Fellow Methodists, Original Sin is Your 'Original' Doctrine, NOT Pelagianism

Theopedia describes Original Sin and Pelagianism this way:

Original sin is the doctrine which holds that human nature has been morally and ethically corrupted due to the disobedience of mankind's first parents to the revealed will of God. In the Bible, the first human transgression of God's command is described as the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden resulting in what theology calls the Fall of mankind. The doctrine of original sin holds that every person born into the world is tainted by the Fall such that all of humanity is ethically debilitated, and people are powerless to rehabilitate themselves, unless rescued by God.

Pelagianism views humanity as basically good and morally unaffected by the Fall. It denies the imputation of Adam's sin, original sin, total depravity, and substitutionary atonement. It simultaneously views man as fundamentally good and in possession of libertarian free will. With regards to salvation, it teaches that man has the ability in and of himself (apart from divine aid) to obey God and earn eternal salvation. Pelagianism is overwhelmingly incompatible with the Bible and was historically opposed by Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo, leading to its condemnation as a heresy at Council of Carthage in 418 A.D. These condemnations were summarily ratified at the Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431).

Just recently, a controversy arose among our Southern Baptist brothers, of which a serious issue involves Original Sin. But the same rising danger is not foreign to The United Methodist Church. Just few months ago, I also heard from a lecture of a former bishop of UMC an explicit denial of the doctrine of Original Sin. He even claimed that Methodists do not believe it. It appears to me that some Methodist pastors (and laymen) whose theology is influenced by liberalism trade Original Sin with the old heresy of Pelagianism (or with some modifications of it).

Whether that former bishop was just oblivious, historically ignorant or intentionally lying, I do not know. All I know is that Original Sin is very Methodistic, very Protestant, very historically accepted by the church and very biblical.

I found this from the official website of The United Methodist Church [original source here]:

Does The United Methodist Church believe that babies are born in sin?

Yes. We do believe that babies, at birth, are contaminated by sin. The ancient teaching of the church on this is called the doctrine of original sin.

 The Articles of Religion in our Book of Discipline state:

"Article VII - Of Original or Birth Sin
Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly talk), but it is the corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of  Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that continually." 

The point here is that we do not choose ["Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam"] to follow the way of sin; indeed, we cannot help it without the grace of God. 

It means, as Romans 5 puts it (see all of chapter 5 which is about salvation) "as by one man's disobedience [Adam's] the many [meaning all who are born] were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience [Jesus] the many will be made righteous." This is Paul’s way of spelling out both the doctrine of sin and the doctrine of salvation.  Remember here, we are dealing with Paul's way of setting this up. Christ can redeem all because his faithfulness to God in perfect love and obedience matches and exceeds the disobedience of one man, Adam. 

The notion of original sin does not compute very well with the modern outlook. Most of the 20th century church tried to dance around it and then wondered why Jesus' saving work was hard to get serious about. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” says 1st John, vs. 8. 

The point is that we, from birth, need the grace of God available in Jesus Christ. We cannot hope in some tiny spark of goodness at our core that is always there to get us through. We are without merit or claim upon God on our own. This is a hard pill to swallow in our "enlightened" and modern perspective. On the other hand, what a gracious hope and gospel we proclaim and live if we simply accept the desperate need we are in from the beginning and the washing of water and the word in baptism where God claims us as God's own in union with Christ, dying to sin and living alive to God by the power of the Spirit.

Rev. Dan Benedict

Center for Worship Resourcing

General Board of Discipleship

This conforms with our Methodist fathers George Whitefield and John Wesley:

