We’ve been reading it in the headlines for decades, “The church is in crisis,” or “The crisis facing the church today,” or “Christianity in decline.” These are simple and general headlines, but just search the phrase in any search engine and you will receive an immense number of results confirming the statement.

You will read about how the churches which refuse to adapt to the culture are in sharp decline. You will read about how the church’s refusal to accept practicing homosexuals into its membership is hateful and prejudice. You will read about how churches excommunicate members who continuously disobey the Bible’s teachings and intentionally sin is said to be intolerant and unloving. You will read about how truth and doctrine must change for the church to be successful. But let me tell you, it’s not the church that’s in crisis; it’s the world.

An important distinction exists: what do I mean by the world? In context with biblical usage in both Hebrew and Greek in the Old and New Testament such as Psalm 49:1 and 1 John 3:3, the world refers to, “this present world in contrast, with a focus as a temporary thing,” (Swanson, 1997) and, “the system of practices and standards associated with secular society” (Louw & Nida, 1996). This secular world system is distinct from both Christians and Christianity.

What do I mean by the world is in crisis?

The world has no identity. It doesn’t know what it wants, but it knows it wants it. There is a deep longing in all people to have confidence in themselves and a firm grasp on life. Augustine of Hippo, an early church father and prominent philosopher famously said, “Thou awakest us to delight in Thy praise; for Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, until it repose in Thee (Augustine of Hippo, 1996). More modern translations say it like this, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

However, in the world system, this desire for identity manifests itself in numerous destructive capacities. Some of the more obvious manifestations may include social media addiction, shallow relationships, or codependency (Jacobson, 2014). In contrast to obvious manifestations, it’s the more insidious coping mechanisms or desire to find an identity which have led the world to believe the church is in crisis.

Why? What has the world done?

Do nearly any generic study on the beliefs of the people around you, and you will hear them spout a variety of beliefs and belief systems. Whether it’s Christianity, Islam, New Age philosophy, or any combination of any existing belief systems (or non-existent belief systems), very few, if any, of the interviewees will hold logically consistent beliefs. This is often summed up in the idea the truth is different for each person.

This philosophy or philosophical system saw a revival, particularly in the United States in response to the Enlightenment, which led to Modernism, which led to Post-Modernism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, the idea of relative truth is not a new concept. One of the first major relativist philosophers was Protagoras who lived circa 490 – 420 BCE (Oregon State University, n.d.). We are now only witnessing the evolution of philosophy over time. As a result, both secular systems and people who are a part of it adapt varying, even conflicting points of view (research cognitive dissonance theory), and this has made its way into the church.

The Bible is Clear

For the sake of brevity, I’ll say it like this: the Bible is clear that it is inerrant, infallible, sufficient for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (Ps 19:7; 2 Sa 22:31; 2 Ti 3:16). Isaiah says it beautifully when he writes, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8, ESV). Jesus himself warns us saying,

“Do not think that I have to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

MATTHEW 5:17-20, ESV

These verses talk about the unchanging character of God, His requirements, and His teachings. More-so, these verses specifically warn against relaxing (or requiring more) than God requires. The expectation is that it remains the same since, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8). The Bible describes the household of God, the church of the living God, as the pillar and buttress of the truth (1 Ti 3:15). The truth referred to is the Word of God – the Bible itself. Thus, the church is to teach and uphold the Bible as the ultimate authority because it is the revealed knowledge and will of God to man.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Isaiah 40:8, ESV

There are three marks of a true church:

• The preaching of a rightly understood doctrine of the law and the gospel (John 8:31, 47; 14:23; Gal. 1:8-9; 2 Thess. 2:15; 2 Tim. 3:16-4:4; 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 9-11)
• The right administration of the sacraments (1 Cor. 10:14-17, 21; 11:23-30); and
• Church discipline (Matthew 18:17; Acts 20:28-31a; Rom. 16:17-18a; 1 Cor. 5:1-5, 13; 14:33, 40; Gal. 6:1; Eph. 5:6, 11; 2 Thess. 3:14-15; 1 Tim. 1:20; 5:20; Titus 1:10-11; 3:10; Rev. 2:14-16a; 2:20)

