Revivals, Shakers, and the Dangers of Spiritualism

My parents recently went to a settlement that use to be the community of a people called the Shakers (or by their official title: The United Society of Believers In Christ's Second Appearance). The Shakers had started a settlement outside Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The Shakers have been disbanded for many, many years now.

What made my parents curious about these people was a particular belief that my parents had heard about. The Shakers believed that all persons that are part of their community should remain celibate. (One of the main reasons that they died out).

After my parents took a tour of the settlement they bought a little booklet that gave the general history of this group of people. And one does not have to read to long in the book to find out that this group was just a cult that grew up around the beginnings of the 1800s. There leader, Ann Lee, believed that she was the second coming of Christ. God was both male and female, the female side had to show up since the male side did in Jesus. And Thus, there she was! (rolling of eyes)

There was one comment about this group's beginnings that really caught my eye. Ann and her followers came to America and sought out converts. And where did they go to get this converts?

In 1780 she extended her sphere of influence to New Lebanon, N.Y., where a
revival was happened to be going on at the same time and where converts were
secured without much difficulty, local sentiment being more or less propitious
for the introduction of the new religion. (Daniel Mac-Hir Hutton, Old
Shakertown and the Shakers. Harrodsburg Herald Press; Harrodsburg, KY. p.9)

So basically, she set her tent up beside the Christian tent at a revival and got just as well as turn out as the Christians did.

Now here is the thing, when most Christians look at revivals and see the great scores of people coming down the aisle to the alter they immediately attribute it to a "great moving of the Spirit." But here was a revival taking place, a great move of the Spirit, and then a cult leader comes along proclaiming that she is the second coming of Jesus and they get just as good as turn out!

What was happening here? Was it indeed a true revival? No! Does God work for the growth of false teachings as He does his own Church? No. Then what was going on?

This is a prime example of the spiritual excitement that accompanied revivals of that time. People would get worked up and emotionally pulled down the aisle so that they would make a outward profession that they were going to follow Christ. Yet, just because they made an outward profession did not mean they there was a spiritual change. What all this, sadly, boiled down to was people getting hyped-up and getting spiritual and "on the good path." There was no actual building up in the doctrines of Christ.

And from my understandings the focus of the revivals was on holiness and becoming right in character. There was proclaimation of Christ but it mainly consited of proclaiming condemnation on all the evils of the land. The revival leaders would get people worked up agaisnn the evils in themselves and the evils of the land. They would then call them to repent and seek holiness. And so people many would follow suit.

This is the reason why Ann's cult had such a good turn out at the spiritual "revival." They just showed up and said to the masses, "Hey! if you want to be really, really spiritual why don't you come and join our little community? Because seeking holiness is what we are going to be doing!" And thus it was said about the people, "converts were secured without much difficulty." Think about that phrase for a moment longer...let the fact that the "female incarnation of the Christ" was able to do this!

What does all this mean for us? One of the big truths that we can glean from this is, Beware of Christian spiritualism that is detached from Christian doctrine. He were people getting excited for the right practices and reasons (holiness), but they were easily seduced by heretical teachings that had the same practices they were seeking. The Shakers were very big on being "holy" but there god was not the true god. If one does not make the teachings of Christ and His Apostles about the nature and character of God a priority in their preaching then other groups are going to come and present a style, movement, focus, or practices that is going to be just as, or even better than, what the church is marketing. The only thing that keeps us distinct as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is Christ! Unless we are grounded on Him any movement can roll-up next to us and present it better than we can and secure coverts "without much difficulty"

So ever practice, and call to right living, must be grounded upon the doctrine of who Christ is. Christ must permeate our teaching. He must be the focal point and the essence of what we proclaim. Anything else, no matter how right it sounds, or successful it appears, will never be for the increase of God's kingdom here on earth and His glory throughout the heavens

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side

Psalm 124
1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—
let Israel now say—
2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.

6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!

8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

I had had one of those times in the Word of God this morning that it seemed as if God was literally speaking to me. (Thought, God is speaking to us every time we open the pages of Scripture. It is our ears that are hard of hearing that makes the Word seem unexciting). This semester has be particularly hard on me. Working 20 hours a night, trying my best to stay on top of the Greek language, and getting around 5 hours of sleep during the week have taken their toll on me.

