“For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom
did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the
foolishness of the message preached to save those who
believe.” (1Corinthians 1:21)
A few months ago a friend phoned to ask if I had ever heard
of Rick Warren. “Yes” I replied. “Why are you asking”? He
said, “I just got kicked out of a Bible Study for bringing
my Bible to it.” That is how the idea for this article came
to me.
The Bible study my friend attended was really a Purpose
Driven Life study group.
The Purpose
Driven Life book they
were studying referenced Bible passages that sounded off
base. He was told that if he was going to attend the study,
he would have to leave his Bible at home, because the issues
he brought up were disruptive to the group. He chose to quit
instead.
My first reaction was that the study group was just poorly
led. A few days later my friend gave me the book to read for
myself. In the first three pages I saw why bringing a real
Bible would disrupt a group studying Rick Warren. First,
Warren cited many
questionable Bible translations, often
without verse reference. Apart from that, one had to locate
the reference (information buried in the back of the book),
find the reference in a real Bible, go back to the place
where Warren used the passage to
see if the quoted
“translation” had any resemblance to the passage from an
acceptable text, and then make a decision about whether the
verse in question supported Warren’s claim. Of course, that
would disrupt a Bible study. Forty days of purpose would
soon be forty months!
Rick Warren’s eleven million copy bestseller has replaced
Bible preaching in thousands of pulpits and has replaced the
Bible in many thousands of Bible study groups. His website
claims he is starting a new Reformation. His claim is that
rather than reform what the church teaches like Luther did,
Warren is going to reform what the church does. He is well
on his way. Warren has turned the Gospel of Jesus Christ
into a method. The method is to invite people on a forty day
journey to discover the meaning of life.1 Warren’s students
are asked to take an oath before a witness (which Jesus
forbids) to turn forty days of their life over to Rick
Warren and his method. And there is more.
In this article I will show that Warren’s book teaches an
approach to the gospel that is not Biblical. His teaching is
in keeping with popular, American, evangelical pietism so it
is no wonder most evangelicals cannot see what is wrong with
it. It comes from a stream of theology that can be traced
back to Charles Finney who popularized a methodological “how
to” approach to the gospel that puts spiritual revival in
the hands of man to work at will. In doing so neither the
message nor the method of Jesus Christ and His apostles is
followed. To help show the difference between Warren’s
method and the gospel message I will cite John MacArthur’s
book Hard to Believe which explains the unadulterated gospel
better than any book I have recently read.2 There is a chasm
between the teachings of Warren and those of MacArthur. They
cannot both be right. Let’s begin.
This is Not about YOU, or is it?
Rick Warren begins the first day of his journey by saying,
“It’s not about you” (Warren: 17). Yet the entire book
“feels” like it is about you and reads like self-help
literature. He dedicates the book to “you” on the first page
after the copyright information and uses the pronoun “you”
continually throughout the book. Consider the following from
day eight:
"You were planned for God’s pleasure. The moment you were
born into the world God was there as an unseen witness,
smiling at your birth. He wanted you alive, and your arrival
gave him great pleasure. God did not need to create you, but
he chose to create you for his own enjoyment. . . . Bringing
enjoyment to God, living for his pleasure, is the first
purpose of your life. When you fully understand this truth,
you will never again have a problem with feeling
insignificant. It proves your worth. If you are that
important to God, and he considers you valuable enough to
keep with him for eternity, what greater significance could
you have?" (Warren: 63). (Italics in original; bold emphasis
mine)
His statement that this is not about “you” is disingenuous
(insincere). His style, word usage, Man-centeredness,
distorted Bible translations, and many overt statements show
that the book is about you!
