Since January, Michael Horton, who teaches apologetics and systematic theology at Westminster Seminary California, has been hosting a fascinating series with his Reformed-minded friends on the radio talk-show, The White Horse Inn. The series, Christless Christianity, ranges over a great deal of terrain--including the bizarre phenomenon of Crossless Christianity, the even more bizarre phenomenon of Joel Osteen, and the problem of entertainment in the worship service, among other things. It's a great series that sheds light on some murky issues with bright wit and the sobering analysis of Reformed thinking.
In his letter to a number of early churches, Jude mentioned how some people within the church were pushing Christ to one side. Apparently, our Lord was standing in the way of their ability to indulge their own desires. 'For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ' (Jude 4). The interlopers regarded Christ as a spoil-sport, who had taken up far too much of their precious time. He needed to go and the sooner the better. Some scholars date the letter of Jude to around A.D 65 to 67. So, within approximately three decades, the church that Christ founded was already experiencing ambivalence about his significance. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun.
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