The American Church: 240 Years Later...

Yesterday, my wife and I stood together with hundreds of other believers and prayed. We lifted up the name of Jesus in worship. We excitedly shared the details of a man we hope to call as pastor whom we trust will carry on the tradition of preaching the Word of God boldly and without compromise. Our church sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” our national anthem and the Newsboys’ song “We Believe,” a creedal declaration of doctrine and hope. We stood, hands over heart, and pledged our allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

This was the scene all across our great country in tens of thousands of churches and its gravity should not be lost on us as we celebrate 240 years as a nation today. To Christians around the globe experiencing daily persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ, to think that we would have such religious liberty for nearly two and a half centuries is nothing short of miraculous. And I am truly grateful for the blood that has been poured out over and over again to ensure these freedoms. While we eat watermelon and potato salad, sitting poolside, donning shades and sunblock, and enjoy a rare Monday off, our soldiers won’t have that luxury today. My prayers are for their safety and their families as they remain separated for yet another gathering of friends and loved ones. Brothers and sisters, we haven’t forgotten you but we thank our great God and Savior for your daily act of love on our behalf to secure the liberties we enjoy to worship freely, gather together without reprisal and speak life and truth from the very Word of God.

But what if the tide was shifting? What if we discovered that freedom’s ring tolled now only like a distant memory? When we think of America, is she still so great in our minds and in our hearts?

Alongside ten thousand Christians gathered in an auditorium near our nation’s Capital, a pastor recently  called attention to the erosion of religious liberties for the cause of political correctness, the murder of millions of aborted children, and the social injustice that has become commonplace on newsfeeds. Then he asked everyone to stand and sing “God Bless America.” And I was appalled.

God bless America?! And why should He?

Sometimes I wonder if the church of America is truly and genuinely patriotic or are we just guilty of a nationalistic worship whereby we are covered not in the blood of Jesus but by the stars and stripes. One day when we are forced to choose whether to pledge our allegiance to the United States or instead follow Christ, my great fear is that the American “church” in its current state of spiritual bankruptcy will fall away and pursue its real idols – self and the pursuit of the ever-elusive American dream.

Some well-meaning and wonderful Christians may read the statement above begrudgingly then condemn me as an unpatriotic traitor. Others will applaud the sentiment that we desperately need revival for the church in America today. It has been more than a century since the last great revival in our history. The truth is, hardly anyone alive today has ever experienced or is able to recall a great move of God that resulted in spiritual awakening on a national scale. But in any case, as reformer John Calvin stated, “Man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.” Borrowing from that thought, Tim Keller said that our hearts are “idol-making factories.” There can be no doubt that our unparalleled freedom in the world has also resulted in an abundance of false gods creeping into the church of America. And we need that breath of revival to sweep through the country like never before. It has to first begin in me and you. Before we either praise the greatness of America or condemn its corruption, we need to turn our attention to our own churches and ministries.

On Sunday, our interim pastor and my friend presented a passage of Scripture briefly that has captured my attention. In a 2015 interview with Southern Baptist Convention president Ronnie Floyd, the OneCry team posed the question as to which of the seven churches in Revelation typify the church we find today in America. Ronnie Floyd suggested that the American church, like Ephesus before her, is guilty of abandoning her first love and has become like the lukewarm Laodicea. He is, of course, right on both counts. But after hearing Sunday’s sermon, I am convinced that we must look to Revelation 3:1-6 and the church at Sardis if we are to understand the modern American church’s course and fate.

Commanded by our resurrected and reigning King Jesus, John the Revelator and beloved disciple penned the following words to the church at Sardis:

“The One who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. 2 Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before My God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. But if you are not alert, I will come[c] like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come against you. 4 But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. 5 In the same way, the victor will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

Like Sardis, God knows the works of the church in America. At one time, we were recognized as the greatest missionary-sending force in the world. American Christians funded, planted and supported countless orphanages, schools, hospitals, churches, and other ministry centers. The impact of such benevolent action cannot be overestimated. Unfortunately, today, we may yet enjoy the reputation of being spiritually alive whilst being nothing more than a corpse. That was a harsh indictment for the church at Sardis but should remain a caution flag for US churches whose works are incomplete before God. What started well with the American dream of our forefathers has taken a dramatic turn rendering the work Christians began here unfinished. Today, churches are known for their hatred and hypocrisy far more than their loving contributions to combat social injustice and serve communities and nations in the name of Jesus. Or, on the other hand, we may be quick to lend aid to meet temporal needs but fail to share the hope of the Gospel and in so doing exchange eternal, living water for a bottle of Dasani.

Then Christ offers us a charge in verse 2 to “strengthen what remains.” There is a faithful remnant in the American church today that must carry the Sardisian banner before Christ comes against us all. So, church members, leaders, and pastors, what do we do now? Our Lord gives us three commands:

• Remember the truth you’ve heard and received – return to the Word of God, reclaim and pursue your first love, and do what you used to do that made your churches and country great.
• Keep it – Obey these truths and hold fast to them. Never let go again.
• Repent – Brokenness is what is required of you and me. We must be always prepared to confess our sin in agreement with God and His Word, and run to Jesus.

Friends, I hope it hasn’t become a tired line from me, but life is not about us – IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS! If we truly desire to see revival in the churches of America, if we want to make our nation great again in the eyes of the only One Who truly matters, then remember the truth of Scripture, obey, and repent.

Revelation 3:20 has been used for years to illustrate the Savior who stands outside the door of a lost person’s heart and beckons them to answer his knocking. But that just isn’t the context of this passage at all. Instead, the picture is of Jesus standing outside the door of a broken, corrupt, dying church and seeking to come inside to empower her members to do greater things than even Christ Himself. Will we open the door to our first love? Will we dine with Christ in loving communion and reengage the relationship with our Savior before it is utterly too late?