Here is one more example of how obtrusive the personal
pronoun “you” is in Warren’s writing:
"Your unspoken life metaphor influences your life more than
you realize. It determines your expectations, your values,
your relationships, your goals, and your priorities. For
instance, if you think life is a party, your primary value
in life will be having fun. If you see life as a race, you
will value speed and will probably be in a hurry much of
your time. If you view life as a marathon, you will value
endurance. If you see life as a battle or a game, winning
will be very important to you (Warren: 42)." (italics in
original; bold emphasis mine)
Here we have sixteen instances of “you” or “your” in one
short paragraph. Notice also how Warren speaks what is no
more than his own personal opinion as if it were God’s
truth. He claims a “life metaphor” determines much of who we
are. By what authority does he make such a claim? This is
nothing but human wisdom. Warren started out this section
saying, “The way you see your life shapes your life. How you
define life determines your destiny” (Warren 41). Why should
I believe these statements? Warren speaks from his own self
as if he were God’s authoritative spokesperson. This is
Christianized humanism. Our thoughts and metaphors have
nothing to do with the gospel. We need to deny self, not set
up the right thoughts and life metaphors to assure a
wonderful destiny.
In researching this article, I had to read Warren for long
periods of time. This was difficult for me. I found his
material disturbing. To cleanse my mind from Warren’s
continual assaults on my thinking I took breaks to read John
MacArthur’s Hard To Believe. MacArthur got my mind and heart
back on the gospel and away from me (where Warren keeps
wanting to put it). Let me do the same for my readers.
Listen to MacArthur’s version of what to do with “YOU”:
"Jesus set the standard as total self-denial. In Luke 14:26,
a great multitude was following Him and He turned and spoke
to them: “If anyone comes to Me” – meaning those who wanted
to be His true followers—“and does not hate his father and
mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and his
own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” Self-hate? What a
powerful truth! . . . Following Jesus is not about you and
me. Being a Christian is not about us; it’s not about our
self-esteem. It’s about our being sick of our sin and our
desperation for forgiveness (MacArthur: 10)."
MacArthur points us to the clear teachings of Jesus, not
some questionable idea that a “life metaphor” determines our
destiny. We need to die to self, not discover self.
Warren would have us believe that something is furry,
meow’s, has four legs, and likes to chase mice, but is not a
cat. He tells us that his book is not about “you” and then
spends over three hundred pages making it about you, over
and over. This doesn’t just look like self-help, read like
self-help, sound like self-help and feel like self-help, it
is self-help and it is about you. That doesn’t help me. I
need the gospel to solve my sin problem. I don’t need Warren
aphorisms—and certainly not thousands of them.
The User Friendly Gospel: Warren’s Wide Gate
Rick Warren’s gospel is never clearly described. Here is one
of his statements about it: “God won’t ask about your
religious background or doctrinal views. The only thing that
will matter is, did you accept what Jesus did for you and
did you learn to love and trust him?” (Warren: 34). But,
doctrine does matter because our doctrine of Christ
determines whether we believe in the Christ of the Bible or
the Christ of Mormonism or some other religion.
John MacArthur’s hard-hitting book, on the other hand, makes
the gospel clear, powerful, and unmistakable. John MacArthur
puts forward the claims of Christ in His own words so that
the reader is faced with the offense of the cross in
unmistakable terms. Writes MacArthur, “We’ve seen that the
frequent solution for making the message more popular and
appealing is to distort and misrepresent the gospel by
pumping up the easy parts and downplaying or ignoring the
hard parts” (MacArthur: 201). Though MacArthur is not
speaking of Warren, MacArthur could not have described
Warren’s method more clearly. Warren’s book does contain
many Biblical truths. Missing, however, are many necessary
key truths. Subtracting key issues from the gospel changes
its essence....
Let us consider how he presents the gospel: “If you learn to
love and trust God’s Son . . .” It is true that we must love
and trust Christ, but this is not how Christ or His apostles
presented the gospel. They did not suggest that one has to
“learn to love Jesus,” implying that were He just dressed up
better He would be more lovable. Here is how Jesus said it,
“And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into
Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and
believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14,15). Warren is typical of
“deeper life” teachers who teach “easy believism” to enter
the Christian life and consider the claims of Christ to be
options for those who want to be “world class Christians”
(Warren: 297). Warren does not mention repentance until he
gets to a chapter called “how we grow” (Warren: 182). Jesus
(Mark 1:14, 15), Peter (Acts 2:38), and Paul (Acts 17:30)
commanded people to repent as terms of entrance into the
kingdom, not as a special teaching for elite Christians.
