Christian Living

---

Where Is The Church When We Need Her?
By Ronald L. Stephens


"Go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not will be condemned." Mark 16:15-16

I shook my head in amazement recently when the Supreme Court struck down a Texas sodomy law. But what was even more shocking to me was the muted voice of the church as a whole; never mind individual Christians. Where was she? And this is not the only issue the church has been missing in action on.

I believe the reason we are seeing so many atrocities, today, being committed against the moral order of the universe is because the church has been way too silent. The voice of God is not being heard in our land.

Before we can tackle this issue, we must first consider the true purpose of the church. The mission of the church is to declare, to witness, to proclaim: "Thus saith the Lord." She was placed in this world to give voice to the great, eternal truths that she has received from God. These are truths the world is blind to and can in no way know unless the church tells them.

But when the church remains silent concerning the great issues we face in our society, it begins to lose its relevancy. Like salt that loses its flavor, it may soon be good for nothing and trampled under foot (Matthew 5:13).

The tables have slowly been turned on the church. There once was a time when the church spoke and the world heard - No longer. I believe the church has lost her testimony, her voice muted.

We need an Old Testament Amos today; an army of modern-day John the Baptists who will boldly stand up and proclaim the Word of God to our lost and fallen world. But most of what we have in the church today is a bunch of feel-good prosperity peddlers, who don't know how or are afraid to preach on sin.

Don't get me wrong. I know these things have their place in the Body of Christ and need to be taught. However, there needs to be a balance: God's judgment against sin, on the one hand, and the remedy for that judgment, God's great mercy and grace, on the other.

The church, which ought to have a message of sin, righteousness, judgment and hope for the world, is not helping this demonized world. Instead it's, being ridiculed and in some places persecuted-because it is not about the Father's business as it should be.

To be quite blunt, the church has lost its moral bearings and its God-given mission. It has failed to give God's message. I am not talking about every church. There are many Bible-teaching churches across this country, which have wonderful pastors boldly standing for God. But the great denominations, by and large, have departed from the faith. As a result, moral and political corruption on all levels has come.

The church must not accept, in any measure, the world's moral code, but boldly oppose it. It must also warn of the consequences of following it. She must do this; loudly and persistently.

The Church must not allow itself to fall into the trappings of current popular thought, and most importantly, not go to the world for its message. She is not of this world, but bought with the precious blood of Christ. She is sent by God to give witness on this Earth. And she will have to give an account to Him.

A pure and unadulterated message from the church will stand in sharp contrast to the world's message. Where the true Word of God is given, the power of God has been present and the church has reversed the direction of things, exercising a cleansing effect upon society. This is missing today.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE