Is It Progressive?
"What does Progressive Christianity look like?"
This question can be best answered by first asking, "From whose perspective are we defining progressive?"
The above question was asked today and it got me thinking and thinking what the best response would be. I like to take everything to God before I respond, and His response was astounding. Please exercise a lot of patience, and dare I say love, in reading this piece as well as allowing God to expand your understanding. You see, He gives us each words of both knowledge and understanding, based on who we are and our life experiences, so that we can better frame the questions which plague not just society, but I believe the issues that have caused many to feel stuck in one place or another.
If I were a Jew asking this question back when Jesus walked the earth, I would say quite frankly that the words Jesus was speaking, which transformed and elevated Judaism, would be "progressive". At the time Jesus came on the scene, women were worth less than the animals in a man’s stable. This came directly out of the synagogues as teachings during the 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testament. During that period, I believe it's very possible a heartbroken rabbi started to teach negativity regarding women and the ways of "religion" took that and ran with it. Yet throughout the Old Testament, many women were lauded by God. You have great examples in women like Esther, Deborah, Ruth, Naomi, Jael, and Rahab, just to name a few. These women were used so mightily by God, and I have often wondered what changed. What had happened from then till now to make women lose their position with God?
I soon realized it wasn’t that they had lost position with God, it was that they had lost their place of honor with men. To this day we have not been the same. But let’s introduce Jesus into the picture. He comes on the scene and introduces Himself to the lady at the well. He then raises the woman caught in adultery from shame to honor, when the religious would have stoned her to death. I say all of this to say that you never leave an encounter with Jesus the same as when you went into it. Jesus transforms us by His love, but then also by His teachings. He challenged the societal norms of His time! He shook all of the teachings to the point to where, not only did it confuse the religious, it also illuminated the thinking of those who paid attention to His teachings. When you dive deeper into Jesus and His teachings you begin to understand that He did come to keep the status quo, but rather to eliminate it.
In doing so, though, one thing we know He did not do was contradict his Father. On the things that were hard and fast with His Father, even though Jesus did not say anything about it, it did not mean that God changed His mind about those issues, it meant that it was not to be touched. The Ten Commandments are still as relevant today as when they where when Moses brought them down from Mt. Sinai. We all know the list of them, but for the sake of this piece, I would like to focus on the first one.
"THOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GOD BEFORE ME. " Exodus 20:3-5
This is paramount to God because mankind has this uncanny tendency to build idols unto themselves. The feel-good little "gods". Yet we know that God is a consuming fire and a jealous God. He gets jealous for our time, love, and companionship. His very name means "Jealous" according to Moses in the book of Exodus. When Adam and Eve sinned, they robbed God of that union. (See Hebrew 12:29, Joshua 24:19, Exodus 34:14)
Now that we know God is a jealous God, do we think He has changed? Do you truly believe that His character changed to such a degree that He would be willing to share us, our love, our time and our companionship with anyone else, including ourselves?
Now for the intention of this piece, I am going to stay here for a minute. Mankind has managed to mold and make many types of gods since then but the one that has become the most problematic to God is man himself. When we start doing the things that matter to us, going to the church that matches what we think church should look like,... when we start weighing the pros and cons of a particular place to worship based on whether they will say the things I am comfortable with or not, we have a problem. The problems of this day are no different than those of long ago.
This question can be best answered by first asking, "From whose perspective are we defining progressive?"
The above question was asked today and it got me thinking and thinking what the best response would be. I like to take everything to God before I respond, and His response was astounding. Please exercise a lot of patience, and dare I say love, in reading this piece as well as allowing God to expand your understanding. You see, He gives us each words of both knowledge and understanding, based on who we are and our life experiences, so that we can better frame the questions which plague not just society, but I believe the issues that have caused many to feel stuck in one place or another.