"[Y]ou must not only be convinced of your actual transgressions against the law of God, but likewise of the foundation of all your transgressions. And what is that? I mean original sin, that original corruption each of us brings into the world with us, which renders us liable to God's wrath and damnation. There are many poor souls that think themselves fine reasoners, yet they pretend to say there is no such thing as original sin; they will charge God with injustice in imputing Adam's sin to us; although we have got the mark of the beast and of the devil upon us, yet they tell us we are not born in sin. Let them look abroad into the world and see the disorders in it, and think, if they can, if this is the paradise in which God did put man. No! everything in the world is out of order. I have often thought, when I was abroad, that if there were no other argument to prove original sin, the rising of wolves and tigers against man, nay, the barking of a dog against us, is a proof of original sin. Tigers and lions durst not rise against us, if it were not for Adam's first sin; for when the creatures rise up against us, it is as much as to say, You have sinned against God, and we take up our Master's quarrel. If we look inwardly, we shall see enough of lusts, and man's temper contrary to the temper of God. There is pride, malice, and revenge, in all our hearts; and this temper cannot come from God; it comes from our first parent, Adam, who, after he fell from God, fell out of God into the devil. However, therefore, some people may deny this, yet when conviction comes, all carnal reasonings are battered down immediately and the poor soul begins to feel and see the fountain from which all the polluted streams do flow." (George Whitefield, on "The Method of Grace", emphasis mine)

"Hence we may...learn, that all who deny this, call it original sin, or by any other title, are put Heathens still, in the fundamental point which differences Heathenism from Christianity. They may, indeed, allow, that men have many vices; that some are born with us; and that, consequently, we are not born altogether so wise or so virtuous as we should be; there being few that will roundly affirm, "We are born with as much propensity to good as to evil, and that every man is, by nature, as virtuous and wise as Adam was at his creation." But here is the shibboleth: Is man by nature filled with all manner of evil? Is he void of all good? Is he wholly fallen? Is his soul totally corrupted? Or, to come back to the text, is "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil continually?" [Gen.6:5] Allow this [original sin], and you are so far a Christian. Deny it, and you are but an Heathen still." (John Wesley on "Original Sin", emphasis mine)

So important is Original Sin to Wesley that he labeled anyone who denies it as 'heathen' (i.e., pagan or unChristian)!

Moreover, this teaching was strongly affirmed both by the Reformers and the Church Fathers. 

"Original Sin, then, may be defined as a hereditary corruption and depravity of our nature, extending to all parts of the soul, which first makes us obnoxious to the wrath of God, and then produces in us works which in Scripture are termed works   of   the   flesh.  This   corruption is repeatedly designated by Paul by the term sin (Gal. 5:19); while the works which proceed from it, such as adultery, fornication, theft, hatred, murder, revellings he terms, in the same way, fruits of sin, though in various passages of scripture, they are also termed sins." (John Calvin)

"The original sin in a man is like his beard, which, though shaved off today so that   a   man is very smooth around his mouth, yet grows again by tomorrow morning. As long as a man lives, such growth of hair and beard does not stop. But when the shovel slaps the ground on his grave, it stops. In just this way, original sin remains in us and exercises itself as long as we live, but we must resist it and always be cutting off its hair." (Martin Luther)

"The so-called innocence of children is more a matter of weakness of limb, than purity of heart." (Augustine of Hippo)

"Adam, the first man, altered his course, and through sin death came into the world....When Adam transgressed, sin reached out to all men." (Athanasius)

The heresy of Pelagianism refuses to die but the Church should be careful not to buy it, lest she apostasizes. May this post serve as a warning to my fellow Methodists as well as my fellow Protestant-Evangelicals. And may those Methodists who have been swayed by Pelagianism see that Original Sin is their "original" doctrine.

Spiritual Warfare (Part 2): Warring Against The Flesh

WARRING AGAINST THE FLESH

When things go wrong, most of the time religious people blame unseen demons around them. Little do we know that Satan isn't the only enemy we are up against. We have this flesh deep inside of us. And I do hope I could sufficiently stress its force in this second part of Spiritual Warfare series.

A. Discerning the Flesh

First off, let me clarify that the term "flesh", depending on the context, could mean two things in the Bible. Sometimes it refers to 1) our physical body (1 Pet. 1:24); sometimes to 2) the old sinful nature or the natural inclination to sin (e.g., Gal. 3:3). In the former sense, flesh is not intrinsically evil. In the latter sense, it is. Remember that the second definition is what we're referring here.