Repentance is part of the Great Commission: “He said to
them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and
rise again from the dead the third day;’ and that repentance
for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to
all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46, 47).
Learning to love Jesus (whose person and work is never
clearly explained by Warren) sounds so inviting. Repenting
in order to flee the wrath of God against sin just doesn’t
sell in today’s religious climate. Warren makes another
gospel invitation on page 58: “Right now, God is inviting
you to live for his glory by fulfilling the purposes he made
you for.” Warren makes believing very easy: “all you need to
do is receive and believe” (Warren: 58). He asks, “Will you
accept God’s offer?” (Warren: 58). After urging his readers
to believe God chose them and receive the Holy Spirit for
power to “fulfill your life purpose” (Warren 58), he offers
a little prayer that will save people. According to Warren,
here is how you are saved: “I invite you to bow your head
and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your
eternity, ‘Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you.” Then
he makes this promise, “If you sincerely meant that prayer
congratulations! Welcome to the family of God!” (Warren:
59). Say a little prayer and believe in a Jesus whose person
and work have not been clearly explained to you and you will
be saved, or so Warren says.
This is not the narrow gate that Jesus mentioned in Matthew
7. MacArthur warns about Warren’s sort of teaching,
“According to lots of churches and preachers, the answer is
to popularize the gospel: get rid of all this
slaying-yourself and carrying-your-cross stuff, and get a
decent band up there on stage” (MacArthur: 12). This is in a
section about the narrow gate. MacArthur continues,
“Listening to a seeker-sensitive evangelical preacher today,
we’re likely to think it’s easy to be a Christian. Just say
these little words, pray this little prayer, and poof!
you’re in the club.” (MacArthur: 12). This is exactly what
Warren suggested as the gospel, “Pray this little prayer.”
Do you suppose Stephen would have been martyred had he told
his audience, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for
your life, just say this little prayer and you will find out
for yourself”? Here is what Stephen preached: “You men who
are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are
always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your
fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not
persecute? And they killed those who had previously
announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers
and murderers you have now become; you who received the law
as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it” (Acts
7:51_53). After citing the history of Israel from the Old
Testament, Stephen brought his listeners face to face with
Messiah and the fact that they had refused to listen to Him.
They needed circumcised hearts! (Moses promised a
circumcised heart in Deuteronomy 30:6). They needed to be
converted by God’s grace and embrace the Messiah they had
betrayed. They killed Stephen instead. Stephen is honored in
the Bible. He knew nothing of the Warren version of the
gospel.
The problem is that the user-friendly gospel is giving
people false assurance. MacArthur explains, “People are
breezing through those wide, comfortable, inviting gates
with all their baggage, their self-needs, their self-esteem,
and their desire for fulfillment and self-satisfaction. And
the most horrible thing about it is they think they’re going
to heaven” (MacArthur: 13). Warren skips many things,
including the blood atonement, the doctrine of
justification, the wrath of God against sin, a clear
presentation of the person and work of Christ, and the need
for repentance as part of the gospel. He replaces all these
things with a personal journey to find one’s purpose. No
wonder millions are entering the broad gate that he offers.
Warren claims that we find our true self, MacArthur says
that our true self is so wicked and perverted that it must
die. MacArthur writes, “But start preaching the true gospel,
the hard words of Jesus that call for total and absolute
self-denial—the recognition that we’re worth nothing,
commendable for nothing, and that nothing in us is worth
salvaging—and that’s a lot less popular” (MacArthur 14, 15).
What we have is the narrow gate and the wide one, they lead
to entirely different destinies.