If I were a Jew asking this question back when Jesus walked the earth, I would say quite frankly that the words Jesus was speaking, which transformed and elevated Judaism, would be "progressive". At the time Jesus came on the scene, women were worth less than the animals in a man’s stable. This came directly out of the synagogues as teachings during the 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testament. During that period, I believe it's very possible a heartbroken rabbi started to teach negativity regarding women and the ways of "religion" took that and ran with it. Yet throughout the Old Testament, many women were lauded by God. You have great examples in women like Esther, Deborah, Ruth, Naomi, Jael, and Rahab, just to name a few. These women were used so mightily by God, and I have often wondered what changed. What had happened from then till now to make women lose their position with God?
I soon realized it wasn’t that they had lost position with God, it was that they had lost their place of honor with men. To this day we have not been the same. But let’s introduce Jesus into the picture. He comes on the scene and introduces Himself to the lady at the well. He then raises the woman caught in adultery from shame to honor, when the religious would have stoned her to death. I say all of this to say that you never leave an encounter with Jesus the same as when you went into it. Jesus transforms us by His love, but then also by His teachings. He challenged the societal norms of His time! He shook all of the teachings to the point to where, not only did it confuse the religious, it also illuminated the thinking of those who paid attention to His teachings. When you dive deeper into Jesus and His teachings you begin to understand that He did come to keep the status quo, but rather to eliminate it.
In doing so, though, one thing we know He did not do was contradict his Father. On the things that were hard and fast with His Father, even though Jesus did not say anything about it, it did not mean that God changed His mind about those issues, it meant that it was not to be touched. The Ten Commandments are still as relevant today as when they where when Moses brought them down from Mt. Sinai. We all know the list of them, but for the sake of this piece, I would like to focus on the first one.
"THOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GOD BEFORE ME. " Exodus 20:3-5
This is paramount to God because mankind has this uncanny tendency to build idols unto themselves. The feel-good little "gods". Yet we know that God is a consuming fire and a jealous God. He gets jealous for our time, love, and companionship. His very name means "Jealous" according to Moses in the book of Exodus. When Adam and Eve sinned, they robbed God of that union. (See Hebrew 12:29, Joshua 24:19, Exodus 34:14)
Now that we know God is a jealous God, do we think He has changed? Do you truly believe that His character changed to such a degree that He would be willing to share us, our love, our time and our companionship with anyone else, including ourselves?
Now for the intention of this piece, I am going to stay here for a minute. Mankind has managed to mold and make many types of gods since then but the one that has become the most problematic to God is man himself. When we start doing the things that matter to us, going to the church that matches what we think church should look like,... when we start weighing the pros and cons of a particular place to worship based on whether they will say the things I am comfortable with or not, we have a problem. The problems of this day are no different than those of long ago.
The yardstick we ought to be using to measure any place of worship is whether they are scripturally sound. Your very soul depends on it. Where your soul spends eternity depends on it. We can no longer do what we feel is right, but rather be so close to God in our walk that we do not want to risk losing our way. We should be longing to walk step in step with Jesus. We will fall, most assuredly, but the most important thing is that we get back up, with our eyes fixed on Jesus. Any church worth its salt will not compromise the word of God for numbers, bodies we fill in the seats or even how many people will walk through our doors.
A very sound warning that each church preacher, teacher, apostle, evangelist and any other office listed in God’s word can be found in James 4:4…clearly stated, don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? I say it again, friendship with the world is enmity with God. Listen, that is the brother of Jesus talking! He is warning us to be very careful. I do not want my pastor to be friends with the world! If he is, it means he is willing to compromise the Word in order to please man.
That, my friends, guarantees that we won’t spend eternity with our God. Our hearts should be bent towards Jesus’ example. He did not speak unless His Father wanted him to, and He did only what His Father wanted Him to do. If that is the baseline that Jesus followed, why then would you risk your soul and do anything else? (John 12:43-50)
Because of the price that was paid for us on the cross to have access to eternity with our heavenly Father, I beg you, to choose wisely. There are a couple of truths that will not change, and they are as follows:
First, there is nothing new under the sun: these issues that seem to be stopping you or making you feel stuck, have been here before. Today it is dressed differently, but it is still the same problem at its root. As a matter of fact, I believe that what the mainstream is calling "progressive Christianity", is in fact regressive Christianity. We are pulling on the chords of God’s authority, trying to go back to old ways, to a time before the cross, when Jesus already reclaimed that territory.
