Evangelicalism Is Dead

Paul O. Bischoff

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781725258631
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Systematic Theology & Ethics

Evangelicalism died peacefully surrounded by its family of affiliations, coalitions, publishers, and organizations. No churches were at its bedside. It received flowers from the Spirituality Center of America for its contribution to free expression located in the "born again" experience. The bulletin read "A Celebration of Evangelicalism's Life and a Witness to Cultural Spirituality." The few pastors who wanted the word "resurrection" in the bulletin were voted down lest seekers be offended by biblical doctrine. Gnostics for America lauded evangelicalism for its theological view of the inner divine spark located in all humanity.The media reported that the funeral appeared more like a conservative political rally. A nationally-recognized pastor of a megachurch was to be the keynote speaker, but he was embroiled in a sex scandal. The president of the Enneagram Esoteric Society was chosen instead. Her topic was "Enhancing the Fruit of the Spirit by Knowing Your Number." Different speakers eulogized the deceased. A representative of the therapeutic community praised the movement for how it left parishioners with emotional uplift after feel-good sermons based upon devotional writings. The ceremony was held in a theater with excellent projection and sound equipment, though there was a two-minute pause in the singing when the projection screen put up the words of a hymn rather than a praise song.This book concludes in the same way evangelicalism's funeral did--by pronouncing benediction at this movement's graveside. For as soon as that occurs, authentic Christianity characterized by a biblical gospel and return to the church may be able to usher in the kingdom of God going into the twenty-first century.

Chapter 1

The Gospel

Jesus said, “the kingdom of god is near. Repent and believe the good news.” He defined the gospel as the collaboration of three elements—the kingdom, repentance, and belief. We assert that he gospel cannot be confined only to an individual and that the church as a community has no meaning without the gospel. There is no individual salvation outside the church. There is no church without the gospel message. These statements are the threads that hold the tapestry of this book together.

The gospel has Jewish roots. Kingdom, repentance, and belief are derived from the Law and the Prophets which Jesus came to fulfill. David’s final prayer before handing the nation over to Solomon stated that the kingdom was the Lord’s and that he was exalted as head over all. Repentance is rooted in the Jewish concept of changing one’s focus in body, mind, soul and spirit; that is, with all of a person’s being. Jeremiah, the prophet, echoed God’s word to Israel promising restoration of the nation in a new covenant which Jesus referenced at a Passover celebration which Christians have renamed the Lord’s Supper. Belief goes back to the everlasting Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis in that Abraham believed God to his credit as the father of many nations. When Jesus began his ministry, he did so as a Jewish rabbi recalling the Covenants from the Torah and the Prophets.

The gospel comes from the greatest command from the Torah in the familiar Shema prayer: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”4 The Levitical law includes loving one’s neighbor as oneself. Jesus added loving one’s enemies in his Sermon on the Mount. As in repentance, we see worship of God with one’s total being. The gospel is holistic in its application to human beings. Salvation involves the body, mind, soul, and spirit.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all have a statement from Jesus related to kingdom, repentance and belief. Matthew’s words are similar to Mark’s: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Luke provides more detail about the kingdom in Jesus’ manifesto of ministry which included preaching the good news to the poor, offering freedom to prisoners, restoring sight to the blind and releasing the oppressed. In another place Luke quotes Jesus as saying that he must preach the good news of the kingdom of God. Finally, the Apostle John records Jesus’ conversation with Nathanael who believed Jesus was the son of God and the king of Israel because he actually saw Jesus. But at this event, Jesus spoke of all those who would believe without actually seeing him as the future church. In each case where Jesus calls his disciples, they appear to immediately change their mind, lifestyle, and follow. In response to Jesus’ call, they do something. They don’t kneel at the altar of their own spirituality. We now look at how this dynamic rooted in the Old Testament and typical of Jesus’ call to his disciples characterizes all of Jesus’ encounters with individuals where he commends their faith and pronounces their salvation.

We can safely say that being saved has no meaning or definition outside of repentance and belief. A biblical view of the gospel mandates a changed heart, mind, soul and spirit which is evidenced by a changed lifestyle. Generally, no example of Jesus recognizing a person’s faith or speaking of them as saved appears to involve a unique spiritual experience.

