A couple of weeks ago I was driving about an hour south of
where I live and picked up American Family Radio (AFR). As bad as the Family
Life Network is, I must say AFR is perhaps worse, or at least more overtly political.
Every time I've tuned in, its airwaves propagate Scriptural error and bad
politics rooted in the network's bad theology.
In this case the call-in show, "Exploring the Word"
demonstrated a real deficiency in Scriptural discernment. I only caught part of
the show, but what I heard was telling and motivated me to write this. I am
compelled to continue sounding the warning with regard to Evangelicalism in
general but also the pervasive, growing and frankly often pernicious influence
of Christian radio.
In the discussion regarding worship and the propriety of
things like choirs and special music, what I heard was a long-winded defense of
these practices... and yet was Scripture appealed to? No. And of course the
only possible appeal can be made (at least for choirs) by looking to the
Levitical order. The hosts attacked the idea that such things as special music
were tantamount to entertainment because well, 'they know' that people do these
things with sincerity and therefore it's honouring to the Lord. I kept waiting
for something more, some kind of Scriptural polemic, even if desperately flawed,
but it never came. Apparently that was the argument, QED.
It needs to be said that their defense of extra-Scriptural
innovations was subjective, emotional and rooted in tradition and ultimately in
their own cultural preferences. Not once were they able to marshal any kind of
Scriptural argument or provide even a basic example of exegesis or even a 'good
and necessary consequence'-type theological argument I might expect from a
scholastic theologian. There was no concept of New Testament versus Old
Testament, the flow of Redemptive-History, or even a mention of passages such
as John 4.24 and what it might mean or how it might inform such questions. It
was frankly kind of pathetic, especially for a programme that purports to
'explore the Word'.
But then it got worse. A Jewish man called in who seemed
interested in converting to Christianity. You could tell the hosts were beside
themselves. They were eager to share the gospel and see this son of the Old
Covenant converted. But what did we
hear?
First, they started bending over backwards to him, referring
to Christ as 'Yeshua' and the like. That is of course his name, but the
'switch' to Messianic-Jewish type lingo represented a strange rapprochement, an
attempt to form a very forced and artificial bridge with this caller, who
apparently didn't need that kind of diplomacy. He was candid in his wish to
understand the gospel. The AFR hosts seem to think a quasi-Judaized approach
was warranted. This only demonstrates the confusion and error which continues
to flow from the polluted font of Dispensational theology and its retention of
Old Covenant Israel as well as its expectation of a future Mosaic-Levitical
restoration.
But clearly the gospel they presented did not call for a change
in identity. Oh no, since Judaism is still more or less legitimate and Jewish
identity is still an operative if parallel covenant, there was no call to
abandon the heritage, to understand that in Christ there is no Jew or Gentile.
It's a hard message to be sure, especially given the history
and I'm not saying that someone has to disown their family lineage. And yet,
the idea that you can still flirt with Judaism and yet be a Christian, while the
notion is popular to be sure, it flies in the face of New Testament doctrine.
There was an 'overlap' or transition period between the Cross
and the destruction of the Temple. For roughly 40 years, from about the year 29
up until 70AD, there was a remaining Christian and theologically rooted tolerance
for things Mosaic. This comes up in Acts and in passages like Romans 14. The
Temple still stood and the Mosaic order still had a seeming viability. And yet
after the numerically significant and symbolic 40 year period of trial and
transition (so to speak) the Old Order was (in fulfillment of both Daniel's and
Christ's prophecies) destroyed and forever removed with the destruction of
Jerusalem and the Temple by the armies of the Flavian Emperors.
Contrary to Dispensational teaching, the Temple is not to be
rebuilt and the Jewish people have no further claim on that land. The Old
Covenant is terminated as both the Pauline epistles and the author of Hebrews
make all too clear. It has been fulfilled and thus is obsolete. The Temple is
now revealed to be the Body of Christ, the promises, indeed all the promises
are revealed to be affirmed and confirmed (yea and amen) in Christ. To teach
that Old Testament prophecies have yet to be fulfilled and are fulfilled
outside of Christ, finding their fulfillment in land, temples and genealogies
is contrary to the teaching of the Apostles. It is by definition a Judaized
theology which reads the New Testament and the person and work of Christ
through a Mosaic lens, a lens that places Moses over Christ and subjects New
Testament doctrine to a particular hyper-literalistic (and often grossly inconsistent)
non-Christocentric reading of the Old Testament.
Finally, the misguided AFR hosts presented a gospel with no
repentance. 'Ask Jesus to come into your life', was what this Jewish man was
presented with. What a tragic moment.
That's not the gospel. The gospel is the proclamation of
man's fall and doom, and the work of Christ on the cross and how that work is
appropriated to us through Union with Him. This Union (which entails an array
of doctrines such as adoption, justification, sanctification and glorification)
is activated and actuated by Spirit-wrought faith which is primarily to be
understood as trust.
The gospel calls us to not only faith, or to put it another
way that same faith necessarily entails and demands a living and active
repentance.
But the AFR gospel contained none of these things, certainly
no concept of repentance. Asking Jesus into your life, is not the request of
one who is broken and desperate, one who is severed from the Divine and thus seeks
reconciliation with God, one who is grieved and devastated by sin's unholy grip
and its effects.
No, AFR's gospel is the 'Cheap Grace' gospel of Billy Graham
which has and continues to send multitudes to hell with a false assurance. We
do not 'ask' Jesus to come into our life... the language of the false Carnal
Christian teaching that delineates two types of Christians... those who have
Jesus in their life and those that
have made him Lord of their life by
means of a second work of grace or some other higher life teaching.
No, the first example is not a Christian at all. Jesus is
Lord or He is not your saviour. You cannot play games with Christ and His Gospel.
A gospel without repentance is no gospel.
AFR was revealed once more to be a radio network that is more
concerned with America and a political agenda than an outlet devoted to
strengthening Christian families by rooting them in Biblical truth. At best it
promotes a type of cultural semi-traditionalist Christianity which in the end
is a counterfeit.
I have been disappointed every time I've ever heard AFR and
yet this time I must say I was not only frustrated but grieved, even angry.
I sincerely hope the Jewish man who called in is able to sit
under true Gospel preaching and is not led down the path by those who seek
proselytes (and voters) but instead preach a gospel that makes their hearers
twice the children of hell.
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