The Church is Getting Back to Normal.

The Church is Getting Back to Normal

A church building in Nigeria burning from arson.

We're not quite there yet, but the Church is getting back to normal, and normal is going to take some getting used to.

What is “normal” for the Church?

Frankly, most of us have never really experienced “normal” as it relates to the Church. Here are some sample verses that explain what “normal” is like for those who follow Jesus.

"...all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution". -2Timothy 3:12 NKJV

"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." -1Peter 4:12-13 NKJV

Jesus specifically said:

"If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. "But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me." -John 15:19-21 NKJV

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom...Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. "And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another." -Matthew 24:7-10 NKJV

If we look beyond our own geography and time, we will see that these verses accurately depict the normal state of affairs for most of the Christians who have ever lived as well as the normal state of affairs for most of those who are alive in the world today.

I expect that the church in America will soon have to acclimate to accelerating hostility from the world around it. We may lose our 501(c)3 tax status. Eventually we may have to surrender our real estate. We're already being laughed at and marginalized. We may go to jail for what we believe. Like it or not, those things are a state of “normal” for the Church. The one thing we cannot do is compromise the truth of the gospel.

What is “normal” for the world?

So will God place a specific curse on the United States because of her moral decline? I don't know. Maybe. He is certainly within his rights to do so. Like it or not, the moral fiber of our laws reflects the moral fiber of our country. There is, I think, some lag time, but eventually “water seeks its own level” so to speak, in the beaker of national morality. 

The United States is quickly becoming an immoral nation with an amoral mindset.

Here's the thing. God doesn't have to pass any new judgment on America. The world has been found guilty of sin and judged alreadyⁱ. Whatever “righteousness” we have ever had as a nationⁱⁱ was derived from faith in a Holy God, anyway.

We certainly know that “all have sinned.”ⁱⁱⁱ Truly, there is plenty of material in the history of this nation to find examples of individual and national sins. The thing that has made the United States stand out in history, as I see it, is not that we have had a collectively flawless character, but that we have had a collective consciousness of sin and an awareness of the need for repentance. In other words, as a group, we have had a consciousness of our responsibility to a holy God and within that consciousness, enough Christians to steer our nation fiber (our laws, if you will) toward righteousness and away from evil.

As our nation's consciousness of responsibility to God diminishes, so has the desire to be righteous by Biblical standards. In other words, our nation societal systems are morphing and merging with what the Bible calls “the world”, and “the world” is decidedly anti-God^iv. In Romans chapter 1, the Bible actually delineates the process by which a society that once knew God fully morphs in to the reprobate (rejected by God) world system. I can see America (or a large portion of it) in those verses. Unless they repent, those who participate in this system are already destined to be sentenced in God's judgment because of their sin.^v

Basically, the increasingly anti-Christian, self-destructive nature of the world around us is not an abnormal thing. It is the normal state of sinful humanity as it interacts with those who carry the gospel. Because it brings a consciousness of sin, the gospel is by nature offensive to those who revel in sin.

The third, and most important question is...

What is “normal” for Jesus?

1. Jesus loves sinners. For that reason gave his life on the cross.
2. Jesus expects his church to “go” and preach the gospel.
3. Jesus has prepared a place for his church.
4. Jesus is coming back.

Nothing in life surprises God. God isn't scared. He has no reason to be. Instead, because of his love for mankind, he has given us another day to fulfill the Great Commission. He still expects that we will do good to those who treat us badly. He expects that we will walk in the Spirit and be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks us about our hope. He expects us to hold fast the things that truly matter, and release the things of the world from our grasp.

So, what can we expect?

As the world around us becomes more hostile to the Gospel it is inevitable that those who hold to the truth of that Gospel will be rejected by the world around them. I believe we can expect:^vi

1. Churches to split, as the tension to compromise the gospel increases.
2. A newer “open minded” church to grow in place of those who hold to Biblical truth.
3. To see people whom you have trusted abandon the faith.
4. To be falsely accused. You will not be called out because you uphold the Bible. Instead you will be falsely vilified as a bigot, homophobe, tax-evader, child abuser or some other evil thing.
5. To be abandoned (even mistreated) by some of those you love dearly.
6. To be hated.
7. To see the church gain renewed purpose and purity.
8. To see Jesus.

