For weeks I have been preaching about the life of Elijah. Each message has been unique and met a different need in my life as well as the congregation. After the sermon yesterday, a man came up to me and told me something shocking. He told me that he and his wife had visited a church some time back and started visiting a Sunday School class. They attended eagerly with Bible in hands to learn and to grow.
The class leadership told this man and his wife not to bring their Bibles because it might offend someone. Are you kidding me? Have we really drifted so far from God that now his word is not even welcome in his house? I know fewer preachers are preaching his word but to go a step further and now to say that the Bible is not welcome at church is the last straw. How can such a church ever think they are pleasing a holy God.
In the concern not to offend people churches have strayed. Preachers strive to tickle the ears. They preach what sells, what the people want to hear. Let me ask a question? When is the last time you heard your pastor preach from the book of Joel? What about verse by verse through the book of James?
What does that say about people who attend a church where the Bible is not welcome? I am horrified. I have said it many times and will continue to write that church has become big business and small ministry. The church has adopted marketing techniques and Wall Street methodology to attract a crowd. Church leadership personnel act like the only thing that matters is the size of the crowd, the number of baptisms, or the size of the offerings. Do they forget that teachers will stand under a stricter judgment. [James 3:1] In the frenzy to run people through the baptismal waters does anyone stop to ask why so many of those new people fall away? These people may say "the prayer" and get wet but have they truly been saved? It does not matter how much money a church takes in if they are not using that money to build God's kingdom and for his purposes all that money can lead churches to trust in their own resources rather than God. Preachers and teachers will be held accountable for the messages they preach and for the lessons they teach. If they are not grounded in the word of God I fear the outcome when they stand under God's refining fire.
When is the last time you heard a message on repentance from sin? When is the last time your pastor preached on holiness? The holiness of God? The holiness of the church? Have you recently heard any messages about a Solemn Assembly? What about hypocrisy? These messages offend but come straight from the very Bible now not welcome in some churches. If you are discouraged from bringing your Bible to church I am certain you will never hear such messages.
The message of Jesus Christ is offensive. Most people are not offended by the baby in the manger. That baby grew up and taught great truths. Just take Matthew chapters 5-7. There is plenty in those three chapters to offend people. The gospel message is offensive. [I Cor 1:18] The Lordship of Christ is offensive. [Luke 6:46] Why do you call Me Lord Lord and do not what I say? The Bible is filled with offensive material. How convenient for churches and pastors to avoid such offensive material all in an effort to build a crowd. It is possible to build a crowd and not to build a church at the same time.
We are not building churches at this point. We may be building country clubs or some other gathering but when the Bible is not welcome nor preached you can no longer call that a true church. I am by no means espousing worship of the Bible. I am for worship of God alone. The place God reveals Himself is in the Bible and if this is taken away from the church where does anyone get revelation of God.
I am offended that the Bible is not welcome in some churches here in this hell bound compromising church age. I am offended, because in some countries where brothers and sisters in Christ are persecuted and do not have access for God's word, they only get portions of the Bible to read or study. I am shamed that some believers will walk for miles to hear and see a real Bible and we have the audacity in our country to tell people not to bring a Bible to worship. I am reminded that the translation of the Bible into the language of the common people costs William Tyndale his very life. The very Bible you own and read came with the price tag of blood by this devoted man of God. How we take his sacrifice for granted.
What about the authors of the Bible. So much of the New Testament was written by martyrs. The greatest sacrifice of all is that of Jesus Christ. That is the message of the Bible. Jesus died so that man kind could be saved from the wrath of the Father and redeemed. Jesus paid our ransom. That is the message of the Bible. Bibles that are no longer welcome in supposed houses of worship.
The prophet Amos prophesied that this day would come. I never thought I would live long enough to see it in my lifetime. "Behold, days are coming," declares the Lord GOd, "When I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the Lord. And people will stagger from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they will go to and fro to seek the word of the Lord but they will not find it. [Amos 8:11-12]
Take your Bibles to church. Tell your pastor you long to hear the words of the Lord and not the words of men. Tell your small group teacher you want to hear truth from the Bible. If they refuse, FIND A DIFFERENT CHURCH!
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