Secularism, atheism and worldliness are hostile threats to the Christian faith. These are foreign invaders that are constantly attempting to take over the church and influence her decisions. But a far more dangerous threat exists that is called the “Christian progressive agenda.” This threat is more dangerous because it is not foreign. If this threat were foreign we could identify it easily and remove it from the church.
The hidden danger is that the Christian progressive message can sound just like Biblical Christianity. There is a lot of talk about God, Jesus, the Bible, love, unity and acceptance. Church members who are not diligently testing everything with the light of Scripture can easily mistake progressive Christianity for Biblical Christianity.
What is Progressive Christianity?
Progressive Christianity is something that requires our undivided attention. As believers we must remember that this world is a battlefield and we are in a life and death struggle over the spirituality and soul of the church.
The heart of the progressive Christian message is to emphasize diversity, love, compassion, mercy, toleration, social justice and the environment. Their feel-good sermons will tell you that you are amazing, you are so wonderful and you are terrific. Their message is that we are all the children of God, and as God’s children we are to be energized, prosperous, successful and empowered.
This is not exactly what the Scriptures tell us. At many of these Christian progressive churches you would think that the Bible never spoke of sin and the need of a Savior who calls all to repentance. Very little emphasis is placed on the power of the gospel, sanctification and the work of redemption from sin and immorality.
Millions of believers are being led astray by the Christian progressive message by thinking that we can still live immoral lives and be saved under the grace of Christ. This generation wants a Jesus who never spoke out against immorality. They only want a Jesus who commanded us to love one another, accept everyone and not judge anyone.
This popular argument is distorting what Jesus taught about true love. Jesus did preach love and acceptance but He never compromised with sin. Christ preached against the popular sins of His day. In His own testimony Christ declared to the contemporary Jews of His day:
“The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” John 7:7.
Jesus also preached His gospel to the people, and this was NOT the prosperity gospel or a social-political gospel. No, Christ preached the Biblical gospel of repentance.
“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:14, 15.
Aside from calling sinners to repentance, Jesus also spoke the most wonderful words ever heard by sinners when He said:
“Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” John 8:11.
Jesus didn’t need to condemn sinners because sinners are already condemned to die because sin by its nature causes death (Romans 3:23). Christ came to give us life (John 10:10). Christ offers power – divine power to live a new life free from the pain and misery that sin brings and free from sin itself (Romans 8:3, 4).
Jesus also taught that true love means not to ignore morality, but rather to embrace the moral principle of God’s commandments:
“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” John 15:9, 10.
Love and keeping God’s commandments go hand in hand. Jesus has loved us with a love that is so much greater than anything we can ever experience. We have a Savior that will pick us up whenever we fall. If we call on Him, He is a Divine helper who is always by our side, and we have the assurances that we are never alone.
But Jesus will never pat us on the back for sinning. He will never say to you to go ahead and do whatever you think is right. He will never agree with the notion that it is OK to change the word of God in order to adapt to the world’s ways.
Those who believe that the Christian progressive gospel is “cool”, “trendy” or “hip” are playing with fire. Christian progressives downplay immorality as being sinful – whether it’s alcohol, pre-marital sex, adultery, pornography, abortion, the LGBTQ movement or any of the other acts the Scriptures define as “unrighteous.” The good news of the gospel is that the early church was composed of “unrighteous” sinners who by God’s grace were washed in the blood of the Lamb from all their unrighteousness:
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
They lived a certain way up until they met Christ. Once they encountered Christ and received Him into their lives they were transformed. The power of sin and the devil was broken and a new life of victory was seen.
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57.
The Christian progressive agenda is a movement that attempts to “reform” the faith by ignoring the long-standing Biblical positions of the church. They believe that some of the core doctrinal position of the church are open for reinterpretation. We must reject these dangerous false teachings and warn others about them. The church must remain steadfast and vigilant. If the church remains asleep, the secular world will continue to march right into our ranks and the foreign invasion will progress.
“If every watchman on the walls of Zion had given the trumpet a certain sound, the world might ere this have heard the message of warning. But the work is years behind. While men have slept, Satan has stolen a march upon us.” (Testimonies For The Church, Vol. 9, p. 29).
For further reading on this subject read “The Church’s Message is being destroyed by the Snowflake Generation”
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