Pardon the length of this post, but I have much to say. I dont know why, but my thoughts lately have been consumed with the state of the Church today. I have been convicted for some time on the declining effectiveness of the American Church, and was leaning toward our hedonistic and materialistic culture as being the culprit of having such a profound impact on the Church. However, living in another culture now, and numerous times in the past, I have come to realize that every culture in todays world generally promotes those characteristics, and primarily because this self-centeredness is the root of all of our sin. It is what drove the first man and woman to rebel against God, and will be what drives the last man and woman to do it. That being said, there are places in the world where the Church is having a profound effectiveness and is growing at a rapid pace. So, what sets these places apart from others? Is there better preaching in these places? Are there better maintained buildings or better organized associational structures? Or, maybe there is more freedom to bring the Gospel to non-believers in these places. On the contrary, these are things that we, as western-minded Christians feel is necessary for the Church to be effective. We feel that we must take all the obstacles out of the way and have our house in complete order before God can use us for His purposes. But, this could not be further from the truth. These places where the Gospel is having such a profound reception are places that are extremely hostile to the Gospel. These are places where there is no luxury for nice buildings and traditional associations to draw attention away from the raw truth of Scripture. Indeed, it is the cost and the difficulty of being a believer that propels the Gospel forward in these lands that so strongly persecute the believer. You see, in these places, where all they have is the simple truth of Scripture and the deep-rooted brotherhood of their fellow believer, they hold an advantage over us. Their belief is based on a sacrifice that Scripture requires of us if we are to follow Christ. There is a cost associated with their faith; first paid for by Jesus on the cross, and now individually as they face the persecution and danger to their lives each day. This is why the Western Church has lost its effectiveness today. We have allowed ourselves to become more concerned with the religious aspects of the modern church, while drifting away from the simple truth of Scripture so clearly given to us by Christ during His time on the Earth. We have become distracted because our faith costs us nothing as the Church attempts to adapt to the changing culture in order to be less offensive to the non-believer, so that they may grace us with their presence in our pews. We have moved from being an effective Church, to being an affected Church. But, the climate in the West is changing toward the Christian Church. Gone are the days of welcome influence of the Church into our culture, and now begins the persecution of the establishment that has dominated the West for so many centuries. If we are once again to experience the impact of the Gospel on the lost in all Its profound glory, we must recognize this new environment for what it is. This new culture of disdain and persecution toward the Church can be the revitalization of the Spread of Christianity in the West. If we look on those believers who experience the worst we could ever imagine persecution to be, and on a daily basis; then we can shake off the dust of the modern establishment and return to what it means to be a biblical Church. We can live in unity as believers, sharing our lives and celebrating the object of our sufferings, becoming an effective tool for God’s use. Our faith is once again beginning to cost us something, and I, for one, welcome the charge. So, we can move forward as the Western Church, with our eyes shut and simply respond with the notion that the Bible warned us of this, or we can respond in humility and recognition of how believers in other parts of the world are placing everything that they are and that they have before the throne of Christ in the love and hope that others will come to know Him as well. It’s time that we begin taking our eyes off of the Church and placing them back onto the Lord. After all, if we are the Church, we belong to God and not ourselves, so let’s trust Him to take care of us, rather than trying to take care of ourselves. Love God, love others in the manner that He first loved us, and He will take care of the rest. - J
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 04:09:10 +0000
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