And one of those things that have taken a hit is my walk with God. It is not as if I rebelled (God forbid!), but one has to spend time in Scripture, prayer, other spiritual disciplines, while being under the shadow of the cross to grow spiritually. Yet, one thing that a person has to have to do all this is time. That was one thing I did not have. My schedule was packed beyond standard. And I was running on what little sleep I could get. So all of this to say that my spiritual walk was not were it should have been nor was it growing.

So this morning, before I opened up the Scriptures, I whispered the prayer that God would bring me back to Himself. That he would graciously restore me. Then I flipped open to this chapter to read for the morning. A full chapter exalting in the fact that God has stepped in and saved his people from there troubles. If God had not taken their side, there would be no hope. My mind was hearkened to a familiar passage that I have turned to many times, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rom 8:31)

As one that is under the blood of Christ I have the immovable promise that God is for me in all things! Since I have be united to Christ God has removed all hostility against me. Where there was wrath there now exists peace.

But having God's wrath removed is no guarantee that God is for me. For one can have no hostility against someone but have no concern for their well being. What is my bases for saying that because of my salvation God is for me in all things?

Not only am I justified before the sight of God, I am also united to Christ. "For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (Col 3:3). The Father has united me to the Son so that everything that is His is now mine. "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'" (1 Cor 1:30-31). My soul is hidden in the perfect wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption of my savior. My entire salvation is in the Christ and I am hidden in him.

Since I am hidden in Christ, the Father is for me as much as He is for Christ. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places," (Eph 1:3)

It is mind blowing to consider that my life has become a recipient of the love that flows between the Trinity. And it is this truth that vanquishes any doubt about God being for me. Even though I have fallen down, even though I have not pursued Christ as much as I should God looks upon me with mind blowing love! for my weak, puny, defenceless life is hidden in the glorious person of Christ. Therefore, all the love that God the Father is pouring upon the Son is being poured on me! For I am in the Son! The day God turns His hand against me is the day that the Father turns his hand against the Son. Which is NEVER, NEVER, NEVER! For that would mean God would turn against Himself. No. The love that exists between the members of the trinity is of a proportion that dimensions cannot handle! His love for the Son is unimaginable and I am receiving it because I am in the Son!

I myself have not fully worked through all of this (and I never will). It is so mind blowing to consider that: I know God is for me in all things because God the Father has place me in the Son which makes me a recipient of the inconceivable love the Father has for the Son.

The "Good" in the Good News

I was thinking about the question posed by people regarding talking about the wrath of God in a gospel presentations (or anything that makes people feel bad. Calling people “sinners”, for example). the question posed is this, “We are command to tell people the good news of Jesus Christ. Now, all that stuff about wrath and sin is not all that “good” to some people. So how can we tell people about the good news if we tell them so much bad news (wrath, sinner)?”

I believe that problem with this question is that it defines the meaning of what is a good message according to a cultural context. What is good differs from culture to culture. The same message can be affirmed in one culture while causing people to tear their hair out in frustration in another. So to force the message of Christ to be defined by a cultural understanding of good is just letting the culture tell you what to preach. Our message that we have been entrusted with is filtered through a grid of acceptability. If, indeed, what we preach is considered “good” to the hearers.

