This post is more a response to the comments that were posted concerning the post entitled "Is it really too much to ask?!"
First let me say that I'm not saying that the Church has never had problems until now, and I'm not saying that all churches are bad. My point is not that I haven't found a church to suit me, rather the point is a lament for the state of the church, especially the western church.
The church has had its problems, and I suspect will continue to have problems, but I also feel that a strong case can be made that Christianity in North America is at one of the lowest points in all of Church history. I lament this fact, I lament the easy Christianity and pseudo-psycho-babble-pop Christianity that I see all over the place. I hear sermons on how to have less stress, or how to be successful in life. I see churches teaching doctrines that involve merely being happy and being driven by the purpose of self-fulfillment. Can you seriously tell me that this is Christianity? Can you say that this is the powerful word of the Lord? Does this in any way resemble the Kingdom of God that Jesus spent his whole ministry teaching about? By no means does this in any way, shape, or form look like, true Christianity.
This is my lament. I ache over the fact that the church is in such a sour state that it is neither cool nor hot. The gospel much of the church is preaching is like what Tozer says - if it were medicine it would be too weak to cure anyone and if it were poison it would be too weak to kill anyone. (paraphrase)
What shall we as members of the body of Christ do about this betrayal of Kingdom ethics and values.
To address the critique raised by Sam - "maybe we should just trust that Christ will redeem his bride as is written, no? And that...The battle has already been won, by Christ."
Although the point is a decent one, that he caps off with a call to just living in mercy. This seems to be too far of an apathetic stance. Can we just sit by and watch the church self-destruct? Can we sit there while heresy and false teaching spread like cancer through the whole body of Christ? Granted it is true that the true church will not fall, but how can we say we love the church and do nothing when she is in no way a resemblance of who she is called to be?
I pray often for the purity of the Church, I pray that the chaff that fills the buildings every Sunday will be made pure first and foremost, but if not then be cleansed away. I pray for persecution to come upon the western church. Not because I'm some sadist who loves to see people injured and dead, but because I firmly believe that if you are not willing at a moment's notice to give your life and sacrifice everything for the sake of Jesus Christ, then you have no business calling yourself a Christian and claiming to be the church.
But we must not only pray for the purity of the Church, we must use the gifts that God has given us. We cannot sit idly by and credit our apathy with the fact that Christ will prevail and all will be right in the end. Christ will prevail indeed! Praise the Lord! But until then he has charged us, the body of Christ, to use our gifts to edify one another and build up the church in his image. We must always fight for the purity of the people of God. We must use our gifts of encouragement, healing, prophecy, tongues, etc. For the edification of the body. It is when we do that and stop living in this bismal state of the church that we will truly be on fire for God. And as Wesley said, when one man is ignited aflame for the Lord hundreds more [unbelievers] will come just to see him burn. (paraphrase) Then our witness will be pure. Then we will live in love, and mercy, and compassion.
The call is to the Church now! Prepare ye the way of the Lord! We cannot avoid our call to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and to shout at the top of our lungs, REPENT! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand!!
That is our call, that is why I lament over the church. I love the church and I see her potential. Yes, she has always had her problems, she will continue to struggle because she is made up of humans, but with the Spirit filling her, she can be pure and spotless and ready for the coming of the Bridegroom!
Just one final disclaimer, I don't' speak these words because I'm one of those crazy kooks who thinks that the coming will be within the next 15 years when Russia invades Israel. I say this because this has always been the message of the Church. Just as her hearts cry must always be: MARANATHA - COME LORD JESUS!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
peace, brother.
if putting the Church before Christ and relying on his mercy and grace for her to prevail against false teachings is not enough, if the Church has to rely on us, in whole or in part, for her to be what God called her to be, then to quote a friend, we are in deep doo doo. does that mean we are just to sit back and watch? does putting everything before Christ mean apathy? i apologize for my tone if you have misread it, but there is nothing apathetic about it. on the contrary, the desire to see the church embrace the teachings of christ is great and always will be there by the grace of God and will spur the true follower Christ into action and not reaction, and such desire comes from the Holy Spirit who dwells in each and every one of us who calls on his name.
