Lessons to learn from Great Britain’s declining Christianity
BY PGF
1 year, 10 months ago
This article is good in that much of it is accurate. It’s refreshing to see that some ‘get it.’ These concerns are here in America too. One thing the article lacks, although implied in the problem, is concrete solutions, so they have been provided here at TCJ.
The problem has not been other religions converting those in the UK, but of the British leaving the Church out of a seeming lack of commitment. Most church leaders understand this dynamic, and many mainline denominational churches have attempted to liberalize and become more “relevant” to modern society. This liberalization has invariably meant moving away from previously accepted Church doctrine based on scripture. In doing so, these denominations have brought the opposite results of what they sought.
Note carefully that it’s not the congregation’s lack of commitment that is causing them to wander, but church leadership’s lack of commitment to correct doctrine in truth. Casual observers appear around the edges of a church, coming and going, but those in Christ Jesus are inherently attracted to sound teaching coupled with worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), for God seeks such a people.
The Church is rather easy to define. It’s strange indeed that so many struggle with it. The Book of John is written to unbelievers so that they might be saved and come to know Christ. There’s no better place to look for the fundamental and elementary foundations of the Christian faith than Christ’s own words recorded by the disciple John.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” – John 10:27
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” – John 14:15
The Church are those who hear Christ and demonstrably love Him by the keeping of His word (following Him): seeking the lost and loving each other, which are the fruits of the Christian life, along with prayer drawing closer to God and faithful bible study that you might learn to teach the next generations of Him.
“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” – John 15:8
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” – John 13:35
Real Christians are doers of the word of God, not idle observers of ceremony.
For those maturing in Christ, the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 7 are very helpful on this topic:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” – Matthew 7:14-18
Jesus says it’s impossible for a good tree to bring forth evil fruit. Now, men make mistakes, but when confronted with the truth of fundamental Christian doctrine and faith, the evil will flee (or demand you leave), but the righteous shall stand forth in repentance restored by the truth, knowing their own faith in Jesus Christ will make them whole.
And, again, we’re warning of church incorporation, which is Cosmic Treason against God and a root of the problem, which tends toward bad leadership.
Back to the linked article:
American leaders need to pay attention, as the dynamic is playing out throughout Christianity in the West: As the percentage of Christians in the West has declined, Christian influence on society and culture has declined, and as a result, society has become more morally ambiguous. Families break apart or never form and children are left without moral guidance. The growing and scripturally faithful churches offer the anchor and moral clarity people seek at this time. Those attending scripturally faithful churches are not coddled with whimsically morphing values, as has happened in too many of the declining churches. Christians are exhorted to commit to counter-cultural “biblical” moral standards which don’t change.
In regaining biblical Christianity, the Church will grow and society will benefit from the salt and light the Church is called to provide.
The Church of Jesus Christ is for believers; it’s not a mixed multitude. Regaining biblical Christianity for a small group of believers either means tossing out unrepentant sinners, including false leaders, or standing up a new fundamental core group that can demand adherence to the teachings of Christ and the removal of sin from their midst. Keep in mind; the Church is not a building.
“…strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life…”
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On December 13, 2022 at 9:08 pm, George said:
So true. Many of the “churches” today are geared towards entertainment. Bands play on stage. Preachers spew forth feel good talks. Very little of teaching the scriptures.
The Old Testament shows what happens when God finally becomes exasperated and turns loose His wrath. Reading Ezekiel (a tedious read) enlightens us to this occurrence.
America is most certainly in the same stages of dishonoring God. I cannot visualize the hard times to come.
Peace to y’all.
On December 13, 2022 at 9:18 pm, PGF said:
You make some excellent points.
I love the book of Ezekiel. It was the first of the Scriptures to catch my attention after being saved.
On December 14, 2022 at 4:54 am, Chris said:
J.V. McGee on Luke 18:8 – “The question, “Shall He find the faith on the earth?” is couched in such a way in the Greek that it demands a negative answer. No, He frankly says that He will not find the faith on the earth when He returns. Now I recognize that He is referring to the day when He returns to establish His kingdom, but this hour in which we live is the beginning of that apostasy.” We are in the apostasy, and those spreading it now are doing the works of their father, the Devil.
On December 14, 2022 at 5:00 am, Dov said:
Excellent and refreshing article.
On December 14, 2022 at 11:05 am, PGF said:
@Chris,
The Kingdom has already been established. His is not an earthly physical kingdom. When He returns, He will resurrect the dead and judge all men of all ages.
Nothing fills me with more righteous indignation than looser Christians. What McGee has done is cause all those who would listen to him to make excuses for not doing the hard work (IT’S HARD WORK!!!) of building the Kingdom of God. Millions of American Christians are under this terrible teaching type, not just by McGee. This teaching allows men to throw up their hands and say, “oh well, it’s the great falling away, might as well watch football and porn, send my children to public school and fully submit to the system of the beast.” The men who teach what amounts to surrendering the world to the devil, if they are saved at all, will pay dearly for this in heaven.
We’ll get to the context of the verses, but first: “but this hour in which we live is the beginning of that apostasy.” McGee doesn’t know that. God holds the future; the days of speaking through men are over; the Holy Bible is our only guide; therefore, context matters most in the word of God. What he’s done is typical premillennial newspaper exegesis; “things look bad; I will find a verse to fit my ‘things look bad’ view of the world.” That’s what he’s done.
