The train has not only run off the tracks but has rolled down a ravine. Smoke belches from the wreckage. Parents, kids, and grandkids—several generations scattered among the carnage—beckon with blood- and soot-streaked hands, “Join us down here! We are going places. This is progress!” A few of us stand on the lonely hillside and wonder how to get that train back on its tracks. How do we salvage this mess?
The name of the train is “Progressivism.” Why did it fly off its tracks?
Just a few feet back, we discover drag queen shows, the popularization of transvestites, and rampant sexual deviancy. Father back, we find the sissification of the men, the neutering of masculinity, the oppression and removal of fathers and husbands from homes. Women said they wanted to be more like the men, so they entered the work force en mass. They began to use foul language. They demanded to play men’s sports, enter the military, and be equal in all things. They abandoned the home, refusing to fill the traditional roles of wife and mother.
In our cities, crime has increased exponentially, and the authorities refuse to punish the perpetrators. In place of strict law enforcement, our political leaders attempt to remove weapons from the general population.
The Progressivism train hasn’t made much positive progress. We should probably rename it “Regressivism.”
At the center of the mess, we find one major departure: the Progressives have abandoned divine authority.
“For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”
Romans 1.22–25
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14.1). We are a nation of fools with dark, rebellious hearts.
The fix, then, is simple—we must return to God as our ultimate authority. Man does not have the wisdom or the discipline to guide himself. “A man’s steps are of the LORD; How then can a man understand his own way?” (Prov. 20.24) and “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jer. 10.23).
Not only has our State and Country abandoned God’s authority, but churches across the land have abandoned God’s word as their ultimate guide. In fact, it may be that our land’s problems originated in our churches’ pulpits. Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord—therefore, we ought to preach the judgments of God on those who sin and refuse to bow the knee to God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Too many churches have abandoned God’s word.
Any church which allows women to preach or hold pastoral office (example: Saddleback) has abandoned the clear word of the New Testament. They have explanations, some having to do with the changing of the times (progressive advancement) and others involving hermeneutical gymnastics (“That Greek word can mean something other than what it seems at face value…”). But in the end, they have simply abandoned what the Scriptures say and are following their own desires.
Any church which focuses on the latest, flashiest trends to attract the community is boarding the Progressivism train. They have awesome “praise bands” which rock the place out like a Friday night at the club, kids jumping around, amps cranked up, emotions fluctuating wildly. Others depend on ecstatic experiences, people running around being suddenly “slain by the Spirit,” bursting out into some unknown tongue, etc. Many depend on snappy speakers, the right worship style, hair and makeup just perfect. They want the perfect show every Sunday. And that’s what they get—a show.
Any church which sets itself over the Word of God has boarded the Progressivism train. The Roman Catholic Church has been rolling on this track for a thousand years. Each Pope moves the church father along. It may seem like the glue that has held many societies together, but it has progressed far off God’s revealed path.
But praise God because faithful churches continue to pursue Christ and preach the gospel, holding on to the Word as given. These churches preach Christ crucified and tell their people to obey Him because He is both Lord and Christ. They do not follow the latest trends; they follow God’s word; they walk in the Spirit. They do not preach to tantalize, coax, or mollify; they preach the Word so it may powerfully do its work among their members. If God’s word runs counter to culture and conventional wisdom, so be it. The Word rules over us; not we over it.
Can you imagine Paul or Peter or John standing in the pulpit of one of the progressive churches around town? What would be their sermon? Would they crack jokes, make sure the music comes as a gentle background to their final prayer, turn up the smoke machine, send the kids to children’s church so the adults can better enjoy their Sunday experience? Or do you think Paul might pull out Romans 1? Would Peter remind us about false teachers? Would John teach the following?
“And by this we know that we have come to know Him. Whoever says ‘I know Him’ but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Him: whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.”
1 John 2.3–6
A fog in the pews is caused by a mist in the pulpit. We must return to a strong and unapologetic preaching of God’s word among our church families. We must submit to God’s word—it has authority over us. This is how to stop the Progressivism train.