THE EMERGING CHURCH VS THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH

I Timothy 4:1-2; II Timothy 3:1-7

It is very evident today that many believers and preachers interpret the Bible through the lens of their culture. This has resulted in many beliefs, doctrines and practices that are prevalent in the church today that are not in accord with the clear teaching of Scripture. Sadly this is the case with the Emerging church.

Since the Emerging church is so influential, it is promoting  a gospel replete with modern cultural paradigm that is not in line with the New Testament church paradigm. Consequently, the preaching that comes from the pulpit of today's churches is more like a "feel-good, and watered-down message" than sound, biblical teaching.

The Emerging Church focuses on individual destiny. The Bible focuses on corporate vision and destiny.

Most of the preaching in today's pulpits focuses on individual destiny, purpose and vision. However, a quick look at the Bible shows us that in the Old Testament the emphasis was always on the nation of Israel, and in the New Testament the emphasis was always on the church. Every promise of God in Scripture was given to the community of faith as a whole. Hence if a person was not flowing in the context of the church, or the nation of Israel, they would have never even known Scripture since the average person did not own a Bible and only heard the Word when they assembled with the saints. Of course, believers had to apply the Word of God as individuals, but they could not conceive of doing this if they were not part of the corporate body of faith. In the Old and New Testaments, there was no such thing as "individual prophecy" since every prophetic word given to an individual had to be walked out in the context of their faith community and/or had to do with the life of their community.

The Emerging Church focuses on individual prosperity. The Bible focuses on stewardship.

Much of the preaching of the Emerging Church today focuses on "our rights in Christ" to be blessed. However, in Scripture the emphasis regarding finances has to do with being blessed by God in order to be a blessing by bringing God's covenant to the Earth (Deut. 8:18; 2 Cor. 9:10-11). Jesus promised material blessing only in the context of seeking first His Kingdom (Matt. 6:33).

The Emerging Church focuses on self-fulfillment and happiness. The Bible focuses on glorifying God and serving humanity.

The Great Commandments are to love God and love our neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40). Much of the focus of the church day has to do with individual fulfillment and satisfaction.

The Emerging Church appeals to using faith to attain stability and comfort. The Bible encourages believers to risk life and limb to advance the Kingdom.

Much of the preaching in churches regarding faith has to do with using faith so we can have a nice car, home, job, financial security and comfort. The biblical focus on faith is on risking our physical health and material goods to promote God's Kingdom (Phil. 2:25-30). Most of the apostles of the New Testament church died as martyrs, and the hall of faith shown in Hebrews 11 equates faith with a life of risk and material loss for the sake of Christ. Much of the preaching on faith in the Emerging Church would seem foreign to biblical prophets and apostles.

The Emerging Church believers have a consumerist mentality regarding a home church. The biblical emphasis is being equipped for the ministry.

People shop for a church today based on what meets their personal and family needs the best. It is almost like a supermarket mentality of one-stop shopping. While it is good if churches attempt to meet the practical needs of families and communities, the focus should be upon equipping the saints for the work of the ministry and not entertain them (Eph. 4:11-12).

The Emerging Church promotes a culture of entertainment. The Bible promotes the pursuit of God.

In the typical Emerging Church, there will be an incredible worship team, visual effects and great oratory. Consequently, they are often catering to the people's obsession with entertainment and visceral experiences, which can promote a culture of entertainment instead of cultural engagement. Biblically speaking, some of the greatest examples we have of intimacy with God come from the Psalms in which the writers were in dire straits, with no worship team, and alone somewhere in the desert (Psalm 42, 63).

Biblically speaking, we should not depend on a great worship experience to experience God, but we should have intimate fellowship with Him moment by moment, way before we even get through the church doors!

The Emerging Church depends upon services within a building. The biblical model promotes a lifestyle of worship, community and Christ following.

Most of the miracles in the book of Acts and the gospels took place outside a building in the context of people's homes and in the marketplace. In Acts 2 and 4, the churches met house-to-house, not just in the temple. The man at the gate was healed before he went into the temple (Acts 3), which caused an even greater revival to take place.

The Emerging Church is about efficiency. The biblical model is about effectiveness.

The Emerging Church is modeled more after the secular corporate model rather than the biblical model. The church is not an organization but an organism that should be organized! In many churches, every aspect of the service is timed to the minute, and there is no allowance for the Holy Spirit to move. What good is an efficient service if the people leave the church service with the same brokenness they had before they came to church?

In the Emerging Church the individual interprets the Bible. In the New Testament the hermeneutical community interprets the Bible.

In the New Testament, when they were grappling with Scripture, they called a council and had dialogue to discern what the Spirit was saying (Acts 15). Paul went to the Jerusalem elders (Peter, James and John) to make sure what he was preaching was of God (Galatians 1 and 2).

Often in the Emerging Churches, the preachers get unique interpretations of a passage and come up with a different angle on Scripture based on their own subjective paradigm and/or spiritual experience. Sometimes this can have heretical effects.

We must understand that the Emerging Church isn’t as innocuous as it might at first seem. It is more than just a sermon with less Bible content and a service with more upbeat music. It is more than doing dramas, dance, and multimedia presentations instead of more traditional forms of worship. It is a doctrinal shift away from being God-centered toward a man-centered perspective. Theology is minimized, and doctrine is declared largely irrelevant. The gospel is minimized if not altered, and the whole counsel of God is not taught. Worship is perverted to entertainment, and the sufficiency of Christ and His Word is challenged in all areas of church life and practice. The future is bleak because those who call themselves Christians today hardly know the Bible at all. If doctrine, for which Jesus, the disciples, and the reformers died, is not the core matter, then what is?

The only hope is a return to Scripture and sound doctrine. We desperately need to recover our determination to be biblical, our refusal to comply with the world, our willingness to defend what we believe, and our courage to defy false teaching. Unless we collectively awaken to the current dangers that threaten our faith, the adversary will attack us from within, and we will not be able to withstand.