In the Old Testament false prophets were rampant, and their mission was to tell the people what they wanted to hear. They wanted to be liked and non-offensive. They sowed seeds of peace and contentment, regardless of the condition of the people or the culture.
The pharisees in the New Testament were abrasive and demanding, proud and controlling. In their zeal to represent God on earth, they demanded obedience, not to God, but to themselves. They rejected entire segments of society, and personally shut the doors of heaven on them.
What we have here is a picture of the Church in the United States, and I have personally sat in their pews, and listened to their services online. Our society, culture, politics, and people are divided, so divided we wonder if union is possible, and I sadly see the church following the same path of culture and politics.
I see the church playing the part of the false prophets. These churches argue the validity of the Bible and embrace the modern cultural movements of our day. They deny Biblical truths and avoid talking to their congregation about them in fear that they may offend someone, in fear that they may offend men. They embrace modern cultural ideas and claim the Bible was not written for today’s culture, nor for today’s people. In an effort to show love, they have denied God.
I see the church playing the part of the pharisee. These churches are harder to discern, and are harder to disagree with, because they relentlessly stand for Biblical truths. But in doing so, they have let pride take over their motivations. They have chosen sides and reject anything that does not support their agenda. They have successfully alienated large parts of the population by their abrasive message and aggressive position. In response to the sin they see, they have lost love for the lost.
What you see here is more commonly attributed to politics and culture, the left and the right. And how it pains my heart and grieves my soul to see our beloved church drift more and more towards the habits of these institutions. The church has all but vacated the middle, save a few lonely and struggling, yet faithful, congregations who are ridiculed and isolated by their own brethren (the one I am familiar with serves the poor, who will always be with us, not on the right or on the left, but stuck in the middle).
The false prophets represent the church on the left. These churches support gay marriage, the right to abortion, pre-marital sex (the main cause of abortion), deny the Bible is infallible and perfect, claiming it is up for interpretation, and have all in all embraced the post-modernist view.
The pharisees represent the church on the right. These churches tend to start their sermons with a Fox News like commentary of the week’s events, fake news, and conspiracy theories. They have denied the urgency of the coronavirus and thereby show no respect for their fellow man, to whom a face mask and hand sanitizer could be lifesaving. They have taken strong political sides, isolating anyone who thinks differently, or who has serious questions or concerns.
Before I continue, let me pause to describe to you what I mean by the “middle”. I mean that we stand firmly and are 100% committed to Biblical truth. We do not waiver and we do not give leniency to stray from them. Obedience, and subsequently repentance, are critical to the Christian walk. We also believe that we need to continue to serve everyone, in love, and that by undeniably joining ourselves to a man-made movement outside of the church is not right.
The middle is such a lonely and confusing place to be today. It is as if you do not belong anywhere, as if you are rejected by both extremes, as if you are the only one in the world who sees that either extreme is bad. But is that not where Jesus spent His time? He rejected the pharisees and acknowledged they shut the gates of heaven on the people, and He warned us about false prophets and their false teachings, which would lead people into a false sense of eternal security. Jesus spent time with the sinner, with the people, both blue collar and white collar, saved and unsaved. He went to the preacher’s house and to the tax collector’s house, He served the centurion and the prostitute, and He gave to us His life, obediently submitted to death; an unmatchable and unquantifiable gift of love. Jesus told us we’d be lonely and rejected if we served Him. I plead to my brothers and sisters on the right and on the left, if you aren’t feeling lonely in your political and cultural view today, if you aren’t feeling lonely as a church body, then take a serious and careful look at your heart, your motivations, and which of your convictions have taken center stage in your life. The love of Jesus Christ does not reside on the left or the right, it resides in the middle, and is accessible by everyone.
Jeremiah 5:30-31
30 “An astonishing and horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?
Jeremiah 6:13-14
13 “Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is given to covetousness;
And from the prophet even to the priest,
Everyone deals falsely.
14 They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’
When there is no peace.
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