The Advent of the Laodicean Church
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish
you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor
cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired
wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched,
pitiful, poor, blind and naked. (Rev. 3:15-17)
One thing that the emerging (not emergent, that's the name
of one such organization) church with its social gospel fails to understand is
that when the Lord evaluates our relationship, He's most interested in our
attitude toward Him, not our efforts on His behalf. He made that clear in his
criticism of the Church in Ephesus.
I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I
know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim
to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and
have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this
against you: You have forsaken your first love. (Rev. 2:2-4)
While they claim it's to produce followers of Christ, not
just believers in Him, the driving force behind the emerging church is really
growth and prosperity. That's why it's so popular. So-called seekers don't
come in the doors looking to become followers of Christ. They come to belong
to something bigger than themselves, where they can be entertained and feel
better about themselves by doing some good works without being made to feel
guilty or having to commit to anything. If they wanted to be more like Jesus
they'd have come to a place where they could focus on the Bible, and experience
some intimate worship, the kind that makes the heart break, the tears flow, and
the knee bend.
When you ask its leaders how the movement is working they'll
quote statistics like "participation on an average weekend" as if the
more people they bring through the doors, the more pleasing to God they must
be. Then they'll tell you how many ministries they've got going. Some even
print current revenues in their bulletins, I guess to show how good sales are,
like a business would. There is little or no discussion of baptisms or new
believers, because that's not the point. Preaching a gospel message with an
altar call would actually be counter-productive to this strategy. More money
in the offering requires more people in the pews. And that requires less gospel
in the message.
The fact that all this money is mostly put to good use is
laudable, but the Lord judges us by the motives of our hearts, not the works of
our hands. He actually condemned the Church at Ephesus even though they were
hard working, faithful, and true. He condemned them because in their efforts
to serve the King they had no time left for their relationship with the King.
Don't kid yourself into thinking that the Lord needs us to
help build His Kingdom. That would be like me saying I need my 3 year old to
help fix the leaking faucet. When they asked what work God required of them
Jesus didn't say "Do for the One He has sent," He said "Believe
in the One He has sent." (John 6:28-29) What you do after that
is a matter between you and the Lord, but unless you get first things first,
nothing else matters. You'll be lukewarm at best.