"Indwelling sin [or, the flesh] in the believer is the old man who must be killed, with all his faculties, properties, wisdom, craft, subtlety, and strength. Its power, life, vigor, and strength must be destroyed and slain by the cross of Christ." (John Owen)

1. Dethroned from the believers' life (Gal. 2:20)

"Dethroned" implies that it was once sitting on the throne, reigning in our lives. Paul says 'sin' (as an influence)  is the unbelievers' path where we 'once walked' (Eph. 2:1), and that the 'I' (i.e., the old self) 'no longer lives' but the 'I' (i.e., the new self) lives 'by faith in the Son of God' (Gal. 2:20). John teaches that the 'born again' ones, despite their rebirth's mysterious origin, have their transformed lives evident like a blowing wind. (Jn. 3:5-8) In another letter he said that genuine Christians do not practice a sinful lifestyle. (1 Jn. 3:4-6) So if you are someone whose lifestyle demonstrates an unrepentant, passionate pursuit of the pleasures of sins, showing no positive change at all, you have not been truly saved. Because, generally though not equally, true followers of Christ bear fruit (Jn. 15:5).

2. Dwelling inside the believers (Rom. 7:17; Heb. 12:2)

But just because sin was dethroned, it doesn't mean it's already dead.Many theologians call it "Indwelling Sin", acknowledging its continual residence in the believer. In Paul's terminology, when we were unbelievers we were 'in the flesh' (Rom. 7:5; 8:9). Now that we're Christians the flesh is 'in [us]'. (Rom. 7:17) In fact, so dangerous is this "resident evil" that Paul himself, calling it a law, testified of its captivating power and its 24/7 onslaught. (Rom. 7:21-23) Even if one will disagree with my interpretation of Romans 7[1], the over-all tone of the scriptures regarding the saints' spiritual struggle affirms the remaining power of sin in our lives (e.g., Heb. 3:13; 12:1).

More than that, experience can confirm it. It would be hypocritical for me to trivialize the gravity of my inner struggle. I confess that there are times (many times!) I fall into pride and sexual lust. These are the same sins with which I struggle ever since I became a Christian and the same sins which I treasured when I was an unbeliever!

3. Different from God's Spirit (Rom. 8:5; Gal. 5:16-17)

The enmity and tension can be heightened if we note that God the Holy Spirit resides in us also and that His desires are in complete contrary to the flesh. The flesh is not just our enemy, it is God's. Everytime we embrace the flesh, we dishonor our thrice-holy yet imminent God. In the same way, everytime we fail to follow the Spirit, we are following this obnoxious, good-for-nothing flesh.

4. Defiant to God's authority and law (Rom. 8:7-8)

The flesh is like a rebel in our system, a mad guerrilla opposing Christ's kingdom of grace. Like as a rebel, it does not wait until you're ready, it takes advantage of our weakness. Like a rebel, we should expect its continual schemes and surprising ploys. As J.I. Packer puts it,

"Sin is always at work in the heart; a temporary lull in its assaults means not that it is dead; but that it is very much alive."

Like a rebel, it defies the law of God. It will take your mind and heart as far as it can from God's word.

5. Deceitful and Destructive (Rom. 8:6; Jas. 1:15)

This dethroned guerrilla is very able to destroy our spiritual bulwarks and fortresses! It could make us 'carnal' and keep us from growing (see 1 Cor. 3:1-3) and 'running well' (Gal. 5:7ff) It could contaminate others (1 Cor. 5:6; Gal. 5:9), divide the church (1 Cor. 3:4) and destroy relationships (1 Cor. 6). Like David, it could even make us commit heinous crimes (like murder and adultery) which, albeit forgivable[2], could bring disastrous consequences to ourselves and to others (2 Sam. 11 cf. Psa. 51). This is the same sin which will put many professing Christians to eternal death.

B. Defeating the Flesh

Now we are ready to give some pointers to defeat this foe.

1. Guard your Mind (Jas. 1:14-15; Phil. 4:8; Col. 3:1-4)

The anatomy of sin was stated by the apostle James. Before the flesh seduces the affection and conceives actual sin, it first deceives the mind. The Greek word even alludes to fishing. Giving in to the flesh is being like a fish biting a colorful butterfly, not knowing she was hooked. If the mind then is the gate of our souls, we should barricade and fortify it. Fill it with the thoughts of Christ's beauty (Col. 3:1-4) and Christlike thoughts. (Phil. 4:8) Immerse your mind in the Bible and spiritual books rather than in senseless TV shows. Search for godly conversations and avoid disparaging chitchats. Let the beauty of the cross of Christ satisfy you rather than the fleeting pleasures of sin. 

