In the course of my Christian walk I have become increasingly aware of what I call "Christianisms". A "Christianism" is a saying or way of thinking that is prevalent among believers, but which has no biblical basis. Sometimes it may even be antithetical to biblical teaching! We often pick up these sayings/ideas from our culture and then pass them on to one another without even realizing what we're doing. One of the reasons I am so dedicated to studying the Bible is that as I am exposed to God's Truth, I find areas where I need to change not only my own thinking, but also how I communicate God's Truth to others.
I am also thankful to the authors I read. They often point out "Christianisms" I had not previously thought about. Right now I'm reading Graeme Goldsworthy's "Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture". I don't necessarily agree with all of his views, particularly concerning prophecy, but he does an excellent job breaking down many conclusions I
do share.
In explaining how Existential Philosophy has had an impact upon Christian thought, he writes about how the issue of the historicity of the biblical account became secondary to the question of how the "story" aided SELF-understanding. Rudolph Bultman typified this when he wrote, "the meaning of history lies always in the present, and when the present is conceived as the eschatalogical present by Christian faith the meaning in history is realized." It doesn't matter whether the Bible is Truth or Myth, what matters is how it helps me understand ME.
Goldsworthy goes on to write, "Thus, 'Jesus in my heart' theology not only distorts the Trinitarian perspective of the New Testament, it comes very close to the internalized gospel of medieval Catholicism [i.e. grace redefined as a spiritual influence in the heart of the individual believer]. The doctrine of the new birth is often thought of as an evangelical distinctive, but when 'you must be born again' is made to
be the gospel, the real objective and historical nature of the biblical gospel is compromised."
Wow! Is 'Jesus in my heart' a true representation of biblical truth? In looking at what the Bible has to say about salvation I find it involving things like repentance of sin/rebellion against God, turning from idols to the living God, that salvation results in a believer no longer serving sin, but serving God, that an individual becomes united with Christ and becomes a member of a corporate body serving as His ministers on earth. I don't see 'inviting Jesus into my heart' anywhere. While it's true that the believer is sealed with the HS until the day of his ultimate redemption, it's equally true that the Trinity embodies BOTH unity AND distinction. Members of the Trinity are not interchangeable!
Let's not be sloppy with our terminology. Let's not get our theology from songs and "Christianisms". Let's keep reading and studying the Truth and let's be careful how we represent it to others. Let's make God's Truth our blueprint for reality.
