Why YF's Consider Leaving Fundamentalism (My View)
August 11, 2008 Some Fundamentalists have asked, "Why are Young Fundamentalists (YF) considering leaving the Fundamentalist movement," while at the same time the YF is asking, "What benefit is there to stay in the Fundamentalist movement?"
To be honest, I attend a church which identifies itself as within the Fundamentalist movement. But I would not count myself loyal to Fundamentalism (or even the larger Evangelical arena), per se, only faithful and loyal in so far as the Gospel Itself is concerned, as far as It is preached and applied. And I am thankful for my Pastor's proclamation of the Gospel- in season and out of season.
My goal, as is many Fundamentalists I know, is to be faithful to Scripture, its commands, demands, and statutes in general and the Gospel specifically. This means searching the Scriptures, asking questions, and taking God at "face value" based on what we see in Scripture. This means, on a basic level at least, being looked down upon because we do not agree on various levels of doctrine.
That's fine by me.
This, I believe, is one of the reasons YF consider leaving Fundamentalism. They do not see, for instance, the doctrine of separation in its typical Fundamentalist application as the right way to apply it. This, then, can get (and does get) misconstrued by other Fundamentalists who think YF do not believe in separation at all.
YF want to be faithful to the Gospel; not Fundamentalism. Jesus died for us. Fundamentalism did not die for us. The problem, as I see it, is there is an assumed equality between Fundamentalism and the Gospel. The Gospel does not equal Fundamentalism. But if Fundamentalism equals the Gospel- no less, no more- then I will be faithful to it. And as long as that's the case, I'll just use the biblical term- Gospel.
Another reason I see YF consider leaving Fundamentalism is the seeming lack of scholarly and loving discourse. How many times have I stepped into a Fundamentalist church and heard phrases like, "Be Fundamental!!" ~ whatever that really means. Or the fact that the various Fundamentalist preachers I have sat under in years gone by were striving to be so faithful to the Written Word (which I agree!) that they leave the point of ALL of Scripture out of their messages- namely Jesus.
This is a functional denial of the Gospel, a functional denial of Jesus being our Mediator between God and man.
You will hear things like, "Be holy," "walk humbly with your God," and "take out the beam from your eye before you address the speck in another person's eye" which are all biblical things to proclaim. But when Jesus is not proclaimed in mediation of these commands, all we hear are self-help messages in Christian-ese.
After all, the mediating command which MUST be obeyed, before any other command can be fulfilled in us, is, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!!" For when we obey this command, we automatically receive the righteousness of the law as if we have fulfilled every jot and tittle because Jesus fulfilled it! Conversely our sin AND our good works (which are filthy rags in reality) are placed upon Jesus Who became sin for us!
How can I be holy if Jesus is not my holiness? How can I be humble if Jesus is not my humility- after all, isn't humility slippery in that once we think we have it, we've lost it? And how can I take the beams of my sin out of my eye if I am not looking to my Standard of Righteousness Who is Jesus? Otherwise, I've exchanged my current sin-beam for a less noticeable sin- sin of and in the heart- namely pride?
Further, how can we be justified in urging people to Jesus when all we've preached is works righteousness while speaking of Jesus as a passing comment? Even in a Gospel-Saturated context, if Jesus is not preached even one time, the hearers will begin to think that they need to do whatever the exhortation is without faith in Christ. Think, "Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!"
This, certainly, is not an issue only with Fundamentalism but with any Bible preaching church- Fundamentalist or Evangelical.
How often do Fundamentalists speak against the heretical teachings of the Osteens of the world (which is needed!) but yet, they allow near heretical/heretical men who base their whole ministries on a lie and use Scripture totally out of context and misapplications! It wasn't until the one I'm thinking of was "caught" that they "separated" from him (I am still reeling after that one- to be flatly honest- and I constantly preach the Gospel to myself to combat the effects of that situation every time I think of it). The issue is that these people preach Scriptural things but from the wrong passages AND they do not preach Christ. If we're faithful to Scripture, that means we should be faithful to the context from which a sermon is brought.
Fundamentalists have their own accepted associations which, from where I sit, are equal to if not worse than John Piper in the Baptist General Conference or Mark Dever in SBC.
And lastly, I believe some YF consider leaving Fundamentalism because they see that Fundamentalism is not perfect. Granted, no church in Evangelicalism or Fundamentalism is perfect. After all, every church is filled with sinners. Fundamentalism, as a whole, may be categorized by legalism but many Evangelical churches can be characterized by license- Both need the Gospel AND law- for you can not have one without the other. If you emphasize the one without the other, you fall into error.
However, many Fundamentalists seem to give the impression that Fundamentalism is the primary group / movement in which God works.
What utter foolishness and pride.
God is faithful only unto Himself which means He is faithful to the Gospel (after all, God is the Gospel- Jesus). And God's faithfulness to us is a result of His being faithful unto Himself. It is the Gospel that is the power unto salvation- not Evangelicalism or Fundamentalism. God will bless each in so far as the Gospel is rightly proclaimed and applied.
If I may be so blunt, who cares if YF consider "leaving" Fundamentalism? IF they're pursuing faithfulness to the Gospel, then separation from the separatists may be necessary. Ironic? Maybe, but sometimes faithfulness to the Gospel demands ironic actions.
But then again, sometimes faithfulness to the Gospel demands you stay where it's not perfect to proclaim and practice the Gospel to all those who need It. Because everyone needs the Gospel- not just the people you like.
