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?
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