intelligence vs. inspiration

Have you ever splurged and bought a real expensive item of clothing from some exclusive boutique? Isn’t it amazing how wearing this luxuriant suit or dress can make you feel? You feel sophisticated, confident, successful, all due to wearing this article of clothing. But the truth is, nothing has really changed. You may look cool and ultra hip on the outside, but underneath is the same old person.

There is a new type of church that is growing in popularity in the past few years in the evangelical community that reminds me that Satan repackages the same old lies in new suits down through the ages. This movement is called the New Emergent Church and it has the appeal of being more intelligent, sophisticated and cool than many of it’s more mainline counterparts. Many of the key leaders of this movement are very articulate, sophisticated people that have a lot of charisma and are talented speakers and writers. But while their look and their style may be appealing, there is a disturbing theology that is cloaked under the hip exterior.

For instance, one of it’s foremost leaders, Brian McLaren, said, “All of our attempts to define the right form of the Gospel are just human interpretations” and he insists, “we must avoid ‘excessive confidence’ in any telling of the Gospel story.” Rob Bell, author of “Love Wins”, creator of the Nooma films and pastor of Mars Hill Church, in an interview with the Newsweek religion editor, said when asked if an atheist who did good deeds while living but remained an atheist would enter heaven upon death, answered in a circulatory fashion that left the door wide open for the possibility for everyone to enter into heaven. He basically said that the gospel story has so many seemingly open ended statements that one could not be dogmatic about what requirements were necessary for salvation. In his mind, Christ was more concerned about renewing this earth, and bringing heaven to earth. In Rob Bell and Brian McLaren’s theological world, the conversation is more important than the answers.

While the Bible does tell us to “let us reason together”, we cannot simply trust our intelligence and our view of what is appropriate or right or just to determine our salvation. Salvation comes through faith. And “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Rom. 10:17 It take faith to believe that a God who could make all of creation in six days by the power of His word, could also protect and preserve His written word for two or three thousand years.

2Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”. By faith, we accept that the Bible is the inspired word of God, that we can trust it, rely upon it and even stake our eternal destiny on it. But we can’t trust in our intelligence to tell us about God. One phrase that was heard repeatedly throughout Bell’s interview was, “I think, I think, I think…” What we may think and reason about who God is or what he should be like is hardly relevant. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord,” as the prophet Isaiah declared. [Isaiah 55:8]

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable about ten virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom. And five were foolish and five were prudent. The foolish had their lamps, but no oil. The lamp is a picture of the church and oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit throughout the scriptures. So the foolish virgins are a picture of those churches that may be intellectually religious, but lack the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us in studying the Word, we cannot know the truth about God through mere intelligence, but only by inspiration. As it says in 1Corinthians 2:13 “which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”