-The Church: Dead Or Alive?

The Church: Dead Or Alive?

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Over the past 2,000 years the Church has suffered through many periods of change, persecution, cultural differences, moral decline, party spirit, legality, lawlessness, dictatorships, and many other seemingly impossible challenges. Individual believers have had to face many changes as they moved onto unfamiliar ground because Christian principles needed to be understood and lived out in the culture and society of their day.

In the formative years, as the Church developed and as the apostles and prophets brought inspired revelation as to its doctrines and purposes, many struggled with changes from all they had learned. Most of the early disciples came from a Judaic background, where the law of Moses and the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees defined the way of life. To negate them could result in being excommunicated from the temple, cut off from family, and driven from the community.

Change
Imagine Peter’s dilemma when, as he rested on the rooftop one evening, he had a vision of a large sheet coming down from heaven on which were all sorts of animals prohibited as food by the Law because they were unclean (Acts 10:9-22). Then a voice came from heaven commanding Peter to kill and eat. This went against everything he had ever learned, and he could honestly say to the Lord that he had never eaten anything “unclean.” The Lord then told Peter not to call anything unclean that the Lord had made clean. This happened three times and Peter wondered what it all meant.

Peter didn’t have to wait long as the men, sent by the Gentile centurion Cornelius, arrived at the door while he was still pondering the strange vision. Peter needed that help from the Lord to realize that God intended salvation not only for the Jews, but also for people of every nation, creed and color. When these men asked Peter to go to Cornelius’ house, Peter was ready to go even though there was a mental struggle to accept something so different from all that was sacred to him.

Peter’s obedience moved the Church out of the strict legalistic structure of Jewish Law into a liberty that would allow the gospel to go out to all nations and so fulfill the Lord’s command to His disciples. The Church in Jerusalem called Peter to task for having violated one of their cardinal rules, but they could not reject what the Lord was doing as they heard how the Holy Spirit had come upon Cornelius and those of his household (Acts 11:15-18). The radical change in Peter’s attitude toward other ethnic groups was a liberating release from prejudice.

Persecution broke out against the early Church, and those who fled to other countries preached the Word wherever they went (Acts 8:4). The persecutions increased under Nero and succeeding Roman emperors, and many Christians had to face fear, slander, imprisonment, and even death. In spite of this, the Church grew as it faced changes and tremendous obstacles.

Confusion
With the so-called conversion of Emperor Constantine in 312 AD, a new era began. Persecutions stopped, but a new situation arose. When Constantine declared the Roman Empire to be “Christian,” many people were called Christians who had no personal relationship with the Savior. Pagan priests “became” Christian priests and this marriage of Church and State became a huge stumbling block to born-again Christians. True believers had to struggle with declining morals as pagan worship was mixed with Christian. All kinds of heresies had to be refuted and many true Christians were banished because they stood firmly for the truth of Scripture.

Then Islam became an opponent of Christianity, and Moslem hordes overran countries that had been predominately Christian. They subjugated Asia Minor, the area where the seven churches of Revelation 2-3 were situated, and Christianity in Asia Minor was almost wiped out. They also conquered Spain, reducing Christianity to a minority religion for many years. Christians were permitted to meet, but had to pay heavy taxes, and could not evangelize. As a result, many nominal Christians defected.

Why is it important to remember all this ancient history? Because it shows that even though there are great threats and extreme difficulties, the Church continues to grow and triumph! The Lord promised: “On this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of Hades shall not overcome it” (Mt. 16:18 NIV).

Confrontation
There may be cultural, sociological, and ethnic changes. There may be advances in science, industry, education and living standards. But men’s attitudes and philosophies haven’t changed. When Paul encountered the philosophers in Athens, the cutting-edge thinkers of their day, he encountered exactly the same thinking and attitudes that are prevalent today (Acts 17:16-34). The word “philosophy” in Greek simply means the “the love of, and search for wisdom.” When Paul encountered these Greeks they were always looking for something new. They wanted new experiences and new challenges; they wanted to show off their superior wisdom and knowledge. There are two main schools of philosophy mentioned in Acts 17 – the Epicureans and the Stoics – and their thinking is much the same as that of today’s secular society.

The Epicureans were basically atheistic, although they wouldn’t argue that there might be distant gods not at all interested in human behavior. They did not believe in a future life, and taught that pleasure was the ruling principle of life. With no belief in God, sin was not a problem and self-indulgence was the norm. This attitude led to immorality and licentiousness as well as a materialistic and humanistic view of society.

The attitudes and practices of the Epicureans were much the same as those of our modern-day society. Self seeking, pleasure loving, materialistic living, and the accumulation of wealth, are all part of the so-called “American Dream.” There is little thought of God, and little sense of right or wrong. The motto has become, “If it feels good, do it!”

