In a world that is moving rapidly towards the final conflict, where are you? Do you want to join the battle for the souls of the lost? You may be wondering, “How can I get more involved to achieve a better world?” Everyone wants a better world in some way. Even collectivists like Marxists, Nazis, socialists, humanists, and elitists want a world that at least changes in some way. Please note that all of the above collectivist ideologies are religious in nature. Any deeply held belief, belief system, or core values forms a ‘religion’.
It seems that there are at least three paths from which to launch a war to change the world. These paths are social, political, and spiritual. While Christians are free to participate in all three areas, they are NOT free to make the focus of the New Testament Church established by Jesus anything except the salvation of the lost and the discipleship of new converts.
Social change occurs in many ways. One way that seems to be very effective is simply to bring together a group of people who oppose or favor certain actions. That gradually makes certain behaviors or actions unacceptable or desirable. If you do not accept your idea of the socially acceptable, you are classified as old-fashioned, intolerant, or ignorant. Those who seek particular social change may then have a reason to feel superior to those who refuse to implement their ideas of correct social behavior. They are at the forefront of change. Those who do not get on board are considered inferior to the more evolved consciousness of the pioneers and leaders of the modernist movements. Right now I see the heartbreaking stigma attached to Christianity. Christianity fails the test of acceptability through diversity by proclaiming a single path to heaven through Jesus. But many times, those who find Christianity repulsive, old-fashioned, and divisive, have no idea what Christianity really means. They just know that being a Christian is no longer cool. They reject the teachings of Christ on the basis of being socially acceptable. It could be said that the god of many people is simply to be accepted by their peers. Unfortunately, there are Christian churches that have sold themselves completely to a social reform gospel. They want the numbers to go up on Sunday morning. That is the central measure of your success. They don’t even know that there really are benefits to lives that conform to the example of Christ.
Political change is much easier after social change. When there are enough people in society who have changed the pattern of their thinking, the votes are there to enact social changes in the law. Once a politician becomes known, it is easier to re-elect him. Legislation is passed with small clauses that have nothing to do with current legislation, or that subtly but dramatically change the meaning of the legislation. Many politicians seem to have an attitude of superiority. It is true that in some cases politicians actually have more information than is available to the general public. But many times, they think that once elected, they have suddenly developed the ability to understand what is best for the population that elected them. At this time there are many politicians who concentrate all their political power in legislating Christianity and Christians in a silent group of people who can only meet in secret. Unfortunately, again, there are Christian churches that have sold out completely to change the world through political manipulation rather than through the changing power of Jesus Christ.
And then there is the spiritual approach to changing the world. This is the only approach that will have a lasting effect on the world we live in. Spiritual change occurs in at least three stages.
First, the individual must be born again. That means the old way – through Jesus Christ. When someone is born again, a new nature is born in their heart. That starts the ‘war’ between the new nature and the old nature. Perseverance in the study of the Bible and the willingness to change will bring an understanding heart in the new believer.
Second, the new believer must become a disciple of Christ. That means he or she must progress beyond being a baby Christian and move on to become someone who is knowledgeable about the teaching of the entire Bible. Then the believer is supposed to change his behavior to become more like Christ. That means ‘applying the teaching of the Bible to personal action’.
Third, the informed Christian must spread the good news of Jesus Christ and make disciples of new converts.
It is with a broken heart that I say ‘SOMETHING IS NOT WORKING WELL’. People who claim to have been Christians for the last twenty-five or fifty years are still Christian babies. They don’t know anything about the Bible. They have nothing to do with the history of the church. They know nothing except that they need a new outfit for Easter Sunday. And the most passionate prayer is, “Please don’t let Christmas Day fall on Sunday, because you know I couldn’t go to church that day!”
