The Goodness Fallacy Embedded Within Relativism

Quote from Christopher W. Brooks, writing in his book, Urban Apologetics: Why the Gospel is Good News for the City:

"...the goodness fallacy embedded within relativism is the belief  that people are generally good and that we only misbehave when pressured by undesirable scenarios. The logic is that we shouldn't judge our own actions or the actions of others as wrong because we are all simply acting on the best choices available in light of the surrounding factors. This first deficiency is based on the presumption that evil only exists outside of us, an external enemy lurking somewhere in the shadows of our circumstances. This idea, however, couldn't be further from the teachings of Scripture. Consider the words of Jeremiah 17:9: 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?' Christians must reject any system of morality that is built upon the false assumption that people are basically good." Christopher W. Brooks

Steering Clear of Christian Liberalism and Christian Legalism

The following quote is from Christopher W. Brooks, writing in his book, Urban Apologetics: Why the Gospel is Good News for the City:

"Our social concern should be matched by our scriptural faithfulness. We should not experience a theological discomfort when it comes to this type of issues-focused, gospel-centered apologetic. The apostle Paul makes this clear in Ephesians 4:15 when he tells us to 'speak the truth in love.'Admittedly, this is much easier said than done and presents a tension for many in the church. The duty of balancing truth and love has proven to be quite elusive for the vast majority of believers, yet it is possible to find harmony between these two virtues.
History reminds us of the two major pitfalls that we must avoid in our attempts to help people experience salvation in both this life and the life to come. If we are to eschew the dysfunctions that result from giving in to either extreme of 'love' or 'truth,' namely Christian liberalism or Christian legalism, we must recognize the dangers associated with either of these two extremes. Truth and love are not mutually exclusive and must be married together in order to see the full glory of God in our evangelism. Whenever they are divorced, the gospel is stripped of its beauty and, more often than not, rejected by those who need it.
Christian liberalism has been the historic label given by conservative Christians to those who have become so committed to enhancing the living standards of people who suffer from the broken systems of our world that they lose sight of the central claims of the faith. We must never forget that although love is the primary ethic of the church, winning people to Christ is and always will be the primary mission of the church. To this end, the doctrines of sin, repentance, the uniqueness of Christ, and the sovereignty of God in all things are essential. Christianity is currently being crippled by professing believers who have convinced themselves that 'loving' people means that we have to give up on our commitment to the exclusive teachings of Scripture and the call to repentance that all individuals must submit to.
The best way to steer clear of this mistake is to remember that sin is the reason for the problems we face in society and what sent our Lord to the cross. The only remedy for our hostility toward God is to turn from self-centeredness and to fully trust in the Lord and faithfully obey His commands. The fundamental flaw that many well-meaning Christians make in their sincere but misguided compassion is to separate love from obedience.The words of Christ echo throughout all generations reminding us, 'If you love me, you will keep my commandments' (John 14:15).
The other trap that has frequently ensnared the church is what is commonly called Christian legalism. This is the antithesis of liberalism. Whenever Christians become so extremely dedicated to the letter of the law that they disregard those whom the law was created to protect and save, they become like the Pharisees of Christ's day. Jesus condemned those religious leaders for being more passionate about their tradition than they were about the precious people Christ had come to seek and to save. The only way we can avoid this type of legalism is to live in the awareness of Matthew 25:40: 'As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' By seeing the face of Christ when we look into the eyes of the homeless, the hungry, or the hurting, we ensure that the fruit of the Spirit will anchor our theology." Christopher W. Brooks



Lest we think that liberalism can happen only in "liberal Christianity," or that legalism can occur only in "conservative Christianity," in the coming days I will elaborate on how liberalism indeed has its own religious legalisms, and how some conservative, "Bible-believing" churches are succumbing to syncretism and liberalism. 

Salvation: To "Get to Heaven" Only?

One crutch people commonly use to walk away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the accusingly iterated claim that “Christians don’t care about life on earth. All they care about is getting saved so they can go to heaven.”

People can establish whatever they nonchalantly or self-deceptively want to establish. If they choose to allow an unexplored, unexamined and hastily made but long-held conclusion to inhibit further insight, that is their free choice, given to them, coincidentally, by God Himself.

But the barb about heaven, lobbed repeatedly at Christians and thus, at Christ Himself, is simply tiring due to its ignorant theology. 

A thorough and consistent reading of Scripture clearly sets the record straight on this stale cheap shot that Christianity is “only about going to heaven.”

