What is the greatest theological threat to evangelical churches today?

There is an array of answers to this question from pastors and theologians.

1) Pastors who present Christianity as therapy and self-help do not present Christianity. They are like the liberals that J. Gresham Machen denounced. Machen said that people who don’t believe the Bible should be honest and stop calling themselves Christians because they have in fact created a new religion that is not to be identified with Christianity. Similarly, the promoters of the American religion of self-help and therapeutic pop psychology ought to be honest: they don’t believe the Bible is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16) (9Marks Click to open).

2) It’s not the significant external problems of rising antagonism against convictional Christians in the West or the barrage of lies about gender and sexuality assaulting the rising generation. An even greater danger threatens the church from within. Many Christians don’t know the Bible (Ligonier Click to open).

3) A few weeks ago, Tommy Nelson, pastor of Denton Bible Church, in promoting an upcoming conference said that “wokeness” is “the most insidious and dangerous and pervasive ideology I have ever seen in all of my life” (The Gospel Coalition click to open)

4) Dr. Sinclair Ferguson answered with a startling statement of obvious deep conviction:

“Probably Christianity in this century.  That’s a greater threat than Islam.  Christendom is a far greater threat to Christianity than Islam is.  Islam can never destroy the Gospel.  But Christendom can easily destroy the Gospel, and is destroying the Gospel, where it has the Gospel in its hands destroying … the Church is the greatest threat to real Christianity in the world.  God help us” (Puritan click to open).

5) In a survey of evangelical Christian leaders from around the world, 71% cited secularism as the biggest threat to the religion. The emphasis on consumerism (67%) and sex and violence in pop culture (59%) were also cited as major threats to evangelical Christianity (Pew Research click to open).

6) The question we probably should be asking is “What is the greatest theological threat to our local church?” What theological danger is threatening our congregation?

When Nehemiah’s ratings in the polls dropped in 6:14, he prayed in 6:14 and went back to work in 6:15 and finished the work God had given him.

Warren W. Wiersbe writes that Bible teacher G. Campbell Morgan on more than one occasion was the target of savage gossip that accused him of unfaithfulness to the Christian faith. His usual reply was, “It will blow over. Meanwhile, I go quietly on with my work” (Be Determined, page 76).