We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know.
- W. H. Auden
Church is more verb than noun. Biblically, the concept of the Church is far more concerned with the way Christians live rather than where they attend, songs they sing, or who they may fellowship with.
Christ's promise to be particularly present whenever two or more are gathered in His name suggest a quorum for conducting Kingdom business is about the quality, rather than quantity, of a gathering of believers. The question then becomes what service we intend to offer God in light of the overwhelming privilege and responsibility inherent in calling ourselves Christians.
In a myriad of ways physical existence mirrors the spiritual. Just as earthly life is both an event and process, so it is for those who are "born from above." From the moment of conception there are many similarities to being born again by the Spirit. Among them is progressing into a future filled with possibility and challenge.
Newborns are totally dependent on others. Over time children begin to share responsibility for their well being. Theoretically, through successive stages of life we mature into the freedoms and consequences of adulthood. In reality, a large percentage of the population fail to grow into promise life held for them at birth. Accidents and disease, poverty and violence can maim and even kill. Psychological and emotional difficulties and addictions can stunt and stymie growth. Deception and temptation can hinder and halt, turning a bright future dim, or into no future at all.
So too in the spiritual realm. What starts as an event becomes a journey. Chances to grow present themselves, providing occasions for developing maturity. Depending on the Biblical veracity of the story we tell ourselves, many miss that which is most vital. Crucial aspects of the faith gone undetected and ignored amidst the cares and pleasures of worldly life. Many opportunities for genuine salvation and radical discipleship are lost, fumbled by neglect and failure. Others are reversed by sin, retarding and even regressing our spiritual sensitivity. Hundreds of millions, prematurely assuming salvation, substitute presumption for faith. Sometimes to the point of spiritual profanity that can lead to death.
Happily a percentage of believers take advantage of some of the opportunities for spiritual growth life affords. Yet judging by the deterioration of Christian lifestyles and the culture in which we live, few of us are laying hold of all that Biblical Christianity has to offer.
Churchianity vs. Christianity
The Church functions as the obstetrics and nursery, school and society, bootcamp and army of the Kingdom of God. Knowing this, the Enemy of our souls continually seeks to resist and deceive. Having corrupted a third of Heaven's holy angels, it should come as no surprise that throughout Scripture Satan has continually led God's people astray. In the Gospel of John, Jesus give's the Devil his due when explaining why the Jews who believed in Him one minute were seeking to stone Him to death the next:
- "Jesus said to the people who believed in him, 'You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' 'But we are descendants of Abraham,' they said. 'We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?' Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 37 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.' 'Our father is Abraham!' they declared. 'No,' Jesus replied, 'for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. No, you are imitating your real father.' They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.' Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.” John 8:31-47
While we face an awful future Armageddon, at present the Enemy primarily assails Christianity through worldliness, gross sin and doctrinal error. The "father of lies" Jesus warned the Jews of has filled the world with them. So much so that tragically, even much of the church has been seduced.
Subtle and not, challenges to Christianity abound. While woefully one-sided, the Church is at war. From ubiquitous levels of demonically inspired temptation and deception, to devilish apathy and inverted morality. Both inside and outside the camp. Not to mention current and growing global discrimination and censorship, persecution and martyrdom.
All concerns greatly exacerbated in 2020 as Christian sanctuaries were shuttered worldwide. For the first time in millennia.
COVID-19 Easter and Pentecost 2020 came and went as with church doors fleeing to online services. Sermons before, during and after continued to be status quo and seeker friendly. Many minored on the topic of change, yet remained mired along traditional lines. Most justified previous positions, with little or no questioning regarding the problem of powerlessness made obvious by C-19. Few, if any, offered deep dives into such crucial topics as worldliness and entitlement, brokenness and repentance or sanctification and unanswered prayer. Passages like 2 Chronicles 7:14 were given lip service at best. James 4's Prayer of Anguish was ignored entirely. Here and there, the importance of Pentecost was raised without doing the subject justice. Much less pinpointing the glaring global need for a new Pentecost of our own. If and when talk of a Sacred Assembly arose, there was little interest in even discussing prerequisite pre-revival repentance.
In regards to healing the sick or the importance of power evangelism and discipleship, there were no mentions of our fall from grace. No church conclaves were convened to address the matter. No team tasked to recover the gifts of the Spirit.
What could and should have been our finest hour, was largely our darkest.
