Disillusioned with the Church™
I have had a continuously growing unease about the churches in America. Setting aside the current political climate, it seems to be increasingly difficult to find a man or woman in a pulpit or a pew who believes in, much less advocates for Jesus’ teachings.
They may pay lip service to the Sermon on the Mount, but their lives will tell you a much different story. And as much as I had become dismayed at this fact, I was excited to see that scripture already offered an answer for it.
In Matthew 23, we see Jesus returning to Jerusalem to speak to the Pharisees. Knowing He is going to his death, he provides a list of “Woes”, lamenting the behavior of the Pharisees and their self-righteousness. And nestled among the opening paragraph is an encouragement to anyone looking around and wondering what happened to the church.
It’s not that the church has suddenly gotten bad, its that the church has always been made up by those people who are following Jesus and those who aren’t.
Lets look at some examples.
Matthew 23:3 (ESV) - “so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.”
2 Peter 2:1-3 (ESV) - “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV) - “21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
In all three of these passages we can take some encouragement, Christ and Peter show us that the disillusionment of the church isn’t a new thing. We just may be waking up to it. There have always been, and will always be, those in the church who are seeking after their own power, interest, and glory.
Our answer to that isn’t to give up, but rather to continue to fight and serve God and love people.
Micah 6:8 (ESV) - “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,and to walk humbly with your God?”