- The Church Must Remember the Focus of Our Message and Not Become Sidetracked
“Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24).
We live in difficult times. There are messages upon messages being sent out across the world, and it’s easy to lose a message amidst the cacophony of noise. We live in a time when things seem to be unravelling, when morality seems to be insignificant or non-existent. The frustration felt is real and keen.
Yet, the message of the Church must not be diluted by social agendas or ultimately insignificant things. Paul wrote the Corinthians he preached Christ crucified. That was his focus in all his ministry to the Corinthians and to the world. Why? Paul understood that all the superfluous things of the world swirling around him were secondary to the message of salvation through Christ and Christ alone. Paul was not afraid to confront sin with boldness, but it wasn’t his primary concern. He understood that a negative message is often seen as an attack on a person or people, and attacks are seldom greeted with open arms and hearts, much less open minds.
Jesus’ ministry was one of compassion, with a focus on learning to walk in right relationship with the Father and with one another. Repeatedly, Jesus reminded His listeners that He had not come to condemn the world but to save it. As a result, Jesus’ life was devoted to ministry and teaching the truth of God’s redemption. His ministry led Him to the cross, the supreme act of love, where Jesus lay down His life for us, only to pick it up again at His resurrection. The transformation of society begins with the saving of that society.
Billy Graham is a man who was consistent and compelling in his proclamation of God’s message. He came to prominence in the 50’s and preached through the tumultuous 60’s and 70’s. He could have railed against the Sexual Revolution, the Drug Culture and the various rights movements of blacks, Hispanics, women and gays. Yet, he chose not to ignore those topics, but to focus on God’s love, God’s redemption and salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. He allowed the Holy Spirit to move and never felt the need to try to save anyone. His message was simple but it was always the same. As a result of his commitment to sharing the Gospel over all other things, he is considered to be one of our greatest evangelists of the last century and is still admired in this one.
- The Church Must Trust in God, Not in Legislation
“Once, when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, ‘Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!’ Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ ‘Look, I am about to die,’ Esau said. ‘What good is my birthright to me?’ But Jacob replied, ‘Swear to me first.’ So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright” (Genesis 25:29-34).
Let’s face it. Most people are impatient. We live in a society that has focused on getting us what we want when we want it and the way we want it. We get upset with our computers when they fail to do things as quickly as we want or expect. Never mind that computers have so greatly increased our ability to do things from the days before we had them. We’ve gotten used to the speed and the accuracy and we don’t know what we would do if we suddenly had to do without them again.
Our impatience extends to many other areas of life. Sometimes, we become so impatient that we give up and go somewhere else. If the line is too long at one restaurant, we’ll drive to another one and hope the wait is shorter. If the commercials are too many and too long with the program we’re watching, we’ll channel surf until we find something else that catches our attention.
I’m afraid that the Church has become impatient with God. It seems that the Church is abandoning our message for the message of a political party, a party that comes wooing us with a soothing promise that if we’ll put them in office, they’ll pass bills that reflect our religious beliefs and practices. Never mind that our Constitution prohibits the marriage of religion and government. The party says, “Stick with us and we’ll put God back in our schools. We’ll return us to the days when people knew their place, when sin was looked down upon instead of celebrated, and when the Church was taken more seriously.”
Sadly, too many religious leaders and members of churches across the land are heeding this promise, this message, this alluring siren call. For the last 30+ years, ever since Jerry Falwell began the Moral Majority, we have been waiting for the party to fulfill its promise. And, to date, few if any of their promises have come to light.
The Church has no business getting into bed with one political party or another. When the Church begins to substitute the message of God for the message of a political party, then the message of God becomes diluted and dismissed as just another political agenda. When we join with one party or another, it necessarily requires the Church to mute its message, censor itself to fit into the party platform. We lose our moral integrity and authority when we adopt a political message over the Word of God.
Do we not realize that such a relationship borders on adultery, idolatry? We are willing to turn a blind eye to the politician’s way of life as long as he or she promises to put forth our agenda, and we never stop to think how this is harming our primary—our only—message.
When the Church seeks to bring God’s will to fruition through legislation and political action, it is as if we admitting that God is unable or unwilling to bring His will about by His own actions. The Church needs to remember that we are called to be in the world, but not of the world. We are called to the voice of the Other, not one of many voices spouting an agenda. We are called to speak the Word of Truth, not the platform of a party.
How can God bless a Church that no longer is willing to heed God’s message when it contradicts the party’s message? How can God use a Church that focuses on legislation instead of the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about change? Such a Church has ceased to be on fire for God.
“I know your deeds, that they are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).
CONCLUSION
The Church is a unique entity. It alone stands as the body of Christ in a world desperately in need of Christ. We are the salt and the light of the world, and we alone have the words of life. We have a duty to seek and to say and to do exactly and precisely the will of God. If the Church turns away from our calling, there is no other entity that can speak His words. We must stand firm, speaking truth to power, speaking challenges to a society that is lost and wandering in a wilderness of relativity and lack of moral compass. We must speak the word and we must do so with boldness and power, seasoned with salt, filled with the love and compassion of the Savior who is Head of the Church.
© 2017 Glynn Beaty