Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Mar/91

Contributor - Scott Molebean

Title - Tender Tips: Pelagian Marshmallows

Topic - Easter

He just stepped out of his mini-van when I was walking by. Since he was leaving for a new ministry in Toronto I stopped to say goodbye to my Anglican friend. Somehow the conversation turned to preaching. From there, it was a short step to what people in the congregation desire to have as sermons.

"I have concluded," said my friend, "that most people in the pew want Pelagian marshmallows for sermons."

My eyes told him that I did not understand.

"A marshmallow is sweet," he explained. "There is nothing bitter about it. There is not even a hint of a disagreeable after-taste. Besides that, it is soft. There is nothing aggravating or painful about a marshmallow. You can even heat it up and it quickly melts in your mouth. Finally, marshmallows contain sugar and therefore will give you a quick little burst of energy. Most people in church want that kind of sermon. They do not want anything that is hard to take or bitter. The message should be soothing, It should not have any sharp edges. The message should go down smoothly and of course it should be tasteful. Finally, the message should energize their lives. If the minister gets a little carried away in the presentation of such a marshmallow message it will only help it go down even smoother. For a heated up marshmallow melts much easier."

My Anglican friend looked at me with a gleam in his eyes. I admired his illustration. But one question remained. What did he mean by "pelagian"?

"You know who Pelagius was: a Christian monk who lived around the year 400. He held that every body had total freedom of decision in every area of life and that people can be saved by their own good deeds." Here my friend winked at me. "That is exactly what people today want to hear They want to hear that they have every right to decide and to do what they please. They also want to hear that they will be rewarded with eternal life for all the 'good' things they do, and that these 'good' deeds will make up for the slips they make. So a sermon must not just be any kind of marshmallow. It must be a pelagian marshmallow. It must leave them completely free to do what they want when they leave church, and it must assure them that they have nothing to fear about the hereafter because they are such 'good' people."

My friend looked at me triumphantly. "What do you think?" he asked, as I shook hands.

My thoughts went to what Paul wrote to Timothy in his second letter: ... Preach the word of God ... Prove, correct, and encourage, using the utmost patience in your teaching. For the time is coming when men will not tolerate wholesome teaching. They will want something to tickle their own fancies, and they will collect teachers who will pander to their own desires. They will no longer listen to the Truth, but will wander off after man-made fictions. (11 Timothy 4 - Phillips translation).

We are getting closer once again to the celebration of Easter. I find myself wondering how anyone can make a pelagian marshmallow out of the Easter message. Scripture teaches so clearly that: "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." (I Corinthians 15:3,4) This, we are told, is of first importance. He bore our sins. God's Word reveals to us that: "His justice requires that our sins, committed against His infinite majesty, should be punished not only in this age but also in the age to come, both in body and soul. We cannot escape these punishments unless satisfaction is made to the justice of God." (Canons 11, Art.1) So much for the sweetness, softness and marshmallow-likeness of the Easter message. What about the pelagian aspect? "We ourselves, however, cannot make this satisfaction and cannot free ourselves from God's wrath," No salvation by works, no hope for the hereafter because we are such "good" people, or because we have such "good intentions." Instead the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the clear evidence that: "God ... in His infinite mercy has given His only Son as our Surety. For us or in our place He was made sin and a curse on the cross so that He might make satisfaction on our behalf. This death of the Son of God is the only and most perfect sacrifice and satisfaction for sins... " (Idem, Art. 2,3)

Easter has no place for pelagian marshmallows (unless you want to replace the message of cross, grave, and resurrection, with chocolate eggs and bunnies). But if there is no room at Easter for such pelagian marshmallows should there be room for them at other times? What do YOU think? Do congregations indeed want "teachers who will pander to their own desires?" My Anglican friend has moved. But he keeps me asking "Pelagian marshmallows?"

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