“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jude 3-4
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” II Peter 2:1-3
Nobody likes prophets of God very much. But we could sure use one today. We need a man of God who can powerfully proclaim the Word and gain the ear of the people. Sadly, whenever the prophets are silent, the Church is made powerless and then irrelevant. The Church in a liberal world has preferred popularity to prophecy. In so doing, we have lost both.
The modern church has done a greater disservice to the Gospel than most secular institutions. The liberal church does far more damage to Christianity than your local fast food establishment. I have often said I have more respect for a secular college than for a liberal and compromising Christian college. The liquor store behaves true to its name. Many churches do not. In the modern church we have educated pastors who will seldom take a stand on any issue: spiritual, moral, or political. Yet, even when they do, they usually stand on the wrong side.
Some say there are no biblical absolutes today. Of course there are still biblical absolutes; trouble is they are only found in the Bible (the real Bible) and not in the church.
Can Christianity survive the modern church? I am not sure. I have always thought it would be the completed bride that might prompt our Lord’s return, was I was wrong? Perhaps it will be when the church loses almost all of its truth—when the salt loses its savor—when the Lord sees no possible benefit in the church remaining here, maybe that will cause the trumpet to sound. To me, it seems like there are three types of churches in existence today.
The Church that holds fast to the truth and refuses to bend. Usually these are smaller churches pastored by older men who are quickly dying off. The weakness of these churches is that although the truth is still being taught, it is often ignored by the congregation. A church that preaches the Word often has as many failed marriages, rebellious children, prayerless people, and folks in financial bondage, as churches that don’t preach the truth. The future of these churches does not look very promising for the next generation.
Next, we have the Church in the middle trying to “ride the fence.” These churches use accommodation or compromise in order to avoid public ridicule and rejection by society. They have a “little strength”,but prefer to use worldly programs to demonstrate their mission.
Finally, we have the lukewarm, “Laodicean” Church. This church has allowed compromise to run its full course, stripping it completely of the power of God and leaving Jesus standing on the outside.
It is not too late for the Body of Christ to make a full recovery. In fact, it is never too late as long as there are believers who are willing to hear and hearken to what the Spirit is saying to the Church. However, in order for the Church to receive the Divine power it needs for correction, change, and restoration, it must undergo a transformation from the highest to its lowest levels.
A good place to start might be for lazy Christians to dust off their Bible and use it to respectfully confront pastors and teachers and make them accountable. If the Church has no fixed, non-negotiable biblical truths to stand on, it will simply become a spiritually weak humanitarian organization with a “Christian” name on the door but without the real power of God. I’d rather spend my Sunday morning at home rather than at such a church.
Perhaps You Are A Part Of A Small Remnant. If you honestly love our Lord and His Word and if you sincerely seek the advancement of the Kingdom, then you are a member of a unique group. As we approach the end of the church age we live in an educated, highly sophisticated, and technological world. In this modern world, we are witnessing a return to the pagan premise that everyone’s belief system can be right. More and more, society has no stomach for spiritual or moral absolutes. In fact, the public reaction to moral proclamations is often so adverse that many pastors are hesitant to take strong positions on issues of morality, even though these truths are clearly stated in the Word of God. Rather than answer difficult moral questions, they dodge the questions and skirt around the issues in an attempt to avoid conflict.
Early believers endured bullying, ridicule, imprisonment, and even death because they refused to conform to the pagan world that surrounded them. The religious, social, cultural, and political forces of the city exerted tremendous pressure to coerce these Christians into modifying their message to encompass a more moderate, inclusive view that would make them compliant with the spirit of the age. Many believers collapsed under this pressure, but others steadfastly resisted this coercion to conform and held fast to their faith. In our time and the times to come, there is, and there will continue to be, a remnant of believers who will not bow to the pressures of society. Actually most already have collapsed under the weight of these external forces, but a few will not yield. I pray you will determine personally to choose ridicule or suffering rather than to violate God’s truth.
