April 10, 2025 • 11 mins
Liberalism abounds in our modern world, and we has theological conservatives sometimes have difficulty in knowing how to relate to liberals. This podcast might help with some practical advice from God's Word
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi, Mark, thank you for joining me today on Words
of Truth. I hope that this podcast has been an
encouragement to you as we deal with subjects you deal
with on a daily or weekly basis. I'll start out
today by saying, and I hope you know by now
that in the world of theology, I align myself with
(00:22):
conservative evangelicalism. Now, the other side of the theological spectrum
is what we call liberalism. The term liberalism can be
defined as a desire for the Christian faith to be
free from the Word of God and mood, methods or message. Now,
strictly speaking, liberalism is ah moral. What do I mean
(00:48):
by that? Well, freedom is always contingent on what we
want to be liberated from. For example, we should be
liberal when we talk about being free from sin and
in justice in tyranny, but we should never be liberal
when it comes to the desire to be free from
the Word of God, and doing so boils down to
(01:10):
sinful depravity. Now, the desire to be free from the
Word of God manifests itself in more than one way.
For example, Jesus said in Matthew chapter seven, twenty six
and twenty seven. Everyone, then who hears these words of
mine and does not do them, will be like a
(01:30):
foolish man who built his house on the sand, and
the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds
blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and
great was the fall of it. Now, liberals tend to
build their houses on sand, but it can be subtle.
In fact, it can be a temptation for conservatives too
(01:52):
if we're not careful. But we, as conservatives, struggle with liberalism,
and it's difficult for us to try to engage with them.
And so let me just give you today some ideas
that can help with that how to engage with liberals.
In John chapter two, we're told that Jesus knows what's
(02:13):
in the heart of man. Yet in John three point sixteen,
we're told that God loves us so much that he
sent his son to die for us and pay the
penalty for our sin. In First Corinthians chapter fourteen, verse twenty,
Paul exhorts us not to be children in our thinking,
but to be mature. My point is that if we're
(02:36):
going to engage with liberals, we need to be mature
and try to understand them. It's amazing how even though
God understands us thoroughly, he loves us anyway, And that
tells me that love isn't love until we truly know
the one that we need to love. If our brain
(02:57):
is empty, then our love will be cheap and immature.
So how well do you know the story of liberalism?
Did you know that it started out in the seventeenth
century with a French philosopher and mathematician, Renee Descarte's. It
was originally called rationalism or enlightenment. Its emphasis was on
(03:23):
reason and human understanding, and this thinking was brought into theology,
largely through the Protestant Church as a protest against Calvinism.
It shifted the focus of religious thought from external authority
and dogma to inner experience and moral action. It'd be
(03:43):
good for you to get to know the history of liberalism.
But also let me ask you, how well do you
know your liberal family members, or your co workers, or
your liberal friends. I'm just saying, get to know them
and seek to understand them, and it'll help you in
your interactions with them. It'll help you to love better.
(04:04):
And then Paul wrote in Philippians, chapter four and verse A, Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there's
any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise. Think about
these things. Now. If we were to apply this command
(04:26):
to our lives and to our liberal friends, I'm telling you,
it would be absolutely life changing. You see, we're called
to applaud what is commendable and excellent. So here's the thought.
What's commendable about the liberal movement? Well, I quote from
an article by Dave Abernethy, who writes the sixty year
(04:51):
old pastoral ministry of Charles Chancy at Boston's First Church,
the thorough the thorough going integrity of the Unitarian Theodore
Parker with all the Unitarian ministers whimping out around him,
the pioneering radio ministry of Harry Emerson Fosdick, the annabashed
(05:17):
zeal of our contemporary Philip Clayton. And that's just on
an individual level. Consider this movement at an institutional level.
Doctrinal liberals have been the gate keepers of much of
our nation's theological higher education for nearly three hundred years.
