The first thing Fundamentalism needs to do in order to survive as historic Fundamentalism, as Fundamentalism was intended to be, is to embrace criticism. So yes, I am criticizing Fundamentalism for not taking criticism well—-we’ll see how that turns out for me. To lay out my basic thesis, Fundamentalism must become open to criticism and self-examining. Fundamentalism also needs to owe up to its failures.
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Gospel Clichés
What I would like to do with this article is present to you some popular Gospel clichés, as I like to call them, and provide some rather brief thoughts on each—-nothing exhaustive or too in depth, but just some thoughts to make you think about them, their use, what they seem to be saying, their accuracies and inaccuracies, etc.
“I asked Jesus into my heart” / “Ask Jesus into your heart”
First of all, the Bible does indicate that Christ may dwell in our hearts (Eph 3:17). Yet we must understand that this of course is figurative and not literal and that this specific statement occurs in the context of Paul’s prayer for believers (Eph 3:17), not as an analogy of sorts of someone being saved. With that said, I have some problems with this phrase.
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So Walk (Colossians 2:6)
Colossians 2:6 – Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.
As I was meditating on this verse, the words “As you received Christ” stuck out in my mind. These words seem to beg the question, how–how did I receive Christ? And immediately my answer is faith. We received Christ through faith (Eph 2:8). When taking a look at the context of Colossians 2, this thought becomes even more solidified.
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Jesus Died for You
Have we forgotten the seriousness of sin?
Sin which resulted in death, caused destroyed fellowship with God, and produced complete and depraved separation from Him?
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“Abiding: A Characteristic of All Believers” by Andy Naselli
In this article, Andy Naselli discusses the beginning of John 15 and Jesus’ command, “Abide in Me, and I in you” (v.4). The article seeks to answer two questions many have posed regarding this passage. First, who are those represented by first type of branch that abide in Christ and therefore bear much fruit? Does this speak of some or all believers? Are these spiritual Christians or is abiding in Christ a characteristic of every true believer? Second, who are those represented by the second type of branch that never bears fruit and is therefore cut off? Is this a once saved believer who loses his salvation? Is this a saved yet unfruitful believer whom God is chastising? Or might this simply be a professing believer is not truly saved? Obviously, such questions have immense soteriological implications.
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* Originally posted on former blog, I’m Calling Us Out.
Kirk E. Miller 