I am amazed, at how many professing Christians seem to have given up on God's "old paths": the gospel of Christ's free grace, His church, preaching, the sacraments, discipline, and the Word of God. There seems to be in many of these folks a sense that none of these things could ever "work" again, that they are "broken," and that other solutions must be sought, and had.
Some are resorting to the kind of quasi-"christianity" of the mega-"church" culture, (alluded to in the prior post). Others have retreated to their families, and to homeschooling* (as an ultimate answer). Many others have seemingly decided that the only possible hope for our fouled-up world is the second coming of Christ. (Of course, this *is* a "blessed" and great hope, as per Titus 2:13. But God never intended this to be the church's "working" hope. In other words, the Christian life is not to be spent solely waiting for ultimate redemption.)
When people see the "fracturing" of the visible church, the scandals in the Roman church, and the absurdities in the mainline protestant churches--they just plain get discouraged. The devil then easily turns this disheartenment into despair, (and really, at base, unbelief).
So, is it really time to give up? Is the day of Christ, the gospel, the church, hope, revival, and reformation past? Should we abandon all these blessings?
Clearly, the answer is, "No." Even if there was NO reason to believe that God would do something great in the world, resignation and retreat would still not be the proper response.
God's faithful people must continue to believe that God's word really IS true; and that if He says that the "gates of hades" cannot prevail against His church--that He sincerely means it, (cf. Matt. 16:18).
Don't give up. Remain faithful. God may yet surprise you.
* My several reference to homeschooling in these posts should not be misunderstood. I am not referring to the great numbers of godly, reasonable, rational, and fair-minded people who choose to homeschool. My references are to what I call fanatical homeschoolers, those who practically turn the practice into a religion.
The Forum for Ecclesiocentricity is designed to educate Christians and non-Christians alike to understand the Biblical teaching concerning the Church (the "Puritan" church in particular), with regard to its principal role on the earth. When this is achieved, it is hoped that the Church would then be in a better position to convey Christ's redemptive virtues to the civil government (state), and the family. (You may email me at: markjhenninger@gmail.com)
