Daily devotions: Unbelievable! - Matthew 4:3

Matthew 4:3   The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

I didn’t sleep very well last night, so what’s new? As usual, I had taken too much caffeine and my mind was swirling with thoughts and ideas, issues and problems. The main one concerned an internet posting that a PCUSA pastor had written, boldly stating that Jesus did not die for the sins of humanity.

Yes, you are reading truly; he wrote that Jesus DID NOT die for our sins. In fact, he called it a theological fantasy, perpetrated by the Church to control the hearts and minds of people. I honestly could not believe what I was actually reading. How could a Christian Presbyterian pastor write this? It goes against Christian theology and the essential tenets of the Reformation itself. How can a pastor do this to himself, his congregation, denomination and faith?

An even greater question is this: how can a church, a presbytery, and a denomination allow this to stand? This is the equivalent of the devil questioning Christ’s authority in the wilderness. If Jesus did not die upon the Cross to save us from our sins, then how can we be saved? If His death, as the pastor writes, was merely a political expedient execution, then how can we be justified by our faith in Christ?

I have watched mainstream denominations radically change over the past 25 years in order to accommodate the culture, but this goes beyond anything that I have ever known. This is heresy and what really troubles me is that the PCUSA might allow this kind of false theology and heretical thinking to stand unopposed.

I am deeply shocked and feel as though we’ve all allowed this to happen because we’ve not paid attention to the slippery slope that we’ve been on. This is the outcome of the church giving culture an inch; it ends up taking a mile and the loss of faith altogether. The pastor may have his doubts and denials, his lack of faith in Christ’s sacrifice and Redemption, but that does not give him the right to trample on the Reformed beliefs of the Church, which are essential to our faith, and for him to be held unaccountable.

An important line has been crossed which will affect the faith of future generations. Either this kind of heresy is stopped in its tracks now, or our denomination will die from this theological deceit. We cannot have our cake and eat it. Or to put it another way, we cannot have Christ’s Cross and then destroy it.

Prayer:                       Lord Jesus, You are the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. You sacrificed Your life on the Cross, so that we might be washed clean of our sins and restored to God’s everlasting love. Keep us from diminishing Your atoning work with our arrogant thinking and foolish ideas. Help us to cling to Calvary and know that we are justified through our faith in You alone as the Son of God and Savior of our souls. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to ask a question or make a comment about today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.