(05:40):
They have simply not known the scandal of the evangelical mind,
deep thinking academic labor and rigorous, thoughtful argument have not
been the Achilles heel of this movement. This is commendable. Well,
that's an interesting statement, isn't it. We may not agree
(06:00):
with their liberal thinking, but we can start by appreciating
what is truly appreciable in them. And then, Paul says
in Colossians chapter three and verse twelve, put on them
as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness,
(06:21):
and patience. Now, if you do a study of some
of the original spokesmen of liberalism, like William Channing and
Elizabeth Stanton, and their experiences in life, you can't help
but to empathize and have compassion for them. And if
we can't show compassion to people we disagree with, well, frankly,
(06:46):
we have to wonder if we're a follower of Jesus
at all. Now here's another important principle Jesus Todd in
Matthew chapter seven, verses three to five. Why do you
see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but
do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, let me
(07:09):
take the speck out of your eye. When there is
the log in your own eye, you hypocrite. First take
the log out of your own eye, and then you
will see clearly to take the speck out of your
brother's eye. And then, Paul taught in First Simothy chapter one,
verse five, the aim of our charge is love that
(07:30):
issues from a pure heart, and a good conscience and
a sincere faith. Now those are important commands for all
of us to remember. But even though we conservative Evangelicals
may be doctrinally tidy and tucked in per se, could
it be that we can live lives that are contrary
(07:51):
to our own creed? Hmm. For example, the evangelical Christian
author Jerry Bridges talk about respectable sins such as ungodliness
or sinful anxiety, discontentment, selfishness, lack of self control, impatience,
and gossip, etc. The seven deadly sins are known as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust,
(08:18):
and being gluttony. But if we use the yardstick of
Jesus in Matthew chapter seven, it's easy to hear the
words but not do them. In fact, this is actually
moral liberalism for conservatives. But First John one nine says
that if we confess our sins. He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
(08:41):
from all unrighteousness. Liberals and all people need to see
that we're doing business with the gospel if we hope
to see them do business with the same gospel. In
other words, we're taking the speck out of our or
the law got of our own eye, so that we
(09:01):
can take this back out of somebody else's eye. One
final word of encouragement can be found in tewod Timothy
chapter two, twenty two to twenty four. Here it is
so flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace,
along with those who call on the Lord from a
(09:22):
pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies.
You know that they breed quarrels, and the Lord's servants
must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to
teach patiently enduring evil. Now, I think this is a
very clear statement of how we're called to live by
(09:44):
God's grace and strength, living pure lives. We're to avoid arguing,
we are to be kind to everyone. We're to teach
to patiently endure evil and to correct our opponent with gentleness.
And if we do that, perhaps we'll see a change
(10:05):
of heart in them. And so how do we begin correction? Well,
Ce J. Mahaney of Grace Sovereign. Sovereign Grace Ministries offers
several well seven magic words. Let me just give them
to you as he quotes them. This is what he offers.
(10:26):
Number one, would you be open to an observation? These
are questions that you ask a liberal. Would you be
open to an observation? That's it. Just ask them that question.
If they say no, well then stop there and pray
for them. If they're not open, then ask yourself if
(10:50):
you've done something that has put up a wall of resistance.
So seven words that can help in your conversation with
a liberal. Would you be open to an observation? If
they are open, well, only then can you attempt to
(11:10):
remove this spec Okay, I hope this helps stay close
to the Gospel, which is always the issue of first
importance for us. Thank you for listening. I'll see you
next time.
Hi, Mark, thank you for joining me today on Words
of Truth. I hope that this podcast has been an
encouragement to you as we deal with subjects you deal
with on a daily or weekly basis. I'll start out
today by saying, and I hope you know by now
that in the world of theology, I align myself with
(00:22):
conservative evangelicalism. Now, the other side of the theological spectrum
is what we call liberalism. The term liberalism can be
defined as a desire for the Christian faith to be
free from the Word of God and mood, methods or message. Now,
strictly speaking, liberalism is ah moral. What do I mean
(00:48):
by that? Well, freedom is always contingent on what we
want to be liberated from. For example, we should be
liberal when we talk about being free from sin and
in justice in tyranny, but we should never be liberal
when it comes to the desire to be free from
the Word of God, and doing so boils down to
(01:10):
sinful depravity. Now, the desire to be free from the
Word of God manifests itself in more than one way.
For example, Jesus said in Matthew chapter seven, twenty six
and twenty seven. Everyone, then who hears these words of
mine and does not do them, will be like a
(01:30):
foolish man who built his house on the sand, and
the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds
blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and
great was the fall of it. Now, liberals tend to
build their houses on sand, but it can be subtle.
In fact, it can be a temptation for conservatives too
(01:52):
if we're not careful. But we, as conservatives, struggle with liberalism,
and it's difficult for us to try to engage with them.
And so let me just give you today some ideas
that can help with that how to engage with liberals.
In John chapter two, we're told that Jesus knows what's
(02:13):
in the heart of man. Yet in John three point sixteen,
we're told that God loves us so much that he
sent his son to die for us and pay the
penalty for our sin. In First Corinthians chapter fourteen, verse twenty,
Paul exhorts us not to be children in our thinking,
but to be mature. My point is that if we're
(02:36):
going to engage with liberals, we need to be mature
and try to understand them. It's amazing how even though
God understands us thoroughly, he loves us anyway, And that
tells me that love isn't love until we truly know
the one that we need to love. If our brain
(02:57):
is empty, then our love will be cheap and immature.
So how well do you know the story of liberalism?
Did you know that it started out in the seventeenth
century with a French philosopher and mathematician, Renee Descarte's. It
was originally called rationalism or enlightenment. Its emphasis was on
(03:23):
reason and human understanding, and this thinking was brought into theology,
largely through the Protestant Church as a protest against Calvinism.