the call that i stated is not just to live in mercy, but to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly before God. it ties in beautifully with God's commandment to us, to love God with everything we have in us, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. if the desire that we have is for God first, everything else will fall into place, including the desire to obey our call to proclaim the good news, and the desire for the church to follow Christ's teachings. but that desire for God comes from him first - that he loved us first before we even have an inkling of loving him.
by no means am i saying that we should stop desiring change in the wayward church, and by no means am i saying that we are to sit back and relax on our butts. i am merely emphasizing that it is not our work to cleanse the church, Christ himself holds the winnowing fork. we are part of that church being cleansed. we are called to persevere amidst everything the world throws at us, be it persecution or death or bad teaching or bad breath. it is the confidence that Christ is Lord of all that we can go out there and proclaim the good news, that we can pray and have faith that God will hear our prayers for the Church because of his great love for the church, and for the Word he has spoken concerning the church. we have faith and confidence because of what he has done in the past, what he is doing now, and what he has promised to do through us.
in your statement
"because I firmly believe that if you are not willing at a moment's notice to give your life and sacrifice everything for the sake of Jesus Christ, then you have no business calling yourself a Christian and claiming to be the church."
i am gently reminding you of the story of Peter, and a myriad other broken and often stumbling people of God. my very own life is full of repeated stumbles and brokeness, and i cling to the Grace that God has for me through Christ because beyond that i have nothing, before realizing that, i only had death. again, is this going to be construed as toleranism? (is that a word?) my point is that the Grace that God has given us through Christ is the same grace that we are to reflect to everyone regardless of who they are or where they are in life. only when we see ourselves in someone else's shoes can true dialogue happen, and only when the Holy Spirit dwells in us can we truly put ourselves in someone else's shoes.
now, there is one thing that i will call you out on, and that is your prayer for the church in the west to suffer persecution. i say you do not know what you are asking for, and you are in danger of mocking those of us who pray for the churches who are suffering persecution across the globe, moreso those of us who had experienced or is experiencing persecution right this moment. yes persecution brings Glory to God through the believers' faith and it really weeds out those whose hearts are not really in it, but one should never ever pray suffering for another. if persecution is what God has planned for the church in the west, then so be it, it is his sovereign will, and we accept that and thank God for it. but we always pray for the persecution to stop. the church in the west has problems, and persecution is not the answer. in risk of sounding cliche, Christ is the answer. it is the true believers within those churches that are falling, who are there in obedience, and who carry Christ's image who will effect change within the church.
I am by no means saying that we should rely only on our own strength, on the contrary, all we can do is rely on the Holy Spirit and the blessed gifts of grace that he has given the church. The gifts are for the building of the church and we ought to use them for it.
You are correct that Christ does hold the winnowing fork, but he has gifted the church with teachers, prophets, apostles and the like to correct the Church and to teach her how she should go. We live as the church to live in purity and as we live in community we are called to help purify each other, not in judgement but as you said, in love.
On your retort of my comments on persecution in the west. YOu may be correct in assuming I do not know what I am asking for. I do pray that the persecution of my brothers and sisters around the Globe would end, but that it would only end if they be strengthened enough to not fall into the traps that we have. I also pray that if there is a way for Christ to purify his beloved bride without persecution then may that be the road to take, but if not so be it.
However, I do believe that one thing that is worse than a persecuted church is a church that is not the church at all. I would rather be part of a church that lives at the risk of life, than a church that lives without any risk for the gospel. And so I do say again, that if persecution is the only way to purify the western church let the blood of the matryrs flow through the streets. Let that blood be the seed that the Holy Spirit uses to revive the Church and let my blood be counted worthy enough to be spilled for the cross of Christ!
Post a Comment