Acts 12:22 They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man."
When our family initially came to Knoxville in 1994, we encountered kudzu for
the very first time. It’s an annoying Japanese ivy that covers and practically
obliterates every tree in its path. At the height of summer, instead of seeing
beautiful oaks, elms, sycamores and fir trees at the sides of the road, all you
can view in some areas is a wilderness of kudzu. It smothers the land in a
blanket of green ivy. You literally can’t see the forest because of the kudzu.
Theological kudzu is smothering the Western Christian Church. In our scramble to
keep from declining, most mainstream denominations have elected to allow the
current trends to dictate our policies. We take on non-biblical standards and
our theology becomes fuzzy. Being nice and tolerant trumps being faithful and
committed. The path that we’re on and the journey that we’re making is given
greater significance than where we’re eternally headed. In the end, we can’t see
Christ because of the culture.
Because we’re in love with ourselves, our trends, and our culture, we falsely
believe that we speak with the authority of God. It’s a Grand Delusion and a
dangerous one that is separating more people from Christ inside the Church.
Something has gone wrong and because our theology is contaminated and our
biblical knowledge is diminishing, we are in peril of sacrificing our sacred
beliefs for the sake of appeasing society.
From what I’ve read in the New Testament, the First Christians were faced with
similar issues and yet they opposed the predominant Roman culture and were
prepared to die for Christ. They didn’t surrender to peer pressure, indulgent
lifestyles, or the cosmopolitan culture. They remained faithful to Christ, first
and foremost, no matter how unpopular it made them.
I think that it’s time for the mainstream Church to be reformed and rediscover
its true roots. If we make changes for changes sake then we will become like the
European Church – irrelevant, ineffective and no longer influential. We have to
remind ourselves that being Christian is never easy and that every generation
has to fight for the faith.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, these are turbulent times for Your Church and God’s Kingdom.
We are at a crossroads of our own making and are in danger of taking the wrong
path, which will only lead to perdition and self-destruction. Give us the
courage to come out of the worldly wilderness and re-find Your True Path. In
Your Holy Name, we fervently pray. Amen.
John Stuart traqair@aol.com
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