There is nothing so likely to lead the Church into error than focusing on the part and not the whole. Today, many emphasize and espouse mere segments of the Gospel: prosperity, faith, signs and wonders, glory, grace, holiness, the Kingdom, etc. Embracing and preaching the whole counsel of God's word will cause all of the parts to come together, forming a symmetrical and complete Body of Truth. This 'Body of Truth' has a name: Jesus Christ! We are complete in Him alone (See Col. 2:10). The Early Church preached Christ, and so must we! In Him, we live and move and have our being!

Glenn Bleakney

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Mike

The tragedy of this sentiment is the tragedy of the ages, reducing the living person of Jesus down to the level of doctrine.

This thought seems pious and correct, but it is equating Jesus with doctrine and things. Jesus is Himself the truth, He isn't on the level of these things, and it cannot be said these things are found in Him. Jesus is the living God, God the Son.

To say if we preach all these things we are preaching Christ is just as grave an error as the one this man is trying to counter, but the deeper irony is that it is actually the exact same error in a different disguise. The idolatry of the Bible is an error most are to afraid to counter, because the Bible is not the word of God, and the secular world is completely correct when it accuses the Christian apologist of circular reasoning, saying that the Bible is the word of God because it says it is the word of God. Jesus is the Word of God. The Bible is the infallible expression of God's mind and will to lead us to the living Word, the Word become flesh, the Word that dwelt among us, the Word that is God, Jesus Christ. The Bible says the Word is God, and to follow the reasoning of the unscrupulous fundamentalist is to say the Bible is God, which is error in the highest form.

Brother, are you so ignorant as to what’s going on in the church today that you can’t understand what this brother is saying? The whole word of God is not being preached and so you have the extremes of greasy Grace on one side and legalism on the other side.

Many of the things that you say seem to be so spiritual, but in reality, they are a denial of the truth.

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Mike

The state of religion or the church doesn't change what we preach or believe. Hyperbolic religion is to be brought into line with scripture, not the other way around. The focus is to much on man these days, what does the state of the church have to do with anything?

The state of the church is actually not the state of the church, what you mean to say is the state of the institution that operates under the banner of Jesus name. Whether charismatic, protestant, episcopal, or whatever names it has, it's not the church. The church is the organic body of believers who walk with God, and is in fact spotless, blameless, and revived. The church is the body of believers containing Jesus Himself, and is alive and well because they are in Christ, who is our life. Does it have issues and lack in it's knowledge, yes. Is it scattered and fragmented just like Israel? Yes. But nevertheless, the body of Christ is living in truth, and is not marked or delineated by signs and buildings, bricks or mortar.

What I see you saying is that there are a lot of people gathering in buildings on Sundays and the guy at the front doesn't preach the truth, and we should be concerned. While there is some truth to this, it is in no way the state of the church, just the state of the world system in another of its religious manifestations.

But,

I guess error is ok as long as it's not as bad as the one we are countering.