How Did We Get Here? Part 3 Distorted Christianity

Introduction

In part two of this series, we saw that Willow Creek Community Church (WCCC) supports a paradigm of the Christian life that is Biblically lacking (see How Did We Get Here? Part 2 Identity Crisis). In this post, we will explore how misunderstanding our identity in Christ can lead to a distortion of Christianity, and particularly how we live as Christians (the third Why?).

Please allow me to reiterate a few things before we get into the meat of this discussion. I am sharing information that points out some of the flaws in the ways Christianity is understood and presented at Willow Creek Community Church (WCCC). I intend to show how these misunderstandings shape the church and how they are instrumental in the crises we experienced over the past two years, which also existed for decades, and which are not resolved today. However, I believe the issues presented in this series of posts are not exclusive to WCCC; these are problems that seem pervasive in the church at large.

Also, as mentioned in my previous post, Biblical misuse or misinterpretation is woven throughout the core problem assessment. Often, misuse of Scripture is subtle, but it indicates or leads to a distortion in how we live out our faith. As we continue the discussion on the root causes of the problems, we will address issues with the way we use the Bible.

A Distorted Perspective

The “third Why” identified in my root cause analysis of the problems at WCCC is that a misunderstanding of our identity can lead to a distorted perception of Christianity. An example of this distortion can be seen in the following excerpt from the Worship & Reflection Service at WCCC in July 2019:

First, Willow Creek’s vision has not changed. Willow Creek Community Church is to be a Biblically functional community of believers, so Christ’s redemptive purposes can be accomplished in this world. We are the community of believers. And how are we to act? In a Biblically functioning manner. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So, when sin enters the picture, and it has, and it will again, as we are human beings, we must come back to the process of reconciliation as shared earlier this evening. Why? So that God, so that we can be a conduit for Christ Jesus’ redemptive purposes in this world. (Elder Update and Worship & Reflection Service, July 19, 2019, John Sleeting on video, starting at 45:17, bold added for emphasis)

The Elder referred to a Bible verse that says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23).” He uses this verse to support the fact that sin entered the picture, and the opinion that sin will enter again because we are all human beings. While there is some truth in these statements, they do not tell the whole truth, and they misrepresent what we should expect in our Christian lives and the lives of our leaders. It is imperative to understand the context of Romans 3:23. This verse is in the middle of a sentence and is part of a more prominent thought about what Christ has done for us:

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26, NASB®)

When reading Paul’s letter to the Romans, one theme he presents is God justifies no one by works of the Law; this is to show that there is no difference between Jews and non-Jews or Gentiles. Earlier in chapter 3, Paul reiterates that no one is righteous, and everyone is a sinner. In this passage, he shows that all are justified through faith in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. In the middle of this narrative, Paul is saying, remember there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile, all have sinned, and likewise, justification comes as a gift to all who believe in Jesus. This passage shows that everyone is a sinner, but Jesus redeems all who trust in Him. This passage in no way indicates the idea that sin should be expected, or that it should be prevalent in the Christian life.

Here is a truth in the Elder’s statement, sin came into the picture at WCCC. The reported patterns of sin by leaders in the church, including Bill Hybels, Gilbert Bilezikian, and decades of Elders who failed to hold leaders accountable, are a profound example of this sin. But saying it will come again because we are human beings is an apparent misunderstanding of our new creation in Christ. The Elder states, “We are the community of believers. And how are we to act? In a Biblically functioning manner.” The Bible is clear, “How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (Romans 6:2, NASB®)” Please read Romans 6, 1 Peter 2, 1 John (the whole letter) to see how we should view our relationship to sin. As we understand our identity in Christ and let it inform our self-image through the renewal of our minds, we will know sin no longer controls us. We will no longer accept sin as inevitable because we are mere human beings; we are better than that because Christ has made it so.

Consequently, we shouldn’t focus on our sinfulness and try to manage our sin by continually confessing, seeking reconciliation and sanctification from God. In my previous post (How Did We Get Here Part 2 Identity Crisis), I stated I would continue to discuss comments in the Elder Statements on Discipline that misinforms our identity in Christ. Here is another paragraph from that statement that also presents this view of sin management in Christianity:

In contrast to this natural propensity to hide and rationalize sin, God says that sin should be acknowledged, confessed, and brought under the light of truth (Ephesians 5:11, Psalm 51). Through repentance, defined as a willful turning away from sin, we can be reconciled to God through Christ and receive forgiveness from those we have offended (1 John 1:8-10, Ezekiel 18:30-32). We all experience this cycle of sanctification in our daily walk with Jesus Christ and continually require the operation of repentance, confession and the receipt of grace from God and others when we sin (Proverbs 28:13, Psalm 32:5 and Psalm 41:4). (The Elder Statements of Willow Creek Community Church, Updated as of January 1, 2017, Discipline, bold added for emphasis).