God has always had His remnant who will not bow to the world’s pressures, and in these last times, He will have that remnant once again. I pray my family will be a part of that small but powerful band of believers. To all who determine to stand, I believe they will experience previously unknown levels of the power of God as a result of their commitment to stand on truth. In the future you will be a strong Christian, or it is unlikely you will be a Christian at all. The marginal won’t make it in a world that hates the true message of Christ.
Jesus is not just another option in a sea of choices. The world may have hundreds of religious doctrines, but the Church does not. The early church was viewed as a bunch of narrow-minded simpletons. So shall the future be for all who stand on truth.
The lack of power and influence of the modern church is our own fault. Christians have been too willing to accept, and even to flatter with our support, an essentially godless world. Rather than fighting the attacks of growing secularism in the church, pastors after graduating from a liberal theological institution have been too polite, or maybe just too fearful and foolish, to tell people that their modern Bibles aren’t real, and their music violates Scripture, and their dress, behavior, associations, and activities invite moral compromise.
Our business is to promote the nature of God, not the nature of man. This world needs Christ, and they must be taught to know Him and to obey Him. However, that cannot happen except by the Holy Spirit using those who themselves know Him and obey Him. The function of the Church is to resist all lesser, carnal interpretations of life; resist them in love but with firmness and consistency so we can convince men to follow us as we follow Christ.
The foundations of this lost world are pride, ambition, a desire to dominate, and a lust for this world’s goods. Christ plainly insisted that in these are seeds of death, not life; and the Church needs to reject these things while teaching the way of Christ by word and example.
The Church, in these later years, has forgotten how to renounce and denounce sin and error. Instead it has sought to soothe a sick mankind with pious injections of acceptance. The few true prophets that are left are upsetting people. They interfere with drawing in the big crowds, the financing of ministry budgets, and with the smooth running of ecclesiastical enterprises. They make difficult the erection of mega-churches, and mar the nice amenities of life. Reactions to truth have not changed much since the days of Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others who in the first days of Christianity went about turning the world upside down.
If the Body of Christ is to influence the world of tomorrow, it would seem that the Church must so reform itself that it can make a new and unapologetic proclamation of the Word of God. Yes, I believe God has a remnant. I hope you are a part of that remnant. However, if you are going to maintain your effectiveness for the Kingdom, you must maintain uncompromising convictions of truth. Might I suggest the following as a starting point?
Convictions for the Remnant.
The Bible is the inspired and preserved Word of God and the final authority for my life. I will not be drawn away by commercial paraphrases and politically correct translations. I will stand for truth and teach my children to stand for truth even if it brings persecution.
My goal and purpose in life is to seek the benefit of the Kingdom of God with my whole heart. The Kingdom must always come first. Then, I will allow God to prioritize the remaining areas of my life according to His will.
My body is the living temple of God and it must not be defiled by the lusts of the flesh.
If not by office, then at least by action, according to my spiritual gifts, I will assume a leadership role in my church. In this role I shall attempt to insure my church always teaches the foundational truths of Scripture without compromise.
My children belong to God. They are a sacred trust, and it is my responsibility to give them a Christ honoring education which will assure they are taught Scriptural principles, godly character, and to maintain their own convictions. They need my direction and discipline far more than I need their agreement or favor.
My character should be one that can encourage and lift up even strong Christians and one that must never weaken the Scriptural convictions of the weaker. I will govern my life by principles, not by emotion or wavering schools of thought.
My marriage, to the best of my ability, shall be a lifelong commitment, first to God and then to my marriage partner.
My money and all assets placed under my stewardship, is a trust from God and must be earned, disbursed, and managed according to Scriptural principles.
In giving counsel, I will try to validate my words to insure they are in harmony with Scripture. I understand that great damage has been done by well-meaning Christians giving foolish advice.
I affirm my understanding that I am a soldier born in the heat of conflict. The enemy wants to destroy me as he has done so many others. I am a part of a remnant army. Although few in number, I am determined to be fervent in faith.
My affections will be set on things above, not on things on the earth.
Dr. Worthington has been in the ministry over forty years and serves as President of Pathway Ministries.