Notice that both the rewarded and the condemned refer to Christ as “Lord,” clearly acknowledging His divinity, but as Christ asserts in the gospel according to Luke, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) Both the ikon above and the text cited below it come from the weekly bulletin of my church, Holy Trinity, Portland, Oregon. The ikon is rustic in style, like the simple faith it represents, the simple trust in the Good Shepherd, who is the Word of God and Who said, “The sheep that belong to Me listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)
Here in America, but also in other “Christian” lands, we find ourselves living inside the ruins of a great and ancient civilisation, one which bequeathed us not only spiritual values but cultural and material benefits as well. This civilisation is patronisingly called “Judæo-Christian” and the sacred name of it is pulled out of safekeeping whenever anyone wants to press their point of view. An example of this that everyone knows, is when someone who calls himself a Christian pulls out of context a bible verse or passage to legitimize his personal opinion. This is the downside of ‘proof texting.’ That doesn't mean that every quoting of scripture is invalid; it just means that there are two ways of using the written Word of God: either you submit your ideas to what the Word declares and let your mind be formed by Christ (that is, having the ‘mind of Christ’); or you develop a personal philosophy and then go fetch bible verses that seem to bolster your thoughts, in case you want to appear to have the mind of Christ.
Back to my subject, witnessing in the land of end times christianosis…
The first group, the one you would expect to stop and listen (yes, not just rush past with a ‘praise the Lord’ or ‘God bless’), should be other Christians. Even with the low church attendance rate in Oregon and Washington, in any given crowd, at least 10% should be Christians, maybe 20% if you include Roman Catholics. (I am not analyzing this situation with a view to measuring the effectiveness of our witness.) These are people who ‘go to church’ and sit in respectful silence listening to the Word of God being read and preached (we hope!) in their churches. If they are so respectful in church, why don't they show the same respect when that same Word is being read in public? What do they really believe about the Word of God?
The second group, those who actually do stop, are some who are in fact Christians, whether or not they go to church, and some who don't know if they're Christians (and often don't care) but who are looking for the Truth. A significant portion of these are children, and the rest include such ‘types’ as street people, Goths, gays and lesbians, Latino immigrants and other marginalized folks, all of whom are mentioned by Christ (under different names, no doubt) as “sick needing a physician” and as “sinners needing a Savior.” Who are these people? Where do they come from? And why do they come near, and listen?
America has more churches than possibly any land on earth, and Portland is also richly endowed that way with churches and Christian “ministries” despite its reputation as Godless.
While we were at Pioneer Square, a Christian ministry from Alabama was doing a ‘worship’ presentation there, complete with a great band, and free handouts of food (cotton candy!) and bottled water. There was also a fellow (I don't know if he was with them) going all over the square and giving out little silver cards with an optical illusion game on one side and a gospel message on the other. We passed a group of young Goths playing with the cards and saying “Far out!” and “Ooh, wow this is weird!” Then they turned the cards over and one of them said, “It's just a gospel message.”
What kind of evangelism is that? Does Jesus walk the streets of Portland handing out toys and trinkets to the kids? So, yeah, people were sitting on the steps of the square all afternoon, listening to the music of this band. Not too many people, mind you. And who were they? Tired moms wanting to sit down for a moment with their cranky kids? Old Jesus Freaks who happened by and wanted to enjoy the music and the warm sun? People who were just plain bored and came there anyway, regardless of the music, because it wasn't as annoying as hearing someone preach, like two guys reading the gospel or the book of Revelation?
If the Son of God, the Word of the Father through whom all things were made, the Light of the world which that world cannot overcome, if He emptied Himself to assume the conditions of a slave, suffering for our sake, and dying to pay the debt of each and every one of us, on the Cross, if He went down to She‘ol to yank Adam and Eve by their wrists out of their deathly misery along with everyone else from righteous Abel to John the Baptist, and place them in paradise with Abraham and the good thief, if He rose from the dead, taking death captive, and after establishing the saints on earth as His Bride, ascended to the right hand of the Father to intercede for us, if He did all that, and we spend ourselves in entertainment and call it worship, take Bible cruises, listen to self-improvement and ‘God wants you to be prosperous’ talking books, and if there's anything left over, help the convenient needy of our choice, is it any small wonder (?) that the world which Christ came to save (not us, of course, we're His sheep!) plays with our leftovers and says, “oh, nothing special, just a gospel message!”
The good news drew crowds in the days of the Apostles. Why do we now have to run after the unsaved and shove tracts in their faces?
The preaching of John Chrysostom and Basil (the Great) drew crowds in the days of the Christian Roman Empire, no matter what the time of day or the season. Why do we try to fill our empty assembly halls with “spiritual” bread and circuses?
The signs and wonders of our Christian ancestors were changed lives, which in turn changed society. Instead, we have signs that say “Portland, you need to change!” and our followup is such things as a program of praise music!
Now, there's nothing wrong with worship and praise, except when we deceive ourselves into believing that worship and praise happens between the hours of church services or Christian concerts. In the heavenlies, the worship is unceasing, according to the will of God. And don't we pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?
What is worship in Spirit and Truth?
Where am I going with all this?
The churches are, by and large, pitifully asleep, enmeshed in the cares of the world. Why do I think this?
The churches have produced the very things they say they are against, by the refusal of most of their ministers and people to put God first in their lives. Every pierced and tattooed ‘Goth’ has both a mother and a father who, in their turn, have a mother and a father. Was the youth I often see downtown, who has images of barbed wire tattooed all across his face, born that way?
The time is close. Now, if never before, read the book of Revelation. Read it every day. It is like a “fifth gospel”. Don't try to interpret it. It's a mystery to him who seeks to open its seals, but it is revealed to him who TRUSTS the Lamb of God, the Only Worthy One, to open the seals. Just read the book, and read it aloud, and read it to others, your family, your friends, whoever will listen. It is NOT a literary relic of the apostolic age. It is NOT just a source for Orthodox liturgica. It is exactly what it says about itself. It's the only book of the bible with this blessing attached: “Happy the man who reads this prophecy, and happy those who listen to him, for the time is close.” (Revelation 1:3 JB) Read it as personally addressed to you, and the Lord will reveal to you what His instructions are for you. Will He do that the first time? Probably not, but by the tenth time you will begin to understand.
What! Do I have to read it over and over again? Yes. This is how we keep our lamps lit, we keep filling them with oil. (Matthew 25:1-13)
America has a serious case of ‘end times christianosis’.
If your church has a lot of members, if they're enrolled in lots of classes, seminars, programs and groups, if they give lavishly, how many of them have made the Word of God their home? How many are stepping out, every day, in faith to the lost, calling them ‘brother’ and acting likewise? It's hard to get the unsaved to trust us, because we have let them down. Now, we have to break through the protective walls, and show them Jesus. If we are following along behind Him, neither we nor they have anything to fear anymore.
There's no loss with Jesus.
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