{"id":920,"date":"2016-09-29T12:59:20","date_gmt":"2016-09-29T16:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/isittheendoftheworld\/?p=920"},"modified":"2016-09-30T12:53:51","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T16:53:51","slug":"creeping-in-unawares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/isittheendoftheworld\/2016\/09\/creeping-in-unawares.html","title":{"rendered":"Creeping In Unawares"},"content":{"rendered":"

The American Church, specifically Evangelicalism, is now in a place no one could have imagined in days gone by. For the longest, biblical teaching was at least available in plenty of venues. Where Bible prophecy teachers once taught that a “one-world religion” would be ushered-in, they assumed it would be a coalition of the Catholic Church and the New Age.<\/p>\n

No one expected such an entity to include American evangelicals.<\/p>\n

The Bible’s book of Jude<\/a> speaks of this. This short letter was a warning from its author to the Church of the last days. Jude was telling people that certain men would infiltrate the Church and teach falsehoods. <\/p>\n

That day has arrived in the West. <\/p>\n

Celebrity pastor Andy Stanley for some time has been sounding-off about his views of the Church’s need for new pr; he wishes to see it marketed in a way that will attract unbelievers. This very premise, this model for “doing church,” is flawed and unworkable. The Bible doesn’t teach that unbelievers will be attracted to gatherings of believers. In fact, the Bible teaches that the Gospel itself is hateful to the world.<\/p>\n

But Andy Stanley has taken pragmatism to new heights. From his admission that he jettisoned belief in the creation accounts in college<\/a>, to his latest declarations<\/a> that we must avoid encouraging people to believe the Bible as it’s written, Stanley had departed from biblical Christianity. Instead, he wishes to fashion a new spirituality.<\/p>\n

To say such a thing in public is even now not popular. So far as I know, only Albert Mohler has had the courage to challenge Stanley publicly<\/a>. Most celebrity pastors and ministries stand silent, staring at the floor.<\/p>\n

Let me be clear: it is outrageous for a modern pastor to denigrate Scripture. Yet that is precisely what Stanley is doing. He has his defenders<\/a>, naturally. There are pensions, and salaries, and perks at stake, and many modern ministry leaders circle the wagons\u2014even when heresy and apostasy abound.
\n

\"Andy<\/a>
Andy Stanley signing books at a Catalyst One Day event at Cross Church in Rogers, Arkansas.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Stanley claims to want to make “the faith” acceptable for unbelievers. In fact, if this is true, he is still creating conditions for wholesale unbelief in the Bible. Remember Jesus’ words in Luke 18:7-8\u2014<\/p>\n

And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?<\/p>\n

I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?<\/em><\/p>\n

Stanley’s pragmatic approach sounds so good, even to legions of modern evangelicals, many of whom flock to seeker-sensitive churches. Yet the Bible does not point to a future Church that is great in number. It does point to Apostasy.<\/p>\n

That is a Church pastors like Andy Stanley are building brick-by-brick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The American Church, specifically Evangelicalism, is now in a place no one could have imagined in days gone by. For the longest, biblical teaching was at least available in plenty of venues. Where Bible prophecy teachers once taught that a “one-world religion” would be ushered-in, they assumed it would be a coalition of the Catholic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":392,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-prophecy","category-christianity"],"yoast_head":"\nCreeping In Unawares - Is it the End of the World?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creeping In Unawares - Is it the End of the World?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The American Church, specifically Evangelicalism, is now in a place no one could have imagined in days gone by. 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