Remember, this Elder Statement is referring to Christians. This paragraph distorts Christianity in several ways; however, for the sake of brevity, let’s look at two of the ways this statement misinterprets life in Christ.

First, Christians do not need to be reconciled to God continuously or repeatedly. The Apostle Paul tells us, “although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach (Colossians 1:21-22, NASB®)” Also, Paul wrote to the Romans, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:10-11).” What is the result of being reconciled? We see the answer in the passage of Scripture that the Elders used as their theme for the Worship & Reflection Service, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB®).”

Second, as discussed in my previous post, sanctification is misunderstood in much of Christendom. Many in the church confuse and conflate our regeneration, our new birth, with our progression in faith. Many Christians seem to think sanctification is only progressive; that is, they still have a sinful nature, and need to become more holy progressively. The truth is we are made holy at our new birth and we grow in how we live out our holiness, not in becoming holier. It is important to understand the difference. If we feel like we need to become progressively more holy by our behavior we are living from a works mentality, which is akin to living under the Law. Our works then include the continual action of confession, which is also a distorted concept for Christians that will take more time to explore. I will discuss confession in detail in my blog, Our Life in Christ. As we have seen from the Apostle Paul, we are not under the Law, but under grace. Grace does not excuse sin. Under grace we know all our sins are forgiven and we approach life from a positive perspective; we live out our identity and connection with Christ through His Holy Spirit; instead of fighting against a perceived false identity. How we approach sin is different, as the Apostle John wrote, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2, NASB®).”

In summary, the church has some distorted views on Christianity, a couple of which I highlighted above. There are aspects of truth layered with Biblical error. The effect is a weakening of our Christian faith, and operating or living from a backward perspective. The belief that Christians still have a sinful nature leads to the thinking that sin is inevitable because we are just human beings. There is a subtle denial that any real change occurred with our new birth. This idea that sin is inevitable because of who we are leads to the error that we must continually do something to stay reconciled with God; that we must live in a daily cycle of repentance and confession to receive God’s grace. Is this the abundant life that Jesus promised us? Is this the redemptive purpose of God that we want to invite people to experience? There is a better life for us in Christ.

When we understand that we are born again, born in spirit with a new nature, we see our life in Christ in a whole new way. Like babies, we need to grow into all the potential we have as new creations. We grow in knowing God better; in understanding the beauty of our new self, and in how we live in the world, with all its temptation and sin. All these elements of our growth are the progressive part of our faith. We are not fighting ourselves; we are continually maturing in our true identity. We may sin along the way, this is true, but it is not because it is who we are, we sin because we are still growing in our faith. There is too much sin in the church precisely because we don’t know any better, and we think it is because of our identity. Even as we understand ourselves and have the right Christian self-image, we may forget who we are; we may let temptation overwhelm us, we may be weak in faith. When that happens, we remember that God forgave all our sins, we repent, we make amends if our sin hurt someone else; then we recognize that is not who we are, and we return to living and growing in our understanding and faith; this is living in the Spirit.

Why this Information is Important

We have an opportunity to break the paradigm. When we project a Christianity that is weak and distorted, we should not wonder why sin enters the picture. When we understand that we are righteous and holy and that we desire to live out our new identity, we will grow in faith and understanding, and our behavior will more and more match our identity. How are we supposed to live like Christ if we still have a sinful nature? We can’t. We can only be like Jesus because He has joined us to Himself. Remember, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world (1 John 4:15-17, NASB®, bold added).”

Recommendations for Action

Please prayerfully read your Bible to understand your identity in Christ. Ephesians 1-3 is a beautiful description of our new life and identity. As recommended earlier, Romans 6-8 shows our identity in Christ; as you read this section it should be obvious that chapter 7 is a contrast of life in Christ and living under the Law. Colossians 1-3 also provide a clear explanation of our new self. Pay special attention to how God’s Spirit enables us to live holy lives here and now. Don’t feel like you have to make yourself perfect, rely on Christ’s perfection, righteousness, and the promises He has imparted to you. We must live just as we first came to Jesus – through faith: “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude (Colossians 2:6-7, NASB®).”

Please continue to pray for WCCC and the leaders that they would see the truth and break the paradigm of a distorted Christianity. Here is the Apostle Peter’s message for the church:

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (2 Peter 1:1-4, NASB®)

In the next post, we will look at how our personal view of Christianity affects the culture of the church and how our mission perpetuates the problem.