How Warren’s Bible Perversions Thwart Bereans
Earlier I mentioned that reading
The Purpose Driven Life and
checking it out with the Bible is a tedious task. Let me
illustrate this using one of Warren’s Bible references. Here
is Warren’s quote, “The Bible says, ‘Self-help is no help at
all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself,
your true self’” (Warren: 19). There is an endnote that
takes us to the back of the book. Once there, looking for
endnote 3, we have to figure out which of the forty days we
are in. So with one finger in the endnote section, we go
back to where we started to find out we were in day one. Now
we go back to the end note section for day one and find out
the reference is to Matthew 16:25 Msg. Assuming that msg is
not the food additive, we proceed to the section in the back
of the book that tells us the meaning of the abbreviations,
and we find out that it is from a Bible called The Message.
Now, having determined what passage is under consideration,
we get out a real Bible (not a paraphrase) and find out what
Matthew 16:25 says. Here it is: “For whoever wishes to save
his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My
sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:25).
Now we need to compare Matthew 16:25 with
The Message
perversion of it. In the context, Jesus was speaking of
dying to self by taking up one’s cross (Matthew 16:24). The
cross was not a burden to bear, but an executioner’s device.
A person seen carrying his cross had literally been
sentenced to death and was on the way to the place where he
would be executed. So the person who “loses his life” is the
one who has died to all hopes and dreams that the “self”
ever had in this life. He is willing to suffer the loss of
everything, even life itself if need be, for the sake of the
gospel. His reward is eternal life. The person who considers
the things of this life more important than the cross shall
lose his life eternally. He has made the things of this life
more important than his eternal soul. We are either willing
to die to everything through the cross and gain eternal
life, or we will cling to the things of this sinful world
and gain hell.
Having established the meaning of Matthew 16:25 in context,
now we must return to the verse as cited by Warren:
“Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my
way, to finding yourself, your true self.” Matthew 16:25 is
not discussing self-help, it is discussing life and death.
Matthew 16:25 is not discussing “finding your true self.”
The idea of a “true self” is a term of psychology and is not
found in the Bible. Matthew 16:25 is not talking about
self-sacrifice, it is talking about dying to self. About the
passage John MacArthur says this, “It’s not about exalting
me, it’s about slaying me. It’s the death of self. You win
by losing, you live by dying. And that is the heart message
of the gospel” (MacArthur: 5). Warren’s version of the
passage suggests that by self-sacrifice we find our “true
selves.” All false religions teach self-sacrifice, and
finding one’s true self is a New Age lie. The truth of the
gospel is that we must die to self through the cross and put
all of our hope in Christ by faith in His finished work.
Now, having established that The Message does not even have
the same concepts as the Biblical passage it claims to be a
paraphrase of, let’s return to Warren’s book and see how
Warren uses it. He uses it to show that we need to find out
the purposes God created us for. He says, “It is about
becoming what God created you to be” (Warren: 19). Now we
have been Bereans, searched the Scriptures, and found that
Warren is abusing them. He has obscured the clear gospel
message in Matthew 16:24, 25 and replaced it with a
spiritual journey to find the “true self.” So Warren
ostensibly is telling us we do not need self-help and then
sends us on a self-sacrificing journey to find our true self
(which is self-help). This man is the master of confusing
his readers.
Wow! What a lot of work it is to be a
Berean when reading Warren. It took all of that effort to
get through two paragraphs. The same process is necessary
several times on every page....
To show that the abuse of Matthew 16:25 is not an isolated
incidence, let us consider the passage Warren uses on the
un-numbered cover page of his book where he dedicates it to
“you.” Here is the passage he cites: “It’s in Christ that we
find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before
we first heard of Christ, . . . he had his eye on us, had
designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall
purpose he is working out in everything and everyone”
(Ephesians 1:11 Msg. as cited by Warren).
Here is what a
real Bible says: “also we have obtained an inheritance,
having been predestined according to His purpose who works
all things after the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11).
