Naturalism and Christianity — Thomas Oden on Guilt and Sin!

“The heart of the difference between cheap-grace doctrines of guilt-free existence and the Christian gospel is this: Modern chauvinism desperately avoids the message of guilt by treating it as a regrettable symptom. Christianity listens to the message of guilt by conscientious self-examination. Hedonism winks at sin. Christianity earnestly confesses sin. Secularism assumes it can extricate itself from gross misdeeds. Christianity looks to grace for divine forgiveness. Modern consciousness is its own fumbling attorney before the bar of conscience. Christianity rejoices that God himself has become our attorney. Modernity sees no reason to atone for or make reparation for wrongs. Christianity knows that unatoned sin brings on misery of conscience. Modern naturalism sees no need for God. Christianity celebrates God’s willingness to suffer for our sins and redeem us from guilt.”
― Thomas C. Oden, Guilt Free

 

Preparing for the “Iron Sharpens Iron” Conference (Emmaus May 25-28) Workshop #2

The “Iron Sharpens Iron” conference at Emmaus Bible College is fast approaching — and I have two workshops to prepare!  The theme this year is ‘Training for Godliness” and I will be presenting two workshops:  “Guarding and Discarding: The Keys to Sound Theology (1 Timothy 6:20-21)” and “Sanctified Hedonism: The Case for “Worldly Saints” (1 Timothy 4:1-5).”

Let’s focus on the second workshop this morning: “Sanctified Hedonism: The Case for “Worldly Saints” (1 Timothy 4:1-5).”
We read the following in I Timothy 4:

A number of issues jump out at me from this text.  The passage is eschatological in tone.  That is, Paul is referring to “later times” and is warning Timothy about how some will abandon the faith and follow demonic doctrines.

The human avenue of these deceiving ideas will be “hypocritical liars” who have callous consciences.  Wow!  Paul isn’t pulling any punches as he refers to the sources of these wrong ideas.

But what about the ideas themselves?  Their errors fall into the categories of FORBIDDING MARRIAGE and DIETARY RESTRICTIONS.  Marriage was God’s idea in the Garden and was clearly affirmed by the Lord Jesus when He said, ⁶ “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, ⁸ and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Mk. 10).

These false teachers, the Spirit of God says, will forbid marriage.

We will look at their dietary prohibitions in our next post.  (to be continued)