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The
Blight of Liberal Theology
by Lieutenant Matt
Kean
I have no doubt that some of my words will meet a degree of
discomfort and perhaps reproof from within our organisation,
but I am convinced it is important to say them.
Besides that, they burn from a deep conviction and even
if I kept quiet I’m inclined to think the stones might cry
out.
The subject I want to address is a theological one, but I want
to emphasize that it worries me most because I see its
negative influence within The Salvation Army.
I’m speaking of the very liberal theology which has
been permitted to slither into the ranks of the army over the
last few decades.
It has allowed a succession of compromises to degrade the
necessary black and white nature of Christ’s gospel.
I use the word liberal intentionally without a capital ‘L’
simply because I only want to show how such a theology, by
definition alone, has no place within a movement whose focal
point is the salvation of souls.
This kind of theology as it stands does not allow for
the hard object lines of orthodox doctrine or any conservative
interpretation of the Bible and has the strange ability to
vilify the militant holiness ideology of our movement.
I will leave its definition here, but I will go on to
describe its character and substance.
Again, please understand that I do not wish to single
out any particular group, ministry, or method. My aim is to
expose a specific theology (the liberal one) because of its
direct contrast to Salvationism, that is all.
I recently read an excerpt from Begbie’s “The Life of General
William Booth – Vol. 2” which brought me to a sobering
epiphany. In it
Booth clearly marks out the brutal reality that every officer
must embrace in order to even qualify as Salvationists:
Every officer must realise that men are perpetually perishing;
that every moment of his life, when he wakes and when he
sleeps, some soul somewhere passes into eternity.
He should see that those who reject God’s mercy are
driven away in their wickedness – driven down to Hell.
At death probation ends, the day of mercy closes, and
there is no hope for evermore. They must perceive that in all
this misery men apart from God are totally unable to help
themselves, and that they get worse instead of better; that
unless deliverance is obtained from outside themselves, they
will perish.
(p.150)
I petition every Salvationist, specifically my officer
comrades, to truly consider the weight and severity of Booth’s
words and ask yourselves honestly, “Is the Army’s theology
still carrying this kind of urgency?”
To be honest, I don’t believe it is.
In fact, I hear a very different kind of theology, a
much milder, certainly much less frank theology too often
being spoken and taught and written within much of the western
Salvation Army, surely within my own territory.
It prefers to soften, or belittle, the seriousness of
our call to preach to the lost for their
salvation – their
eternal rescue from damnation and endless punishment!
It’s at the point now where even the term salvation
must be clearly defined simply because liberal theology has
been working so intentionally to try to redefine it.
The same has been done to the word holiness.
These two terms that used to describe the bare bones of
the Army are now so loosely defined that it’s difficult to
know what they mean to us anymore.
On the surface this liberal theology doesn’t sound too bad,
but underneath it holds the power to corrupt the very
foundations of our devil-hating movement. You can bet your
eyeballs that the corrosive liberal theology of which I am
speaking will laud darling little terms like inclusivity and
tolerance, distorting the love of God so that it allows for
compromise. The
severity of sin and its power to destroy the individual
eternally is necessarily diminished, even ignored, because it
makes the gospel too offensive and unpalatable to deliver.
The salvation that is offered by this liberal theology
is one that doesn’t actually do anything to save the sinner.
It merely allows the
liberal Christian to remain in a false sense of spiritual
accomplishment because the world has been able to see the
gospel “made relevant”, which is much more significant than
hearing the truth.
I have witnessed this liberal theology personally, and I’ve
seen it bring utter ruin to Salvation Army ministries, corps,
certainly many social centres, sermons, soldiers, and
officers. On top
of that, it brings perhaps even a worse fate to the sinners
that receive it.
This liberal theology allows a drunk to remain a drunk, a
prostitute to remain a prostitute, a thief to remain a thief,
a doubter to remain a doubter, a sinner to remain a sinner,
all the while encouraging them to profess that they are well
saved and somehow changed within.
Why? Well, one reason is because it places supreme
value on an individual’s sense of self-worth instead of on the
cross of Christ and the righteousness of God.
In other words, as long as a person realizes that there
is a healthier way to live, that they have Salvation Army
friends who support them, that God loves them and that they
are especially valuable in His sight, then the gospel has been
received into their heart successfully.
The job is done.
However, the New Testament gospel clearly shows this to
be farcical.
Though this liberal theology (i.e. this theology of deception
really) usually keeps up a pleasant façade, speaking
constantly of the Christian’s responsibility to
love rather than
judge, and frequently making strange inferences that God’s
grace and truth can
be separated from one another, it ultimately forces
Salvationists into believing a gospel of half-truths with all
kinds of twists and distortions.
The fact is that it’s hardly more than an ideological
merging of humanism and universalism.
Basically, because there is a spark of good within
humanity, which has been victimized by “that old devil in the
garden”, then we can encourage and prod all people to realise
that they are worthy of God’s redemptive plan in Christ, and
furthermore, are already placed by His love safe within His
family. They need
only realise it!
Sadly, almost every ministry endeavour that is fuelled by
liberal theology begins from that erred premise – at best!
When pushed to its logical end, this kind of theology
presents the good heart of humanity as our starting point for
the good news instead of the profound love and righteousness
of God for a wicked, depraved, and rebellious race of selfish
criminals.
