A Time of Confusion Religion in the early 1800s Church History Part 3

Review Looked at the falling away –Changes to the gospel plan and other errors Looked at the Reformation Movement –Failed to return to Bible only –Continued some errors –Added some more errors Ended with a look at religion in 1800 –Religious divisions running deep No current religious wars, but a lot of enmity Some nations ruled by a particular denomination –Led to Jefferson’s famous “separation of church and state” remark

Why study past events? Helps us understand where we are and where we should be The faith and courage of others can inspire us The mistakes of others serve as warnings to us Specifically, let’s look more in depth at the early 1800s in this lesson –Why people were confused by religion? –What did (and do) people mean by “getting religion”?

A Time of Confusion: Creeds Creeds and confessions of faith were taken seriously Became traditions of men (Matt 15:1-9) Displaced study of the Scripture and contributed to division –2 Timothy 3:16-17 –John 17:20-21

A Time of Confusion: Revivalism ca the Great Revival began –Also called “the Second Great Awakening” The first being the Reformation Interdenominational camp meetings often drew thousands –Preaching emphasized emotionalism and personal testimonies (not Scripture) –People would faint, scream, bark, dance, etc. Contrary to NT teaching –Decency and order (1 Cor 14:33, 40) –Preaching in Acts had emotion, but it was sound, factual, and logical

A Time of Confusion: Division of Converts After the meeting, where were the “converts” to go? –Cooperative spirit often disappeared and the competition began Nothing like this in the NT –Did apostles argue over converts in Acts 2? –Unified doctrine (Acts 2:42; Eph 4:4-6)

“Getting Religion” “Getting religion” described how people thought conversion happened –Conversion was thought to require a miracle or direct act of God to change the sinner Calvinism: Total depravity- God had to choose –Required “Direct Operation of the Holy Spirit” –You’d feel the calling of God – “getting religion” Arminians: Man could choose, but needed “enabling grace” to respond –Sought to “pray through” at the altar –Couldn’t be saved until God sent grace you could feel – “getting religion”

Fallacy of “Getting Religion” Sin is not inherited (Ezk 18:20; 2 Cor 5:10) God wants all to be saved (1 Tim 2:3-6) –All have been called, no special “feeling” People can respond to God’s call –Mark 16:15-16 Don’t have to “pray through” –Matt 11:28-30

Fallacy of “Getting Religion” Conversion does not require a miracle –The word is the Spirit’s sword (Eph. 6:17) –The word alone can produce faith Luke 8:11-15 Rom 10:17 –God’s word saves Rom 1:16 James 1:21 –Conversion is dependent upon man’s reaction to the word (Acts 13:46) –Read the book of Acts

Conclusion Do you… –Appreciate the fact that the choice is yours? Salvation or condemnation is your choice –Realize the power God’s word can have if you will allow it to work? Where are you today in relation to the great choices and the word of God?