Paul, in the very first chapter of Galatians, couldn’t be more direct in the purpose of Christ’s coming, and our blessing in believing:

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen.” Galatians 1:3-5

In case anyone missed it, I will specifically highlight:

“the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age…”

And it’s no coincidence that Paul, in the very next line after this, calls the Galatians to task for either missing (or not missing but deciding to alter), the very Gospel of Jesus Christ:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” Galatians 1:6-7.

So, while some denominations, local churches, pastors, teachers and Christians may have emphasized “going to heaven” to the detriment of the entire Gospel of Christ--in fact creating a different gospel--so also have those who emphasize earthly “Christianity," with no care for or acceptance of eternal heaven. 

And I must fully disclose that, having attended—for major periods of time—many churches of various denominations, I can count only one church that emphasized one to the exclusion of the other: a liberal PCUSA church that didn’t believe in heaven or hell, but only social justice in the hands of intellectual people under the banner of a church. 

Every other church I have attended, be it Baptist, Evangelical, Bible-believing non-denominational, Reformed, or conservative Presbyterian, has emphasized both Jesus’ coming to rescue us from “the present evil age” and the blessing of eternal life in heaven with Christ. 

In fact, in being completely honest, I would have to say that the focus of faith-into-action within these latter churches and among Bible-believing Christians is outreach, education, crisis relief, feeding the hungry, addiction recovery, grief support, and small group community-building. 

The “going to heaven” part is certainly always there too, as something we can, as born-again believers, rest confident in and take to heart to comfort us—and others—in our present suffering and struggles. 

Not to say I haven’t met a Christian or two who evangelize from the premise of “don’t you want to go to heaven when you die?” And truth be told, don’t we all, really, want the assurance that we will go to heaven when we die, and the knowledge of how to gain that assurance? 

I personally don’t believe it for a minute when someone says they could care less about what happens after they die. In my opinion, that attitude merely reveals a hardened heart.

Evangelism conducted with a “heaven-only” end game is not true evangelism, and in my experience and observation, it’s not the evangelism I see taking place the majority of the time.

No doubt the fire and brimstone preachers of long ago past, and sometimes present day, have been a detriment at times. If that is the extent of their message, they are the purveyors of a “different gospel” by remaining bent on taking one glorious aspect of the Gospel and ignoring the rest (not to mention the lack of humility, grace and joy in their attempt to instill repentance). 

Or maybe it is the “three-step” or “four-step” Bible tracks randomly handed out, or the short “salvation prayer” offered up on behalf of a stranger at a cafe that have given the impression that salvation is a get-out-of-jail free card and now all we have to do is wait for our trip to the gold-paved streets of heaven. 

But that is not the Gospel of the Bible. That is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And it is not the Gospel that most Bible and Christ-believers live and hold sacred and desire for others to experience. 

The true Gospel of Christ, in Scripture, is that yes, we will spend an eternity with Christ in heaven:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13

“But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

The true Gospel of Christ, in Scripture, is also that yes, Jesus came to rescue us from and in this present age:

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” Ephesians 6:12-13

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."   1 John 1:5-9

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4-5

Jesus speaking:

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11: 28-30

“And hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17

And when this happens in the lives of believers, increasingly so, the world here and now is indeed a much better and more just place.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is salvation in Him here and now and in heaven after death, eternally. 

And everything in between is the outworking of God in the lives of Christians unto spiritual maturity. 

The promise of heaven is what allows us to live in freedom from the fear of death; a fear so potent it is what lies behind sinful impulsivity, addiction, dysfunction and anxiety in those who walk the earth. And yet, Jesus came to free us from that fear of death with the promise of heaven in order that we can live joyous ives, in spite of sickness and trouble:

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” Hebrews 2:14-15

Without heaven, we are slaves to the fear of death. With heaven, we are free to live in His rescue of us from all that would impede, trouble and sicken us here on earth; to learn and live out His wisdom in loving fellowship with one another. 

“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.” 1 John 1:1-4

copyright Barb Harwood

Johnny Cash - Just As I Am (In memory of his death 15 years ago this month)

Redemptive Grace

The following quote is from Christopher W. Brooks, writing in his book, Urban Apologetics: Why the Gospel is Good News for the City

"A difficult reality that must be acknowledged is that although Christ is perfect, His followers are flawed and susceptible to all the vices that weaken humanity and limit human flourishing. This fact may be the greatest disappointment for those who, like me, look to Christianity as the hope for the spiritual and moral renewal of our culture. However, we must remember that the gospel is not that Christ came to seek and save those who were perfect or morally mature. Rather, the message of Scripture is that Jesus has shown mercy to those who recognize their brokenness and lack of virtue and look to Him for salvation (1 John 1:9). It is through this redemptive grace that a person's heart is renovated and mind is renewed." Christopher W. Brooks



"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Eighteen Years

This October marks the eighteenth year of my being born again in Jesus Christ.

