THE MARGINALIZATION AND REBIRTH OF THE CHURCH

What is happening to the Church? The Church had been the light and the conscience of society. Today, few are listening to it. Why not? Generally speaking, when society becomes more affluent, it becomes focused on its pleasures and fulfillment. With this orientation, truth is experienced as a ball and chain, as a disapproving parent.

According to Indian Scholar Vishal Mangalwadi, the moral decay in England had become so advanced that:

• For three decades, magistrates, squires, and clergy turned a blind eye to the continual drunken and brutal attacks by mobs and gangs on [John] Wesley and his supporters. Wesley endured physical assault with missiles of various kinds. Frequently bulls would be driven into the midst of the congregations or musical instruments blared to drown out the preacher’s voice. Time after time, the Wesleys and Whitefield narrowly escaped death, while several of their fellow itinerant preachers were attacked and their homes set on fire. Hundreds of anti-revival publications appeared, as did regular, inaccurate, and scurrilous newspaper reports and articles. And the most virulent attacks, not surprisingly, came from the priests, who referred to Wesley as “that Methodist,” “that enthusiast,” “that mystery of iniquity” [anti-Christ], “a diabolical seducer, and imposter and fanatic.” (The Book that Made your World)

Preaching the Bible puts us out-of-step with our culture and sometimes even with our church, especially when society gives itself over to pleasure seeking. However, there are also other reasons for the marginalization of the Church. Sometimes, it’s a matter of the message we preach. In some cases, it is an unbalanced but Biblical message.  

There has always been the danger to swing to either the extreme of legalism (the undo emphasis upon our responsibilities) or to antinomianism (the emphasis upon God’s grace at the expense of our Biblically mandated responsibilities).

Instead, it was a message of grace and obedience to the grace, which had propelled America forward. The successes of America had become such a sensation to much of Europe that Alexis de Tocqueville spent several years in America to investigate the source of its success:

• I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors...in her fertile fields and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world commerce; in her public school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless Constitution. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great. (Democracy in America, 1835)

Is our preaching still charged with the “flame of righteousness?” I think not! Instead, the seeker-sensitive mega-churches have found that grace sells in a world of self-indulgence, and it should. It is with grace that human responsibility must begin. God reminded Israel of His grace and mercy before He delivered to them the Ten Commandments:

·       And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:1-2 ESV)

The rationale for following the Law had to be clear before the Law would be received. The fear of God had to be based on the foundation of the mercy of God:

·       But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. (Psalm 130:4)

If God did not forgive, there would be no reason to fear and follow Him. However, following Him is a must. It is a message that permeates the entire Bible (John 14:21-24; John 15:7-14; 1 John 5:2-3; Matthew 6:33). We can even argue that these two concepts are inseparable. To trust God is to obey Him and to do what He tells us to do.

Therefore, our churches have to be ignited with the “flame of righteousness,” a light that cannot be ignored. However, a flame requires fuel – a sincere confession of sins, repentance, and the assurance of God’s love and forgiveness. Contrition along with prayer also fuel the flame of revival.

What happens when the Church returns to its God and His Word? Here’s how one person described the impact of the revival in Wales (1904):

• Judges were presented with white gloves: they had no cases to try. No rapes, no robberies, no murders, no burglaries, no embezzlements, nothing. The District Consuls held emergency meetings to discuss what to do with the police, now that they were unemployed. Drunkenness was cut in half. The illegitimate birth rate dropped 44 percent in two counties within a year of the beginning of the revival. (The Rebirth of America, The Arthur S, DeMoss Foundation, 64)