March 4, 2014
Recently I've been going on about the
'shelters' we have built, either real or imaginary, and how inadequate they
will be because of the coming 'storms' that are now, and will increasing befall
this sin-plagued planet. .... Since those writings, I cannot shake the reality
of how true and urgent this fact is! .... There is no doubt about how most of
the world is in complete denial of what is currently taking place concerning
the coming collapse of the world we have come to know and feel 'comfortable' in
.... these so-called shelters we've built around us thinking they will keep us
protected ..... our nation, our church, our general confidence that mankind
will somehow make it through whatever this old world throws at us ..... But the simple fact is this ... NO human
shelter will protect us! .. Only faith in Jesus Christ, and He alone will keep us
from eternal damnation. .... He is the ONLY real and true shelter that exists.
...
Now I realize I dwell on this 'shelter'
thing a lot, but what brought it back to me this time was two separate writings
I received this week from a brother & sister in Christ ... Pastor John
MacArthur and Marci Ehrhart. ... Both lamented that the shelter many, many
people put their hope in is today's church ... and how compromised it has
become because of societal pressures and complacency. .... What I want to do
over the next couple of weeks is first, to share these two articles, and then
talk about what needs to be done to change it, at least in our lives and also
those we come into contact with. .... So here goes .....
The first is from Pastor John MacArthur
.......
"In a recent , introductory sermon
to the Book of Acts, I made some observations about the culture in which early
Christians lived. I noted that the
environment at the time of the church's birth was not Christian friendly. The world in which the first Christians lived
was brutal, totally pagan, and openly anti-Christian. Early believers were aliens to everything in
the culture.
"What's more, Christians had no
governmental advocacy or special protections, and so unrestrained persecution
was happening all over the place.
Proclaimers of the gospel essentially became martyrs. To embrace Christ often meant signing one's
own death warrant.
"What was the church doing that
caused such resentment, hostile treatment, and persecution? Christians preached the words of Jesus -
about God becoming incarnate, the Bread of Heaven coming down. Their message was simple and clear: If you don't repent and believe in Him, you
are going to hell forever. They were
confronting sin, and calling people to deny themselves and become lifelong
slaves to a crucified Jew. It was a hard
sell. They were preaching a gospel that
was deeply offensive both to Jews and Gentiles.
"As I described the situation facing
the early church, I couldn't help but think of how much our own culture has
changed in recent decades, and how rapidly it is becoming Acts chapter
one. (And for that matter, Romans
chapter one.)
"Perhaps, like me, you grew up in
America when there was widespread, cultural Christianity. There was a kind of Christian consensus. To some degree, people understood the church,
the Bible, and the gospel. They accepted
the Judeo-Christian ethic. While most
people weren't genuine Christians, there was still superficial acceptance - or,
at least, tolerance - of a cultural Christianity in politics, business,
education, and public life.
"But where are we today? Where is the general acceptance of the tenets
of the Bible and Christian values? Where
is the influence of the religious Right and the Moral Majority? Gone.
No more. There is no more
cultural Christianity; there is no
collective Christian consensus wielding any significant power in the
country. In fact, the more biblically
that true Christians speak and live, the more they are labeled as extremists,
homophobic, intolerant, and guilty of hate crimes. We are now aliens. And I think we can all foresee a day when
being a faithful Christian will cost us
or our children dearly, and in ways we couldn't have imagined just a decade
ago. I think we're closer than ever to
living in conditions like the people did in the Book of Acts.
"So where is the good news? you may
be asking. Actually, I believe the
current situation IS GOOD NEWS. For
years I've been concerned by the church's pursuit of cultural change through
political and social activities. Large
swaths of Christians have placed enormous time, energy, money, and hope in the
wrong places. Hand in glove with that
thinking, superficial, cultural Christianity has blurred the clear lines
between the Kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of this world, and has softened
the hard demands of the gospel, making professing Christ easy and without
cost. As a result, churches have been
filled with highly religious, superficially moral, self-righteous people who
don't understand the gospel and are self-deceived about their true spiritual
state.
"But now, with the facade of
cultural Christianity crumbling, true Christianity is starting to stand out in
a way it hasn't in our lifetime.
Scripture teaches and church history confirms that the Body of Christ is
most potent and most effective when it simply speaks and lives the gospel
without equivocation or apology. With
the mask of superficial Christianity gone, I believe the best days for the
spread of the true gospel are ahead of us.
"The gospel advances by personal
testimony to Christ, one soul at a time.
When the church acts like a church;
when shepherds preach Scripture and confront error with clarity and
boldness; when believers are sanctified,
built up, and equipped in truth; people
are saved. And that's when the culture
truly changes - nothing transforms the
culture like genuine conversion."
Wow! ... What a good 'write'! ..... Now,
for the sake of time, I'll be brief .... Pastor John's comment ... "When
the church acts like a church" ... jumps right out at me. .... So now I
want each of you to take a very careful look at your own church or fellowship,
and then ask yourself these few questions ... Are my teachers and pastors
teaching the pure truths right out of the Holy Scriptures, and NOT compromising
or sugar-coating the hard facts of the Word? ... Are my fellow brothers &
sisters 'living out' the gospel truths, or are they just going through the
motions ... just showing up and being complacent ... lukewarm? .... If that is
the case, you have basically two choices ... First, approach your pastors &
teachers and challenge them as to what you are observing ... Then if that
doesn't change anything, you either must flee and seek out a 'true' church, or
face the possibility of becoming the same way as those around you. .... This is
a very dangerous place - an unsafe 'shelter' ........
Next week I'll share Marci's writing
which I believe you will find enlightening and spot-on .... Until then, know
that I am praying for each and every one of you constantly. .... I know the
needs are many, and as we progress deeper into these final days, those needs
will only increase ... but hey! .. We have each other to lean on! ...
Hallelujah!!
Until next time,
Red