Fearful pastors put comfort over conviction in critical times
I received a note from a viewer who said she works at a church in a state with an abortion amendment on the ballot this November. She asked her campus pastor if “vote no” could be put on the church property along with handing out info to church members.
An initial “yes” became a disheartening “no” after two weeks when the church’s executive pastor — the other pastor’s boss — got involved and said “the lost” might be dissuaded from visiting the church because of the signs and that, in the name of good ol’ meek and mild Jesus, they had to come down.
With biblical teaching so clear, how does the modern church fail so spectacularly in the face of growing evil?
Wow. That, my friends, is some impressive horse manure. The signs were not offensive in any way. They didn’t endorse any candidate or party. They didn’t even threaten the church’s tax-exempt status. They just didn’t come with a pair of free khakis or a sweater vest, I guess.
Which leaves me convinced that some people who claim the name of Christ will one day be loaded onto trains heading to the death camps and still bleat, “Don’t talk about the gospel around the guards because it might offend them.” Cowardice is a food group now.
But wait: Who does the Bible say is cast into the lake of fire first? Oops. I’ll give you a hint …
It’s cowards.
This is why the devil is shooting at Donald Trump and not our pastors. Because for all his frailties and brokenness, he is much more of a threat to hell than an overwhelming majority of the men in our pulpits.
But don’t take my word for it. I know a lot of you think I’m just a grifter and a sellout now for reminding you of such things, so how about you try the prophet Ezekiel on for size:
And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, “You shall surely die,” and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.’
With biblical teaching so clear, why does the modern church fail so spectacularly in the face of growing evil? To justify its cowardice, much of the church today has inverted the two greatest commandments that sum up the law and the prophets. No. 1: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. No. 2: Love your neighbor as yourself.
What happens when love your neighbor as you love yourself becomes the greatest commandment? God takes a back seat.
This is how the devil always works: He perverts good things until they become unrecognizable. It’s the same as the serpent’s “Did God really say?” in the garden, now applied to the gospel. By inverting it, the very people the gospel is meant to save ultimately become the ones who destroy it.
And it’s no coincidence that the inversion of the two greatest commandments also provides the means to live a nice, comfortable life as a pastor in the suburbs. No one really wants to arrest them. They don’t offend anybody. They tickle your ears and offer you something barely distinguishable from “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” So instead of disciples, we have churches full of mere customers and fans.
These are not hospitals for sinners in need of salvation and discipling. They are corporations with Bible verses where the customer is always right.
In short, these are death traps. They are roads to hell, whether they have crosses out front and stained-glass windows or not. You should leave them. For God will not be mocked.
