Our compromising and at times, intentional silence, regarding the unique Person and position of Jesus Christ while in the presence of other religious expressions, including Islam! It is amazing (and repugnant) at how churches claiming to be Christian are scrambling to host special events in which Islamic reps are invited to discuss the Islamic faith. Will there be a point in all this discussion where Jesus will be extensively quoted (not an expression of opinions of clergy or laity), but what Jesus said about Himself, Who He is, what He came to do while here on earth, and how ultimately everyone, including the practitioners of Islam will stand before Him to be judged? We know the answer to that don't we? It is far easier to speak in generalized terms about "God" -- and "Christians" who are content to limit themselves to this will find that they get along very well with Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and any other "ism" that has been spawned in unregenerate human imagination in this world! Just don't mention the controversial name of Jesus, or go off the deep end and say that He is God in human form, and that He declared Himself to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but by Him! Did not this same Jesus also say something about being ashamed of Him, and how he would respond in the presence of the Father?
Our lack of "balance" in revealing to the world Who God is and how He interacts with us humans. The church too often appears to play a one stringed fiddle with the tune being "God is a God of unconditional love, and we're all His children and on the way to heaven, so we have nothing to worry about!" How has it happened that we do not present the "flip side" in being fully truthful and revealing that God also at times will manifest His deep displeasure in acts of chastisement, wrath, and devastating judgment! There is a substantial body of information in the Scriptures to more than verify this neglected truth as well as confirmation of the same in archeological discoveries over the years!
Our tolerance of what God plainly reveals to be most intolerable:
the rampant unbelief concerning the recorded miraculous acts of God in both Old and New Testaments, whether you are considering the flood at the time of Noah, or Jonah being swallowed by a great fish which God had prepared, or the virgin birth of Jesus, or His feeding of a crowd in excess of 5,000 with a few fish and loaves of bread, or His raising of Lazarus from the dead, or His own resurrection following His crucifixion. It seems to be the height of sophistication and "learning" (or is it really the lowest depths of stupidity?) to deny the supernatural and the miraculous, and still be "Christian" in faith -- it's simply a part of the "diversity" to be celebrated in today's church!
the acceptance or rejection of the authority of the holy Scriptures and the "buffet" approach to faith and responsibility matters according to one's personal whims in the name of "diversity" -- it's a "pick and choose" what seems best for you in many church circles today, with even those who claim to be "evangelical" leaning a bit here and there -- don't want to offend anybody and be accused of being "narrow" and worse of all, being "homophobic," right?
the substitution of human authority in place of divine authority in determining what is acceptable sexual activity so that what God labels as an "abomination" we humans now label as quite acceptable, good, and worthy of pressuring a whole society to accept it socially, legally, morally, and ecclesiastically whether that society wants to or not!
the many religious groups outside Christianity are all valid and acceptable due to the human determination that indeed there are "many paths to God!" Christianity is but one of these and ought not to make exclusive claims for itself, especially as based on the personal statements of Jesus Christ. One bishop in a mainline denomination went on record not so long ago that we should cease proclaiming the exclusiveness of Jesus Christ in foreign mission endeavors -- just assist the people where they are and don't impose our faith on them, blah, blah, blah!
our silence, with some few exceptions, over the mass destruction of thousands of unborn children each week -- each one was
foreknown and identified by God, and He had a special place for each of them in His divine plan -- that is, until they were violently exterminated in the name of
convenience! And as noted in another place on the Range, we were nationally outraged at the violent deaths of a few thousand on September 11, 2001, but there is
no outrage that even begins to approach the magnitude of that displayed since the attacks of September 11th over the violence that has resulted in over 64 million
unborn children destroyed as of January 2023 -- the USA version of Holocaust! To add insult to injury there are church groups, especially among the mainlines, that have official policy statements which give sanction to this practice! Go ahead, check it out -- you know, we have to support a "woman's right to choose" do we not? Isn't there a word for this kind of thing -- hypo... something or other?????
our pride and feelings of superiority in relation to other groups claiming to be Christian -- ads and promotional tactics with a Madison Avenue approach attempt to sell a particular church rather than confronting the world with the claims and call of Jesus Christ on human lives -- ooops, there I go -- mentioning what it seems is not politically correct to mention -- the name of Jesus Christ!
our tolerance for the massive desecration of the special day that is supposed to be given to worship and devotion to Almighty God and growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We can't even muster a whisper of protest over the fact that Sunday has been changed into a day of widespread commercialization, fun, partying, and games! One reason is the fact that not a few claiming to be "Christian" enthusiastically leap into the Sunday free-for-all quagmire! Consider the next Super Bowl event in the early part of 2002 -- note how many churches advertise something that ties in to the great sporting event of the year -- a number will have "Souper Bowl" Sunday, in which people are to contribute cans of soup for local food pantries, etc. And then its off to party as we get caught up in all the hype -- is that God sitting in that choice box seat as honored guest of the NFL???
our lukewarm, self-satisfied approach in the midst of a nation that is doing everything conceivable to invite the wrath and judgment of Almighty God! So long as we keep all the bills paid, invest in some mission activities, try to increase our stats a bit over the previous year, and have avoided any major problems, we're doing OK, aren't we? This is especially important in denominational connections. Ah, Laodicea resurrected today would likely say, "Welcome to the club!"
last, but by no means least -- our obvious reluctance or intentional neglect of the pursuit of holiness as the minimal standard for all human behavior and relationships! Rather we seem to be quite content with the Corinthian status of carnality and its accompanying problems rather than taking seriously God's command to be holy, because "...I the Lord your God am holy." This wretched condition is enhanced because of reluctance to be disciplined in personal pursuit of Biblical knowledge coupled with significant time spent in prayer. We just don't have the time to do that "religious stuff" -- we'll take care of that on Sunday morning when we go to church, that is, if we don't have to take care of some other pressing matter on Sunday! Aha! Gotcha!
Repentance is a constant theme resounding throughout the pages of the holy Scriptures. It has been and continues to be addressed to individuals as well as collective groups such as families, communities, churches, and entire nations.
