The Blind Leading the Blind
“And many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many.” Matthew 24:11
Some days, when I sit down to write my blog for the day, I don’t know which direction in which I will go, but then a subject will present itself as I read articles online. Very few of these articles are encouraging. Many are disheartening because they reflect the way that the world is going: to you know where in a you know what! But then I realize that Jesus had already warned us about those things that would occur before He comes for His church, before the tribulation, and before His return to rule and reign. Thus, I shouldn’t be surprised or shocked at what I read, but I can’t help but wonder what else is on the horizon regarding the widening of the distance between righteousness and evil.
The article that I read yesterday was a report on the result of a poll conducted by George Barna, a reputable Christian pollster who asks the questions in which other pollsters have no interest. The poll was taken among 1,000 Christian pastors to understand their worldviews. I am just naive enough to believe that a pastor/preacher would have a Biblical worldview seeing that he is responsible for preaching God’s word to all of us sinners. At least, that has been my experience in growing up and continuing to attend worship services which centers around the preaching of God’s word, singing praises to the Lord, and prayer. I mean, that is what church is all about, isn’t it?
Apparently, that is not what it is all about among 62 per cent of pastors polled in the U.S. who do not hold a Biblical worldview, bur rather some kind of mix of God’s word with different ideas from the secular world. Whoever said years ago that there is too much world in the church and not enough church in the world was lightyears ahead of the most astute observers. Even more disturbing is that only 12 percent of youth pastors hold a Biblical worldview. To put this in perspective, only one out of eight Christian churches has a youth pastor whose teaching is solidly Biblical over the children and teenagers, and out of every three churches, only one has sound Biblical preaching from the pulpit and a pastor who exemplifies a true man of God. My calculations may be off a little, but, judging by the way that society is behaving, I would tend to believe that Mr. Barna’s statistics are on target.
This worldly influence upon Christian pastors is called “syncretism” which is a blending or merging of the ideals, beliefs, and philosophies of different religions. For anyone who has studied the Old Testament regarding the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people, it is apparent that they had their own form of syncretism in attempting to worship God along with the idols of their surrounding neighbors. However, they were punished repeatedly for their idolatry. They were naive enough, or perhaps arrogant is a better word, to believe that God was OK with their mixing of worship of Him and worship of idols. They suffered numerous times for their rebellion. God made it clear as crystal that we are to have NO other gods before Him. It is God and God alone with His inerrant word as the basis of our worship.
Many Christians have become lax about worship, giving, praying, Bible study, and witnessing. Too many have allowed the things of the world to take precedence over worship and service to the Lord. The Apostle Paul wrote that there would be a “falling away”, that is, a great rebellion against God (II Thessalonians 2:3). There has been much rebellion against God since the beginning of time, but now it affects those who claim to be Christians. We can understand why evildoers rebel against God, but when the men who are called to preach the unadulterated gospel to a lost and dying world begin to allow Satan to influence their positions as men of God, true Christians are left with little territory to claim for Christ.
What do we do? Pray, of course, for God to help us stand strong, stand together, and make sure all of those of our relatives, friends, and associates know the truth. So, what if society “cancels” us? I am afraid that we have stood silent too long. We have already lost a lot of ground, and we don’t need for Satan to gain any more. In the end, we win, but how many will be lost because they didn’t know the truth?