How is it possible that the Christians who flocked to see the movie “The Passion of the Christ” swallow blatant heresies like those featured in “The Da Vinci Code” and the “Gospel of Judas”? I am not referring to the movie “Passion”. But perhaps many of those who came to see him were looking for that ‘superficial feel-good thrill’ that seems to be defining Christianity. After all, if you attended such a movie and cried openly for all the other viewers to see, weren’t you openly showing your faith? Boy, won’t such brave actions give you a great reward in heaven? The same thing happens in church every Sunday. People expect services; their heads listen; some superficial emotion can even provoke some tears; BUT THERE IS NO REAL CHANGE IN HOW THEY LIVE THEIR LIVES! They still have no problem breaking the commandments. It’s okay to lie. (God will understand) Jealousy is okay too. Adultery is okay if you ‘really love someone’. At least some forms of murder are acceptable, such as abortion and euthanasia. And some ‘petty theft’ is definitely acceptable. Perhaps if they loved God with all their heart, they would have a little more difficulty breaking the rest of the commandments. They certainly do not think of ‘earnestly contending for the faith that was once delivered to the saints’ (Jude – verse 3). Some of these people might think they are willing to die for their faith, but in truth their weak faith is just what It makes them feel good. They have heard of God’s mercy, but have not followed his teachings.
In truth, none of us can really bring about a real change in the heart of an individual. We can only start with ourselves. For the true convert to true faith in Jesus Christ, there must be a hunger for more about Jesus. Like growing babies who eventually want solid foods, the new believer must move beyond what he can learn in church services to independent study of the Bible. (For this reason, churches need a long list of recommended reading material for new Christians.) I know of a woman who found it easier to feed her baby only milk. The baby grew up and seemed fine. And the baby who may have learned to eat at a young age eventually just wanted milk. She refused to eat solid food. Eventually the boy became seriously ill. It was found that she was so anemic that a blood transfusion was necessary to save her life. So it is with Christians. A new believer needs milk, but ‘solid food’ is needed as soon as possible.
Why do we have more Christians today who are ignorant in the faith than in past generations? Deviating from the practice of using ONLY SCRIPTURE (Sola Scriptura) as a legitimate means of spreading the gospel (and making disciples of new converts) is destroying the foundations of faith. This is not a negative comment on the use of biblical comments. It is a negative comment on the absolute rubbish and nonsense that is used to get more attendance at church services. Here is an example. I know of a church that bills itself as The Cowboy Christian Church, where a Christian can be a cowboy, and a cowboy can be a Christian. People can dress like cowboys on Sundays and ride horses to church. Well, whoop-ti-do! This ‘church’ thinks it is reaching an elusive group of ‘good old folks’ who are not comfortable in a traditional church setting. And then there are the churches that have a ‘traditional service’ for the older generation, and then a ‘non-traditional’ service for the younger, more modern group. For children and teenagers there are sermons on the relevance of Harry Potter in everyday life. The church changes both the music and the message for different age groups. Does the Bible advocate more than one gospel? Do you allow age separation? Isn’t there one faith for everyone? How should the one gospel be presented? Here’s an idea: how about a simple presentation of the TRUTH? It doesn’t have to be fancy. Preachers, teachers, and believers are supposed to speak the truth with humility and grace. We don’t have to ‘imagine’ it. Jesus made his message very clear.
Eternal life is in Jesus Christ. John 3:16
No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. John 14: 6
All believers are supposed to stop conforming to this world and conforming to the image of Jesus Christ. (Romans 12: 2)
For Christians to begin to get serious about conforming to the image of Christ is the real key to social, political, and spiritual change. The Christian job description is NOT to be like the world to bring in believers, but to be like Christ. And I can tell you plainly and positively that any church growth brought about by changing the church to fit the world IS NOT REAL CHURCH GROWTH !!! All you get is a group of wolves in sheep’s clothing pretending to be Christians. Sometimes false believers are so good that they actually fool themselves for a while. If the church is blessed with real converts, they will soon be eaten alive by the church’s false believers. Nothing good can come out of any church growth or evangelism plan that gets out of ‘sola scriptura’ in favor of introducing worldly practices into the church.
So, I ask you again (and also me): “In what battle are you called to fight?” If you are a Christian, the first battle you MUST fight is the battle within yourself to conform to the image of Christ. This is a battle that must be fought every day until we see Jesus.
Winning the battle continues with 2 Timothy 2:15. “Study to show yourself approved of God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, who correctly divides the word of truth.
The next key is John 15:12. “This is my commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you.”
Get out there and tell others about Jesus. What they do with the gospel is the free choice of anyone who hears it. But for any unbeliever to make a correct decision, they must first hear the truth! Remember: the real battle is not a battle for increased attendance in a church building. The final measure of the battles won will be the number of souls actually saved, and the number of those who actually change their lives to become more like Christ.
Thanks for reading my article.
God bless you and have a nice day.