Albert Mohler rightly points out the doctrinal minimalism of megachurches and the general tendency for Evangelicalism to accomodate itself to the larger culture in order to draw in new members. Serial remarriage is now commonly accepted among Evangelicals due to no fault divorce. Will gay marriage now be accepted by so-called "conservative" Evangelical Christians? It looks that way judging from a recent sermon series by pastor Andy Stanley, the son of Southern Baptist pastor, Dr. Charles Stanley.
God's moral law has no power to save anyone and no one living has any power to obey God's law sufficiently to justify themselves before God. But is grace a license to sin after conversion? I doubt that even Martin Luther would have agreed with that view. Luther did continually emphasize that Christians are no longer under the law or the curse of sin and that those who kept emphasizing law keeping as the basis for salvation were in effect making the sacrifice of Christ void and justifying themselves by their own righteousness. On the the other hand, the true Christian is justified by Christ and Christ alone. Luther's emphasis was that correct doctrine comes first and afterwards God will work through grace and the Holy Spirit to help Christians live in accordance with God's law--albeit never for justification or salvation.
Andy Stanley rightly points out that we are still sinners and miserable sinners after conversion. He fails, however, to distinguish between election and reprobation due to his blatant Arminianism--except for the one point of Calvinism of the perseverance of the saints. But if Albert Mohler is correct that Andy Stanley is deliberately downplaying homosexuality as a sin while condemning adultery then it is a natural inference to conclude that megachurches are moving toward minimizing homosexuality and fornication as sinful behavior and incompatible with true conversion. The 39 Articles of Religion expresses the view of Calvin, Luther and Cranmer on this issue:
God's moral law has no power to save anyone and no one living has any power to obey God's law sufficiently to justify themselves before God. But is grace a license to sin after conversion? I doubt that even Martin Luther would have agreed with that view. Luther did continually emphasize that Christians are no longer under the law or the curse of sin and that those who kept emphasizing law keeping as the basis for salvation were in effect making the sacrifice of Christ void and justifying themselves by their own righteousness. On the the other hand, the true Christian is justified by Christ and Christ alone. Luther's emphasis was that correct doctrine comes first and afterwards God will work through grace and the Holy Spirit to help Christians live in accordance with God's law--albeit never for justification or salvation.
Andy Stanley rightly points out that we are still sinners and miserable sinners after conversion. He fails, however, to distinguish between election and reprobation due to his blatant Arminianism--except for the one point of Calvinism of the perseverance of the saints. But if Albert Mohler is correct that Andy Stanley is deliberately downplaying homosexuality as a sin while condemning adultery then it is a natural inference to conclude that megachurches are moving toward minimizing homosexuality and fornication as sinful behavior and incompatible with true conversion. The 39 Articles of Religion expresses the view of Calvin, Luther and Cranmer on this issue:
LBEIT that good works, which are the fruits of faith and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins and endure the severity of God's judgement, yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith, insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit.
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