The Poison of Positive Thinking

II Cor.7:1 - Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Phil.2:12 - Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
We live in an evangelical world whose mission is to make people feel good, always. In fact, every service is designed to end with an emotional crescendo that catapults the congregation out the door with a fleshly effervescence. Warnings and conviction and fear and solemnity are out of the question. Those things do not fill the pews or the collection plate. And so we have little more than some religious stroking that can be described as infectious cheerleading.
The seriousness of God’s Word has been discarded and certain pieces of the Word have been fused together to present a pleasant caricature that is void of eternal consequences. The “fire and brimstone” label is used to mock preachers who declare the entire counsel of God. And even faced with the eminent appearing of the Great God we still are playing religious games.
Rom.3:18 - There is no fear of God before their eyes.
We have all but lost any fear of God. In fact, with clever cunning and adroit translations we have changed the meaning of fear and replaced it with some sort of comfortable reverence. The church does not fear God because by and large they do not know God. People have been spoon fed a tepid from of the divine, one who fits snugly within a western lifestyle and one who demands nothing and asks nothing. In fact, the God who is presented within evangelical circles lives His life to serve us!
II Cor.5:10-11 - For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;
If you examine this portion of Scripture closely you will see that Paul is speaking to us all, but in the context of speaking primarily to believers. The terror of the Lord? That seems like it is for some medieval superstition about God, but yet here it is in the Word of God. What have we done? We’ve made God an ice cream man who desires His people to gorge themselves on all kinds of fleshly delights without any discipline or sacrifice. And God seems to be the life of the party.
Where is the call to be sober and watch? The end of all things is at hand and yet the people dance as if Christ has delayed His coming. These are serious times, and although God grants us His joy and peace, He also calls us to be very serious about the things that are eternal. Our eyes, in fact, are supposed to look at things eternal and not things temporal. But oh how the visible church has not just diluted the message, but has created another religion that bears little resemblance to what is outlined in the New Testament. Even our times of communion have been trimmed to fit our schedule.
And so we are groomed to feel good about ourselves, good about where we are spiritually, and good about God. Any negative aspects of God’s kingdom, or any consequences for disobedience or careless living have been eradicated. The entire evangelical landscape is nothing more than a religious business, constructed to keep people involved, and driven to keep a positive tone on everything. The carnival atmosphere of some services attract the carnal man, and the manipulative power of the church leadership has been honed into a fine craft. And many, many, many preachers are now millionaires with many more financially well off. The entire ecclesiastical construct smells of fallen man’s self serving motives.
II Thess.1:7-9 - And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
And can we remain tearless and carefree when confronted with such a coming scene? Let us be honest, the church by and large no longer believes such nonsense. Laughing and dancing and partying and self esteem are on the church docket. This talk of a cataclysmic event, unparalleled in its force and scope, is irrelevant in today’s western self love fest. And we allow God a seat at our table but do not recognize Him as Lord of All. When Christ comes and consumes those who have rejected the gospel, will that induce positive thinking? When the stench of billions of dead carcasses roams the earth like a thick fog, will that be uplifting?
It is of paramount importance that we present and portray our God clothed in His own attributes and glory, and not some cuddly, divine puppet who follows us around in order to shower us with more things. He must be revealed upon the scaffolding of His own revelations. Upon the first millisecond of Christ’s appearing, the games will end. It is time for those with ears to run to the Rock lest that Rock grind them to powder. Oh, you don’t like that kind of God? Well go to the evangelical church down the street. They have a god you will enjoy.