A devilish victory, predominately occasioned by the gross mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, instituting nearly instantaneous panic and thereby global control over economies and institutions. Providing strong evidence, in and of itself, of the emergence of a new sociopolitical era. Circumstances advancing an ever increasing number of serious threats. Including creating a culture of hundreds of millions of distressed and/or displaced individuals and families, businesses and organizations. Not to mention billions of dazed and confused spiritual refugees.
With more on the way.
During this unprecedented international campaign against global societies, in the U.S. such misinformation often went hand and hand with support of BLM rioting and looting, violence and murder. Domestic terrorism on a national scale sponsored by powerful liberals within government, media and business. Power brokers aiming the gun and pulling the trigger on American society during a flawlessly manufactured low point.
Never in recent history have the spiritual and societal battle lines been drawn so clearly. Even the genocide of abortion is largely unseen. More a religious and moral issue than the publicly emboldened and highly praised BLM agenda of destabilization and destruction. An unprecedented campaign of terror supplemented with the tearing down of monuments, while bestowing martyrdom and sainthood on felons.
A year or more of BLM insurrection received global support from the new and improved iron triangle of liberal politics, mass media and international corporations.
Such challenges test our spiritual and social comprehension and resolve. Providing a strong catalyst for individuals and societies, churches and denominations, to move towards genuine repentance and spurring us on “to love and good deeds.”
Or, more often that not, unreasonable justification of the status quo. If not the wholesale embrace of society’s disingenuous and/or demonic thinking:
- “But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons, [misled] by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared as with a branding iron [leaving them incapable of ethical functioning].” 1 Timothy 4:1-2 AMP
Such exacting standards, with no less than Heaven and Hell at stake, provide compelling evidence of an examination with everlasting consequence.
Like many final exams, Scripture explains eternity’s test has several components. When it comes to salvation, Jesus and His apostles placed their greatest emphasis on the merits of Christ’s costly atonement expressed through living faith. The only two times Jesus is directly asked how to get to Heaven, the Good Samaritan and the Rich Young Ruler, He explains the best way to love God is by caring for the poor and needy. The same holds true in regards to the Sheep and Goats, as well as the Rich Man and Lazarus, which provides the only Biblically recorded conversation between humans in the afterlife!
The working of Satan's campaign of deception within modern Christianity is reflected in many passages of the New Testament, including the resurrected and glorified Christ's dire warning leveled against the Church of Laodicea:
- “Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God’s Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God’s creation, says: “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless. “Here’s what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that’s been through the refiner’s fire. Then you’ll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You’ve gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see. The people I love, I call to account—prod and correct and guide so that they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God! Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That’s my gift to the conquerors! Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.” Revelation 3:14-22 MSG
- Might this passage be a warning echoing down through the millennia regarding the spiritual dangers of riches, dangers Jesus repeatedly emphasizes in His conversation with the Rich Young Ruler and Rich Man and Lazarus?
- Further, might these verses be prophetic in the sense of recognizing that the last church age would take for granted and over indulge in unprecedented levels of wealth and ease afforded by God through the rise of technology?
- “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 3:21-22 NIV
1. Self deception is far more difficult to overcome than one might think.
2. This last of the seven churches is a type of the final church age, thus Laodiceans will have to pass the final exam by surviving the Great Tribulation period. Note: This is yet another reason for Churchianity to immediately come to it’s senses, plunging itself honestly and accurately into every form of Christian discipline and sacrament. The Scripture, including such notables as Jesus, Paul and John clearly teach the Rapture takes place Mid-Tribulation after the Antichrist and Mark of the Beast is revealed.
Recorded for the benefit of Christendom throughout history, Christ’s judgment of His churches has particular merit and meaning for global Christianity today. Never before has a church age been nearer the Great Tribulation period. Yet given epidemic levels of me-ism and disobedience, prayerlessness and Biblical illiteracy, modern Christianity represents the least prepared off all believers to suffer the rigors of such testing. Particularly troubling is Churchianity’s predilection for the presumptuously inaccurate “Pre-Tribulation Rapture.” Rather than study and teach the Mid-Tribulation Rapture timeline revealed by Jesus, Paul and John, it’s been necessary to concoct a previously unknown “secret rapture” to fit the modern heresy of unconditional love and acceptance in regards to salvation and sanctification, discipleship and eternal security.
