Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20020818.htm

CHRIST'S SCRIPTURE PROPHECY ON CONTEMPORARY EVANGELICALISM
Part IV: Christ's All-Sufficiency Applied For Victory
A. Christ's All-Sufficiency Offered To Wean Us From The Idol Of Evangelicalism To Himself
1. Christ's Counsel Versus Errant Evangelical Counsel To Use His All-Sufficiency For Healing
(Revelation 3:18a)
  1. Introduction
    1. If Christ predicted our current Evangelical era of Church History, and critiqued our errant actions and beliefs thereby, we should expect Him to offer His specific solutions to these needs.
    2. Rev. 3:18a begins Christ's address on solving our needs, and does so by correcting our counseling errors:
  2. Christ's Counsel Versus Errant Evangelical Counsel To Use His All-Sufficiency For Healing, 3:18a
    1. In starting to suggest the solution to Evangelicalism's needs, Jesus said, "I counsel you," Rev. 3:18a NIV.
    2. The Greek word for "counsel" is used elsewhere in the N.T. of a single person's advising others only in John 18:14, cf. Arndt & Ging., A Grk. Eng. Lex. of the N.T., p. 785. At that time, Caiaphas, the High Priest, advised the sanhedrin due to the threat of Jesus' popularity after He raised Lazarus from the dead, and what it might do to attract Rome's disapproval and its replacing the sanhedrin's rule, John 11:47-51.
    3. Applied to Evangelicals, this works to critique Evangelicalism's errant counseling efforts (as follows):
      1. Evangelicalism's leaders have expressed concern that secular counseling often upstages its pastoral counseling, Armstrong, ed., The Coming Evangelical Crisis, p. 62, 207. This concern is associated by a greater worry that God could replace Evangelicalism with another group to do His work, Ibid., p. 41.
      2. Christ addressed this concern [like Caiaphas advised the anxious sanhedrin] by His corrective advice:
        1. Opposite the (1) manipulating, legalistic and human-reasoning messages of Evangelical pastors (2) who fear reprisals were they to address sin from the pulpit, (3) and who thus fail to address the cause of carnal believers' hurts (that result from God's convicting of sin, [Rev. 3:14b(a,b), 17a[a,b,c] and previous lessons in this series]), (4) but see laymen in futility seek reprieve from God's convicting pain via secular counseling, (5) and that to the concern of pastors who fear God may replace them with other ministries, (6) Christ advises we "buy" things from Him, 3:18, 22.
        2. Well, to "buy" from God means to gain something by unmerited favor (grace), an allusion to Isaiah 55:1ff, cf. T.D.N.T., vol. I, p. 126. Thus, Evangelicals must cease counseling (as pastors) or receiving counsel (as laymen) in human efforts and seek Christ's solutions by faith, cf. Isa. 55:2.
        3. Just what is to be "bought" reveals our need to reverse Evangelical counseling: (a) Christ advises us to look to Him to allow us to arrange for us to be persecuted by fellow Evangelicals to (1) wean us from faith in Evangelicalism to trust in Christ (1 Pet. 1:7-8; 4:3-19 & Part III, C of "Examining Contested Reformed Theology Beliefs"), (2) to wean us from errant Evangelical ministry unions (same series, Part III, E) and (3) to wean us from errant Evangelical views to the Bible's truth (same series, Part III, D), Rev. 3:18 [and see future lessons in this series]. (b) However, since Evangelicals are often conditioned (by Pastors afraid to critique their sin via Bible exposition) to THINK they need NOT view SIN as the SOURCE of their PAIN (Rev. 3:17a), pastors and laymen alike must be put into situations where they LEARN to DISCERN, DISLIKE and REPENT of that ERROR and SIN God is countering in them and in Evangelicalism, so CHRIST advises HE let them -- pastors and laymen -- face TRIALS to that end, Rev. 3:18b!
Lesson: Fearing reprisals for preaching on sin and error, Evangelical pastors have failed to address sin and error in their ministries by not heeding and preaching Scripture, but instead have mouthed popular artificial and/or legalistic ideas to soothe their hearer's hurts that result from God's conviction of sin. As such efforts are futile, laymen often turn to secular counseling with its ineffective results long-term. Christ advises (esp. pastors fearing a loss of their influence!) that believers ask Him to let trials rise via persecution from Evangelicals so they can repent for relief from God's convicting work!

Application: Opposite ENABLING carnality by errant Evangelical or secular counseling, we must let Christ GRACIOUSLY let us be PERSECUTED by even FELLOW EVANGELICALS to EXPOSE sin and error in OURSELVES, let alone in EVANGELICALISM, so we can REPENT to find HEALING!