"Your mind can only protect against the deceit of the flesh if you are cross-eyed.  That is, you can only keep the rottenness of sin and the kindness of God in mind if you fix your eyes on the cross.  What shows God's hatred of sin more than the cross?  What show's God's love to you more than the cross?  If you want to know exactly what sin deserves, you have to understand the cross.  If you want to know how infinitely deep the rot of sin reaches, you have to think through all the implications of the cross.  If you want to know how far God was willing to go to rescue you from sin, you have to see his precious Son hanging on the cross for you." (Kris Lundgaard)

2. Grip on the Spirit (Rom. 8:16)

Theological understanding of sin, however helpful it is, is never enough. We need to draw the power from God's Spirit. We need a daily, heartfelt communion with God. As Erwin Lutzer says, 

"The victory over sin that you seek will come from your relationship with God. When you seek to know God and love Him with your whole mind, heart, and soul, the freedom you are looking for will become yours." 

So a healthy prayer life and constant meditation must be added.

3. Give your All (Rom. 7:23; 8:13; Col 3:5)

The terms "waging war", "enmity" and "mortify (kill)" imply vigilance and violence. The prince of puritan John Owen puts it this way, "Not to conquer sin is to be conquered by sin." and "Be killing sin or it will be killing you." We should have a wartime mindset. As John Piper puts it,

"Christianity is not a settle-in-and-live-at-peace-with-this-world-the-way-it-is kind of religion. If by the Spirit you kill the deeds of your own body, you will live. Christianity is war. On our own sinful impulses."

4. Get Practical (1 Thess. 5:22)

So much can be said here. Avoid the places and circumstances where you are tempted most. Be accountable to others and let them pray and oversee you. Get busy in doing good things. Develop your spiritual habits purposely by having reading plans, drafting prayer schedules, journaling, and the like. Make radical, practical and personal resolves for you not to fall into your own weaknesses. Be practical.

Now I'm done expounding my outline. I scanned my books, thinking I might have missed something important. And as expected, I missed a lot! I guess its impossible to sum them all up in a single post. The best thing I can do, then, is to compel you to read more hamartiological books[3]. There's so much more to learn to mortify this monster.

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[1] I am aware of the difficulty of this chapter and the differences of interpretation under the evangelical umbrella. I am more persuaded, though, that the man of Romans 7 is indeed the already-Christian Paul, struggling with his old sinful nature.

[2] Heb. 10:12-14. The Catholic doctrine of mortal sin is unbiblical.

[3] I recommend the following:

a) John Owen's Triumph Over Temptation - for an in-depth spiritual analysis of the flesh's nature and work.

b) Joshua Harris's Not Even a Hint - for practical, easy-to-read guide to defeat lust

c) Erwin Lutzer's Winning The Inner War - very pastoral, filled with spiritual nuggets to overcome temptation

d) Kris Lundgaard's The Enemy Within  - contemporary restatements of Owen's hamartiological treatises

e) Sam Storms's Pleasures Evermore - elaborates the joy available in Christ as an antidote for sin

The Biblical Warnings are Mine and Yours

I have at least five drafts of blog posts. I can hardly finish one. My time is being consumed by theologizing on a Pinoy Pastors' Theological Forum. My college life is about to end. I want to pursue theology more. But I know that something's wrong with my spirituality now. I thank the Lord for this video (although I might differ in some of Conway's points about assurance):

This video made me think of the place of the biblical "warnings" and how it fits with "assurance" and "eternal security".
  
I. The Comfort of Eternal Security

I always believe that true Christians who were saved by grace through faith will persevere to the end. No real Christian can lose his salvation. This is often called Eternal Security.

The realization of this security through faith produces assurance in us.

But don't get me wrong. I'm not an antinomian or a quietist. I believe that God's commands are ours to keep. Moreover, this video reminded me of the many warnings about losing our "faith". I remembered the fact that, although the genuine Christians will endure to the end, from the human perspective, some people in the visible churches are losing the Christian race. Those who fall perfectly portray the seeds who fell on rocky ground. We see them seemingly visibly just like us for a while (Mt. 13:20-21).