I’ve been thinking how my development since my first encounter with Christ has followed the same trajectory that we follow when we are born into this world as babies, and until we turn the actual age of eighteen. 

In the secular world, we spend those early years learning motor skills, how to ask for our physical needs to be met, and to play. Then we enter public school and begin to learn all about the world in which we live: history, science, sociology, psychology, math, English and writing, among other things. And then we graduate, prepared for the future that is just beginning at eighteen.

I was 38 years old when I was born spiritually. So if we begin at zero, and go eighteen years, then this October, in spiritual years, I will turn eighteen, prepared for the future that is just beginning for me at this age.

This intrigues me very much. 

I look back over the last eighteen years and definitely see how I went from newborn babe to young adult in Christ. That excites me, because I believe the most difficult part is over and the defining, maturing and honing of spiritual muscle can now flourish at full throttle. All the gunk of trial and error in learning what it means to be a Christian has been mucked through, with confidence in who God is and who I am in Him and who I will yet become in Him rising to the fore. 

I’m not going to lie, it’s been a slog, at times, to get to where I am today. I wince and shake my head at some of the ways I behaved as a Christian just learning to walk. It took some time for spiritual discernment to kick in and for what I was learning to translate into action and attitude. The language of Christianity was much easier for me to read than to always apply or live out. 

And so I have been and still am one of those Christian hypocrites so many people love to point at as their reason for not coming to Christ. (But if you look around, hypocrites of the secular school also abound. They just don’t get called on it). 

Not to excuse this hypocrisy in Christians. Not at all. We are to see it less and less in every believer as we adhere to maturity in Christ. 

Certainly I would have desired to understand everything about Christ and His Word perfectly, heal from sin instantly and mature gracefully in the first few minutes, hours and days of becoming one in Spirit with Christ. 

But God in His wisdom doesn’t set it up that way. And the many ways I was wrong as a new believer, and the numerous ways I hurt other people due to my lack of having any clue as to how not to hurt those people by the changes I was going through and the sin I was, for the first time, facing into….was all part of the maiden voyage that I firmly can say lasted these last eighteen years.

In that time, I was discipled, led to read excellent apologetics, attended several churches of various denominations, submitted my self and my marriage and my children to God and attempted, albeit very sloppily and always imperfectly, to instill the Biblical Christ into our home. 

And now, having learned from my many mistakes and also the victories, I honestly can say I feel enough dross has been squeezed out of me that I can bid adieu to the ship and, arriving on solid ground, navigate with the heart, mind, eye and spirit of someone who no longer needs mother’s milk, but who has determined the priority of the mind of Christ and has set her compass there. 

The rock group Five For Fighting has a song called 100 Years in which they sing, 

“I’m fifteen for a moment

Caught in between ten and twenty…

Fifteen there’s still time for you

Time to buy and time to lose

Fifteen, there’s never a wish better than this

When you only got a hundred years to live.” 

Today I’m eighteen for a moment

Caught in between 0 and whenever

Eighteen there’s still time for me

Only time and nothing to lose

Eighteen there’s never a prayer better than this

When I’ve only got the future years to live.

I love arriving at eighteen, but I don’t plan on staying here. The maiden voyage now over, I release my baggage and set out unencumbered upon the twilight cruise of faith in Jesus Christ.

copyright Barb Harwood

It's Who God Is

On August 20th, I celebrated 35 years of marriage to my best friend, Brad. 

On August 28th, Brad woke up in the morning in the midst of a stroke.

After we arrived at the emergency room, and as he lay on the bed with his stroke symptoms worsening, I watched at his side and thought, "This could be it. I could lose him." 

As the emotion of the reality of the situation overtook me, the very next thought that came to me is, "God." Just God Himself.

And the thought was this: 

"It isn't what God will or won't do, it's who God is." 

With that, a peace enveloped my being, and I said to God, "Okay, God. Whatever happens, good or bad, okay."

And that assurance of God Himself in Christ stays with me today, fourteen days in to Brad's recovery. 

I am overjoyed that Brad is doing well, and responding to the rehabilitation of his left side that was affected by the stroke. His mind is fine and good and healthy. 

We are truly fortunate.

My husband and I have considered during these last two weeks how thankful we are to God for building, throughout the past eighteen years, our faith in Him and His Son Jesus Christ. 

It is that established relationship with God in Christ, rooted and prospered in the daily ups and downs of life, that came through when the rubber of major crisis hit the road.

A few days after the stroke, I read these verses, and they couldn't be more true for a time such as this:

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God." Romans 8:26-27

Brad and I are entering new territory together. And God in Christ, as always, is right here with us.