The Irrelevant Church

If the apostle Paul returned and saw what the church of Jesus Christ has become in the 21st century, what would he think?

Would he be pleased with stained-glass marble mansions featuring thousands of theater seats, jumbotron screens and brilliant klieg lights that light up expansive stages?

And would he be impressed by modern preachers wrapped in $6,000 Pierre Cardin and Gucci suits who dance and twirl and scream while waving their leather-bound bibles?

I doubt that Paul would be impressed with the modern church. Rather, I think he'd be shocked at what Christianity has become 2,000 years after he first began his ministry to the ancient gentile world.

And I think that Paul would see the common denominator between what passes for contemporary Christianity and the moral decadence that is destroying the modern world.

Many professing Christians would protest that Christianity has never had more resources than it has today in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ across the world. Those resources include social media and the internet.

But those resources aren't working. Why? Because nothing can replace the effective witness of the biblical gospel. How can we explain the success the early apostles such as Paul had in spreading the gospel, despite the fact that they had none of the modern technological amenities that modern Christendom enjoys?

Very simple--the early apostles trusted in the power of God's Holy Spirit rather than in their own power: "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty." (Zechariah 4:6) That's how the early church grew and spread throughout the ancient world.

If the modern church wants to reverse the moral decay that's rotting away the world like a deadly cancer, then it needs to stop trying to promote Christianity through gimmicks and entertainment and get back to spreading the word of God through the Holy Spirit. Nothing else will suffice.

Preaching the gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit is hard work. It isn't glamorous. In fact, it often brings persecution and even martyrdom. But that's the only way the gospel of Jesus Christ can effectively be preached to the world.

That's called contending for the faith. That's what the apostle Jude exhorted the early church to do. (Jude 1:3) 

And that's what the modern church isn't doing and hasn't done for nearly two centuries. That's why the world is plagued with wicked leaders, mass murderers, violence, sexual perversion, poverty, wars etc.

Christendom doesn't need any more of those lavish revival pageants, tent meetings or ecumenical crusades. Rather, the church needs dedicated believers who are willing to give up everything they own and sacrifice their lives to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost and the unsaved.

That's how the early apostles did it. And that worked. As Paul so aptly explained: "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." (1 Corinthians 1:17)

Amen. Church leaders, pastors and ministers--are you listening?