The Church of the Triumphant or the Church of the "Convenient"?
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Posted: 05/30/07
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The Church of the Triumphant or the Church of the "Convenient"?
He that has an ear let him hear………………………………Rev 3:13-16
This article is directed to Bible believing Christians. I do not expect that anyone other than those who have been born again by the Spirit of God will understand this. If you are reading this as one who is not a Christian it may surprise you that I am saying these things about the American Church. As I have stated many times before, Christians are saved by the grace of God and not by our own perfection. It is important that Christians receive correction concerning the Biblical mandate placed on us, as we have of our own free will made the decision to accept Jesus into our hearts.
During my over 16 years of service in pastoral ministry I have come to learn a few things. Ministry is such that it tries the human emotions and frailties. My passion has always been to win souls and make disciples as the Lord has commanded us to do. I have found that the most obvious conclusions are not always in the minds of those who should understand what is clearly identifiable. For example: It should be obvious that to Christians that Love of the brethren is of the utmost importance. When I got into ministry I was under the apparent illusion that my battles would be with the power of the enemy working in unbelievers. It seemed clear to me that believers would desire to share the gospel and come along side me as I defended the sacred doctrines of the Word of God. I certainly thought that Christians would be the best friends on earth since Christians have Christ himself as their stated friend (John 15:13). Unfortunately it was not long before I had the displeasure of discovering that most of the heart ache and attacks in American ministry do not come from the world but rather from those who say they are believers. False accusations and reception of false witness is rampant in the American Church. I have always expected that from unbelievers, and frankly although I care deeply about unbelievers coming to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, it matters not to me what the rabid Christian haters think of me. I pray for my enemies and forgive their unkind words and deeds. The necessary requirements that define a true friend are peculiar to the current era. Words like honor, oath, and loyalty are words with little meaning to most. An authentic friend is with you when you are an advantage to his personal benefit, and also when you may be a burden or even a liability. If a person can say with surety that he has two or three real friends, he possesses more than most. As the culture continues to shift to selfishness, the society contains less exemplary training in the attributes of true friendship. This unfortunately includes the Church as it is influenced more and more by the undisciplined "what's in it for me" culture we live in.
It seems clear that the power of Christian secularism is alive and well. What do I mean by such a scandalous title as "Christian secularism"? Well it is sort of like fat free, salt free, wheat free, caffeine free, calorie free, and taste free, the package says it is food but in honesty it only resembles food but has no substance of nutrition. It is what is desired in America. The idea is not really hard to understand. During the days of Elijah the people of God were interested in God but only as sort of the religion de'jour. They were happy to engage in the evil practices of Baal worship along with their occasional obligation to worship the one true God of Israel. Their commitment was to the buffet religious experience and in truth they should not be chastised by the modern American Church. Since "seeker sensitive, post modern relativism, anything goes from the pulpit ministry (in order to be so called "relevant") is now lifted up as the true move of God, preachers like me have now become the enemies of progress. The authority of the Word of God has been watered down to the point that it no longer is given much more than lip service concerning its absolute inerrancy in most "Christian circles". So many have bought into wanting to be so relevant to society that they have become irrelevant in their desire to reach the un-churched, with a disdain for God's mandate concerning his Church's authority. The position seems to be "since the world hates Christ and His Word we will try to win them to Christ and His Word without preaching Christ and his Word". This seems illogical to me. The idea that you win people to Christ by watering down Christ seems to be a complete lack of faith in the power of Christ and His Word and thus what is it that they are being won to? Is it any wonder that American Christians are biblically illiterate?
The Church must not see itself as simply a gathering place for social events. It must never see itself as a place of personal political gain. It is the body of Christ and thus must converge on the mission to expand given by its initiator. The expansion of the kingdom of God is in the form of people coming to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. All believers must see themselves as missionaries to a world filled with hurting people. There simply is no greater need in this world than the need to inculcate the truth of the bible. For as the Savior said; "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and the rest will be added to you". When the Church turns into an organization unto itself or is ashamed of the gospel it misses the entire reason that Jesus established it, for it is he who wins souls that is wise. There is no greater mission then snatching the souls of men from the future of Hell's torment.
It is the struggle of every leader to inculcate vision into those of whom he leads. True leaders are not simply those who growl out commands but rather command by example and compassion. On the contrary it is a goat herder that must coerce the stubborn with a whip. Effective leadership commands respect not of fear but rather as a shepherd intent on the best interest of those to whom he has proven his constancy. To inspire to the goals end is the aspiration. A leader who does not possess the quality of a servant will never bring out the best in those he is given charge over. There is no greater asset to a leader than those who are inspired to follow of their own free will rather than coercion. Having said all that, it is becoming much more difficult for even highly qualified leaders to find loyal Christians who are sold out to the cross. Rebellion as the Scripture teaches is the sin of witchcraft (1Sam 15:23) and it comes from the power of the unregenerate human condition and oh what power it is and what a battle it rages against logical conclusions. The will of man finds a way to rationalize against what is often known already by his own experience. Intemperate human will is the downfall of the character. It often constructs a conclusion in others that convinces them that their own human will is to be trusted as well. It is often the case that those Christians who are given to it look for others of like mind in order to complete their own deception. In this they find a false peace. These are of the sort that rebel against God's delegated authority and convince as many as they can to do the same. Conversely, those who understand the power of the human desire will never rest from their battle against it. Theirs is a constant replacement of their will with the temperance of the Spirit of God.
There are but only two types of individuals where it concerns this topic; givers and takers. The former has a thankful heart for God's provision. The latter is ever thankless and inspired only by the human condition of self interest. The authenticity of trust can only be bestowed upon a giver, for the taker is never to be trusted. When I look at the state of Christianity in America I see disunity not because of the reasons that so many attribute it, to but rather disunity has come from rebellion against the sacred doctrines of the Apostles words to us as believers. Mired in the propensity to complain, whine, and murmur at every turn the modern Christian knows little of personal sacrifice and commitment. The average Christian is more concerned with not missing an episode of "American Idol" than they are with coming to a prayer meeting. It is indeed a stinging indictment but never the less true. Less than two percent of "Born Again Christians" tithe and yet they are the first to complain about their church or pastor. It is not in the mind set of the carnal Christian to consider his own responsibility for his own actions. The denial of one's evil propensities creates the highest form of arrogance. It is in this denial that men deceive themselves into blaming all others for their own evil actions. One must always contemplate his own sinful desires, and attempt to temper them with the knowledge of God.
As it often was in the days of the Hebrew prophets a rebuke was not usually received well. People today love to hear a "Prophetic Word" that makes them feel good, but speak as I am and You will get the same response as those prophets did then. Consider the following Scripture:
1 Kings 22:8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
We all are in need of serious revival in our hearts. It is not a "new move" of God that we need my friends. It is the same move of God that made the Apostles turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6). If this is to happen Christians must stop being people that complain like selfish spoiled teenagers. Loyalty, honor, and plain pure friendship must prevail or we shall remain nothing more than a annoyance to the kingdom of darkness. You want revival? You want power? You want souls won? It is simple…grow up.
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