Sinlessness. That is, the weaknesses that plague the contemporary church aren’t, in the end, all that different from the weaknesses that plagued the historical church. The more things change and all that, after all. It is said that one Lord’s Day a parishioner asked Martin Luther, “Brother Luther, why do you preach the same message every Lord’s day?” To which he responded, “Because every week we forget.”
I’m not prepared to say that in the western world the church is at its lowest point. I am prepared to say that it’s not in good shape, just like normal. I would also suggest that what is missing is what is usually missing- a deep, heart, mind, soul and strength grasp of this message: I am in myself a vile sinner at war with a holy, omnipotent God. Jesus came and lived a perfect life in my place, then received the wrath of God in my place. Now, because the Spirit gave me faith, I am forgiven, beloved, adopted, secure.
That message is not new. It’s not especially insightful. Nor is it complicated. It’s not appealing to those outside the kingdom. It’s not especially appealing to those inside the kingdom. It is not the fullness of the message. It is, however, the center of the message, and the most needful thing to be proclaimed, believed and lived out in the church of Jesus Christ. It is the health of the church.
Everything in the contemporary church that shouldn’t be there would be quickly driven out by this simple message. The most potent weapon against our problem of sinfulness is believing this simple message. Programs, celebrity, entertainment, worldliness, compromise, these are the things we glom on to because we are not, as we should be, convinced of our own sinfulness, persuaded of Jesus’ payment for all our sins, comforted by the sure knowledge that our heavenly Father loves us infinitely, immutably, and by name. We have feel-good, white-washed, motivational messages because we feel bad, are ignorant of ourselves and are unmotivated to get back on the world’s hamster wheel.
As we come to a deeper grasp of our need and His perfect provision we are better able to stand on the Word, for we don’t need the world’s approval. We are better equipped to walk in the way, for we know where we are going. We are better driven, for we know our calling to run to the battle. We are at peace, for we know that we rest in the Son.
What the church needs in our day is what the church has always needed and will need until He returns. We need the gospel. We need to repent and believe. We need to teach our children that their need is the same, that our grandchildren will be fed the same truth. No branding, no marketing, telling not selling. It needs sheep that demand the message and under-shepherds who proclaim the message even when the sheep demand something else.
This is the eighth installment of an ongoing series of pieces here on the nature and calling of the church. Stay tuned for more.