It shifted the focus of religious thought from external authority
and dogma to inner experience and moral action. It'd be
(03:43):
good for you to get to know the history of liberalism.
But also let me ask you, how well do you
know your liberal family members, or your co workers, or
your liberal friends. I'm just saying, get to know them
and seek to understand them, and it'll help you in
your interactions with them. It'll help you to love better.
(04:04):
And then Paul wrote in Philippians, chapter four and verse A, Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there's
any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise. Think about
these things. Now. If we were to apply this command
(04:26):
to our lives and to our liberal friends, I'm telling you,
it would be absolutely life changing. You see, we're called
to applaud what is commendable and excellent. So here's the thought.
What's commendable about the liberal movement? Well, I quote from
an article by Dave Abernethy, who writes the sixty year
(04:51):
old pastoral ministry of Charles Chancy at Boston's First Church,
the thorough the thorough going integrity of the Unitarian Theodore
Parker with all the Unitarian ministers whimping out around him,
the pioneering radio ministry of Harry Emerson Fosdick, the annabashed
(05:17):
zeal of our contemporary Philip Clayton. And that's just on
an individual level. Consider this movement at an institutional level.
Doctrinal liberals have been the gate keepers of much of
our nation's theological higher education for nearly three hundred years.
(05:40):
They have simply not known the scandal of the evangelical mind,
deep thinking academic labor and rigorous, thoughtful argument have not
been the Achilles heel of this movement. This is commendable. Well,
that's an interesting statement, isn't it. We may not agree
(06:00):
with their liberal thinking, but we can start by appreciating
what is truly appreciable in them. And then, Paul says
in Colossians chapter three and verse twelve, put on them
as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness,
(06:21):
and patience. Now, if you do a study of some
of the original spokesmen of liberalism, like William Channing and
Elizabeth Stanton, and their experiences in life, you can't help
but to empathize and have compassion for them. And if
we can't show compassion to people we disagree with, well, frankly,
(06:46):
we have to wonder if we're a follower of Jesus
at all. Now here's another important principle Jesus Todd in
Matthew chapter seven, verses three to five. Why do you
see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but
do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, let me
(07:09):
take the speck out of your eye. When there is
the log in your own eye, you hypocrite. First take
the log out of your own eye, and then you
will see clearly to take the speck out of your
brother's eye. And then, Paul taught in First Simothy chapter one,
verse five, the aim of our charge is love that
(07:30):
issues from a pure heart, and a good conscience and
a sincere faith. Now those are important commands for all
of us to remember. But even though we conservative Evangelicals
may be doctrinally tidy and tucked in per se, could
it be that we can live lives that are contrary
(07:51):
to our own creed? Hmm. For example, the evangelical Christian
author Jerry Bridges talk about respectable sins such as ungodliness
or sinful anxiety, discontentment, selfishness, lack of self control, impatience,
and gossip, etc. The seven deadly sins are known as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust,
(08:18):
and being gluttony. But if we use the yardstick of
Jesus in Matthew chapter seven, it's easy to hear the
words but not do them. In fact, this is actually
moral liberalism for conservatives. But First John one nine says
that if we confess our sins. He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
(08:41):
from all unrighteousness. Liberals and all people need to see
that we're doing business with the gospel if we hope
to see them do business with the same gospel. In
other words, we're taking the speck out of our or
the law got of our own eye, so that we
(09:01):
can take this back out of somebody else's eye. One
final word of encouragement can be found in tewod Timothy
chapter two, twenty two to twenty four. Here it is
so flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace,
along with those who call on the Lord from a
(09:22):
pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies.
You know that they breed quarrels, and the Lord's servants
must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to
teach patiently enduring evil. Now, I think this is a
very clear statement of how we're called to live by
(09:44):
God's grace and strength, living pure lives. We're to avoid arguing,
we are to be kind to everyone. We're to teach
to patiently endure evil and to correct our opponent with gentleness.
And if we do that, perhaps we'll see a change
(10:05):
of heart in them. And so how do we begin correction? Well,
Ce J. Mahaney of Grace Sovereign. Sovereign Grace Ministries offers
several well seven magic words. Let me just give them
to you as he quotes them. This is what he offers.
(10:26):
Number one, would you be open to an observation? These
are questions that you ask a liberal. Would you be
open to an observation? That's it. Just ask them that question.
If they say no, well then stop there and pray
for them. If they're not open, then ask yourself if
(10:50):
you've done something that has put up a wall of resistance.
So seven words that can help in your conversation with
a liberal. Would you be open to an observation? If
they are open, well, only then can you attempt to
(11:10):
remove this spec Okay, I hope this helps stay close
to the Gospel, which is always the issue of first
importance for us. Thank you for listening. I'll see you
next time.
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