Have you ever wondered why Gospel ministers in the 'Christian' denominations that have departed from the faith "once and for all delivered to the saints" have been able to survive? Has the thought ever struck you why churches that have embraced theological liberalism as a legitimate understanding of the Christian Gospel and its offspring, unbiblical ecumenism, have been able to 'stay in' their churches?
One just has to read the history of the reformers in England, the Huguenots in France, the Covenanters in Scotland, and the Puritans in England, etc, to understand, before too many pages of this sacred history are read, why these men have been burned at the stake, persecuted for their faith, tortured and exiled: it was because they consistently put Gospel before Church - and the church authorities simply did not like it. To these high-minded individuals, to place anything before them and their authority is inconvenient (to put it mildly). Anything that challenges their ecclesiastical authority cannot be tolerated.
Why did Bishop John Hopper cherish the Gospel before the church? Because he loved Christ more than the church - a very inadvisable thing to do in today's decadent church. Why was Bishop Hugh Latimer burned at the stake? Because he loved Christ and His Gospel more than he loved the church. Why was Bishop Nicholas Ridley reduced to ashes in England's evil soil? Because he obeyed the Gospel before he obeyed the church.
Yes, the church was corrupt in the 15th and 16th centuries; but so is the church today. The church was unfaithful to her sole King and head then; but she is most unfaithful to Him today. The Reformers saw their faithfulness to the gospel as a matter of life and death; but minsters do not so see it thus today. For most of them, the priority is to keep a clean copy book so far as the church is concerned even if this means 'changing' the Gospel message to suit the situation. Whatever the church says and teaches is the last word on matters religious, theological , ecclesiastical and spiritual. If the church imagines herself to be the nearest thing to perfect in this world, then ministers must see it in that way, too; and woe betide the minister who says otherwise! If the church sees herself as being faithful to the Scriptures, then ministers must agree with this assessment. If the church is prepared to be dishonest, her ministers must cover-up such dishonesty, if they are to remain within her ranks. If the church agrees to break the rules it has set for its ministers to keep, and then punishes a minister for not going down that road, then he is ejected from his pulpit. This has happened in a few cases in Northern Ireland, but given the lack of true spirituality within the church's ranks, it is utterly amazing how many more have not been made to 'walk the plank' too.
Or is it? What if these ministers all agree in consort to relegate the Gospel to a secondary place - at best - and to decide to "do what the church wants you to do and to say what the church wants you to say," then you have a job for life. But that is precisely what it has been reduced to - a job. No longer is it a divine calling that has to be lived out; it is now your career, your profession. And you have to watch your career! At all costs!
Given that this seems to be the mentality residing in the minds of many ministers, including reformed evangelical minsters, it should not surprise anyone that liberal and ecumenical churches have not ejected many of these ministers from their ranks. These men 'play the game,' the religious and church game.
Yet some of them walk behind banners that display the faith of men like Latimer and Ridley depicting them tied to the stake and the flames of death rising up around them. They like to see cloth pictures of Daniel in the lion's den, and glory in what this teaches us. But they will never place themselves at variance with what their church expects of them, not even their stand for the Gospel. They can work harmoniously with theological liberals - alias deniers of the faith - yet pretend that they stand for Gospel principles. They play the church game with faith deniers, in order to retain their pulpits and manses and salaries and pensions. They compromise the Gospel daily, but have convinced themselves that they are true to it! And they do this by believing that it is the theological liberals who have compromised and denied the Gospel. As evangelicals, they have been true to it at all times, and cautiously criticise those who deny it. If the liberals have denied the Gospel, why have these defenders of the Gospel tolerated their continued presence within their churches?
But the Gospel? What Gospel?
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