First of all let us consider to whom Paul is speaking. It is
clear from the context of Ephesians 1 the “we” means
believers, not people in general. Warren is writing to
people in general. He tells his readers that if they do not
have a relationship with Jesus he will explain later how to
have one (Warren: 20), which shows he is not writing just to
Christians. Furthermore, Warren’s “Bible” says, “we find out
who we are.” This suits his motif of a spiritual journey of
self-discovery. But the real Ephesians 1:11 says nothing
about finding out who we are. It tells us that Christians
have obtained an inheritance. Warren’s version does not even
mention that concept. It says, “he had his eye on us.” The
Bible says that Christians were “predestined according to
His purpose.” The pseudo-translation used by Warren does not
even have the concept of predestination. The real Bible
teaches God’s sovereign purposes as the ground of the
believer’s hope, and assures us that God’s comprehensive
sovereignty means that nothing can thwart God’s eternal
purposes. Warren’s “Bible” citation obscures this truth and
implies
universalism in the way he applies it.
It is sinful to claim to speak authoritatively for God when
one is not. It is sinful to
add to or take away from God’s
Word. One cannot introduce a statement “the Bible says” and
then cite what the Bible does not say. Warren does
this many times....
Here is one more example of this practice. Warren says,
“God’s motive for creating you was his love. The Bible says,
‘Long before he laid down the earth’s foundations, he had us
in mind, and had settled on us as the focus of his love’”
(Warren: 24). The endnote reference tells us this is
Ephesians 1:4a from The Message. Here is the NASB: “just as
He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.”
Warren addresses all people (remember he has not yet
told people how to become Christian)....
American Pietism
On the surface, Warren promotes
a very rigorous version of Christianity. He calls for total
surrender as the way to the “deeper” life (Warren: 82, 83).
He distinguishes between “worldly” and “world-class”
Christians (Warren: 297). He tells his readers to do many
things to make themselves better Christians. Most of it
comes down to making choices and working harder at following
Warren’s teachings....
Mysticism
Mysticism usually goes hand and hand with pietism wherever
it exists. When people promote “secrets for the deeper
life,” they generally claim to have received them by some
divine revelation. These secrets often involve prayer
techniques that help someone hear from God. True to form,
Warren offers these in Practicing the Presence of God
(Warren: 88) where he states, “practicing the presence of
God is a skill” (Warren: 89). This mystical approach is
borrowed from some versions of Roman Catholicism.
Warren also promotes “breath prayers” which are endless
repetitions of short phrases (Warren: 89). Jesus forbids
this type of prayer: “And when you are praying, do not use
meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose
that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7).
It is a pagan practice that has the effect of shutting down
the mind. Warren suggests that God will share His secrets
with us if we follow Warren’s techniques (Warren: 91). He
promises that the meditative techniques he promotes will
“let God speak to you” (Warren: 91). He says, “In the next
chapter we will see four more secrets of cultivating a
friendship with God” (Warren: 91).
There are no such secrets. There are the things revealed
which are clearly taught in the Scriptures, and the secret
things that belong to God alone (Deuteronomy 29:29). Secret,
spiritual knowledge and techniques for gaining such
knowledge are called “divination” in the Bible and are
forbidden. The way to be a friend of God is through
repenting and believing the gospel; it is not by practicing
mystical religious techniques. MacArthur says, “Thus in the
inspired word of the Bible, and only there, we have the mind
of God and the mind of Christ” (MacArthur: 212).
Do Not have a Bible Study, Have a Warren Study
Rick Warren makes an amazing claim. He writes, “The last
thing many believers need today is to go to another Bible
study. They already know far more than they are putting into
practice” (Warren: 231). This shows that his deeper life
pietism is an alternative to the means of grace provided in
Scripture. The Word of God is a gracious means by which God
changes us. Warren reduces the Bible to an instruction
manual, a how to live a better life guideline. In that sort
of thinking we should stop progress until we have mastered
everything learned so far. But that is not what the Bible
says. The Word of God changes us progressively. As we study
we have our minds renewed and our faith strengthened. If we
must put into practice what we learn before we study more we
would never study the Bible again after reading this verse:
“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is
perfect” (Matthew 5:48). According to Warren’s logic, if we
know that verse, we know more than we are putting into
practice and we should not go to another Bible study.
