From a biblical standpoint, Progressive Christianity often departs from historic, orthodox Christianity not because it introduces new politics, but because it redefines the authority, sufficiency, and clarity of Scripture in ways that place human desire, emotion, or experience above divine revelation. Let’s unpack that carefully and scripturally.
1. The Root Issue: Authority
Historic, biblical Christianity begins with this premise:
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” — 2 Timothy 3:16–17
This means Scripture itself is the ultimate authority—not our reason, culture, or emotions.
By contrast, Progressive Christianity tends to start from human experience and reinterpret Scripture through that lens, rather than submitting experience to the Word of God.
Thus, instead of “Thus says the Lord,” the tone often becomes “I feel God would…” or “My truth is…”—reflecting the ancient pattern described in Genesis 3:1:
“Did God really say…?”
That question—Satan’s first—always tempts humanity to elevate our interpretation or feelings above what God has clearly spoken.
2. The Nature of Sin and Self-Justification
Scripture teaches that the human heart is deceptive:
“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?” — Jeremiah 17:9
Progressive Christianity often reframes sin not as rebellion against a holy God, but as “brokenness” or “ignorance” that can be overcome through self-discovery or social action.
This shift is crucial: it changes the problem from “I am a sinner in need of repentance” to “I am good, but misunderstood or oppressed.”
This is self-justification—the very thing Jesus warned against:
“This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” — Matthew 15:8
“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” — Luke 18:14
In other words, true faith begins with “Not my will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42)—whereas a self-justifying faith says, “Not Your Word, but my will be affirmed.”
3. The Rejection of Biblical Absolutes
God’s Word often confronts our desires.
Jesus Himself said:
“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” — Luke 9:23
Progressive Christianity, however, tends to interpret “love” as unconditional affirmation rather than as truth spoken with grace (John 1:14; Ephesians 4:15).
But biblical love never separates compassion from holiness.
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” — 1 John 5:3
By redefining love apart from obedience, the progressive approach effectively replaces God’s holiness with human happiness as the chief end of faith.
4. The Command of Repentance and Transformation
The Gospel calls every person to repent—a turning from sin toward God’s ways:
“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.” — Acts 3:19
Progressive Christianity often replaces repentance with acceptance, suggesting that transformation is optional, or that God’s moral standards evolve with culture.
But the Word of God is clear:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” — Hebrews 13:8
“Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” — Psalm 119:89
God’s truth does not shift to accommodate the times.
When the church does, it risks trading the Gospel of grace for the gospel of self.
5. The Final Test: Whose Kingdom?
Ultimately, the difference comes down to whose will is being done:
True Christianity: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.” (Matthew 6:10)
Progressive Christianity: “My kingdom come, my will be blessed.”
This mirrors what Paul warned about in 2 Timothy 4:3–4:
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
Summary: The Biblical Diagnosis
Conclusion
Biblically speaking, Progressive Christianity becomes a “my will” faith because it subtly replaces the objective authority of God’s Word with the subjective authority of human experience.
It seeks a Christ who affirms, not a Lord who transforms.
In the words of Jesus:
“Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” — Luke 6:46
That question still divides true discipleship from self-made religion.
When we trace this issue back through church history, we find that what’s called Progressive Christianity today is not new at all. It’s the old temptation of humanity to reshape God in our own image, dressed up in new language.
Let’s look at how the early church fathers addressed this same spirit of self-will religion.
1. Irenaeus: “Man trying to be his own god”
Irenaeus (2nd century), who wrote Against Heresies, dealt with early groups (like the Gnostics) who believed that truth was within you and that each person had a “divine spark” to be awakened through secret knowledge.
He countered this sharply:
“Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out… so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced more true than the truth itself.” — Irenaeus, Against Heresies, I.2
Just like Progressive Christianity today, the Gnostics claimed to be deeply spiritual and Christ-affirming—but they redefined Christ to fit their own sense of enlightenment.
Irenaeus pointed back to the unchanging Word of God and the apostolic teaching as the standard of truth:
“We have learned from none others the plan of our salvation, than from those through whom the Gospel has come down to us…” — Against Heresies, III.1.1
He saw self-defined “truth” as rebellion—the same rebellion that began in Eden when man sought to be like God, deciding for himself what is good and evil (Genesis 3:5).
2. Augustine: “Lovers of self rather than lovers of God”
Augustine (4th–5th century) described two “cities”:
The City of God, built on love of God and obedience to His will.
The City of Man, built on love of self and pride in one’s own wisdom.
“Two loves have made two cities: love of self, even to the contempt of God; and love of God, even to the contempt of self.” — Augustine, City of God, XIV.28
That distinction perfectly captures what’s at stake. Progressive Christianity often begins from compassion, but it can easily become the City of Man when love of self—our identity, our desires, our perspective—becomes the ultimate measure of right and wrong.
Augustine constantly reminded believers that God’s will is the measure of love:
“Love, but love rightly. Love God first, and all else in Him.” — Homilies on 1 John
In other words: love that ignores truth is not love at all—it’s self-love masquerading as mercy.
3. Athanasius: “Christ is not what we make of Him”
Athanasius (4th century) fought against the Arian heresy, which tried to redefine Jesus as a created being rather than as the eternal Son of God. His argument rested on one conviction:
We do not have the right to remake Christ to fit our comfort.
“The Son of God became man so that we might become God’s children. But if He be not truly God, He cannot bestow divine life.” — Athanasius, On the Incarnation
Progressive Christianity often reimagines Jesus as a moral teacher, social activist, or compassionate symbol—rather than the crucified, risen Lord who commands repentance and obedience. Athanasius warned that when we strip Christ of His divinity or authority, we lose salvation itself.
