The Latter Day Calling

THE LATTER DAY CALLING

Lk.14: ³³ So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

³⁴ Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
³⁵ It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

As most of the organized church moves farther and farther away from Christ and his teachings the end of all things is at hand. And the allegiance of professing believers is being sorely tested. But most of the evangelical community has become so inoculated and intoxicated with a false religion they call Christianity that they see anything even close to a warning as extremism. There are many aspects of this modern version of Christianity that serve as a buffer and prevents any deep and authentic evaluation from individual believers or the church as a whole.

Professing believers have found wonderful fellowship in their local church, and while they scold their children about peer pressure they themselves have become imprisoned within the same principle. Good fellowship is defined as having people within the same demographics as you, and having some socio-economic kinship as well as having an ecclesiastical construct which appeals to your children. In general a family atmosphere is one of the most alluring factors in the average local evangelical church. And make no mistake most evangelical churches strive to build those social ties because the leadership knows that those are the ties which will grow and keep the membership.

In fact there are a legion of books that help instruct the local evangelical leadership as to how to construct that kind of family atmosphere and a sense of belonging. I have read many of those books and they place the gospel or a preaching of God’s Word as peripheral. A church can grow and build without any real gospel or call to a sacrificial discipleship. You doubt that? Pull out the Yellow Pages and there you can find many. Create some slick advertisement, friendly people, age group ministries, competent follow up to visitors, and pleasant and relevant preaching and you have the makings of a growing church. Now some of those things should be a part of every church, but when the means become an end and the gospel of Jesus Christ and a continuing challenge to sacrificially serve the Risen Christ becomes non-existent then you have a club and not a gathering of self denying followers of Jesus Christ.

But it is most difficult to extricate one’s self from the midst of one of those evangelical clubs. The initial doubt about the Biblical authenticity of your fellowship is quickly dissolved with the love and fondness you have for the people and many times the preacher. And just the thought of what it would require to leave also aids in the resistance in any change. The status quo, while admitting all churches are imperfect, is a well worn path. In fact there are many dedicated believers to whom you look up that attend your own fellowship and even entertaining the thought of leaving is an unspoken indictment against them. And besides, your children are settled and have made friends. You see, the deck is stacked against even a season of fasting and prayer to seek God’s will.

The prospect of the unknown is also a deterrent against allowing the Spirit a free reign concerning the will of God in this area. And you may be seen as judgmental and eccentric or even extreme. You have so many good relationships that may be jeopardized if you were to hold up your present ecclesiastical construct to Biblical scrutiny. In fact the Spirit may also identify things in your own spiritual walk which may require repentance.

And then there is the issue of humility. Let me share from my own personal experience. I have found true and genuine humility an incredibly elusive spiritual trait. When you have seen things that are definitely against the teachings of Jesus so clearly that you have had boldness to speak about them, then you have entered into a battlefield where humility is rarely sought. I have often spoken truth in a self righteous spirit even though what I have shared was truth. It is a great paradox which only Jesus Himself has been able to master. Speaking words of correction that indict the church leaders does not lend itself to humility. In fact it is a breeding ground for pontification and hubris.

Just peruse the discernment blogs and you can quickly find some obnoxious and self righteous rhetoric. That is to be avoided if we really want to follow Jesus. But be aware you will need to do constant sentry duty about your own motives and attitudes. This is no “I have arrived” proposition. This is a journey which when properly trod will often require repentance and will also lend itself to an experience of pain, some doubt, and some tears. It is not an easy path. But it is the path upon which He walks. If you are looking for a self affirming and easy path you must not even consider leaving the path the church is continuing to walk.

But this issue is not just about some minor or even major compromises. The issue goes much deeper than that. In fact the issue rips at the very fabric about the nature of the faith. Yes, it is Biblically plausible to suggest that the core of evangelicalism has left the faith and now overtly practices a hybrid form of Christianity which takes pagan and hedonistic principles and employs them into both its practices and doctrinal foundations. And what is left is not a compromised form of the faith but a completely different faith altogether. Now that is quite a statement is it not?

But for anyone to even consider such a statement it takes a process of the Spirit. And that process does not begin with cataloguing the sins of the church. Believe me, it begins with the Spirit holding up a mirror to your own sins. And many cannot bear such a sight and therefore retreat back into the comfort of the modern ecclesiastical forest. After all they still believe in Jesus and they still support missions. They even believe in a literal hell. So what’s the big problem? You see, only the Spirit can open a heart to see things which cannot be seen through logic and must be seen apart from any comparison within the evangelical community. These things must be seen in the Biblical abstract. And yet we are geared to see things with a comparative lens that allows for and even embraces imperfections and shortcomings. But these imperfections and shortcomings are so grievous and so profound that they not only are opposed to the teachings of Jesus, but they provide a platform for a continuing departure from His teachings that is directly affected by the descent of the surrounding culture.

These last days present a real and tangible challenge to each individual believer. There are so many compromises and easy paths available to us all that millions upon millions are walking along in a sort of religious fog and unaware that the Spirit is calling the followers of Jesus into a sacred chamber of His presence which is remarkably separate from the ecclesiastical norm. But so often words like these just lend themselves to a little thought and perhaps some quantitative consideration. In other words they elicit some fleeting thoughts but rarely any life changing commitment. The overwhelming majority of truly saved believers have their testimony rooted in days gone by and not in any real sense in the present. The changes that we experienced in those early days suffice and we do not even entertain the possibility that the same Spirit that changed us then desires to do a miraculous metamorphosis within us today as well.

Rom.12: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

² And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

If we only had John 3:16 and these two verses would that not challenge us way beyond what is being presented today? When was the last time the Spirit deeply changed your heart and your life was once again changed in an observable way? When was the last time you diligently sought the face of Christ and the power of the Spirit in order for Him to mold your heart into His? Most church members would consider those words as some kind of spiritual mumbo-jumbo. He who has ears let him hear.

Would you, could you even consider that there is so much more to the faith of Christ that is now being believed? Can you even pause for one precious moment and entertain the thought that Christ would have you alter your course? Take a moment and answer this question: Is there a burning thirst within your heart to know Him more fully? And if there is not that thirst tangible within you what are you willing to do to regain it again? Are you ready to stand before the Risen Christ?

How much of your heart belongs completely to Jesus and how much belongs to the things and cares of this present world? These are eternal issues which have been drowned out by the consuming influence of this material world. How much time is left only God knows. But perhaps you still have today. Yes there is a calling in these last days, but this may not just be the last days, but this may be the last day.