What Does God Have To Say? Sept. 16, 2009


Sandra D Before I begin writing about the teachings and practices of the emerging church movement, I want to say a little about what the Bible has to say on this subject.



I am using some excerpts from Faith Undone by Roger Oakland, and also from A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen. I highly recommend both of these books. You can buy them at Lighthouse Publishing online. I use these excerpts by permission from LighthouseResearch.



Since Adam and Eve's day until our own, a battle has waged between man's ways of doing things and God's ways. So often, what may seem to be the right way ends up not being that at all. Rebellion is always due to one thing -- rejecting God's Word because our own way appeals to us so much more. ....the emerging church movement fits this explanation.



So many of the people who go to the way of the emerging church do so because they have failed to find what they are seeking in the traditional church. But, the Bible is truly an amazing book. To get to the place where the truth that has been taught for centuries gives a person a life of joy and peace in his walk with the Lord, one has only to read the Bible.



However, while God has provided a way for us to seek Him and to know Him, God's adversary has a plan of his own. The last thing the devil wants is for man to be obedient to what God has said. Instead, his objective is to lead people away from the Savior, Jesus Christ, with counterfeits; these deadly detours sometimes very closely resemble the real thing.... but in reality lead to spiritual disaster. The Bible says as the time before Christ's return shortens, the devil's agenda will only intensify.



Emergent leaders say the Christian faith needs to be reinvented or reimagined for the 21st century.

In his book, Faith Undone, Roger Oakland challenges the emerging church message, and here is why: True biblical faith never changes. What Jesus and His disciples offered two thousand years ago is still offered to mankind today and has been consistently offered to every generation in between. Jude, verse 3, exhorts us to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.



Jesus said, "I am the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8: 12) By saying this, Jesus wanted us to know that the world without him is dark (because of sin). But He has come to dispel the darkness of sin and give us true life.



The Bible says we have been given the answer to the mystery of life. It is God coming in the flesh (Jesus) and His Spirit living inside all who accept Him by faith. Contrast this with the message of the emerging church -- a message that is not clear at all. One movement leader wrote a book called

The Secret Message of Jesus. But in truth, there is no secret message of Jesus.



In future writings, I will emphasize the teachings and practices of the emerging church. I believe you need to recognize these because many of them are already being widely practiced in our society today. Even in our schools is yoga being taught as a means to relax the students and take the stress away. These practices are insidious, and and creep into churches and institutions as acceptable ways. This is why I am writing about this. I want every person to be able to recognize these teachings and practices in order not to be lead astray.



Please invite everyone you think would be interested in this topic to come in by invitation to read.



Sandra