THE “ISM” SYNDROME

"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God . . . " (1 Peter 4:11)

The "Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation . . . " (Rom 1:16). It is "the power" for several reasons. First, it is a MESSAGE, heralding the accomplishments of the Lord Jesus Christ in behalf of lost humanity. Because those accomplishments were the fulfillment of God's will, He underwrites their proclamation. Through the Holy Spirit, God works through the "glorious gospel of the blessed God" (1 Tim 1:11). Second, this message is couched in WORDS taught by the Holy Spirit. Thus it is written, "which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words" NASB (1 Cor 2:13). The words themselves, taught by the Holy Spirit, are powerful. They fulfill the declaration of our blessed Lord, "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). The Word of God is so powerful it can uncover "the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb 4:12). Thus, the Gospel is "the power of God unto salvation" because of the thrust of its message, and because of the words used to communicate it.

THIS POWERFUL GOSPEL is neutralized by human additions and subtractions. From the beginning, men have attempted to systematize the Gospel message, shaping it into a mold that will promote man's private thinking rather than Divine purpose. Now we come to what I call the "ISM" syndrome. Men develop a philosophy concerning God's Word and work (often independently of Scripture). They then place that philosophy as a template over the Bible. They read God's Word with their preconceived notions in mind. When they preach, they preach with these notions dominating their thoughts. Knowing this is an extremely sensitive area, allow me to provide some examples of this erroneous, and thus sinful, approach of some.

THE COMING OF THE LORD. Jesus spoke succinctly about His return, as well as did the Apostles. It was associated with the end of the present heavens and earth (2 Pet 3:10-12), the gathering of His people (Matt 24:30-31), judgment (Matt 25:31-32), the rewarding of all men according to their work (Rev 22:12), the punishment of the wicked (2 Thess 1:10), the glorification of His people (Col 3:4; 1 John 3:1-2), and the dawning of a new day (Matt 19:28). The thrust of Scripture was not the development of a philosophy about the day of the Lord, but a determination to prepare for it, and that is quite clear.Notwithstanding, men have superimposed philosophical templates over the teaching of the Spirit concerning Christ's return. Without getting into the particulars concerning these approaches, they generally fall into four "isms." Premillennialism, Post-millennialism, A-millennialism, and Preterism. There is one thing all of the views have in common. The coming of the Lord is not the pivotal proclamation in any of them. Rather, there is a theological pattern that is central – an "ism." The presence of that factor has seriously divided the body of Christ over the central truth of Christ's return.

HUMAN RESPONSE. Consider the matter of human response to God. The Word of God presents both sides of the coin, and powerfully so. "No man can come unto Me," Jesus said, "except the Father draw Him" (John 6:44). The call also goes forth, "whosoever will may come" (Rev 22:17). But this is not sufficient for many. Even though each of these sayings is invested with the power of God, men choose to again systematize their message. Some have chosen to divide the approach to this subject into two categories, Calvinism and Arminianism. Even though neither term is employed by God, and even though both views represent a purely human conception of the truth, men are still judged and classified by their peers according to these terms. These become templates through which the Bible is read, and yardsticks by which God's people are measured. The danger of such an approach ought to be very obvious.

CONCLUDING WORDS. This could turn into an endless dissertation, which would serve no purpose. Suffice it to say, template theology does not have the power of God. That is reserved for the Gospel, preached in "words that the Holy Spirit teaches." That involves identifying spiritual experiences with spiritual words. It includes preaching the Word itself, leaving it to God to help the individual with any supposedly required systemization. It means refusing to pass everything through the filter of humanly- conceived concepts. We must call Bible things by Bible names, and refer to events declared in Scripture in the language of Scripture.

AWAY WITH THE "ISM" SYNDROME. It has robbed the church, divided believers, and produced a host of unacceptable things – works of the flesh,"hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies" (Gal 5: 19).

LET EVERYONE BE COURAGEOUS enough to speak "as the oracles of God" (1 Pet 4:11). We are all free to receive any truth proclaimed by any person; to embrace any imagined spiritual expression or thought from any people. But none of us have been freed to replace spiritual language with philosophical jargon, or the Word of God with the word of man.

– Given O. Blakely