Since the Bible and prayer were taken out of the public schools in the 1960s morality has steadily declined. And behavioral standards of present-day society have dramatically changed since these school children have graduated into the workplace. Strict discipline in the schools has been replaced with a “politically correct” carelessness that advances such causes as the homosexual agenda and abortion rights. Not only do these present-day “Epicureans” approve of sexual activity outside of marriage, but they also promote it by providing condoms and so-called “safe-sex” counseling for students.

Is it any wonder that young people are losing their sense of right and wrong and are beginning to carry guns and knives to school? No doubt this is also one reason why marriages are failing, divorces are increasing and broken homes are more the norm than stable families which were once considered the strength of a nation.

The Stoics on the other hand were the self-mastery experts. They imposed on themselves strict measures to be able to subjugate the flesh and live with austerity and self-denial. Their attitudes led to self-pride and feelings of personal accomplishment – but failure was often the cause for suicide. We see in our society today the same determination of some for self-mastery, self-determination, and success at any cost.

In religious circles we see a similar attitude in those who live by a set of legalistic rules which they seek to also impose on others. No doubt, in past centuries the stoic philosophies, which infiltrated the Church from its earliest years (Col. 2:8, 21-23), led many to begin monastic orders and live in monasteries, withdrawn from social contact with the world. This was never part of God’s plan for a growing and vibrant Church (Jn. 17:15-16).

As we remember that attitudes and human nature do not change, we can adapt Paul’s answer to the philosophers of his day to our situation today.

The Gospel On Mars Hill
Paul captured the attention of those on Mars Hill as he played upon their desire to always hear something new or different. He commended them for being “religious,” and then drew their attention to the inordinate number of altars they had nearby so that they could sacrifice and appease every god imaginable – even “The Unknown God” they may have missed and didn’t want to offend! Paul used the title of that altar to proclaim to them the true God who sent His Son to be the Savior: “What you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23).

Paul began by speaking of the Creator God who made everything. As creator, God has title to the world, lordship over everything in it, and man is only wise when subject to Him. God cannot be contained in a temple made by created beings. He is superior and greater than any man-made object, and as the author of life, is not subject to man in any way and cannot be brought down to man’s level (Acts 17:24-25).

God created man and set limits on where he can live, the times in which he lives, and the length of time he can live. God has a moral and ethical standard for living to which every person must attain in order to fellowship with Him. To do so, he must recognize the Creator God, become subject to Him, and seek to please Him on His terms, (Prov. 1:7). However, because sin came into the world, man by his own effort can never attain to God’s standard of holiness and sinless perfection.

As man becomes aware of this great distance between himself and God, caused by the sinful nature inherited from Adam, he should make an effort to seek God and reach out for Him (Acts 17:27). Man is seeking to fill the void in his life caused by the lost relationship with God. The majority who sense this void, attempt to fill it with artificial things such as wealth, fame, entertainment, drugs, alcohol and sex, to name just a few.

God has promised that if we seek Him we will find Him because He is not far from us and seeks to save the sinner (Mt. 7:7). Therefore, having been created in the image of the Creator, man must begin his search for God by coming to Him on His terms: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Lk. 19:10). To reach out to man, God sent His Son into the world to show us holiness and sinless perfection. As the only perfect man to have lived on earth, Christ died on a cross as God’s answer to man’s desire to be reconciled to God. His death as a substitute was accepted by God, and all who come to God through Jesus, accepting His free offer of Salvation, are pardoned and justified (accepted as perfect), making salvation and fellowship with God possible.

The first step toward reconciliation with God is repentance. He “commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). When we repent of our sins and accept Jesus as our Savior, He gives us new life. This is called being “born again.” (Jn. 3:1-21) This new life corresponds to the resurrection life of the Lord. Not only did He die for us, but He also rose again. His resurrection was God’s way of showing that He accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as sufficient to cover the sins of all who repent and accept the free gift of salvation. Many rejected the message Paul preached that day, just as many do today. However, some did repent, were saved and became part of the growing Church. And so it is today.

And Today?
Is the Church dead today? Absolutely not! The same gospel message is going out, people are repenting and being saved, and the Church is growing in spite of opposition everywhere and even extreme persecution in some countries. Unfortunately, there is deadness in some congregations that have fallen into the ruts of formalism, legality, and sectarianism; they “play church” rather than “live Christ.” There is also deadness in others that have become modernistic and liberal to the extent of watering down the gospel and ignoring the Word of God. But praise God, “the gates of Hades” will never overcome the true Church, which is comprised of “living stones” – Christians who walk in fellowship with the Lord (Mt. 16:18; 1 Pet. 2:5). His Church will continue to grow and be a blessing until the day the Lord Himself returns to take it home (1 Th. 4:17).

So don’t be discouraged. Stand firm for the Lord, and proclaim His message of grace and love as you live for Him and witness that the Church of God is alive and growing.

By Ian Taylor

With permission to publish by: Sam Hadley, Grace & Truth, 210 Chestnut St., Danville, IL., USA.

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