The gospel of the kingdom, repentance, and belief is derived from the Old Testament. Consider the prophet Samuel’s conversation with Saul after the latter’s disobedience using the animals from an enemy for religious sacrifice. Wouldn’t this have been an efficient way to continue what God had prescribed for the nation? But Saul’s apparent initiative violated God’s command to completely destroy the enemy including their animals. Samuel’s following statement shows how God prefers obedience to religious ritual. “Does the Lord delight in sacrifices as much as obeying the voice of the Lord. To obey is better than sacrifice?”5 In other words living correctly according to God’s word supersedes piety, even if they include doing the rituals the right way. Prophet Jeremiah mentions a new covenant in that God would in a unique way transfer the commands from Sinai in stone and plant his law in the minds and on the hearts of the people. Inner belief would result in behavioral change. This concept was new for Israel and represents movement toward the New Testament notion of individual salvation within the context of community. In New Testament language we would think of an encounter with Jesus which is fulfilled within the church. To restate, there can be no salvation for a person outside the church any more than life for an individual Israelite was granted when disconnected from her tribe or nation. Given this background of gospel and salvation from the Old Testament, we now explore encounters Jesus had with individuals to verify that a gospel based upon kingdom, repentance, and belief characterized Jesus’ ministry. Jesus spoke of a person validating their faith by what they did in response. Typically, this was a testimony for what Jesus had done for them as a witness to others. In no case does Jesus affirm faith or grant salvation only because of a person’s spiritual experience either before, during or after his encounter with them.

Jesus’ time with Zacchaeus is the best New Testament example of the type of encounter where salvation and faith are determined by behavior and belief. Recall that Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, has heard about Jesus and wants to see him. So he climbs up into a tree to look down to see if he can find him. Jesus invites himself over to his house and one of most hated men in Jericho welcomes Jesus with open arms. As he often did, Jesus has disrupted the religious and cultural norms of his time and is seen with a known sinner to the crowd’s displeasure. It looks like the host was sitting waiting for Jesus to arrive when soon after Jesus darkens the door, Zacchaeus says, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor; if I’ve cheated anybody of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” This is one of most robust statements of repentance in the Bible. The chief tax collector not only promises to stop collecting high taxes consigning many to poverty, but also gives money back after selling half of what he owns and rewards those he cheated with a fourfold payback. But the money isn’t the issue here. It’s the immediacy of repentance. There is no mulling or debating like the rich man who deferred repentance by asking Jesus questions about who his neighbor was. Jesus’ response is as immediate as Zacchaeus’ repentance. Because he’s repented, Jesus sees to it that Zacchaeus knows he’s saved. There’s no piety. Jesus observes behavior and then grants salvation. Notice Jesus’ grace in affirming Zacchaeus’ link to Abraham in spite of being hated by the community because of his vocation. This salvation event models how Jesus continued to grant salvation and grace to people based upon what he observed in their behavior. Let’s take a look at another encounter Jesus had; this time with a Roman centurion in Matthew 8. The conversation between Jesus and the centurion reveals that the soldier has a paralyzed servant. Jesus heals the servant. What’s remarkable about this encounter is what prompts Jesus to affirm the centurion’s faith and belief. Jesus observes the soldier’s humility. He hears faith in the centurion’s belief that Jesus need only speak and his servant would be healed. He compared the military command-response dynamic to the power and authority Jesus had to heal the human body. This is what gets Jesus’ attention. The issue was authority. That’s what prompts Jesus to say that he hasn’t found anyone in Israel with such great faith. Jesus sends him home and the servant is healed right away. The key element of the gospel at work in this event is belief in Jesus’ authority to perform a healing. It’s all about what the centurion believes about Jesus. It was quite radical for Jesus to commend the faith of a member of an occupying army over that of his own people. However, not all encounters with Jesus ended well.

Matthew records a conversation between a wealthy young man and Jesus where the repentance required for salvation is more than the man can tolerate. The seeking man assumes that he must do something to earn eternal life. Jesus suggests that he obey the commands. Here his true colors show up. His insincerity is revealed, for the man wants to select the commands he should obey. Jesus plays along and lists some commands all of which he has kept. Just when he feels he’s going to receive eternal life, Jesus does what he always does and turns the tables. The repentance for his greed will be selling his possessions and giving to the poor. That way he’ll be rich for eternity. This is more he can bear because it would mean he’d need to give away a lot. It’s not that he’d be poor; it’s that he can’t countenance the thought of giving so much money away. The change is more than his lifestyle can bear. He leaves Jesus and goes away sad. One of the classic texts for validating one’s faith by sharing the good news is recorded in the Apostle John’s Gospel where we find Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman at a well. This event exemplifies how Jesus assigned salvation and affirmed a person’s faith based upon the key elements of the gospel.