Being a Christian
According to reliable sources the world "Christian" originally denoted an extreme adherence to all Biblical teachings, as well as to the kind of lifestyle exemplified by Christ. Wikipedia's etymology of the word accurately reflects prevailing beliefs:
Etymology: The word comes from Greek Χριστιανός (christianos) which being translated means "follower of Christ." It comes from Χριστός (christos) meaning "the anointed one",[3] with an adjectival ending borrowed from Latin to denote adhering to, or even belonging to, as in slave ownership.[4] In the (Greek) Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ, messiah), meaning "[one who is] anointed."[5]
While the times and season in which we live have certainly changed, God's standards for Christians remain the same. Given the close association with "Christ" or the Anointed One, from God's point of view it's no small thing to identify oneself as a Christian. Sadly the term has lost much of sanctity throughout modern society. Still, before distinguishing ourselves with such an honorary title, we do well to reflected on scripture's admonitions to count the cost of doing so:
- "Then he said to the crowd, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.'" Luke 9:23-24
- “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow. You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!" Matthew 5:38-44
- “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:19-24
- "Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.'" Luke 14:25-27
- "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:1-2
- "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." Philippians 2:5-13
Prophetic Christians
Jesus once lamented, "many are called but few are chosen." Like most scriptures, this may be true on a variety of levels. Without doubt, one obvious meaning is certain, "Many are called and few are chosen" because too few choose to answer His call. Given today's popular easy believism and corresponding levels of unprecedented sin within the Church community, there's a tremendous need for what might be called Prophetic Christians.
Prophetic Christians are serious Bible students and intercessors, believers who seek God in faith confident that He's said what He means and means what He's said. They're persuaded God is "the same yesterday, today and forever." Possessed of deep and abiding repentance, they labor for revival in hope and fear of God. Understanding "the love and terror of the Lord" they endeavor to "persuade men" to choose life rather than death. Knowing they too are sinners, they treat others as they would be treated: firm, fair, factual and friendly. They compel the lost, including apathetic and disobedient Christians within Churchianity, to come into the Kingdom by first speaking the truth in love. Should compassion fail, they spend themselves and their lives pulling lost humanity from "the fire."
Like the Old Testament tribe of Issachar, Prophetic Christians "understand the signs of the times and know the best course for God's people to take." Understanding the role of brokenness and contrition they're aquatinted with the Bible's prophetic advice for such a day as this. Discerning men and women of action, they understand God is and that He's a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Like soldiers, farmers and athletes they know investing an hour or two a week in the Kingdom is woefully inadequate. Genuine Christians invest that much and more daily, growing in "the knowledge and admonition of the Lord." Not strangers to His discipline, they nonetheless relentlessly pursue Him, persuaded as was Peter that only Christ has "the words of life." Facing up to our precarious and deteriorating spiritual situation, they hope against hope as they continually remind God He has "no pleasure in the death of the wicked" and is "not willing that any should perish" but that "all should come to the knowledge of truth, repentance and salvation."
Confident in the lovingkindness and mercy of God, Prophetic Christians stand up for Christ, refusing to run from the difficult challenges facing society today. They're the first to admit the need to tackle problems most ignore, from social justice issues like abortion and poverty to spiritual concerns like the apparent silence and distance of God. On behalf of believers and unbelievers alike they grapple with seemingly impossible issues. As activists and intercessors they admit personal sin and society's.
Answering the call to daily be the Church, true Christians are dedicated to experiencing clear and convincing answers to prayer. Ever mindful of "who can pray so God will hear" they are students of Scripture's conditions for receiving God's grace, including the Bible's 6,400 commands and 1,456 "ifs". Desperate to see more of God's presence and power, provision and protection they nevertheless lay hold of the promises of God. True believers face the fact that Churchianity's worldliness and gross sin has largely aborted the power of prayer. Yet, Like Mary and the Samaritan mother of the possessed daughter, they refuse to take "no" for an answer. Such Christians daily practice pre-revival repentance, calling on God to send the Heavenly fire of a New Pentecost rather than that of the judgment we deserve. Wise and dedicated intercessors, they're diligent in personal prayer and invest heavily in waiting of God. If need be to the point of wrestling God Himself, entering the crucible of James 4's prayer of anguish in Biblical hope and pursuit of the blessing and deliverance only our faithful Creator and Savior can bestow.
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