Without any one of these three, the church fails the purpose for which it is called. Even though there are a variety of denominations within the catholic (universal) Christian faith due to doctrinal differences, we each uphold the core tenets of the faith and the three previously mentioned marks of a true church. The Bible explicitly dictates the elements which may be included in a worship service. These elements are witnessed throughout the Bible: the ministry of the Word, administration of the sacraments, prayer, congregational singing, and collection for the relief of the saints. Those who included other elements were often struck down in various ways (see Lev 10, 1 Cor 11:17-34). While God withholds immediate death now, the consequences are no less real.

Enter Worldly Shenanigans

To attract more people to the church, pastors have strayed from doing what the Bible teaches may be included in worship. Instead of upholding what the Bible teaches, they accord with what is attractive in the culture. It is sometimes called a seeker-sensitive church culture or progressive church culture. Rather than the Bible defining what is and what is not allowed, the culture does.

Have you ever been to a church where during a worship service people are dancing on the stage? How about one that uses videos that don’t teach biblical principles? Think of anything you would consider a performance. The thing is, the entertainment value of the service is nil. People are not the consumers; God is the audience of our worship.

Then there’s also outright heretical things. I’m not talking about maybe you shouldn’t be doing that or we agree to disagree. I’m talking about churches that teach things in contradiction to the Bible. Maybe you’ve been to a church that teaches sexual promiscuity is not sinful. Perhaps you go to a church which says you have to manifest your future or speak it out loud and believe it to make it real (which is New Age teaching and explicitly not Christian). I cannot possibly list every prospect, but we have witnessed many with the advent of the internet.

So what?

These organizations are not Christian churches but are merely a gathering of people seeking guidance labeled as a church. They’ve latched onto Christian culture or Christianized culture but are not part of the Christian church. In the same way we distinguish between a medical doctor and a chiropractor, they are both in the health field but one has a medical degree and the other is a licensed practitioner, so must we distinguish between Christian churches and organizations with the designation “church.”

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying a church that has a band on stage or does something I don’t agree with is not a Christian church. What I am saying is that churches which violate the marks of a true church are not churches. While I believe Christ is the only way to heaven as revealed in the Bible, it’s important for organizations which identify as churches to not claim Christ as their own if they are going to form God in their own image and not as He reveals Himself – which is where the confusion often arises. People who are of the world disguise themselves as pastors of a Christian church in an attempt to find meaning and purpose but pervert the truth of the Bible because they don’t believe what the Bible teaches. It is those organizations, and not the Christian church, which is in crisis.

The Church is Triumphant

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus tells us the gates of hell will not prevail against God’s church. His truth stands forever. Despite what we may see in the news, on social media, or hear from our neighbor, the Christian church stands strong. No matter the circumstances, God’s power remains, God’s sovereignty remains, and God’s truth remains. The church is Christ’s bride for which He will return (Eph 5:27; 1 Thes 4:13-18). The church is the sheep of God’s pasture (Ps 95:7).

The church is specifically warned not to, “…be led away by diverse and strange teachings,” (Heb 13:9) nor be “…taken captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition….and not according to Christ” (Col 2:8). At its most simple form, this means there should be no mix of the truth (the Bible) with error (teachings of other systems). It’s for this very reason division must exist. In times of prosperity and times of calamity, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, whether in the city or the countryside, God’s church remains, and it remains triumphant.

References

Augustine, S., Bishop of Hippo. (1996). The Confessions of St. Augustine. (E. B. Pusey, Trans.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Jacobson, S. (2014, May 8). Help! Who Am I? 7 Signs That You Suffer From an Identity Crisis – Harley Therapy Blog. Retrieved from Harley Therapy Counselling Blog: https://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/counselling/who-am-i-identity-crisis.htm

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 507). New York: United Bible Societies.

Oregon State University. (n.d.). Great Philosophers: Plato II – Objective Values. Retrieved April 1, 2020, from Great Philosophers: https://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl201/modules/Philosophers/Plato/plato02_objective_values.html

Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.