We note how sensitively Jesus cared for the woman in gently leading her to repentance. He identifies with their common need of thirst, engages her in theological conversation, and identifies himself as Messiah. She comes to faith and shares her story with the result that many in her village believe. This woman became an early evangelist leading many in her town to Christ. Her belief involved an intelligent response to the gospel. John records nothing about any inner experience of emotion in this Samaritan woman’s conversion. Her life was changed in an encounter with Jesus. Jesus assigned forgiveness of sins to someone based upon the faith of others. Mark tells the story about a paralytic brought to Jesus by four of his friends on a stretcher. The lame man had to believe their decision to see Jesus for healing. Unlike Zacchaeus, we’re told nothing about this man’s sin. Jesus saw the faith of the friends in their behavior. They not only brought him but went to the trouble of letting him down through the roof. The man said nothing. Jesus healed his legs and forgave his sins. His spiritual need was met during a visible healing. The man walked away and many believed the gospel and praised God. We know nothing about the man’s verbal response to salvation by grace through faith. This example models holistic salvation where both physical and spiritual needs are met. The gospel redeems the whole person.

A particularly poignant example of the gospel as kingdom, repentance and belief occurs in Jesus’ conversation with a non-Jewish woman from Canaan. Jesus observes her faith after an awkward discussion of what appears to be his initial rejection of her request to heal her daughter. He seems to test whether her belief is real. She humbles herself before him. Her faith is the conduit for God’s grace to her daughter. Jesus sees her behavior as evidence of her belief and her daughter’s life was changed forever. Faith evidenced by behavior leads to an observable change in lifestyle. There is no other example in Scripture where the faith of a humble and ordinary individual is put through the refiner’s fire. It offers hope for healing and salvation to anyone who has similar faith and belief in who Jesus is and what he can do.

There was a woman whose sins were forgiven by the faith Jesus observed as she moistened his feet with her tears of contrition and dried them with her hair. Everyone seemed to know her as the village sinner. Jesus saw evidence of her worshipful behavior toward him. She welcomed Jesus into Simon’s home more than he did. This so-called sinful woman outshined the religious leaders within the village. She didn’t deny her sin. She loved Jesus more since she was forgiven for more. She didn’t say a word during the entire visit; she only wept displaying her admission of sin and desire to be forgiven. The gospel was done in this encounter as forgiveness is graciously granted by Jesus because of a person’s faith evidenced in behavior. She worships Jesus as her Lord by anointing him. Our assumption is that this woman repented of her sinful behavior and continued to live in gratitude for what Jesus had done for her. Do I similarly realize what God has done for me with the same gratitude? Do you?

In sum, Matthew 25 ties Jesus’ ministry together with a prediction of how God will judge people by faith in God and belief of the good news evidenced in repentant behavior. We first observe no mention of a conversion experience. Entrance in the kingdom, which was near but is now here, is granted based upon behavior toward others, not upon inner mystical experiences. The King is judging all the nations for entrance into his eternal kingdom. As in David’s Psalm 23, the Father is a Shepherd-King separating sheep from goats. The sheep are blessed forever because they treated Jesus humanly on earth. Now they continue life eternal in the kingdom of God. The goats are cursed forever into an eternity which does not include the presence of God. They did not treat Jesus humanly on earth. The emergent ques...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The Gospel
• Chapter 2: The Church
• Chapter 3: Gnosticism and Christianity
• Chapter 4: The Reformation and Protestantism
• Chapter 5: The Puritans and the Pietists
• Chapter 6: Cane Ridge and the Great Awakenings
• Chapter 7: Classic Evangelicalism
• Chapter 8: Evangelicalism and Gnosticism
• Chapter 9: Fundamentalism
• Chapter 10: New Evangelicalism
• Chapter 11: Contemporary and Emergent Evangelicalism
• Chapter 12: The Death of Evangelicalism
• Chapter 13: The Twenty-First Century Church
• Conclusion
• Bibliography