Later in his book we learn why Warren warns against Bible
study for those who are not perfect: he has an alternative!
“I strongly urge you to gather a small group of friends and
form a Purpose-Driven Life Reading Group to review these
chapters on a weekly basis” (Warren: 307). We are to have a
Warren study to replace the Bible study. The amazing thing
is that thousands and thousands of groups around the world
have taken Warren’s advice and began studying his book,
leaving their Bibles at home. Pastors are preaching from
Warren’s materials rather than God’s Word.
Warren also says,
“After you have gone through this book together as a group,
you might consider studying other purpose-driven life
studies that are available for classes and groups” (Warren:
307). The message of the gospel has been replaced with the
method of Rick Warren. The Bible has been supplanted by the
wisdom of man.
In contrast to this, MacArthur, explaining Paul’s words in
2Corinthians 4, says, “We will not walk in panourgia, in
trickery, adulterating the Word of God, tampering with the
gospel to make it less offensive, in order for men to
commend us. Instead, we will be faithful to the gospel,
manifesting the truth in order to commend ourselves to every
man’s conscience, with God watching” (MacArthur: 49). When
we add unbiblical human methods and subtract essential
aspects of the gospel, we adulterate it. That is exactly
what Rick Warren has done.
Syrupy Sentimentality
Warren’s terminology to describe God provides a picture of
God as a kindly grandfather who gushes with warm, fuzzy
feelings. For example, he has a chapter that tells us what
makes God smile. He uses Noah as an example. He writes, “But
there was one man who made God smile. The Bible says, ‘Noah
was a pleasure to the Lord’” (Warren: 69). This is a
citation of Genesis 6:8 from the Living Bible. Again the
paraphrase turns a verse that is God-centered into one that
is man-centered. The NASB says, “But Noah found favor in the
eyes of the Lord.” The Bible tells what Noah received from
God. The poor translation Warren uses makes Noah the agent
and God the recipient. The NKJV is more pointed: “But Noah
found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8; NKJV). In
the Biblical account God gives grace to Noah, in Warren’s
account Noah gives pleasure to God. Here is how Warren
interprets Genesis 6:8: “God said, ‘This guy brings me
pleasure. He makes me smile. I’ll start over with his
family’” (Warren 69). He twists Genesis 6:8 to promote his
man-centered theology and obscure the fact that it was God’s
grace that made Noah who he was.
Warren continually
tells us what God feels when we do
certain things. He says, “Like a proud parent,
God
especially enjoys watching you use the talents and abilities
he has given you” (Warren: 74). He also says, “You only
bring him enjoyment by being you” (Warren 75). Somehow
Warren knows a cause and effect relationship between various
things we do and God’s emotions. He says, “God even enjoys
watching you sleep!” (Warren 75). He has discovered six
secrets to being “a best friend of God” (Warren: 87)....
You will not learn about God’s
holiness from Warren. You will not hear passages like this:
“See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For
if those did not escape when they refused him who warned
them on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from
Him who warns from heaven” (Hebrews 12:25).
The Bible teaches that God does not change. All of God’s
attributes are always His in their full perfection at all
times. God continually is merciful and just. His wrath
against sin coexists with His mercy toward those who repent
and believe the Gospel. Warren’s sentimentality makes God
seem dependent on man for His happiness. The author of
Hebrews continues: “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom
which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we
may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and
awe; for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28, 29).
Making God appear to be like a doting parent gaining
happiness from watching his or her kid play softball does
not do justice to the Biblical portrayal of the nature of
God.
