Scripture Reading:
2 Timothy 1:1-4
1I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
The American church is in decline and has been since the 1980's. The reason is not lack of attendance (although that is a byproduct), the reason is not lack of building funds, or teachers, or preachers, etc. The reason the church is in decline is because of the revelation of only part of the message of Christ. All Scripture is inspired and is profitable as Paul told Timothy, yet we tend to take our Christian teachings like people do a buffet bar after church. We know we should eat the salad greens, but we see the delectable fried foods on up the bar, so we spring for these because they taste better.
In our churches, we have no deep teaching from God's Word. We settle for the skimmed surface. Truly the greatest doctrines are those that speak of Christ's love and example and though we cannot overemphasize them enough we never deal much with the reason why they are so great. We never deal with our sin, never deal with Hell, never deal with church discipline, never deal with accountability. The reason being twofold.
Reason 1.
We have allowed our natural state to drift us off course and have settled to be comfortable rather than challenged.
Reason 2.
We have such a politically correct culture that has dictated we must not speak of that which offends.
Paul in today's reading admonishes Timothy to be ready to preach whether it is popular or not, for the days of Judgement are coming, the end, after that we cannot undo what we have done, people need to hear the In Season message as well as the Out of Season Messages. Exhortation and Rebuking are both profitable, not just one or the other. Paul had a burden for this because he saw what happened so quickly at Galatia.
When I survey the ignorance of many Christians, and I am not being arrogant but genuinely concerned, I draw another two conclusions,
1. People are not taught, 2. People do not care enough to read for themselves what God says.
The first is a church leadership problem that perhaps stems from the second reason, but the second is a general carnality that slowly seeps over a man or woman that takes their eyes and hearts from God.
The state is sad for us as believers, but it is even more saddening to a needy world. To understand the intensity and the gravity of the problem we have faced and are continually facing is to understand the mind of Satan.
Isn't it interesting that there are no sermons devoted to the knowledge of the Devil? Understand we do not glorify him, but to understand the attack and the methods he is using to destroy the church. Like all other manners, the Devil uses half truths to pass of his agendas. The Devil delights in church disputes when the members of both sides think they are doing right. The Devil also encourages the carnal mind never to look at the passages of Scripture that deals with man's sin problem, thus, because it will expose the enemy for who he is.
Besides the Devil, the dumbing down of teachings is at fault. Look at the children's department in your church, do you find more time given to memory verses, or to games? Go upstairs and listen to your worship service, is it more emotion or Truth? How are we supposed to be successful in winning a lost world if we don't possess all the Truth?
The church lost so much when it replaced its hymnal. Not all contemporary music is bad, some of it is very good, but if you look closely and objectively, you will see a parallel decline in spiritual growth with a rise in contemporary Christianity. The outpouring of such has redefined the methods of preaching. I heard two sermons recently on a given topic, totally unrelated speakers. One sermon was direct and dealt with the issues and was encouraging as well, while the other told more stories than used the Bible. This is the calamity, story telling and illustrations that use the Scripture to augment them in place of the other way around.
I am convinced, that the population in American churches today if they would hear actual deep Bible based preaching it would seem as Undiscovered Truth to them, and we would have a revival on the order of Great Awakenings in the early days of America.
Whatever church you go to, pray with me that the church I attend and the one you attend will begin to really lead God's people into deeper teaching and life changing growth.
Father, we have failed, as individuals as a church. Though we may have great mission offerings, and great programs, we suffer because we have watered down the message of the Word to fit cultural norms. Please forgive us, help us to realize that we need to stand firmly and unashamedly for the whole Truth and realize the needs of the people. Thank You for washing us in your blood, of which we never will deserve, may it impact us more and more day to day. Help us now not to be lax, but to be serious about what we do, give us an Eternal perspective that might impact the temporal day. In Your gracious name, Amen.
