A recent poll conducted by the Barna Group reveals that 46% of church-going Americans claim their lives have not changed at all due to their time spent in the pews. The Barna Group is one of the most trusted organizations for statistics.
This is appalling. However, I believe that I understand why this is true.
First of all, the church has become a form of entertainment. The un-churched are not interested in entertainment. They have real entertainment. They don't need to go be entertained on Sunday, because they have football, NASCAR, TV, movies etc.
I believe that C.H. Spurgeon had it right when he said, "A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats." ~ C.H. Spurgeon
"Secondly, the church has largely turned it's back on the problems of the country and the world. Sure we may pick one or two areas we talk about here and there but we don't talk about the economy that is about to collapse, we don't talk about the Islamic infiltration of our country. We don't seem to care that villages in Niger were recently burnt, killing many Christians. Or that Christians around the world are being martyred for their faith. How about how we are sacrificing our infants on the altars of Baal and Molech? How the film industry is so filthy that the Christians should be appalled. But no, we go watch their movies, paying our money to the very people we should be denouncing. As if this is not bad enough, we export our sins to the world. No wonder Islam calls us (the USA) the whore of the world.Yet, the very fact that shariah law is creeping into the laws of this nation should make us wake up.The real tragedy is that Christians are not being prepared for what is taking place in this nation and the world. If you study history, can you see how our nation has changed? How we are becoming apostate?
What is
happening is a spiritual problem. If the church does not step up and
take action, someone else will. The church will be judged for what we
allowed to happen on our watch.
The answer is
repentance. Pure and simply, it must start with the church.
Repentance means turning away. It is not enough to says "Sorry" and go
on with the same lifestyle. It is almost impossible to tell the
church from the world. Perhaps we don't use the same swearwords, but we
dress the same, go to the same movies, use those movies inside the
church. Instead we should be like the 7 wise virgins who were preparing
and prepared for the return of the bridegroom.
I
believe that in the near future you will see a division between what
Jesus called the sheep and the goats. It is the pastor's (shepherd)
job to protect and disciple the sheep. God considers this an important
job with dire consequences for failure.
One final quote from Spurgeon:
Sin and Hell are married unless repentance proclaims the divorce." ~ C.H. Spurgeon
Repentance
is not raising your hand during an altar call (shouldn't be called
altar calls anymore) or by saying a prayer. Repentance is turning away
from sin. As was in the case of Jacob/Israel, this often involves
wrestling.Sin and Hell are married unless repentance proclaims the divorce." ~ C.H. Spurgeon
If anyone reading this needs more information on how to repent of your sins and put Jesus in charge of your life, please leave a comment with your email and I will email you with more information and attempt to answer any questions you may have. I want you to know upfront that being a Christian (Christ-like one) is not easy. It is worth it, but not easy.
Of course, if this doesn't apply to you, please disregard.
Sources:
http://www.acommonword.com/
http://apprising.org/2012/02/28/john-piper-on-rick-warrens-chrislam/
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