or redemption.”

The demands of the world to make sense of life fly in the face of Paul’s message. Verse 22: the Jews demand signs, the Greeks demand displays of wisdom.

And while you and I may readily agree that Jesus Christ crucified is fundamental to our lives, we are sometimes confronted with our conflicting assumptions about our lives:

Redemption (24)

those who are called - Christians

For Christians, the message of Christ crucified is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

The message makes clear that people are not OK. They are not in a position to determine or figure out what they need. We are not the authors of our lives.

We are in need of a rewrite (Horton). We need to be changed, transformed.

And to say that we need redemption also means we need a Redeemer. We need Jesus, that One who was crucified for our sins. The One who rose from the dead. The One who has ascended and reigns today.

Horton captures how some who have, perhaps without be fully aware of it, have come to see Jesus:

Jesus has been dressed up as a corporate CEO, life coach, culture warrior, political revolutionary, philosopher, copilot, co-sufferer, moral example, and partner in fulfilling personal and social dreams. But in many ways, are we reducing the central character in the drama of redemption to a prop for our own play?

Probing Questions

Why kind of questions should we ask of churches to discern if we will be helped to combat these problematic assumptions and principle problems. What would indicate that a given church has not bought into these ideas, but subscribes to Paul’s answer?

Are our sermons primarily about Christ’s finished work?

Do we emphasize justification or self-improvement?

Do people leave thinking more about Christ or themselves?

Conclusion

Ask yourself these questions:

When I struggle, do I seek techniques or Christ?

Does my understanding of the gospel center on what Jesus did or what I must do?

How can we guard against subtle moralism?