This can prove detrimental to the gospel message which we are commended to preach. Here in America it seems to work just fine to lay off the bits about wrath and hell. I mean, those are uncomfortable subjects. Isn't it best to just tell people about how much God loves them by sending forth His Son to die on a cross and be resurrected in three days for them? To bring up the part of them being rebels against the living God and the only thing that their rebellion is going to accomplish is an eternity in hell is just going to make them feel down cast. So, we think it is best to lay off the the wrath part since it really is not that good of news to people. But lets say that one day while sitting down on one side of a park bench you turn and see an older man on the other side. You begin conversing with him out of friendliness. You'all talk about normal things at first: what both of you do, where each of you live, etc. during the conversation you come to find out that he is Jewish. Thus, you begin to move the conversation towards a more religious direction. It is not much longer until you bring up the fact that you are a Christian. “Oh,” he says, “I have heard about Christianity but have not had the privilege to talk an actual follower.” This, of course, excites you tremendously, but before you start explaining your beliefs he makes the following comment, “What I do know about Christianity is that you believe that the Messiah died on a cross. Now let me tell you, I shutter in my soul to think that God's messiah would die in such a fashion. I cannot bare the thought of such an atrocious idea!” What are you going to do? Obviously, the news that the messiah did in fact die on a cross is not good news for him. In fact it will probably close his ears to where ever else you are going to say.

Do you see the problem when you let the culture or the person define what is the good that our message should bring? Now, not only are you removing the truth of God's judicial wrath but if you are consistent, you have to remove the very fact that Jesus died on a cross! So that the message you are bring could be good in the listeners ear. So now we have gone from removing a few attributes too removing the very essence of the gospel! If we, indeed, say that the hearers are the determiners of the nature of the good we bring we are capable of having the very essence of the gospel removed from our message.

That is why the nature of the good in the gospel is not based in a culture's take on what makes them feel good but in the immutable and glorious character of God. That must be the nature of the good in our news. Our news is good because we tell of the nature and workings of our God who is Himself good. God came, in the flesh, to reconcile a world that rejects Him though He made the world and the very people that rejected Him. That is a good action. But what about wrath? It is telling that this is even a question. Yes! God's wrath is good! It is righteous! It is holy! God does the right thing by punishing evil and wickedness.

The proclamation that God's wrath will be poured out on those who do evil is good news. When ever you are told that someone did the right thing you always take it as good news. Well, God punishing those that deserve punishment is a good thing. For every tyrannical dictator, every child kidnapper, and every raper, will be punished according to what they did. What kind of news would it be if you heard that God just looks past evil atrocities? If you hear of a judge that pardons the clearly guilty, do you take that to be good news? No! Good news is hearing that the Lord of the universe will render all accounts settled in the end. Justice with be served. Evil will be punished. This is good news!

The problem that we face is that the people in this culture do not see themselves as evil. They consider themselves to be good people that slip up now and then. Now, they would say, there are some really bad people out there that God should punish. But, God will just see all the good things that I have done and see that they out weight the bad things in my life. The very idea that God's wrath should be over them personally is not only far from their minds, it is offensive. I mean, God being wrathful on a “good” person? What is up with that?

See, once again, that when we let the culture define what is the good in our gospel we end up letting the culture shape the gospel itself? God's righteous judgment against wickedness is removed because telling people the truth that they are indeed wicked is offensive. Therefore we end up failing to tell people the very truths that they need to hear. The very philosophical and ideological problems that are hostile in people's minds to embracing the gospel go unchallenged. If people do not believe that they need saving they will not look for a savior. The good that the unconverted want is not always the good that they should have. At times it is not even good. We cannot let sinful people tell us what good is.

So, the good of our gospel is God. His nature and His deeds. Man in his rebellion is always going to be offend by some, if not all, aspects of the message we bring. We must, however, present boldly, clearly, confidently, tenderly, humbly, and passionately the full gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ligon Duncan

Sound Doctrine Essential to Faithful Pastoral Ministry:
John 17:13-17

We live and minister in a an age that thinks that it is anti-theological.

Doctrine is for delight.

Truth is for Growth (Matt. 28:19-20) Jesus says to teach them everything that he ever taught them. Teach them to live it out.
1 Tim. 1:3-5. The first thing in the greatest pastoral work is this: not letting people teach or listen to false doctrine. Because our charge is from faith. Good theology worked deep into our heart by the Holy Spirit produces a life of love.
1:8-11. Life is explicitly tied to doctrine. The true life is to be in accordance with the gospel. The gospel is tied to the life of the believer.
Titus 1:1. Your knowledge of truth is vital to your holiness.

Truth Matters. We must meet this Port-modern reversion petition by celebrating doctrine. We must bring the substance with the Bible theology We ought to out live and out die the critics of theology.

