We’ve Let the World in, And It Wants to Take Over!

I was talking with someone online the other day, and they asked me what I do. I told them I was a preacher, and they, then, commented that they were from Spain and had done a study in college about how preachers and priests in America had become more psychologists and sociologists than theologians. That hit me hard! It hit me hard because it is, by and large, true. Many of us, not just preachers, but in the Church at Large are more into trends, statistics, culture, politics, and the times we’re in rather than the things of God. Too many congregations are old and stay old, or are young, and try and stay “hip” (I know I’ll be cancelled for just using that word) because they are catering to whatever crowd they want to pull in. We ARE, indeed, more about sociology and psychology than theology.

John tells us not to love the world or the things of the world. Paul tells us that in the last days men will be lovers of themselves, and seek for themselves teachers to sooth their itching ears. James says friendship with the world is enmity with God. I don’t know about you, but doesn’t that seem to fit much of the Church culture we see displayed on TV and the internet? And why? Because if we don’t preach what’s popular, we won’t draw crowds. If we don’t design a service pleasing to people, we won’t draw in more customers. We’ve turned the Lord’s Church into a product rather than a place that produces disciples and equips and trains the saints for the work of ministry! We’ve let feelings run the Church, instead of being led by the Spirit! Brothers and sisters, this ought not to be!  We’ve let the world into the Church, and now it wants to take over!

Now, for the bad and good news: we can’t fix the Church. We can’t. People have been trying, and failing for 2,000 years to do so. Every time we try, we divide the Church further because we think we ought to do this, that or the other. We’ve introduced the world and its ways, time and time again, thinking that will fix the problem. We’ve thrown money at it, we’ve tried everything we could. Yet, when we surrender completely to God, when we throw up our hands and say “you have to do this, Lord, because I can’t,” when we, like King Josiah did, study the Scriptures and discover that we’ve failed to do as the Lord commands, THAT is when He moves! When we say “yes, Lord!” instead of “what about trying <insert the latest trend here>,” the Lord moves! So let us cast down our crowns before Him. Let us remove the psychology and sociology, and get back to the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ, and the Scriptures that have been breathed out by God, and get back to serving the One who gave all to reconcile us to Himself.

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

2 Timothy 3

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

James 4:1-12

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?