The context of the entire New Testament Scriptures is the ending of the Old Covenant and the establishment of a New Covenant with all men in the blood of Christ. To this end, everything about the Old Covenant was destroyed, so you might not worship falsely but in spirit and truth. Always read the New Testament in the broader context of the end of the Old Covenant and instructions to you on how to establish the New Covenant. The Holy Bible is not merely a book about God; it’s an instruction manual for you to build the Kingdom of God.
In the broader context of Luke, Jesus had just finished teaching, in Luke 17, that the temple and Jerusalem would soon be destroyed for their *lack of faith* in Him. Christ, in Luke 18:8, is not referring to the second coming but to His coming in power and judgment in the first century to thoroughly annihilate the Old Covenant. Did He find faith in the earth? Faith was only found among those fledgling and small churches, and they were reminded repeatedly to overcome (Matthew 24:13, 1 John 5:5, Revelation 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:26, 3:5, 3:12, 3:21) the persecution and false teaching and apostasy caused by lack of faith.
The narrower context of the parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18:1-8 would suggest that Jesus is encouraging His disciples not to faint in the face of their countrymen rejecting the mercies of God and salvation. “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint” – Luke 18:1
All of Israel had gone into apostasy; looming judgment had just been announced by Christ (Luke 17, Matthew 24) for following the wrong teaching of the Sanhedrin. This is the right parallel to today that should be taught in the churches; Jesus is coming for the resurrection and final judgment; be ready.
In the parable, the widow didn’t give up! That’s the whole point of Jesus’ teaching in this parable. Despite looming first-century judgment and apparent first-century rejection of God and Christ, the disciples are instructed to remain faithful and encouraged to pray, establish local bodies, and preach the Gospel, teaching all nations to obey Christ until the end of that age. And now that we are in the last days, that is our final commission; to establish His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
The old covenant was coming to an end. A New Covenant in the blood of Christ was being established. We’re not waiting for the New Covenant and the Kindom to be set; it was established in Christ 2000 years ago.
The specific phrase:
“In point of fact, the question does not “assume” a negative answer at all. It is not a rhetorical question. The Funk-Blass-Debrunner Greek grammar notes that when an interrogative particle is used, as in Luke 18:8, “ou is employed to suggest an affirmative answer, me (meti) a negative reply” (p. 226 § 440). But neither of these particles occurs here. Thus, the implied answer to the question is “ambiguous” (p. 226), because the Greek word used here (ara) implies only “a tone of suspense or impatience in interrogation” (BAGD, 127).” – Source – https://postmillennialworldview.com/2021/12/14/will-the-son-of-man-find-faith/
We believe Christ is using a motivational tool to encourage His men, the army of God. Modern-day preachers have entirely flipped the purpose of this parable on its head, causing discouragement and a shameful and piteous lack of faith and service to Christ among His army in building His Kingdom.
“…men ought always to pray, and not to faint” even in the face of the American church’s apostasy and lack of faith. Take up your cross and follow Christ!
The point of this comment is not to admonish Chris but to instruct us all.
On December 14, 2022 at 3:34 pm, Chris said:
@PGF – Sorry, I disagree. The old covenants (plural) are not ended. To say they are makes God out to be a liar. They are still in force, for those to whom they are made. That doesn’t negate the new Covenent, to those to whom it was made.
I am not a Greek scholar. I will defer to Dr. McGee. He used another expression: Christians “busier than termites, with much the same effect.” I will rest in my Salvation, which is a gift, it is not earned. I may live the Christian life by letting Christ live through me. But anything I do of my own is just “filthy rags.”
On December 14, 2022 at 4:26 pm, PGF said:
As to your first paragraph: there is no jew or gentile (Galatians 3). The Mosiac law of sacrifice is ended by the crucifixion of Christ on the cross. The covenant God made with the Hebrews carried out by the Levitical priesthood is complete in Christ. It was only ever a temporary (conditional) covenant. Paul goes to great lengths to explain that the law given at Sinai is complete.
I have said that there are eternal and immutable operating principles within that law which shall not pass until the final day because that’s what Christ said, but the people of God are Christ’s by grace alone and not by blood or the will of the flesh but by the Spirit of God in the new birth.
We could go covenant by covenant, but I agree with you in part. The covenant God made with all living things after a flood (Genesis 9), for example, is still in effect. But that’s not what I was talking about. The Kingdom of God, as taught by Christ, is a spiritual kingdom; there remains no more sacrifice for sins.
I don’t disagree in the least with your second paragraph.
On December 14, 2022 at 8:03 pm, X said:
The Church of England has been a political church since 1534. Today the Anglican church is staffed almost entirely by homosexuals, lesbians and people with a “woke” political ideology. Personally I wouldn’t attend if I lived in England, either.
Frankly, though, I think most people are not attending not because the Church of England is a political church, but rather because the modern welfare state has usurped the traditional role of Christian churches, making them irrelevant. Churches used to run hospitals, schools, universities, give charity and moral instruction, now the government does all that. Government has become the new God.
Of course it’s a false god… but most idiots worship it anyway.
On December 14, 2022 at 9:27 pm, PGF said:
Excellent points. Thanks, X. I was just having a discussion with some folks about church incorporation, which makes it a creature of the State here in the US. The reformers died to rest the Church from Romanism. Serious prayer and work are needed to stand up a true Church again in the west. I hope some simple suggestions have been offered here.