arid for Christ

[Mike Abendroth]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9

Billy Sunday, Alcohol, and Moralism: A Fundamentalist's Conundrum

Yesterday, in what was to be my final drink from the alcohol discussion, I found something that struck a sour chord in my Calvinistic soul. The more I've chewed upon this entire issue, the more frustrated I have become. And here's why.

In Billy Sunday's famous Boston Booze sermon, which I referenced yesterday, Billy preaches an entire sermon without a single mention of the name Jesus. Billy does refer to God ten times, but that's it. Sin is mentioned once, as is grace; but both are mentioned in passing without any explanation.

In my opinion, this is symptomatic of an historic problem within fundamentalism -- the propensity to preach "righteousness" without preaching Christ. Historically, we are part of a movement known for what we shout against rather than what we stand for. Moralistic preaching may have been responsible for Prohibition, but it was also likely responsible for a good number of teatotaler's entrance into hell.

Billy, who seemed to have built an entire ministry on the merits of teatotalism, was mistaken, sadly mistaken about man's problem. In Billy's mind, the bottle was the problem. Although I may ruffle a few feathers with this next statement, I believe it with all my heart: alcohol won't keep any man out of heaven, but not knowing Jesus will!

Billy wanted a dry society, and he got his wish. But when America went dry socially, she also went dry theologically. Is it any coincidence that the Billy's moralistic preaching coincided with the rise (dare I say, "golden era") of theological liberalism in America? It seems that Americans not only put down their bottles, they put down their Bibles, too.

Scripture was not given to reform men's actions, but to redeem men's hearts (behavior reform is the process of sanctification, not salvation). Like Billy, when we preach its pages without preaching Christ, we aren't preaching Scripture, we are preaching moralism. To preach Scripture, we must preach Christ ...

John 5:39 (ESV), "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me."

Billy failed to understand one important truth: hell is dry ... very dry.

from

http://theworldfrommywindow.blogspot.com/2006/08/billy-sunday-alcohol-and-moralism.html

Thanks.

 

HBTN

 

Mike Abendroth

www.nocompromiseradio.com

 

www.bbcchurch.org

 

http://www.youtube.com/nocompromise90

Ephesians 3:21 auvtw/| h` do,xa evn th/| evkklhsi,a|

Thomas Watson, "[Jesus] alone is the Prince of Preachers.  He alone is the best of expositors."