Theologically this constitutes over emphasizing God’s
immanence at the expense of His transcendence. This tendency
is the hallmark of theological liberalism. The Bible teaches
that both are true of God. For example this passage teaches
both: “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives
forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and holy
place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In
order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the
heart of the contrite’” (Isaiah 57:15). By never referencing
passages about God being holy and separate from sinners, we
gain a skewed understanding of God’s nature.
Conclusion
In 1982 Robert Schuller announced his plans for a new
reformation based on self-esteem.3 His stated purpose was to
make theology less God-centered and more man-centered.
...
Rick Warren... wants a new
reformation. He is promoting a
PEACE plan
to solve the world’s five biggest problems.4
Apparently, the church needs a new reformation every twenty
years. What happened to Schuller’s reformation?
...I
have come to the conclusion that Rick Warren is completely
in step with Schuller’s reformation, and is carrying it
forward in a way that is more appealing to evangelicals
(whether or not he is consciously following Schuller).
Warren’s man-centered theology comes with more evangelical
ideas than does Schuller’s. Warren includes many more
Biblical truths than Schuller ever did. In my opinion this
makes Warren more deceptive than Schuller. Schuller ignored
the Bible and depended on psychological concepts. Warren
uses perverted Bible translations that change God-centered
passages to man-centered passages. By carefully selecting
the right mistranslation for each of his teaching points he
has made the man-centered theology touted by Schuller seem
Biblical.
Now Warren wants to reform the church to focus on social
action rather than gospel preaching. Wow! Look how far we
have come. One of these times this man-centered reformation
will succeed. When it does the modern evangelical church
will be the latest incarnation of liberalism.5...
The gospel is based on a crucified Jewish Messiah, a concept
offensive to all sinners. However, to those who embrace the
scandal of the cross and by faith escape the just wrath of
God, that
gospel is the power of God for salvation. Dear
reader, you have a choice between a spiritual journey to
discover your purpose and the message of the gospel that
declares God’s purposes. The one will make you think you are
on the path to heaven when you may not be, the other will
put you on the path to heaven by God’s sovereign power. I
urge you to embrace the gospel on God’s terms.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End
Notes
1. Rick Warren, The
Purpose Driven Life, (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2002); Warren
says that his book is, “[A] guide to a 40_day spiritual
journey that will enable you to discover the answer to
life’s most important question: What on earth am I here
for”?; 9.
2. John MacArthur, Hard to
Believe – The High Cost and Infinite Value of Following
Jesus; (Thomas Nelson: Nashville, 2003) From here on in this
article I will reference Warren and MacArthur according to
this protocol: (MacArthur: 23). All references are to The
Purpose Driven Life and Hard to Believe unless noted
otherwise.
3. Robert Schuller,
Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, (Waco, Word Books, 1982).
4. http://www.saddleback.com/home/todaystory.asp?id=6213
(on his website as of 2_2_04).
5. See http://www.twincityfellowship.com/cic/articles/issue56.htm
which traces Robert Schuller to early 20th century
liberalism. The seeker sensitive version of the church
growth movement finds its inspiration from Schuller.
Copyright © 1992-2005 Twin City
Fellowship
Please
read the rest the of this much-needed message -- along
with the endnotes and references -- at
http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue80.htm
Other articles by Bob DeWaay:
True and False
Unity
|
Redefining the Church
Faulty Premises
of the Church Growth Movement
“Church Health
Award” from Rick Warren or Jesus Christ?
Faulty Premises
of the Church Growth Movement
Bob DeWaay is
the Pastor of
Twin City Fellowship, a
non-denominational evangelical Church in Minneapolis, MN:
"We are a
body of believers who attempt to live our Christian
faith according to Acts 2:42 by devoting ourselves to
prayer, fellowship, searching the Scriptures, and the
Lord’s Supper. Our mission is to equip the saints for the work of
ministry and to reach the lost with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. We do this through expository preaching, study
of the Scriptures, publications, our website and
neighborhood outreaches."