1.The very ideas of theology are under dourest in our time. There are many evangelical that would call into question the need of theology.
All around us we hear, “deeds not creeds.” “We need a to be more concerned with narratives.” People dislike theology because theology can kill. Six million Jews died because of bad theology. The basis for Tolerance is that theology can kill you. Scott McKnight: (1) the Bible is a story. (2) language cannot contain God. The Bible is not a story narrative. We must put the story together. The objection that language cannot contain God cannot be found in Scripture. It is found in an alien philosophy.

Biblical theology: looks through the Bible and sees the development of theology.
Systematic theology: what the Bible says on a specific issue. We do it when someone ask the question, “what does the Bible say about this.”


2.Show you from Scripture that systematic theology is necessary, important and unavoidable.
We cannot escape doing theology. Everyone is a theologian, the only question is, “are you a good theologian or a bad theologian.”
Luke 24:24-27. “the things concerning himself.” Jesus did a topically and systematic study of the Messiah.
Acts 18:27-28. “showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.”
Acts 17: 2-3. Paul doing the same thing.
Romans is divided systematically.
Systematic theology is not the produce of alien philosophy.

3.What doctrine is important for.
Doctrine is for God’s glory. Romans 11:32-36.
For our assurance. John 15:15. Why was it important for Jesus to teach election. After disciples forsake the Messiah the only assurance that they will have is when they remember the fact that Jesus, seeing all there faults and knowing what they would do, chosen them.
For Marriage. Eph. 5:25. The NT will point us to the cross and will give us commands because of it. The Atonement informs your love for your wife.
For Joy. Phil 3:1.

Theology is for life!

Why we Celebrate this Holiday

This Christmas let us not forget the reason that we celebrate this holiday. The transcendent God of the universe stepped down into our world. This world full of it’s wickedness and rebellion against His ruler ship. Yet, He came to destroy the darkness and redeem for Himself a people. All of this according to His eternal plan to glorify His name by the salvation of sinners.

How did he choose to enter into this world? He should have came in judgment! Parting the skies, raining down His fury and wrath against such traitors! Punishing them for the infinite transgression that have waged against His perfect, pure, name!

Oh, but He did not come like this! 2,000 years ago a defenseless, dependent baby was born to a peasant girl in the mist of a nation under oppression. This baby, however, was no ordinary baby. That God, who should have flooded the world with His wrath. That baby born to that girl was Him! The God of the universe in the flesh of man! lying in a manger, in the heart of this wicked, broken world. Amongst those who constantly raise their fists in His face. Proudly walking against His ways! This God, chose to be born in this world.

From this child would come salvation to the world. people from every tribe, nation, and tongue would have their lives changed by the life of this child. For this God man came to seek and save the lost. His light broke through our darkness, giving hope and joy to all those that he calls and believes in His work. He came into this world through such a humble entrance to fulfill the requirements of the law by His life, to die upon a cross to satisfy the wrath of God, and be resurrected from the dead! How amazing is that! He did not come bringing wrath, He came to appease His wrath! He did not come with the law, condemning us for not doing it. He came to fulfill His law by His life! He did not come bring the sentence against us. He came bring complete pardon for all our sins!

God stepped into our world to give us what we could not have possible given or achieve by ourselves. What was impossible to us was possible to God! What love, greatness, majesty, grace, and mercy was shown to us that day 2,000 years ago when Christ took on the flesh of man to accomplish the eternal plan of salvation! That is why we celebrate this holiday!


Emmanuel
By Mark Altrogge

We have come today to worship
We have come to praise the One
Who came down into our darkness
Born a lowly virgin’s son
You who did not come with splendor
Pomp and strength and majesty
You who came to us in weakness
Born to us in poverty

Chorus:
Emmanuel, Emmanuel, Emmanuel
In You alone we hope and trust
Jesus, Savior, God with us
Emmanuel

We were blind and lost and godless
Wandering a trackless waste
Then hope arose, a glorious beacon
Like the star the wise men chased
Down from heaven came a Savior
Born a child, so small and frail
Taking up our pain and troubles
Conquering where we had failed

You who with a word created
Sun and moon and seas and sand
Lay there sleeping in a manger
Cradled by Your mother’s hand
You who made the mighty forests
Would lie down upon a tree
Fastened there with nails for sinners
Would bleed and die to set us free

Preaching Select Attributes of God and the Effect of that with the Practice of Denying Penal Substitution.