As odd as it may seem, when these things happen, congratulations will be in order! You will have graduated into good company^vii. Though in may be foreign to us, persecution is not strange. It is very normal.

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  -Philippians 4:7 

iJohn 12:31.

iiYes, it is possible for a nation to be righteous. cf. Genesis 20:4, Isaiah 26:2. Matthew 25:31-46.

iiiRomans 3:23

ivJohn 3:16-19; John 15:18

vActs 17:31, Romans 2

viMatthew 24:9-14, Matthew 5:10-12

viiMatthew 5:10-12

America's blood crime...

Some statistics say that in the last 40 years since "Roe v. Wade" legalized abortion in the U.S., the lives of 53,000,000 babies have been extinguished. Their little bodies have been thrown out like trash or (worse) sold for various purposes.

We have a problem.

God interacts with mankind in several different levels. He certainly deals with people on an individual level, but the Bible also indicates that he also interacts with people as social groups (such as families, cities and nations) as well.

It is the national relationship that concerns me.

Human government was God's idea, not man's. We first find it established as God talks to Noah after the flood  (Genesis chapter 9) .  The antediluvian (pre-flood) world was a world of civil anarchy, filled with violence. For this reason, the Bible tells us, God destroyed it in a flood. In Genesis 9, God is pushes the restart button. Here a social contract of self government is established that emphasizes the value of human life:

"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." Genesis 9:6.

Do you see the principle there? Human life is sacred because a human life is "in his own image."

This principle continues to be developed throughout the Bible. Notably it makes God's "Top Ten" list as "you shall not murder". He established the principles of "due process" and differentiates between "manslaughter" (accidental killing) and "murder". Throughout the Old Testament we find that the rise and fall of nations is in direct relation to their treatment of the innocent, particularly their children, their widows and foreigners. We find God's promise of national longevity is tied to the protection of the innocent. One of the damning sins of the Canaanites was child sacrifice to the pagan god Moloch. The horrors of the plagues in Egypt were preceded by decades of Israeli children being tossed into the Nile. Israel's and Judah's captivities were preceded by the adoption of pagan practices, including child sacrifice.

Murder, in any form, is an evil of the highest order.  When murder is committed, God takes note. If a society does not police itself by bringing murderers to justice, God will avenge the innocent himself. In the case of the abortion industry, we have failed to prosecute those who take innocent life. Even worse, as a nation, we have condoned it. There is a verse in 2 Kings 24:4 that concerns me greatly. Speaking of the ancient nation of Judah it says they, 

"... filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon."

Then they were taken captive.

Will God judge the United States for those 53,000,000 dead babies?  I am certain of it.

How will he do it? I have no idea.

Can it be avoided? If we were to arrest and prosecute the abortionist for the last 40 years, perhaps. But we won't.

Can it be postponed? God is merciful. He allows a window for repentance and self judgment. Historically, that window has lasted for decades for many nations. Sometimes nations repent and judgment is postponed, sometimes they don't and it comes more swiftly.

What can I do?  Individually there is a lot you can do. First, repent of you sins, any and all. Sin requires judgment. If you will let him, Jesus bore that judgment for you when he died on a cross. He gave his life for you. He took your punishment. There is no sin too great for him to bear, even the killing of the innocent.

Then, for the nation, you can pray for God to work in realms of authority far higher than ours. As Christians we must remember we have a mandate to preach to all nations, but we cannot save any nation. Rather, it is individuals that we lead to salvation.
 
While the United States remains under a cloud of judgment, individually anyone can find a place redemption in Jesus Christ. He gave his life for you, if you haven't already done so this would be a good day to give your life to him...

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16