Dangers of the Progressive Gospel: The Hidden Marring

I’m currently working on restoring an antique bookshelf. Though no one is sure of its age, and it seems it was handmade without attribution, it is probably between 50 and 70 years old. While working on it, I noticed something that I feel has some spiritual application. I hope this nudges someone to seek deeper into the word of God and their walk with God.

The Hidden Marring

Once the initial stain & lacquer is stripped away from this antique bookshelf I’m restoring, you find that each of the layers of stain, dirt, grime, and years can blend together to make a piece look “fine” or “ok” or even “in good shape for its age”.

Those layers hide the deeper marring that goes beyond those top layers in the wood. As those layers are stripped away, there are deeper wounds in the wood that have collected more dirt, grime, or stain than others. Wounds from hits, scratches, bumps, and bangs that all left their mark, but time covered them over. Other layers piled on until you couldn’t see the marring, or wouldn’t notice it.

You could stand back and comment about the wonderful shape this piece was in, and how well it had survived its 50-70 year journey to myself. Yet, so much marring was hidden, just below the surface.

Hiding in the Progressive “Gospel”

The modern gospel of progressivism is not unlike this process. It takes an individual with wounds, marring, bangs, and bruises from sin, and instead of transforming them, it simply adds “layers” to them. Failing to draw out the deepest marring of sin and remove it. It leaves them as they are, untransformed, just covered in the trappings of “religion”.

It simply adds the layers of good behaviors to hide the marring.

Preaching the lie of “Do what you wish, live how you want – just love Jesus.” Preaching thus, they add layer after layer.

Preaching “Do what you wish, live how you want – just love Jesus.”

• Layers of Prosperity Doctrine of the material goods. “God wishes to bless you and give you all your dreams and desires”.

• Layers of Affirmation of how much Jesus loves them “just as you are – no change required”.

• Layers of programs dedicated to humanism & feeding the narcissistic carnal mind on how “amazing they are in their dedication to others”.

• Layers of “culture has changed, and so must God”.

So many layers.

So little true transformation.

You absolutely need the stain and the lacquer to beautify and protect the wood. The blood of Jesus, the Gospel message of death, burial, and resurrection. The Acts 2:28 message of repentance, baptism in Jesus’ name, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost following faith (Acts 19:2). The lacquer of outward AND inward Holiness that protects what is so precious inside.

Yet what is twisted most about the Gospel by progressivism, is that it was never designed to just add layers to what man was and call them beautiful. Instead, it was designed to scrape off the layers, remove and heal the marring and wounds of sin, and THEN add the layers.

It was the painful process of his love that strips away the sins of man, revealing to us the things he desires to remove. He lays bare that marring which is our past, our wounds, the things we hide and don’t want to speak about. The marring heals in his presence, and the wounds from sin disappear as he strips layers away to make someone a new creature. Conviction and repentance, shearing away the build-up of sins. To be baptized in Jesus’ name (Acts 2:38, Acts 4:12, Acts 10:44-48), the cleansing away of layers and marring to prepare for the beautifying stain of holiness and that seal of lacquer, the Holy Ghost (Ephesians 1:13-14) and Holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16, Romans 6:19-22, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Ephesians 4:24, 1 Thessalonians 3:13, 1 Thessalonians 4:7, Hebrews 12:14 and many, many others).

This is the power that so many lost souls truly desire. To not be conformed, but to be transformed (Romans 12:2). A drug addict doesn’t desire a Gospel of acceptance of their problems while they weep when alone, hating the thing they cannot stop doing but are desperate to do so. The alcoholic doesn’t simply desire a Support Group Gospel to try and prevent the destruction of their family, their job, or their very life.

These marrings, stemming sometimes from deep wounds, require supernatural healing and strength, not morning affirmations and the progressive doctrine of manipulating scripture to remove every boundary, structure, or command in scripture creating a non-transformative fluff ball stripped of its glory and power.

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

What the world needs now is the power that heals the marring, that is the true Gospel. The progressive gospel (which is not another, but a fraud) fails in the basic goal of the true gospel – transformation.

Galatians 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Galatians 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

There is power in the Gospel, there is hope! Nothing is greater than God, and the Acts 2:38 message is as potent today as it has ever been to reveal our marring and transform us. I encourage you to not give up, and don’t give in to the progressivism that strips the true Gospel of its ability to help you.

Buy the truth and sell it not! God Bless, thanks for reading.