II. The Warnings against Falling Away

There are lots of these in the scriptures. Few examples are: 

"Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith." (1 Tim. 1:18,19) 

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (1 Tim. 4:1)

"If we endure, we shall also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us." (2 Tim. 2:12) 

"We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away." (Heb. 2:1)    

"Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it." (Heb. 4:1) 

"For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" (Heb. 10:26-29) 

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain" (I Corinthians 15:1-2)

Granted, conditionality does not imply eventuality but these warnings are meant to produce fear in the believers especially when they're starting to pace away from righteousness to sin.

III. Seeking the Balance
We know that if both I and II are biblical then we can reconcile them. The fear given by the warnings (II) does not contradict the assurance given by Eternal Security (I). It balances it. It complements it.

 Let me explain. 

 A. Evaluating Our Assurance
Our only ground of assurance that we won't lose our salvation and we're surely go to heaven is Christ's work on the cross (Rom. 8:1). Our only ground of assurance is Christ, not our works or our obedience to Christ. And we experience this assurance by faith alone. (1 Jn. 5:13)

 However, there are people who feel lots of "assurance" but will be condemned in the end. (Mt. 7:21-23) So how do we know we don't that kind of assurance? It's by evaluating our assurance through evaluating our faith. And since faith is invisible, we can evaluate our faith by evaluating its fruit. The book of 1 John (1 Jn. 1:6-10; 2:3-6; 3:16,19; 4:2; 5:18-19; etc.) and the book of James discuss this. We are to ask ourselves: "Is my assurance still grounded upon a true faith in Christ manifested by sound doctrine and godly living, or is it already being grounded upon a distorted faith in Christ manifested by my ungodliness? Is my assurance from a sin-killing, God-glorifying faith in Christ in my life or is it a faith that gives license to sin?"

 So the "assurance" in I and the "fear" in II are reconcilable because we have the tendency to get our assurance from a distorted faith in Christ. If we are already doing this (marked by our faithless ungodliness) then we should fear, take heed the warning, repent, and hold firm what true faith in Christ is.

 B. Secure in the Hands of the Shepherd
John 10 is one of my favorite chapter in the Bible. The believers' Eternal Security is very clear there:

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand." (John 10:27-29)

If you're a true believer, you are Christ's sheep. And a sheep of Christ is safe in His hand, as well as in the Father's hand. "[The Father] is greater than all" suggests that there is no greater person or thing that may overpower the Triune God who secures His people.

There is security bringing us assurance. 

But, at the same time, the sheep here are not passive. They follow the Shepherd. They listen to the voice of the Shepherd. It is their nature to submit to the Shepherd. At times, the sheep may come near the pit or other dangerous places, but the good Shepherd warns them. He is even wise enough to strike them with the rod for their safety.

 There is warning bringing us fear. Yet such fear is part of God's securing grace. It is one of God's means to secure us. Our fleeing away from sin and hell is God's work in us, keeping us from dead faith and apostasy. 

When I'm into sin, it is just right to fear our holy God's warnings. It might shake my "assurance" for awhile but it will soon reaffirm true assurance and even strengthen it had I truly repented. I thank Christ whenever he strikes me and says "Sheep Donnie, where are you going? You're starting to go away from the pasture of communion with God in His word and prayer. You're getting away from Me through your sins. Yes, pursue theology but don't forget pursuing it for Me. Don't forget making Me the center of your life." The biblical warnings are indeed mine and yours.

Praise God for the warnings! Praise God for assurance! Praise God for His power to secure us and preserve us to the end.

The Godly Torments His Soul Over Ungodliness

“For as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard…” (2 Peter 2:8, ESV)

The verse above is actually just a side comment of Peter in establishing his point that “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” (v. 9), Lot being an example who is under trial because he “was greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked” (v.7) The whole story of deliverance is found in Genesis 19. We shall first review it briefly.

