In AD 50, the apostle Paul started a church in Corinth. Paul lived with and ministered to the Corinthians for 18 months and then moved on to Ephesus. A few years later, Paul is approached by Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus and is informed that the church he started in Corinth is struggling with a lot of issues (1 Corinthians 16:17). Sectarianism, incest, sexual immorality, litigiousness, abuse of the sacraments, misuse of the spiritual gifts and idolatry are all present within this body. Sadly, the collection of believers in ancient Corinth isn’t the only church that had or will have problems. In fact, reading the Corinthian Correspondence has reminded me of the condition of the American church today.
Just the other day I read an online article about the United Methodist denomination splitting up their fellowship in half; one half for “traditional” Methodists and the other half for “modern” Methodists. I’ve seen churches split their congregations into traditional and modern services to accommodate the preferential differences in worship music; however, the entire United Methodist denomination is splitting for a completely different reason. The reason? Homosexuality.
Why this is even a debated subject in the body of Christ is beyond my comprehension. Scripture is clear on homosexuality albeit a stance that is rejected with great fervor by the world today. The culture of our country is progressively and quickly moving in the direction of normalizing of all kinds of sin and evil. It doesn’t take long for wicked people to find a euphemism for sin to make it more glamorous and acceptable in society. Infanticide is now called “women’s health care” and perversion is called “love.” The irony is these lovers and advocates of tolerance are some of the most intolerant individuals towards those who will not conform or bend to their will. Conservatives are demonized for their “outdated beliefs” and are viewed as uneducated deplorables who are holding back society from achieving utopia status. To support the biblical definition of marriage will have the alphabet community screaming ‘bigot’ and ‘phobe.’ To support unborn life will have third wave feminists crying ‘sexist’ and ‘toxic masculinity.’ But this is how the world works. Sadly, many churches have bent to the mold of modern society and have become indistinguishable from the sinful culture that it is surrounded by.
Many of the sins that are accepted in the church today can be traced back to leaders who have failed to address it or simply ignored it in fear of offending people. I personally know a pastor who had a couple attending his church and were living together in sin but weren’t married. He knew fornication was happening in his congregation but his reason for not addressing it was ‘loving on them and accepting them the way they are is the way Jesus would have done it.’ But this approach is completely backwards from what scripture teaches us. In the church of Corinth, there was a man who was having sexual relations with his stepmother. You can almost hear the disgust in Paul’s words when he says this sin is so unheard of not even pagan sinners would do such a thing! (1 Corinthians 5:1). Most people today would say, ‘it’s not our place to judge’ but Paul wrote to the Corinthians to throw this man out of the church and turn him over to Satan! (1 Corinthians 5:3-5). Imagine a worship pastor caught engaging in homosexual activity and the church defrocks them and removes them from their congregation. Can you imagine the backlash this would receive from the community and the media? If Paul were still alive today, he would most certainly be labeled a Pharisee and as one having a religious spirit by many self professing Christians; however, Paul understood the dangers of sin and how quickly it spreads if it is ignored.
“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was scarified for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 NKJV
I have friends in Chi Alpha who are big on community and living life together. One thing I have noticed is when one member of a small group cusses, it’s not long before they all start slipping in a bad word or two. Sin is that contagious! We are to correct sin before it spreads but church leadership has done a pitiful job nipping sin in the bud. This is why the church is ceding to the culture but the church is actually called to stand out from it. Paul tells the Corinthians,
“Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.” Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 and 2 Corinthians 7:1 NKJV
To be sons and daughters of God is conditional on our repentance and separation from sin. The church of America must come out from among the culture and be separate from it! We are to cleanse ourselves from all the filthiness that has infiltrated our congregations and pulpits. The way to do this? Perfecting holiness in the fear of God. The fear of the Lord must once again be taught in our churches. Pastors must stop preaching the “love gospel” to inflate numbers and praise teams must stop singing songs that grossly exaggerate God’s love. We must preach a message that people truly need to hear: Repent and be saved! (Matthew 3:1-2, Matthew 4:17, Acts 2:38, Acts 26-19-20). WAKE UP CHURCH!
“What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.” – John Wesley
If you liked this post and would like to read another post similar to this one, check out Stop Saying “Judge Not!”
Joshua Hawk 