Here is a paper I wrote for one of my classes last semester. It could only be a short paper so I could not get that indept. Any how, I think it gets the main point of this debate.



Choosing to see and worship select attributes of God’s character can lead to truths of the Bible being denied. It is costly to preach only the attributes of God that you and your hearers want to believe and hear about. An example of this tendency is the denial of penal substitution because the doctrines if sin and God’s wrath are ignored.

An evangelical pastor made this statement about the doctrine of penal substitution (Jesus completely satisfying the wrath of God by His death for those who believe on Him) not to long ago,

"The fact is that the cross isn't a form of cosmic child abuse—a vengeful Father, punishing his Son for an offence he has not even committed…If the cross is a personal act of violence perpetrated by God towards humankind but borne by his Son, then it makes a mockery of Jesus' own teaching to love your enemies and to refuse to repay evil with evil." (Steve Chalke and Alan Mann, The Lost Message of Jesus, [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003], pp. 182-183)


Such was the statement made by this pastor, the belief that Jesus took the wrath of God upon Himself at the cross is equated with “cosmic child abuse.” The rejection of this truth, however, is not only coming from him. If one keeps an ear tuned to theological circles, he will come across more and more people who count penal substitution as a worthless or a offensive doctrine. Why is this happening?

Stand under most gospel presentations today and you will here a reduced gospel message about humanity. D. A. Carson sums up this gospel message preached today very well,

"In recent years it has become popular to sketch the Bible's story-line something like this: Ever since the fall, God has been active to reverse the effects of sin. He takes action to limit sin's damage; he calls out a new nation, the Israelites, to mediate his teaching and his grace to others; he promises that one day he will come as the promised Davidic king to overthrow sin and death and all their wretched effects. This is what Jesus does: he conquers death, inaugurates the kingdom of righteousness, and calls his followers to live out that righteousness now in prospect of the consummation still to come."(Why Is the Doctrine of Penal Substitution Again Coming Under Attack? by: D. A. Carson.)

Notice that missing from most gospel presentations is any mention of the offense that sin is to God and the wrath that He has against it. Sin has been reduced to pain and sorrow in this world. It is the troubles and grief that is brought on a person because of their bad choices. God’s response is simply to remove it from humanity. Sin is not a abominable act that insults the character of God. God’s view of sin is ignored or seen only in terms of it effect on humanity.

Added to this is the removal of the wrath of God upon sin. God is presented these days as a fixer of problems. No indignation from the rebellion that goes on before Him is even spoken of. No floods of anger and vengeance being stored up to be unleashed on God’s enemies is acknowledge. The infinite offense to God’s holiness that is caused by sin is a total stranger to the stereotypical evangelistic message.

So, what we get from this message is a reduced gospel. The problem is not that the story line is completely wrong. It is the fact that only half of God’s character is revealed. God’s justice and wrath are completely eclipsed by the intensification of God’s more acceptable, enjoyable, and delightful attributes. In essence, then, what we get from this selective message is no teaching on God’s wrath and justice. Thus, when the wrath of God is brought before people, it is a foreign and sometimes offense subject.

When one brings these facts to the penal substitution debate, puzzle pieces start falling into place as to why this doctrine is being denied. If the wrath of God is an unknown subject, no one would know that it must be removed? It would seem very odd that Christ would absorb the anger of God if God has not been angry at sinners. It would seem that Christ was given unnecessary affliction in His death. Thus, by the removal of the consideration of God’s wrath, the atmosphere for this doctrine to be denied has been made.

God’s attributes are not decorations of God that can be picked and chosen according to one’s preferences. God is all that He is. All his attributes make up His glorious character. This doctrinal debate is just an example of the consequences of only looking at the attributes of God that we like.