4. Tertullian: “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?”
Tertullian (2nd–3rd century) saw how philosophy and cultural trends could distort Scripture. He asked a piercing question that still applies:
“What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem? … After Jesus Christ we desire no curiosity, after the Gospel no further inquiry.” — Prescription Against Heretics, 7
By this he meant: once God has spoken through His Word, human systems of thought—whether Greek philosophy or modern social theories—must bow before Scripture, not bend Scripture to fit their conclusions.
He saw that every age tries to make Christianity “relevant” by compromising its revelation.
5. Clement of Rome & the Apostolic Fathers: Obedience is the Measure of Faith
Even earlier, Clement of Rome (1st century)—writing to the Corinthians around A.D. 96—warned that pride and self-will were destroying unity and holiness:
“Why are there strifes and angry outbursts and divisions and war among you? Have we not one God and one Christ and one Spirit of grace poured out upon us? And is there not one calling in Christ? Why do we tear and rend the members of Christ, and make sedition against our own body?” — 1 Clement 46
He called believers back to humble obedience and repentance—an antidote to the pride that says, I will decide what’s right for me.
6. The Pattern Through the Ages
When you look through church history, you see the same cycle repeating:
7. The Enduring Lesson
Whether in Irenaeus’ time or ours, the pattern is the same:
Human pride says: “I will define God.”
True faith says: “God defines me.”
Or as Jesus Himself declared:
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” — John 14:15
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.” — John 14:21
Progressive Christianity, in biblical and historical light, becomes less about submission to Christ and more about reshaping Him to suit modern sensibilities.
But as the early fathers warned repeatedly, a gospel without repentance and obedience is no gospel at all—it’s just self-righteousness clothed in compassion.
The biblical and historical clarity we just walked through only finds its full meaning when it moves us to compassionate correction. The early church never confronted false teaching to win arguments; they did it to win souls back to truth.
Let’s look at how Scripture and the pattern of the apostles show us how to call back those caught in Progressive Christianity with truth and grace — the very balance Jesus embodied.
1. The Apostle’s Example: Grace and Truth Together
Paul wrote to the Galatians with deep love but firm urgency:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.” — Galatians 1:6
He didn’t begin with condemnation but astonishment—an expression of love and grief that they were walking away from freedom in Christ.
Then he anchored them again in the unchanging Gospel:
“If we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” — Galatians 1:8
Paul’s tone was clear: salvation is too precious to alter. Love cannot be separated from truth.
That balance—truth spoken from love—is what the modern church must recover when engaging Progressive Christianity.
2. The Approach of Jesus: Compassion that Confronts
Jesus never mocked or dismissed those who were deceived.
He spoke truth personally and pastorally:
To the woman at the well, He offered grace first: “If you knew the gift of God…” (John 4:10)
But He also confronted her sin with truth (John 4:17–18).To the rich young ruler, He “looked at him and loved him” (Mark 10:21)—and then told him to surrender what he clung to most.
His method: lead with love, stand with truth.
Progressive Christianity often clings to the first half and discards the second. Our calling is to model both—because truth without love hardens, and love without truth deceives.
3. Practical Ways to Call Them Back
Here’s how faithful believers and churches can reach those caught in the self-justifying gospel of Progressive Christianity:
A. Begin with the Word, not opinion
Progressive Christians often distrust institutional authority but may still respect Scripture.
Return to Scripture itself—slowly, contextually, lovingly.
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” — Romans 10:17
Instead of debating cultural points, start with the person of Christ: Who is Jesus? What did He say about Himself?
If Jesus is Lord, then His Word must rule over all personal and social narratives.
B. Show that God’s holiness is love
Many progressive believers have only seen harsh or hypocritical “religion,” so they equate moral conviction with hate.
But Scripture shows that holiness is love in action:
“The Lord disciplines the one He loves.” — Hebrews 12:6
We must demonstrate that repentance is mercy—God’s invitation to life, not condemnation.
C. Ask questions that expose contradictions
Jesus often used questions to draw out hearts (Luke 20:3–8, John 8:10–11).
You might ask:
“If all truth is relative, how can we know who Jesus truly is?”
“If God’s Word changes with culture, how can His promises be trusted?”
“If love is affirming everything, why did Jesus command repentance?”
Gentle questions can awaken a soul far more effectively than arguments.
D. Model what true freedom looks like
Progressive Christianity often promises freedom from judgment, but ends in bondage to self.
Our task is to show by our lives that submission to Christ’s Lordship brings peace, joy, and clarity.
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” — John 8:32
Freedom is not the absence of boundaries—it’s the presence of truth.
4. The Tone: Gentleness, Yet Conviction
Paul instructed Timothy exactly how to engage those who have drifted:
“The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.” — 2 Timothy 2:24–25
Notice: gentleness and correction are not opposites—they’re partners.
Gentleness opens the door; truth restores the heart.
5. The Goal: Restoration, Not Winning
The ultimate aim is not to win debates, but to see people reconciled to Christ.
That was always the pattern of the early church:
“Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” — James 5:19–20
This must be the heartbeat of our engagement with Progressive Christianity today—not condemnation, but restoration.
6. A Modern Application: How the Church Can Respond Faithfully
7. The Final Call: Return to the Word and the Cross
Every generation faces the same temptation: to trade the Gospel of grace for the gospel of self.
The call of Scripture has not changed:
“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” — Luke 9:23
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” — John 17:17
To those walking in Progressive Christianity, the invitation of Christ still stands—not to a faith of affirmation, but to a faith of transformation.
He still calls gently but firmly:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” — Matthew 4:17
And to His faithful church, He gives this charge:
“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” — 1 Corinthians 16:13–14
