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