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Lost In Church?
We have often heard
that the people in the world are lost without Christ. But these days,
many of us Christians are ourselves lost ~ lost in church. Lost in our
journeys with the Lord, wandering in our own wildernesses and religious
circles. The world at large is lost, and so is the church! This may seem
highly impossible, but this is exactly what Jesus said would happen in Matthew 7:21-23:
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,'
shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day,
'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name,
cast out demons in Your name,
and done many wonders in Your name?'
And then I will declare to them,
'I never knew you; depart from Me,
you who practice lawlessness!'
Looking closely at
these verses, we will find that many of these "lost" people are not just
ordinary church members sitting in the church pews every week but they
are the leaders and the ministers in the church! They are not just a
small isolated few individuals, but a large group of people! Jesus said
many would be involved! If many of these Christian leaders are lost and
going astray, many of their members and followers will be lost too. The
apostle Peter revealed this lost condition of the church in 2 Peter 2:1-2:
But there were also false prophets among the people,
even as there will be false teachers among you,
who will secretly bring in destructive heresies,
even denying the Lord Who bought them,
and bring on themselves swift destruction.
And many will follow their destructive ways,
because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
Many of them will deny
the Lord, and will be denied by the Lord Himself! They may think that
they have the spiritual gifts such as prophesying, casting out demons
and working miracles, done even in the name of Jesus, but they are
lawless in the sight of God, practicing lawlessness! What is
lawlessness? It is summed up in just one word "unloving" - not loving
God and others! Jesus again said in Matthew 24:12:
And because lawlessness will abound,
the love of many will grow cold.
The love of many
Christians will grow cold. And many will be indifferent or lukewarm
towards God and others. Many will lose their zeal and passion to seek
God and to do His will! How does our love for God or others grow cold?
The moment we embrace things of the world more than the things of God!
The moment we esteem ourselves and our interests above those of others!
The moment we start worshipping money instead of God! The moment we stop
seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness!
But know this, that in the last days
perilous times will come:
For men will be lovers of themselves,
lovers of money, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving,
slanderers, without self-control, brutal,
despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
having a form of godliness but denying its power.
And from such people turn away! (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
We are living in very
difficult times. The world climate may be in terrible crisis and
condition but much worse is the condition and crisis of human hearts.
For people will love only themselves, and their money. They will be
boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and
ungrateful. They will not consider what is holy and what is not. They
will be unloving and unforgiving. They will slander others and have no
self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray
their own friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love
pleasures rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject
the power that could make them godly. Many Christians do not have close
friends. If they do, their friends would be those they can exploit,
take advantage of, use or misuse. And people like these are numerous
among us! And we may be one of them.
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this:
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14)
Without obeying this
one law, we become lawless, and practice lawlessness! Many Christians
working inside the church and outside the church are lawless in God's
eyes! We don't have agape love. God is not impressed with our sermons,
our signs and wonders, our prophecies etc. Others look at the outside,
God looks at the inside - the heart factor!
"Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature,
because I have refused him.
For the LORD does not see as man sees;
for man looks at the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)
God looks at the heart,
but man always chooses to look somewhere else. In fact, man still
chooses to look at the outward appearances. Hollywood and Bollywood have
entered the church arenas. Many churches have become show business!
Many pastors and preachers have become entertainers and guru stars
themselves. Most music in the churches today no longer draws men to God
and God to men. The worship teams are performers, and the congregations
have become the audiences, enjoying or not enjoying what they see, hear
or feel! It is now all about how we feel and not how God will feel! Our
preferences of likes and dislikes will determine how the church services
will be conducted. In praise and worship, biblically speaking, God is
the Audience of One, and we are the worshippers! And God desires true
worshippers! Our utmost desire is to please Him and not ourselves!
Today, many people do
not wish to listen to sound and wholesome teachings. They will follow
their own desires, looking for preachers and teachers who will tell them
whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth of
God, chasing after myths and false teachings, and compromising with the
standards and values of the world.
For the time will come
when men will not put up with sound doctrine.
Instead, to suit their own desires,
they will gather around them
a great number of teachers to say
what their itching ears want to hear.
They will turn their ears away from the truth
and turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
People love to look at
other people either to admire, compare or criticize! And Christians are
no exceptions! We love the visuals, the sounds and the razzle-dazzles!
Sometimes, we secretly "worship" eloquent preachers and inspirational
teachers, admiring them for their spiritual giftings and pulpit
showmanship. We are called to worship the invisible God! But we choose
to worship the visible! We love doing church, and going through the
religious motions and activities! That's why Jesus would say that He
does not know many of us. Many of us are known in our churches and
congregations, but we may be unknown nobodies in God's eyes!
The Lord says:
"These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor Me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from Me.
Their worship of Me
is made up only of rules taught by men.
Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish." (Isaiah 29:13-14)
Many of us are far away
from God! Many of us have lost the joy of our salvation, lost our faith
in God, lost our trust in God and in man, lost our pursuit of holiness,
lost our desires to do good, lost our passions to win souls, lost our
love for God and others, and eventually we lost ourselves! Remember the
story of the Israelites! They are God's chosen people, yet many of them
strayed away from God even though God was with them 24 hours a day,
seven days a week!
And the LORD went before them
by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way,
and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light,
so as to go by day and night. (Exodus 13:21)
God called His people
stiff-necked, rebellious! They were like sheep who have gone astray,
each turning to his own way! In fact, all of the Israelites died in the
wilderness, and not one of them was left except Caleb and Joshua. Only
their children and children's children entered into the Promised Land!
That's why we must remain refreshed and renewed in our relationship with
God. God is our Father, and we are His children! We cannot afford to be
dull of hearing, having hardened hearts!
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on Him
the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)
'Go to this people and say:
"Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand;
And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them."' (Acts 28:26-27)
Judas Iscariot was with
Jesus for 3½ years. He was the perfect example of one who is lost in
church! He was personally chosen by Jesus Himself to be one of His 12
apostles! Very privileged and honored. He was in the same company with
Jesus. He ate, slept, worked and journeyed with the Lord! He was the
Lord's treasurer! Jesus entrusted him with all His finances! Judas had
heard the best sermons spoken directly out of the mouth of Jesus! He saw
the miracles, signs and wonders that Jesus did! He witnessed and
experienced divine love as Jesus reached out and touched the multitudes!
Judas also tasted the goodness of the Lord as Jesus washed his feet. He
knew what true servanthood was! But in the end, he chose otherwise. He
traded the life of a beloved Friend for 30 pieces of silver! He betrayed
Christ! That's the saddest part of the gospel story when Judas
committed suicide after all the damages were done! I believe
Jesus had forgiven him. On the cross, Christ prayed, "Father, forgive
them, for they do not know what they are doing." I believe the pronoun
"them" includes Judas. Though Jesus had forgiven him, but Judas just
couldn't forgive himself! Like Judas, will we betray the Lord? or will
we deny Him like Peter? or will we run away from knowing Him like the
other apostles?
Peter denied knowing
the Lord thrice but he came to his senses and repented. The Lord forgave
him, and reaffirmed him! Like Peter, we must know our own hearts and
spiritual conditions. The worst thing we can do is to pretend that we
are alright when we are not. The sick must see a doctor, and the lost
must find the way home! We cannot afford to go on doing the same things
week in and week out! We must turn back and return to God! Like the
prodigal son who was lost, we must realize our own wretchedness and go
back to the Father in repentance! Before God the Father, we must be
transparent. God sees and knows all things! He will forgive, He will
restore! Never let our pride and ego prevent us from approaching God!
And we may taste His amazing grace again!
Amazing grace!
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now I see.
Written on:
11 July 2007
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