April 3, 2009
Last week, in the “So What’s the Deal With America” commentary, I mentioned that one of the reasons for Rome’s, and now America’s, decline was the “decay of religion” in their respective societies. 
Keeping that in mind, I thought I might share some startling facts about today’s spiritual landscape in our land.
The one statistic that got me to thinking about this was that 27% of Americans claim to be Catholic. Of that, 40% voted for Barak Obama in the recent presidential election. -- Why is this surprising? -- Of all the mainstream denominations in America today, the Catholic leadership seems to be the most outspoken when it comes to its opposition to abortion and the gay rights agenda, the same of which Mr. Obama had openly supported in his campaign rhetoric. --- And now this same group is voicing its disapproval of the President because of his policies to advance these same issues.
Didn’t they know his position? -- Didn’t they understand what he was saying? -- And the list goes on -- the evangelicals, the largest Protestant block of voters in America did the same thing. -- While they claim the same basic positions on the aforementioned, the majority also voted the same way, and are now beginning to have the same questions.
These glaring flaws in the basic principles of our faith also show up in other critical areas. For example, although polls show that 90% of Americans claim to believe in God, only 32% believe in the existence of Hell. -- How can you have one without the other?! -- Matthew 18:9 says, “And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of Hell.” (Also see Matthew 5:22, 29 and 30, 10:28, 23:15, 23:33, Mark 9:43, 45 and 47, James 3:6 and 2 Peter 2:4.)
Here’s another one. In a recent survey by The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, it showed that most Americans don’t feel their religion is the only way to eternal life. In support of this, another poll indicated that 57% of evangelical church attendees said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life. --- This is in direct conflict to traditional evangelical teaching.
In all, 70% of Americans with religious affiliation shared that view, and 68% said there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their own religion.
-- Are you hearing this? -- How can this be true?! This means that all these people don’t really understand or just don’t think about what happened when our Savior was nailed to the cross.
One of the most basic teachings in our Christian faith is that Jesus was, is, and will always be the only true way to salvation and eternal life. John 3:16 and 18 say, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. -- Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (Also see John 3:36, 11:25 and 14:6). (Emphasis mine.) 
It doesn’t get much clearer than that.
To think that the majority of people who claim to be Christian don’t understand these basic truths is mind-boggling to me. It just means that Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion, was right when he said, “The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep.”
There’s more stats on some similar basic subjects, but you get the picture. This kind of stuff makes me crazy! -- It just indicates that most people really don’t know the fundamentals of their faith. -- The foundation isn’t there. --- It’s like the house that was built on sand. It was okay until the storm came, and when it did, the house crumbled. It reminds me of the scripture in Matthew 13:20-21 which says, “The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.”
Look around people!! -- The storm is here!!
I know I’ve done my share of attacking church leadership, and I plan to continue to do so. Unfortunately, too many church leaders have deliberately made peace with the rampant secularism that is all around us. -- So instead of teaching their congregations the critically important truths that go far beyond the basic simplicity of having a “personal relationship with Jesus”, the leaders in today’s “seeker-sensitive” churches have watered down the entire process.
Simply put, the church has taken on a form of safe and empty religion along with irrelevant activities rather than becoming the overcoming force of power and righteousness on the earth. 
Instead of winning the lost and preaching an authentic gospel, many leaders have bought into the promise that if we can “Get them to attend church, then we have them.” -- That concept is simply wrong.
To prove this, according to George Barna, a Christian pollster, after the 9/11 attacks many unbelievers flocked into the church for about six-eight weeks. They looked around, saw what was happening and said essentially, “No thanks, I have more reality in my own little world than there is here.”
Whether it’s too late for America or many of its churches is entirely up to God. -- But I do know this -- a storm is brewing and the foundation of many is cracked and flawed. If history continues to repeat itself, destruction will come upon those who subscribe to the “itching ear” theology spoken of in 2 Timothy 4:3-4.
Matthew 7:21-23 speaks of empty faith leading to destruction when it says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only He who does the will of my father who is in Heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Finally, Mark 4:12 states, “They may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.”
Time is extremely short for the lost to make their decision for Christ. -- We who have a strong foundation must fight against the winds and raging storms of sin to reach as many as possible. -- The time is now!
I want to close with this statement that I’ve used several times. Nothing seems to say it much better.
“We are the light of the world”
The evening news is a commentary of the darkness of our world. It is a graphic visualization of the absence of God in many places in our communities.
So what is the real problem? It is not just the presence of darkness -- it is also the absence of light.
We can pierce the darkness in the name of Jesus!!
Light exposes darkness and light symbolizes the presence of God. -- Light represents all that is good!  -- We are the light!!
Jesus said it best in Matthew 5:14 and 16, “You are the light of the world. -- In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in Heaven.”
Until next time,
Red