Journal: Conservative Theological Journal
Volume: CTJ 05:14 (Mar 2001)
Article: A Time To Marshal The Troops
Author: Mal Couch

CTJ 5:14 (March 2001) p. 5

A Time To Marshal The Troops

Mal Couch

As each month passes, it seems the bad just keeps getting “more bad!” This is not only true in the world of politics, but education and government as well. That form of moral collapse has to do with our culture and social order, but there is another kind of deterioration that has to do with what is happening in our evangelical circles.

More and more, evangelical schools and churches are buying into secular psychology. Recently in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, a prominent seminary, that happens to be amillennial in its eschatology, advertised how biblical its courses were. Yet describing one of its counseling courses in the newspaper, it was totally saturated in Freudian psychology. For some reason, no one seems to notice the conflict of how such abominable secular and godless theories erode the teaching of the Scriptures. Often when such danger is pointed out to those who should know better in these institutions, they simply shrug their shoulders with no desire to change the status quo.

Also recently, a prominent evangelical seminary changed its strong premillennial stand in its doctrinal position to a watered down statement that simply says, “We believe that Jesus will return!” Schools that are changing are doing so because they want more students, and therefore they do not want to offend those of a different eschatological persuasion.

I have been thinking a lot lately about apostasy and how it overtakes churches. Apostasy happens slowly. It begins by pragmatic changes with small, almost unnoticeable, increments. A Christian rock band here. A psychology course there. A little dash of Church Growth philosophy. A sprinkling of feminism coming into the governing of the local church! A slight decline in the teaching of the Word of God.

CTJ 5:14 (March 2001) p. 6

Often, these changes come about not through the urging of “heretics” who suddenly arrive on the scene. But instead, they are changes brought on by Bible teachers and pastors who themselves slowly moved away from the center of what they once held dear. For thirteen years, Tyndale Seminary has not budged an inch away from what it taught at the very beginning. In fact, we seem to be more aware, alert, and sure of what God is saying about truth and doctrine. And with this assurance, we must stay close to the Lord. We must maintain a heart of love for the Christ who saved us (Rev. 2:4).

To understand what is happening to us today, I hope many of you reading this editorial will join us for the fourth annual Conservative Theological Society meeting here in Ft. Worth this coming August 6–8. We are expecting the largest attendan...