“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?” James 3:9-11 (NIV)
Several years ago I read Dallas Willard’s book, “The Spirit of the Disciplines”, where he looks at the call to follow Jesus Christ with a total commitment of one’s being. The Bible says we are to “love the Lord your God, with your whole heart, mind and strength.(Mark 11)” It was this kind of commitment that Jesus called his followers to live out. Most importantly, Jesus gives his followers the gift of the Holy Spirit so they are enabled to follow him with this kind of life. We don’t live as Christians in our own power.
After reading the book, I wrote in the jacket: “The world does not need more Christians; it needs more disciples of Jesus Christ.”
I am even more convinced of that fact today. More research by Barna and Gallop indicate the sorry state of the church in America and among those who even call themselves “born-again.” Even an article in the “Wall Street Journal”, indicated that secularists and Muslims have little to fear from the “conservative Christian.” For example, 50 % of them (born again Christians) believe a life of good works will get them to heaven. 35% don’t believe Jesus physically rose from the dead. And on moral issues we are wish-washy as ever. 39% believe it is morally acceptable for couples to “live-together before marriage.” And 32% accept same-sex unions. We are not “slouching towards Sodom”, as Judge Bork suggested, we are sprinting full throttle.
Why? How can this be? For one, Oprah Winfrey and the morality of TV sitcoms have become the gurus of our moral framework. We have stopped thinking biblically. We have made our culture and our feelings the source of authority for truth, rather than God’s Word. Fresh water and salt water cannot flow from the same spring, once it mingles all that is left is a brackish swamp.
Secondly, we have not done a good job, generally speaking, in passing the biblical faith down to the next generation. Younger evangelical believers tend to be more “relativist” in their ethics saying things like, “That is ok for you, but I feel…” Yet, there are encouraging signs and I see them at our church, where men are wanting to be godly spiritual leaders and mothers are resisting the culture around them and a new generation coming along are not following their peers, but following Jesus. O Lord, increase their numbers!
May we see more people following Jesus and less of these “Christians” that are polled by Gallop and Barna. Then may the world take notice and take stock of what we say.
1 comment:
Amen to this big time. One thing I try to always keep in mind is that most professing Christians, at least in America as far as I know, are not truly regenerated confessing followers of Christ. It has always been so depressing for me to meet somebody who claimed to follow Christ but then totally lived a different way, the blatant unrepentant lifestyle of the stony heart. It is very sad.
If there was ever time in this present generation for the pure and bold Gospel to be presented, this is it.
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