A Horrific Revelation

A HORRIFIC REVELATION

 

 

I found this video at a blog I read HERE.

 

This documentary provides a visceral look inside a reality which should be horrific to every born again believer in Jesus Christ. This video provides an overview into what has generally happened to the western evangelical church. Somewhere in the late fifties or the early sixties the church began to be diverted from the gospel and from discipling believers and began a step by step entrance into the political arena. Now the foundation and motivating factor for such a shift was twofold.

One motivation was an unhealthy and unreasonable allegiance and love for the particular country in which its members were providentially born. America was not just a place where they could be the planting of the Lord or a place where there was a great mission field of lost sinners. This country became more than just a place on the map. The church began to manifest more than just a fondness for this nation. America became an entity that was to be loved, embraced, supported, and defended at all costs.

The second motivating factor was a magnification of some specific moral issues that the church deemed unbiblical. Now even though the overwhelming majority of the culture does not claim to be born again and therefore would be in need of a Savior, the church decided to fight this battle in the courts, and in congress, and by organizing an eclectic group of American citizens regardless of their spiritual convictions or condition. In essence, as long as people loved America and were dedicated to stand against abortion and the acceptance of gay relationships they could be a part of that movement. even if they rejected Jesus their love for America trumped that spiritual state.

Now that kind of spiritual detour had many adverse affects upon the nature, mission, and heart of the church. In fact, the movement seemed to energize the church and it soon became an obsession within the evangelical community. This obsession remains today. But as you watch that video please try and understand how easy it is to become involved in the world of politics and how difficult it is to get untangled once involved. After all, you are standing for morality, so what could be wrong with that?

Inside the church we are supposed to receive correction and guidance from God’s Word through the offices and ministry of the Holy Spirit. But outside the camp we are to live and preach the gospel and reach out to help people in Jesus’ name. Can you not see the difference? And it is exactly that difference which has been blurred and continues to poison the community of faith. "Who do men say that I am?" has given way to "Who do you say George Washington is?"

But nationalism and moralism has made us feel so good for so long, like a heroin addict we cannot imagine what we would do without them. How could we go on? They have become an accepted part of our faith. Dr. Frankenstein could not bring himself to kill his monster because he had so much invested in him. And so we as the western church have so much invested in this nation that even if shown the error of our ways we are reticent to repent. It is a vicious cycle that cannot broken without a massive move of God’s Spirit.

Yes, there are some of us who by God’s grace have begun to question these things and eventually came out and found freedom…true freedom. But we have met staunch resistance and even harshness when we have presented our testimonies. You see, nationalism is no weak sister. It is a monstrous deception which has been handed down by generations and thereby has deep roots. We know men and women that we admire who love Christ and are true patriots and therefore this must be right. Yes, one of the strengths wherewith this lives is also buttressed by others that we trust.

I was born in 1952 and I was born again in March of 1975. I lived through much of this, and I watched the entire video with a grieving heart. This post is about it. But one thing that stood out for me is that just like in politics today, Christianity and evangelicals are spoken of as entities. With an objectivity void of spiritual passion, this documentary accurately presented the facts but like most was blind to the essence of Christ.

And because the faith has become bedfellows with politics and nationalism, the church at large continues to lose what little spiritual depth it may have once had. In essence, Jesus Himself has become a doctrine, a moral leverage, a religious name, and even a good teacher. But sadly, He is no longer the Lord of Glory in His own church, which in reality is not His own anymore. There is an invisible church made up of different points of light with some being a part of a local fellowship.

But for the most part, the visible church which meets in buildings made with hands is a religious institution which energetically practices its faith without Jesus. It is tale of unimaginable woe and sadness. Aside from some who have emerged from its fog, it continues today unabated and with a redundant energy which keeps it alive. The culture continues its decline into deeper and deeper wickedness, and sinners walk without a care in the world. But the church refuses to even wonder why we have so little light and so little impact on a culture of darkness when we claim to walk with His blinding light.

We have set out tents in Babylon and pledged our allegiance to a myth. And in so doing we have been shackled while claiming to be protecting freedom. Only a dynamic and deeply uncomfortable dismantling of what we have come to accept will afford us the path back to Christ. That is no hyperbole. Instead of seeing America as Babylon we see it as little Jerusalem.That is a horrific fact.