September 11, 2012
In last week's commentary ... "Challenged Choices" ... I talked about the condition of today's churches and also about the upcoming presidential election and how difficult the choice would be for any 'thinking' Christian. ... And therein lies my thoughts for this week ... the 'thinking' Christian ...
Simply, there aren't very many. Let's start by what we can observe with the upcoming presidential race. ... First, one is a member of a cult, but the vast majority of those claiming to be Christian have no clue as to this fact .. and if they do, they're not sure why ... or what about the current president. He claims to be a Christian (although many are convinced he's a muslim) but supports many issues that are in direct violation of the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. .... so, both are either lying to us, deceived, or just plain 'dumb' ...
Now let's move to the general public for a moment ... 85% claim to be Christian, and yet most will vote for one of them because they truly believe it's their only choice! .... and for fun, let's also look at the public opinion polls that take place about every 20 minutes or so ... If there's a convention, the favorability numbers move many percentage points for that candidate ... then the other has a good day because of most any reason, and the polls swing back the other way! ... It just proves how 'deep' our value systems prove to be. .... It simply amazes me!
Looking a little deeper into the intellectual level of our Christian family, let's look into some basic facts ... According to The Barna Group, a christian research center, only 3 in 10 claiming to be Christian know the names of the 4 Gospels ... some 60% now believe hell doesn't really exist ... over half claim that Christ isn't the only way to Heaven ... and finally, 12% believe Joan of Arc was married to Noah! ...... and they vote! ... There are many more stats that I could bore you with, but you get the idea ....
So who's fault is it? ... Where does the problem really lie? .... Simply, it's the Church's leadership that has failed miserably. ... One stat that I will share with you concerning young leaders coming out of our cemeteries (I mean seminaries) is that over 50% are now questioning the divinity of Christ! ... Is that scary or what?! ... I know from my own experiences over these past 10+ years visiting with many pastors and elders of various churches, it is amazing to me how little they know about certain parts of the Bible (prophecy, etc) . Personally, I believe that if you are going to a leader responsible for entire 'flocks' of people, you should at least have a general understanding of the WHOLE BOOK! ... I mentioned prophecy a moment ago, and it is nearly one-third of all scripture and the vast majority of seminaries no longer teach it! ... Again, amazing!!
Another primary reason for the 'dumbing down' of the Church is what is coming from the pulpits. Lets look at just some of this stuff .....
*Topical Preaching - Preaching is always topical and never expository (detailed teaching or explanatory). Selective topical series allow tough and deep theological subjects, as well as 'controversial' passages of Scripture to be avoided with ease ......
*Use of Bible - Although the church leaders offer strong statements as to how they are a 'Bible-believing Church", the Bible is actually used and referenced very little in the sermons. Few quotations from Scripture are heard in a message, with the vast majority of all sermons consisting of personal rhetoric, humor, videos, and personal stories.
*Instruction for New Believers - There is little or no instruction for new (or existing) believers on the core doctrines of the Christian faith.
*Bible Studies - Deep Bible study programs are either absent or deliberately pushed out in favor of the more 'culturally relevant' topics that deal with 'softer subjects such as money management, self-improvement, etc.
*Youth Groups - Most youth departments have an unmistakeable concentration on games, entertainment, social interaction, etc., verses actual teachings on Christian doctrine.
*Relationship Building & Serving - There is a huge emphasis on relationship building and serving in areas of the church, but no similar importance placed on growing more Biblically & theologically literate.
God warns us in His Word about the dangers of a 'dumb' church. For example, chastising his readers, the writer of Hebrews offers this admonition against fostering a 'dumb church' environment. "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." (Hebrews 5:12-14)
To put it plainly, when you have a 'dumb' church, the outcome is a body of believers that is incapable of properly discerning good and evil. And then, slowly but surely, error and heresy creep in with no one being the wiser. The end result are churches supporting teachings such as universalism, applauding homosexual marriage, and calling evil good and good evil.
Tragically, there will be no shortage of deceivers, false teachers and prophets in these last days. Jesus Himself warned us in Matthew 24:11 ... " ...... many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." (Also see Luke 21:8) ...... and sadly, these deceivers from hell will wreak havoc on the last-days church because of the lack of Scriptural wisdom.
Do you attend a church that's focused on the 'fluff', and not on the facts? ..... that's grabbing on to gimmicks, and not on God? .... Then flee as fast as you can and find one where the pastors/teachers are teaching right out of the Bible and not trying to gloss over some 'culturally uncomfortable' issues that are flat-out sin ... and remember, what if brother Billy Graham is right .... are you part of the 90% whom he considers possibly lost for eternity? ...There's still time to change it, but not much.
Acts 17:30-31 says, "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead."
I will be constantly praying for all of us in these deceitful and treacherous times .....
Until next time,
Red