“My brothers, not many of you should become teachers, knowing that we shall receive the greater judgment.”

— James 3:1

Some of the liberal denominations have taken the resurrection of Jesus away from their statements of faith (if they have one), and their churches are withering away—for their congregations instinctively know that there is nothing there but froth, and they will not tolerate being deceived. If Christ was not bodily raised from the dead in human history, Christianity would cease to exist.

Over time, these liberal churches are dying. Their seminaries turn out ministers who do not believe the Bible—they do not believe Jesus is divine, that He died for our sins, and, as noted, that He rose from the dead. One could ask why they are even in the ministry, but they will have to answer that for themselves. They should beware of what James says, that teachers will incur stricter judgment.

Sometimes, the person in the pew in these churches actually does believe. But the leadership does not believe the things of Christ. This is a blight upon the church at large. These churches, once in the main line, are beginning to fade away.

A survey from about twenty years ago showed that by the middle of the next century, there will be two great religious forces in America and far and away the largest one, will be evangelical Christianity. Alister E. McGrath writes, “In a 1990 survey of the 500 fastest growing Protestant congregations in the U.S., 89 percent were found to be evangelical.” That trend continues. The other force will be Roman Catholicism—maybe a third or a half that size.

Lord, give us strength to stand against false teaching and hold fast Your Word. Thank You for preserving Your church all these centuries, even when there are Pharisees and Sadducees in our midst…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN EMBRACE THE
FAITH ONCE AND FOR ALL HANDED TO THE SAINTS.