Certainly, nothing is farther from the profession of The
Salvation Army’s doctrinal position as well as the Bible (see
TSA doctrine # 5, Rom. 3:10-18).
Having said this, I realize that to lump every theological
deviation into the same pile would be silly. The truth is that
not every Salvationist who questions or explores beyond the
boundaries of conservative and traditional doctrinal
interpretation has embraced this liberal theology and a
compromised belief. Many are perhaps honestly searching for a
deeper understanding of how the gospel of Christ can be
implemented most effectively, and truly want those who are
outside the family of God to come to Him for pardon.
From this honest desire these Salvationists may choose
to put less emphasis on some of the harder, more abrasive
truths of Scripture (i.e. judgment, sin, punishment, etc.),
perhaps allowing them to sit in the background, so to speak,
in order to better illuminate the invitation of God offered to
all people in Christ. I
can understand that. That is not an example of the liberal
theology that I am addressing.
It might be argued that it isn’t as militant as Booth’s
Salvationism, but it is nonetheless still Salvationism because
it holds fast to the gospel’s chief aim to win the sinful lost
for the Lord and to convert them to saints eternally. In such
cases, even though there is a softer presentation of the
gospel, the harder truths remain uncompromised.
The liberal theology that is blighting The Salvation Army is
far more wayward and seedy, and it is quite distinct.
It’s not just a
passing stage of questioning that sparks some abstract thought
for a while, but it is a settled belief that coddles doubt in
the heart of the Salvationist rather than desires clarity.
In its most blatant form it can be easily recognised by
its unwillingness to attribute any definitive authority to the
Bible and in turn gives utmost authority to the judgments of
one’s own intellect as well as to the intellect of other
settled doubters.
Although it claims the opposite, this kind of theology seems
to have no desire for the absolute truth of Christ’s gospel,
but with a hungry fanaticism pursues any theological
justification for one’s doubt and/or lack of spiritual
experience.
It’s not very difficult to see why this is so detrimental in
an organisation where one of the most significant priorities
is to draw attention to the dire heart-condition of the human
race in light of God’s word. According
to Scripture, the words of Christ in fact, humanity is
condemned by its sin and preference toward darkness (John
3:19). It is only the authority of Scripture wielded by the
heavily convicting hand of the Holy Spirit that could inspire
anyone to accept something so dreadful. Every theology that
will not give Scripture judging/discerning authority,
especially in matters of the spirit and Spirit, sin and
conscience, is inevitably left to construct its own conditions
and definitions for such vital terms as truth, salvation, and
holiness.
Think about the consequences of that!
It can also be seen how this liberal theology is strangely
opposed to deeming what is ungodly or wicked.
Whether it be out of fear or just apathy, it is
completely destructive when a Salvationist is unable to
clarify why an
individual needs to be saved by Jesus Christ from a sound
Scriptural standpoint.
The liberal theology to which I’m referring allows the
gospel to be preached (not the real gospel of course) as a
person’s way to experience freedom and deliverance from the
hells of this physical world, or maybe even healing from the
scars of the past, but never explains that a person needs
freedom and deliverance from their personal and inherent sin,
as well as their own selfish desire to be their own God, which
hold dreadful eternal consequences! Such immovable Scriptural
pillars like the Holy Spirit’s conviction, genuine heartfelt
repentance, and regeneration in a life of holiness are
necessarily neglected by the theology that insists the sinner
can be ‘repaired’ – the theology of Jesus Christ was one of
new life which cannot come by any way other than death of the
old life. The
Salvation Army’s theology has never been one that permits a
repaired life, or a better life, but a
new life!
Our doctrines insist that we believe it is vital to
salvation (TSA Doctrine # 7).
I firmly believe that if the leadership of The Salvation Army
does not begin publically condemning this corrupt and
Biblically heretical theology where it is evidenced,
deliberately removing the veil of doctrinal ambiguity within
our ranks, then this movement is in the same kind of danger as
the House of Eli (1 Samuel 3:13-14).
This Salvation war is too severe for us to be toying
with any kind of message that bears no power to redeem.
It is the New Testament gospel that is the power of God
unto salvation for all who will believe (Romans 1:16) and
unless we cling to it tightly with all our grit and heart, we
hold nothing in our hands but chaff; it is all the
power of God to save.
Droves of sinners continue to die in chains of darkness
and vice, my friends, going without hope and help into Hell’s
torment, but the Master has given us the One Key to their
absolute freedom… and we must cling to it!
We are an army that has one supreme agenda: win as many
sinners to Christ as we possibly can so that they will be
prepared for the imminent Day of Judgment.
Any theology that makes this mandate less intense or
diminishes its urgency even slightly is nothing less than a
rot and decay within our movement.
It is a recipe for disaster!
It is an act of treason; a resignation of our efforts
to the kingdom of Satan.
If Salvationists are not strong enough to refuse to
entertain the corrosion of our original (and might I add,
God-given) theology, then the army itself is doomed to suffer
the fate of the people of Israel after the exile – a laughing
stock to their enemies.
I pray by God’s glorious grace and truth that we as an
Army will wise up to the seriousness of laying down our
ruthless soul-saving theology and begin to embrace again what
it means to be Salvationists so that we might once more be the
cause of much fear in Hell.
Praise the Lord Jesus!
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