Pastor's Corner March 7, 2023
The state of the church today
Joshua 24:15 "And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
Consider this verse for a moment. What stands out to you with this verse? You might be quite familiar with this famous verse, and I think this question and situation that Joshua faced is one that has repeated throughout history and is being repeated right now.
In my travels recently and in my work as an Army Chaplain, I have had more and more interactions with people who identify as Christians who have views and lifestyles that do not align with Biblical teaching. Before I go further into that, let's take a look at history.
I admit that it is easy to look at the past and find faults and failures in the church and the lives of Christians, especially when we apply modern ethics, morality, and cultural norms to different time periods. However, the past can provide us a framework for the world in which we find ourselves right now. We can look back to our recent history as a nation with the mistreatment and discrimination of people of color to the extent that includes slavery, Jim Crow laws, segregation, redlining, and more. Often with people who identified as Christians being the perpetrators. We can look at church history when the church especially the role of the pope became more about politics than faithfulness to Jesus (sound familiar?). We can look at the crusades that were motivated by political and economic desires that resulted in the deaths of far too many people. We can look at the use of indulgences by the Catholic Church where people could essentially buy their own salvation or buy it for family members. The church exchanged money and goods for their own gain while telling people it brought forgiveness of sins. We could look at the mistreatment, abuse, and genocide of indigenous peoples across the world in the name of Jesus, but really in the name of conquest or colonization. We can look throughout Christian and Jewish history where people called themselves God's people, but in reality lived lives that were in contrast to God's word, nor were they in relationship with God. Throughout these times of history there have been faithful remnants, groups that remained true to God's word. They lived in obedience to Christ.
Choose this day whom you will serve could have been asked in every year of human history and we would see people going in different directions even those who call themselves Christians. My point is not to bash those people, nor to blindly praise those who have been faithful. Instead, I want us to consider the church today and who we will serve.
Today, you can choose just about anything. We have access to a myriad of religions, none more tempting than the rise of humanism that has always existed where people see themselves as god, they are able to do and say whatever they like and the pursuit of this religion is personal happiness with no limits to achieving it. There are countless other religions outside of Christianity and there are thousands of denominations within Christianity. The sad reality is that across many of these denominations, it would be difficult to point out their differences with humanism or other religions at all. Faithfulness to God, His Sacred Word, and living like Christ are somehow secondary or tertiary in many churches and denominations. For many of these groups, the Bible is no longer considered relevant let alone holy or God-inspired. And when we get into theology, statements of faith, or preaching, little is actually said of Jesus and the gift of grace he has provided in victory over sin and death. Sin isn't mentioned. Hardship isn't mentioned. Jesus is hardly mentioned. Orthodoxy and orthopraxy no longer exist (orthodoxy means right belief or doctrine and orthopraxy means right practice or conduct meaning walking in step with Christ). Jesus said people would know we are his disciples because of our love for one another. In some groups we see hate more than love. In others, we see the world's view of love rather than God's. It would be easy to point the finger at churches and denominations for things that they say and do that are unbiblical.
But my challenge for each of us is this. Choose this day who you will serve and what side of history you want to be on. Will you choose the narrow path of Jesus that involves picking up your cross, dying to your own selfish desires and following Jesus? Will you choose to stand out and against injustice in this world? Will you remain true to Biblical teaching and living? Will you choose to hate or help those Christians who have been led astray by false teachers or the world around us? Will you remain faithful to Jesus when it is uncomfortable and challenging? Will you seek the filling of the Holy Spirit to transform and empower you to live like Jesus in a world that wants less and less of anything to do with Jesus?
It is easy to be discouraged when we look at the state of Christianity today and the number of churches and denominations that want only a marginal association to Jesus rather than a radical commitment to Him. But let us not be discouraged or defeated by it.
We can remember the words of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."
And the words of the author of Hebrews, "Therefore brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:19-25)
Joshua 24:15 "And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
Consider this verse for a moment. What stands out to you with this verse? You might be quite familiar with this famous verse, and I think this question and situation that Joshua faced is one that has repeated throughout history and is being repeated right now.
In my travels recently and in my work as an Army Chaplain, I have had more and more interactions with people who identify as Christians who have views and lifestyles that do not align with Biblical teaching. Before I go further into that, let's take a look at history.
I admit that it is easy to look at the past and find faults and failures in the church and the lives of Christians, especially when we apply modern ethics, morality, and cultural norms to different time periods. However, the past can provide us a framework for the world in which we find ourselves right now. We can look back to our recent history as a nation with the mistreatment and discrimination of people of color to the extent that includes slavery, Jim Crow laws, segregation, redlining, and more. Often with people who identified as Christians being the perpetrators. We can look at church history when the church especially the role of the pope became more about politics than faithfulness to Jesus (sound familiar?). We can look at the crusades that were motivated by political and economic desires that resulted in the deaths of far too many people. We can look at the use of indulgences by the Catholic Church where people could essentially buy their own salvation or buy it for family members. The church exchanged money and goods for their own gain while telling people it brought forgiveness of sins. We could look at the mistreatment, abuse, and genocide of indigenous peoples across the world in the name of Jesus, but really in the name of conquest or colonization. We can look throughout Christian and Jewish history where people called themselves God's people, but in reality lived lives that were in contrast to God's word, nor were they in relationship with God. Throughout these times of history there have been faithful remnants, groups that remained true to God's word. They lived in obedience to Christ.
Choose this day whom you will serve could have been asked in every year of human history and we would see people going in different directions even those who call themselves Christians. My point is not to bash those people, nor to blindly praise those who have been faithful. Instead, I want us to consider the church today and who we will serve.
Today, you can choose just about anything. We have access to a myriad of religions, none more tempting than the rise of humanism that has always existed where people see themselves as god, they are able to do and say whatever they like and the pursuit of this religion is personal happiness with no limits to achieving it. There are countless other religions outside of Christianity and there are thousands of denominations within Christianity. The sad reality is that across many of these denominations, it would be difficult to point out their differences with humanism or other religions at all. Faithfulness to God, His Sacred Word, and living like Christ are somehow secondary or tertiary in many churches and denominations. For many of these groups, the Bible is no longer considered relevant let alone holy or God-inspired. And when we get into theology, statements of faith, or preaching, little is actually said of Jesus and the gift of grace he has provided in victory over sin and death. Sin isn't mentioned. Hardship isn't mentioned. Jesus is hardly mentioned. Orthodoxy and orthopraxy no longer exist (orthodoxy means right belief or doctrine and orthopraxy means right practice or conduct meaning walking in step with Christ). Jesus said people would know we are his disciples because of our love for one another. In some groups we see hate more than love. In others, we see the world's view of love rather than God's. It would be easy to point the finger at churches and denominations for things that they say and do that are unbiblical.
But my challenge for each of us is this. Choose this day who you will serve and what side of history you want to be on. Will you choose the narrow path of Jesus that involves picking up your cross, dying to your own selfish desires and following Jesus? Will you choose to stand out and against injustice in this world? Will you remain true to Biblical teaching and living? Will you choose to hate or help those Christians who have been led astray by false teachers or the world around us? Will you remain faithful to Jesus when it is uncomfortable and challenging? Will you seek the filling of the Holy Spirit to transform and empower you to live like Jesus in a world that wants less and less of anything to do with Jesus?
It is easy to be discouraged when we look at the state of Christianity today and the number of churches and denominations that want only a marginal association to Jesus rather than a radical commitment to Him. But let us not be discouraged or defeated by it.
We can remember the words of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."
And the words of the author of Hebrews, "Therefore brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:19-25)
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