They progressed from us

If the Apostle John were to write his epistles today, perhaps 1 John:2:19They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
See All... might read more like this: “They progressed from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.”

Seems like a lot of people are progressing away from us today. By “us” we mean the Christian faith. We are not suggesting that those who have shifted toward or even fully embraced Progressivism are no longer Christians. That is, of course, between them and God alone and not something we can really judge. All of us are prone to sin, rebellion, and often judgmentalism for that matter. When we are addressing certain issues, we often think about the comment the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee made in one of his sermons: “If you knew J. Vernon McGee like I know J. Vernon McGee, you wouldn’t be listening to me. But don’t get up and leave because if I knew you like you know you; I wouldn’t be preaching to you.”

Yes, there is such a biblical remedy such as “Church discipline” for obvious sin. Yet, we are called to live holy lives and to keep our eyes less on the faults of others and more on “the founder and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews:12:2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
See All...). And yet, an extremely essential area of our faith is the call to be like the Bereans in the Bible, practicing discernment and guarding ourselves and others against being deceived. And there are many deceivers out there, just as there were back in the first century. It has been said that to that end, all of the New Testament, with the exception of Philemon, was written to address and correct false teaching, false prophets, and bad behavior and to clarify sound teaching and proper behavior. The Apostle Paul took great pains to instruct and warn the Ephesian Elders:

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, (Acts:20:28-31 [28] Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. [29] For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. [30] Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. [31] Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
See All...a)

We note the Apostle started by telling them they must guard themselves first and then guard the flock against outside influences seeping in and from individuals in the sheepfold rising up among them with false teaching. The growing progressive movement within the evangelical church has changed the way many understand and interpret the word of God. As George Yancey points out:

For progressive Christians, Jesus is primarily the model of inclusion and tolerance. For example, one progressive Christian drew a cartoon of Jesus saying, “The difference between me and you is you use Scripture to determine what love means and I use love to determine what Scripture means.” Progressive Christians focus on the actions and teachings of Jesus that reinforce their values of tolerance and inclusion, which they see as examples of love.¹

Feelings or “inner knowingness” about an issue are now asserted to be the truth. Elements like the context of a text, facts, evidence, and reason are jettisoned in favor of their new narrative.

This moral superiority shows up in the claims of Southern Baptist Pastor J.D. Greer, who speaks of the “closet racists and neo-Confederates” inhabiting the Southern Baptist churches:

“We should mourn when closet racists and neo-Confederates feel more at home in our churches than do many of our people of color,” he thundered from the platform of the SBC’s national convention in 2021. Of course, the megachurch pastor did not back up this shocking accusation with evidence or identify these rank and unrepentant sinners.”

No evidence is offered, just assertions. Was J.D. Greer informed by an inner knowingness or some other magical power? The church closets may be inhabited by all sorts of miscreants, we might suppose. Because people in closets are somewhat difficult to see, let alone judge, we might think they should be given the benefit of the doubt as to whether they are worse than possible sinners in other closets if no evidence is presented. Because we are all sinners, saved by grace, correct?

As the new narrative of Progressives and CRT activists has infiltrated both the church and culture, a sharp division has been forced into the equation. The new faith is human-centric, not God-centric. Since reading people’s hearts has proven to be very difficult over these many centuries, if not impossible, people can now be pronounced guilty or innocent of some egregious sins based solely on skin color, which may be, we admit, easier to determine. Sadly, in this new religious narrative, there is no provision for repentance, forgiveness, and restoration for the sinners. People who are guilty of white skin cannot by any means expunge their guilt. In Shepherds for Sale, Megan Basham points to some important statistics many have forgotten and then asks an important question:

More broadly, Americans’ views on white-black relations are now at their lowest point in twenty years. In 2005, 72 percent of Americans rated race relations as very or somewhat good. By 2020, this was down to only 44 percent. As pollster Gallup noted, “until 2015, large majorities of both [blacks and whites] thought relations were generally good.” We are being trained in fear, suspicion, bitterness, and resentment. Why would the Church ever want to synthesize such ungodly lessons with the Gospel that reconciles men to each other by reconciling them first to Christ?

https://midwestoutreach.org/2024/08/15/the-progressed-from-us/