August 11, 2008 Some Fundamentalists have asked, "Why are Young Fundamentalists (YF) considering leaving the Fundamentalist movement," while at the same time the YF is asking, "What benefit is there to stay in the Fundamentalist movement?"
To be honest, I attend a church which identifies itself as within the Fundamentalist movement. But I would not count myself loyal to Fundamentalism (or even the larger Evangelical arena), per se, only faithful and loyal in so far as the Gospel Itself is concerned, as far as It is preached and applied. And I am thankful for my Pastor's proclamation of the Gospel- in season and out of season.
My goal, as is many Fundamentalists I know, is to be faithful to Scripture, its commands, demands, and statutes in general and the Gospel specifically. This means searching the Scriptures, asking questions, and taking God at "face value" based on what we see in Scripture. This means, on a basic level at least, being looked down upon because we do not agree on various levels of doctrine.
That's fine by me.
This, I believe, is one of the reasons YF consider leaving Fundamentalism. They do not see, for instance, the doctrine of separation in its typical Fundamentalist application as the right way to apply it. This, then, can get (and does get) misconstrued by other Fundamentalists who think YF do not believe in separation at all.
YF want to be faithful to the Gospel; not Fundamentalism. Jesus died for us. Fundamentalism did not die for us. The problem, as I see it, is there is an assumed equality between Fundamentalism and the Gospel. The Gospel does not equal Fundamentalism. But if Fundamentalism equals the Gospel- no less, no more- then I will be faithful to it. And as long as that's the case, I'll just use the biblical term- Gospel.
Another reason I see YF consider leaving Fundamentalism is the seeming lack of scholarly and loving discourse. How many times have I stepped into a Fundamentalist church and heard phrases like, "Be Fundamental!!" ~ whatever that really means. Or the fact that the various Fundamentalist preachers I have sat under in years gone by were striving to be so faithful to the Written Word (which I agree!) that they leave the point of ALL of Scripture out of their messages- namely Jesus.
This is a functional denial of the Gospel, a functional denial of Jesus being our Mediator between God and man.
You will hear things like, "Be holy," "walk humbly with your God," and "take out the beam from your eye before you address the speck in another person's eye" which are all biblical things to proclaim. But when Jesus is not proclaimed in mediation of these commands, all we hear are self-help messages in Christian-ese.
After all, the mediating command which MUST be obeyed, before any other command can be fulfilled in us, is, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!!" For when we obey this command, we automatically receive the righteousness of the law as if we have fulfilled every jot and tittle because Jesus fulfilled it! Conversely our sin AND our good works (which are filthy rags in reality) are placed upon Jesus Who became sin for us!
How can I be holy if Jesus is not my holiness? How can I be humble if Jesus is not my humility- after all, isn't humility slippery in that once we think we have it, we've lost it? And how can I take the beams of my sin out of my eye if I am not looking to my Standard of Righteousness Who is Jesus? Otherwise, I've exchanged my current sin-beam for a less noticeable sin- sin of and in the heart- namely pride?
Further, how can we be justified in urging people to Jesus when all we've preached is works righteousness while speaking of Jesus as a passing comment? Even in a Gospel-Saturated context, if Jesus is not preached even one time, the hearers will begin to think that they need to do whatever the exhortation is without faith in Christ. Think, "Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!"
This, certainly, is not an issue only with Fundamentalism but with any Bible preaching church- Fundamentalist or Evangelical.
How often do Fundamentalists speak against the heretical teachings of the Osteens of the world (which is needed!) but yet, they allow near heretical/heretical men who base their whole ministries on a lie and use Scripture totally out of context and misapplications! It wasn't until the one I'm thinking of was "caught" that they "separated" from him (I am still reeling after that one- to be flatly honest- and I constantly preach the Gospel to myself to combat the effects of that situation every time I think of it). The issue is that these people preach Scriptural things but from the wrong passages AND they do not preach Christ. If we're faithful to Scripture, that means we should be faithful to the context from which a sermon is brought.
Fundamentalists have their own accepted associations which, from where I sit, are equal to if not worse than John Piper in the Baptist General Conference or Mark Dever in SBC.
And lastly, I believe some YF consider leaving Fundamentalism because they see that Fundamentalism is not perfect. Granted, no church in Evangelicalism or Fundamentalism is perfect. After all, every church is filled with sinners. Fundamentalism, as a whole, may be categorized by legalism but many Evangelical churches can be characterized by license- Both need the Gospel AND law- for you can not have one without the other. If you emphasize the one without the other, you fall into error.
However, many Fundamentalists seem to give the impression that Fundamentalism is the primary group / movement in which God works.
What utter foolishness and pride.
God is faithful only unto Himself which means He is faithful to the Gospel (after all, God is the Gospel- Jesus). And God's faithfulness to us is a result of His being faithful unto Himself. It is the Gospel that is the power unto salvation- not Evangelicalism or Fundamentalism. God will bless each in so far as the Gospel is rightly proclaimed and applied.
If I may be so blunt, who cares if YF consider "leaving" Fundamentalism? IF they're pursuing faithfulness to the Gospel, then separation from the separatists may be necessary. Ironic? Maybe, but sometimes faithfulness to the Gospel demands ironic actions.
But then again, sometimes faithfulness to the Gospel demands you stay where it's not perfect to proclaim and practice the Gospel to all those who need It. Because everyone needs the Gospel- not just the people you like.