Does the Church Require Another Reformation? Part 4 – by Glen Iverson

As we’ve just begun 2018, many pause to consider where they’re going and what changes need to be made.  One can make changes at any time, however it’s often at the beginning of the year that we take time to pause and reflect.  We’ve looked at trends in the North American and modern church over the past 3 entries in this blog, and to sum up, these trends are a methodology for growing the ‘business’ of the church and not actually discipling and growing believers themselves.

These methodologies are primarily based on appealing to the carnal nature of mankind.  ‘Bigger is better’, ‘God wants us to be wealthy’, ‘go out and change the world by conquering the 7 mountains of power’….

Charles Spurgeon stated:

“If you are dark, and belong to the kingdom of darkness, you cannot remove the darkness. If you march with the armies of the wicked one, you cannot defeat them. I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church. Nowadays we hear Nonconformists pleading that they may do this and they may do that—things which their Puritan forefathers would rather have died at the stake than have tolerated.”

This was spoken over a century ago and I often wonder what Spurgeon, Tozer, Wilkerson and other notable theologians would think of today’s entertainment based church.  More importantly, what would Paul, James, Jude, Peter and most importantly Yeshua the Messiah think of the organized church that bears His name.

Yeshua says what He thinks of this church and while we might not like to hear it, we need to hear it:

Revelation 3:15-19  “I know what you are doing: you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other!  (16)  So, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth!  (17)  For you keep saying, ‘I am rich, I have gotten rich, I don’t need a thing!’ You don’t know that you are the one who is wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked!  (18)  My advice to you is to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich; and white clothing, so that you may be dressed and not have to be ashamed of your nakedness; and eyesalve to rub on your eyes, so that you may see.  (19)  As for me, I rebuke and discipline everyone I love; so exert yourselves, and turn from your sins!

Most of us are taught that Yeshua wants us to be “hot” meaning “on fire for Him with our faith” or “cold” meaning against Him and not a hypocrite.  Understanding ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ in this way is purely subjective.  How ‘hot’ is ‘on fire for God’ ?  Is being ‘on fire for God’ just an emotion brought up by loud music in the atmosphere at a ‘worship concert’?  Is cold then ‘not being excited at a worship concert or choosing to avoid such theatrics’?  Those definitions don’t fit what Yeshua is saying and how the church at Laodicea would understand it.   Laodicea has hotsprings which are healing and therapeutic.  They also have cold run off from the mountain which fits the description of “refreshing living water”.  Yeshua is saying that they are neither therapeutic nor refreshing.  They are useless, bacteria filled warm water that He will vomit out of His mouth.  They have no eternal point nor purpose.  Stagnant water breeds germs and disease.  This is not a description of waiting for coffee or tea to cool down before one drinks it.  It’s important to note that  Yeshua is not in the church, He is outside knocking to come in.

So now, we need to start asking some difficult questions.

What books are the leaders of the local church that we are attending reading?

Whose blogs are they reading?

What methodology are they using?

Are they allowing books, media and speakers with leanings to a prosperity gospel, New Age mysticism or social justice to be brought in to the flock?

Are they actually guarding the flock, displaying fruits of the spirit and serving the flock the way Yeshua washed the disciple’s feet?

Or

Are they building a church culture based around themselves and discrediting or vilifying anybody that questions their methods?

If we attend such a church, we might find their programs exciting, fun, encouraging and gain a sense of empowerment to ‘take on the world’.  Many churches are using this church growth methodology because it works.  Churches grow, but grow with whom?

Churches using this methodology grow with individuals that need continual excitement to keep coming back.  Is the band rocking?  Is the light show exciting?  Did the pastor encourage me with his ‘TED talk’.  These things are all pointless and more important, a distraction.  Our craving at a local assembly of believers should be to serve each other, pray for each other, and build each other up.  There should be a passion for the Word of God, not just a concert.

To look at this another way, if we’re going to eat a meal, we require nourishment.  We need to eat healthy to stay healthy.  If we stay at the snack table eating desserts, we’ll become malnourished and develop disease.  If we sit down at our meal, how much poison is acceptable to sprinkle on our meal?

Just a little bit?

What if the poison is tasty?

If we’ve been accustomed to eating poison on our chocolate cake and microwave pizza, we’re probably very unhealthy and this is what’s happening.

The poison on our meal is all of the false teaching and appeal to our carnal desire for increasing excitement.

It’s not the goal of the individual to ‘feel if the Spirit is moving’ during a worship concert.  Of course, a worship concert will be exciting and enjoyable just as any concert is exciting and enjoyable if the band we like plays our favorite songs with colored lights at 115 decibels.  Concerts and encouraging ‘life coach’ speakers are exciting.  Going to a small church with somebody’s ‘aunt Dorothy’ playing piano and singing off key followed by a pastor who is speaking the truth from the Word of God may not be exciting, but will contain truth.  The church started under persecution with no political influence meeting in small groups and serving each other.  We can’t forget this.

We’ll conclude this series next week with a look personal responsibility and what to do if your local church is heading in the wrong direction.

1. Spurgeon, C H. “How to Become Fishers of Men.” How To Become Fishers of Men, archive.spurgeon.org/sermons/1906.php.