Lot was Abraham’s nephew. Together with his uncle (and his aunt Sarah) they obeyed God when Abraham was commanded to depart from Haran to Canaan (Gen.  12). There came a point when Abraham and Lot’s herdsmen were quarreling so they decided to separate from each other (Gen. 13). Abraham settled in Canaan and Lot dwelt at Sodom (13:12). Few chapters after that we see what kind of people the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were. In the 18th chapter, God announced to Abraham his plan to confirm and destroy their wickedness, saying, “…the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave…” (18:20) In the next chapter we see God’s two angels in human form visiting at Lot’s house (19:1-3). Then all the men (“both young and old, all the people to the last man”, v.4) surrounded the house, wanting to rape the angels so determinedly (v.5ff). So God through the two angels saved Lot and his two daughters (vv. 15-23), then, destroyed the whole Sodom and Gomorrah with “sulfur and fire… out of heaven.” (v.24)

Now, Lot’s situation before the punitive destruction was revealed by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Lot, while dwelling among the Sodomites and Gomorrah, was said to be “tormenting his righteous soul day after day over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard” (2 Pet.2:8). And this is where he got his great distress (v.7). The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah are satisfying their lustful passions daily. Day after day Lot saw and heard his neighbors talking about and doing sexual immorality and perversity without any human authority’s restraint. It was the normal practice of society. And their immorality is probably worse than other pagan nations.

Every Christian will agree that being put in the same circumstance was indeed so grief-striking, and even so appalling. But why did Peter mention it in his epistle? Were there homosexual maniacs by his time too? The context says no. What was there and what will be there were “false prophets” and “false teachers” from among the church herself (v.1) who will “follow their sensuality” (v.2), against whom he warned them not to be “carried away with the error of lawless people and lose [their] own stability.” (3:17) Peter drew out the story of Lot’s deliverance as an example of why the church should trust that God will rescue them from these false teachers’ schemes. He even seems to push the similarity of their grievous situation in 2:20. That is, just as Lot among the Sodomites was so also Christians live among false teachers day after day, tormenting their righteous souls over the false teachers’ lawless deeds that they see and hear. In both cases, the same principle applies: godly persons feel great distress over all forms of ungodliness: heresies or unrighteous deeds. And they feel that day after day, as long as the sin stays. This is not a new concept. Isaac felt it towards Esau’s wives. David testified of it many times. (Psa. 6:7; 31:9ff, etc.) Jeremiah, who is known as the weeping prophet, is perhaps the greatest example (Jer. 8:18). The apostles, Paul and Christ Himself will likewise confirm the same principle. (Lk. 21:12; Jn. 15:20; 1 Pet. 4:13; Rom. 8:36; etc.) And this principle must be applied in many scenarios of Christians’ lives today.

In democratic countries like the Philippines, where religious freedom is exercised, Christian denominations – Catholic, Evangelical, or cultic - are too numerous. And although Evangelicals do not (and ought not to) force anyone to believe the gospel, many have become so indifferently tolerant of the present diversity as if we are not in spiritual warfare. On the other hand, some intellectuals just make fun of the cults, having neither sincere sorrow over their error nor desire to win them to Christ. I have observed this in campus ministries and in online Christian forums.

Likewise, among evangelical churches, members (even clergies) are becoming more interested and conversant about each other’s opinions and experiences than what the Bible teaches. And in Bible studies, the context is less cherished than one’s personal interpretation. You can quickly see that in their small groups’ topics, in the books they read, and in the songs they sing. One can rightly observe that churches are following the trend of postmodernism. Opinions and experiences are valued over truth and doctrines. Toleration is preferred over faithfulness.

As I write this I can’t help myself from thinking of my own church. A few hours from now it will be conducting a concert where secular songs will be sung, aiming for the construction of a new church building. I can boldly say they are destroying the church for the sake of a mere church building! But you might be thinking that I’m just being too dogmatic. And that our church council maybe had carefully evaluated the message of the secular songs as to whether it could be adapted for spirituality without betrayal to the soundness of any doctrine. Well, nobody dared to do so. It saddens me even more that they are willing to tolerate the gospel-offensive message of the song “Greatest Love of All”! Compromise - which they don’t recognize that it is - is being welcomed so long as the building will be finished. O may reformation come indeed upon this pitiful church! I do long and labor to see that day.

Now, since all this ungodliness, unrighteousness and immaturity exist for several years, should Christians get used to them? Should we be indifferent toward them? Applying the aforementioned principle, we should say NO. True believers can never get used to sin! They won’t tolerate it in others just as they won’t tolerate it in themselves. No close eyes, no deaf ears. They, like watchdogs, will be guarding, barking, and biting day after day for the glory of their holy, holy, holy God.