Second, the choice that you make can bring either life or death to you and your descendants. That is how serious God is. (Deuteronomy 30:19) Not only does heaven and earth witness your choice, but the effects are lasting.
And finally, Jesus is, and will always be, till the end of time THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE! (John14:6-7) Because they had seen Him, they had seen the Father. That, in its simplicity, is what we should be basing our walk and decisions on. Not what church leans more to your likes and wants, or what makes you comfortable. Being a follower of Jesus was never meant to be comfortable. As a matter of fact, He said because they hated Him unto death, so too would they hate you. Listen, our feelings lie to us and change all the time. There is comfort, peace, certainty, and direction in the Word of God.
What then should be the baseline measurement when it comes to seeking a body to worship with? The top indicator is love. Jesus said they will know us by our love. How we love each other, how we walk with the broken hearted, how we love right where they are knowing that an encounter with Holy Spirit changes everything. How we serve our community and how we, in love, share God’s correction, not our opinion. If any person truly wants a relationship with God, they will not want to err on the side of error, but rather be willing to allow the truth to change their hearts and minds. Yielding to God’s authority over their lives as well as being willing to allow God’s word to direct and lead their decisions, beliefs and actions, will always lead to their ultimate joy and peace in Christ Jesus. There is no other way!
Bianca Browne
05/02/2022
A very sound warning that each church preacher, teacher, apostle, evangelist and any other office listed in God’s word can be found in James 4:4…clearly stated, don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? I say it again, friendship with the world is enmity with God. Listen, that is the brother of Jesus talking! He is warning us to be very careful. I do not want my pastor to be friends with the world! If he is, it means he is willing to compromise the Word in order to please man.
That, my friends, guarantees that we won’t spend eternity with our God. Our hearts should be bent towards Jesus’ example. He did not speak unless His Father wanted him to, and He did only what His Father wanted Him to do. If that is the baseline that Jesus followed, why then would you risk your soul and do anything else? (John 12:43-50)
Because of the price that was paid for us on the cross to have access to eternity with our heavenly Father, I beg you, to choose wisely. There are a couple of truths that will not change, and they are as follows:
First, there is nothing new under the sun: these issues that seem to be stopping you or making you feel stuck, have been here before. Today it is dressed differently, but it is still the same problem at its root. As a matter of fact, I believe that what the mainstream is calling "progressive Christianity", is in fact regressive Christianity. We are pulling on the chords of God’s authority, trying to go back to old ways, to a time before the cross, when Jesus already reclaimed that territory.
Second, the choice that you make can bring either life or death to you and your descendants. That is how serious God is. (Deuteronomy 30:19) Not only does heaven and earth witness your choice, but the effects are lasting.
And finally, Jesus is, and will always be, till the end of time THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE! (John14:6-7) Because they had seen Him, they had seen the Father. That, in its simplicity, is what we should be basing our walk and decisions on. Not what church leans more to your likes and wants, or what makes you comfortable. Being a follower of Jesus was never meant to be comfortable. As a matter of fact, He said because they hated Him unto death, so too would they hate you. Listen, our feelings lie to us and change all the time. There is comfort, peace, certainty, and direction in the Word of God.
What then should be the baseline measurement when it comes to seeking a body to worship with? The top indicator is love. Jesus said they will know us by our love. How we love each other, how we walk with the broken hearted, how we love right where they are knowing that an encounter with Holy Spirit changes everything. How we serve our community and how we, in love, share God’s correction, not our opinion. If any person truly wants a relationship with God, they will not want to err on the side of error, but rather be willing to allow the truth to change their hearts and minds. Yielding to God’s authority over their lives as well as being willing to allow God’s word to direct and lead their decisions, beliefs and actions, will always lead to their ultimate joy and peace in Christ Jesus. There is no other way!
Bianca Browne
05/02/2022
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1 Comment
Love this!