Saturday, October 16, 2010

Conversion versus Inclusion

David Virtue of Virtue Online has written a concise summary of the two views of the Gospel that are at war in the Church today: conversion versus inclusion. He writes:
There was a time when becoming a Christian used to mean CONVERSION. But in Anglicanism (and in most mainstream expressions of church life) it has been twisted into INCLUSION. Not "Repent, and believe the Gospel, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" - but "Come as you are, stay as you are." This is the "gospel" of the Episcopal Church. It is insidious and it is a lie...and it is sending tens of thousands of Episcopalians and not a few Anglicans around the world into a Christless eternity. It is the curse of universalism, which refuses to admit that there is sin, that its wages are death, and that there is a place of such appalling separation from God that we can call it Hell. There can be no Hell, for there is no longer any sin, and therefore there can be no final judgment. It is a shadow gospel: it presents only the outward appearances of life as a born-again Christian. The heart within remains unchallenged and unchanged. The orthodox see things much more clearly. Their prayer is, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, have mercy on me, a miserable sinner."
That if very helpful and clear. Liberals will think it is too simplistic, naturally.

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