Having zeal against ungodliness, should we burn then the cultic churches? Destroy forcibly all idols in all houses of Roman Catholics? Never mingle with homosexuals? Legalize Christianity as the sole religion accepted in our country? Compel others to live according to our standards? I believe the answer is “no” to all those questions but I have to admit that they require serious explanation which is beyond the scope of this post. I shall however provide some biblical guidelines for the cultivation and application of godly grief or sorrow over ungodliness.

1.  Do not neglect ungodliness but do expect it.  As a kind of trial, Christians should not be surprised by the rising of many evils while we live in this world. That is true. (1 Pet.  4:12 cf. 2 Pet. 2:9) They also should not neglect its evilness to the point of becoming indifferent. If they don’t expect people’s ungodliness as trials, they may be having a wrong view of Christianity. If they do neglect it, they are not practicing Christianity. Christianity is a war. Christians are Christ’s soldiers. And we should expect but never neglect the attacks of the enemies. In addition, we should not only expect trials in the form of ungodly persons but also rejoice in them. (1 Peter 4:12-14) I’m not saying that we should rejoice in the ungodliness (that would contradict what I previously said) but that we should rejoice in the trial in view of sharing “Christ’s sufferings”. Nonetheless, our joy despite ungodly people is found in God just as our grief over ungodly people is from God. Therefore, while we joyfully entrust God with our distress over expected ungodliness, we should not grow weary in fighting it.


2. Fight it in God’s way. If we ever desire to promote godliness and, out of godly distress, fight against ungodliness we should fight according to God’s rules (even according to God’s intention, 2 Cor. 10:31). So we should make sure that our reproof or correction is based on the word of God. (2 Tim. 3:16) Zeal must always be guided by knowledge. (see Rom. 10:2) So we should make sure that both our convictions and our actions are scripture-based. God’s word is powerful. (Rom. 1:16; Heb. 4:12) If we truly stand to defend the truth of God by the truth, we shall later find the truth of God defending itself by us. It is important to note that all the questions I have raised before should be answered through the word of God. It is only through this that we can rightly claim that our fight is for godliness and against ungodliness. And not only will it be our weapon in the fight, but it shall also be our source of strength. (Psa. 119:28)


3. Do not exclude your flesh in the fight. Paul indeed talked about “distress” primarily from unbelievers (1 Cor. 7:26; Rom. 8:35) but he also noted that we have an enemy within us (see Rom. 7; Gal. 5:16-17) so we should discipline ourselves too lest we be disqualified. (1 Cor. 9:27) Even Jesus taught the need for self-examination before judging others. (Mt. 7:3) To exclude ourselves in our fight against ungodliness is Pharisaic hypocrisy. (see Mt. 23:23-28)


4. Do not love pain itself. Enjoy the things God provided for you to enjoy. (1 Tim. 4:4) To keep oneself from legitimate joy (like intentional fasting) out of godly convictions is one thing. To keep oneself from joy out of a belief that they’re unlawful is another. God has provided food, marriage, and other enjoyable, lawful blessings for us to enjoy. I don’t think God became angry at Lot when he continues to eat his daily bread and enjoy the company of his wife while being surrounded by ungodly neighbors. The point I’m making is not to prefer sorrow over happiness. God is not sadistic. We are not commanded to be a masochist. The point is that God is the only all-satisfying Treasure. So we glorify Him whether in joy or in pain.

5. Do not lose heart. (2 Cor. 4:16 cf. vv. 4-12) Finally, we should not be discouraged when ungodly people surround us – in society or in the church. Grieve. Mourn. Be distressed. Torment your righteous soul. But never be disheartened to the point of giving up the fight or giving in to their ungodly passions. Hope in God and call upon His name. (see 2 Sam. 22:7) Remember His past mercies. Delight in His present blessings. Hope in His promises. Never forget that "for those who love God all things work together for good." (Rom. 8:28)

With these five points and others that I may have failed to include, Christians can glorify God with their distress over ungodliness. May we indeed never grow weary in tormenting our souls over ungodly thoughts, words, or actions day after day until Christ appears to make all things perfect, vindicate all godly persons and punish all ungodly ones. And may we have the desire to be grieved when the “Blessed forever” is offended by any sin proceeding from anything.