Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

the church

The Church is in Trouble

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Before beginning, let me make one thing abundantly clear: the Church of Jesus Christ will never be defeated. No matter what Satan throws at her, God’s Church will weather the storm and come out victorious (Matthew 16:18). To my knowledge, no war has ever been a unanimous victory. Even on the winning side, battles and lives will be lost.

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In the same way, it may appear the Church loses some battles—even though we know God is in control of everything so even an apparent loss is useful to Him in leading His bride to victory—the Church will not lose the war, will never stay knocked down, and in the end will stand. With all that said, I submit the Church is in trouble today.

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Indulging in Entertainment

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In the last post, “The Relevance of the Church”, we discussed how entertainment has crept into our churches and dramatically changed what a service looks like. While most churches start with the goal of submitting to the Lordship of Christ and being a living demonstration of His life, over time, it is common for churches to become the sum of the people attending. They begin to reflect the whims and preferences of those who come through the doors rather than maintaining a rigorous adherence to Biblical teaching and structure.

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This means if we want to have more Christ-like churches, each of us must become more Christ-like in our lives. Don’t wish your church was better. Focus on becoming more Christ-like yourself. Our churches are obsessed with entertaining the masses because of our penchant for indulging in entertainment in our personal lives. If enough of us would take the call of Christ seriously by consuming our thoughts with Him instead of earthly pleasures and desires, our churches would once again be the light and refuge that our world needs.

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The Relevance of the Church

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Have we let entertainment cripple our lives and, by extension, the relevance of the Church? Speaking on this topic, A. W. Tozer said, “For centuries the Church stood solidly against every form of worldly entertainment, recognizing it for what it was—a device for wasting time, a refuge from the disturbing voice of conscience, a scheme to divert attention from moral accountability… She appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god Entertainment she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his powers”.

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When I was younger, I would have scoffed at such a statement, chalking it up to being old-fashioned, legalistic, and out of step with the times. I know I’m not alone in this because I believe it is precisely because of such attitudes we find ourselves with the Church we have today: weak, lacking in courage, and saturated with the ways and teachings of the world.

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A Deeper Dive into Personal Holiness

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Anyone who is paying attention will know our churches are becoming increasingly weak and ineffective. Leadership that is lacking in theological depth and understanding is certainly rampant, but perhaps the bigger problem is the lack of personal holiness among the congregation. Although it is the pastor’s job to exposit and explain the Word each time he steps behind the pulpit, pursuing Christ on a day-to-day basis is the responsibility of every attendee.

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Without such a commitment, the finest preacher or most gifted shepherd will not be able to lead a group of believers into a deeply committed relationship with Christ. Each of us bears the responsibility of seeking to know and obey our savior better. For this reason, I want to do a brief but deeper dive into personal holiness.

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A Foundation of Truth

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These days may not be the most evil the world has ever seen, but they certainly must rank as some of the most wicked in history. As the prophet Isaiah wrote centuries ago, the world is calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). The truth is under assault, and without a foundation of truth, we have no anchor. We will drift aimlessly and hopelessly into eternity.

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For years, the church would stand in the gap of evil and false teaching, but no longer. In some revolting instances, the church has become complicit in many of the lies being told by our culture. Just as disturbing is the apathy of professing Christians to what is happening around them.

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