The Last Days Of The Church XXXIII

 As yet, much of the modern-day church is still under the delusion that a nice building, an overflowing bank account, and a digital footprint are adequate replacements for the presence of Christ in their midst. No, they can’t offer the one thing that sets Christianity apart from all other faiths because they themselves do not have Him residing in their hearts, but they can provide some great entertainment in lieu of Jesus.

The Laodicean mindset is alive and well, wherein if we have things and can put on a good show, that’s all we’re ever going to need. Jesus said otherwise, but what did He know? His worship leader wasn’t racing up the Billboard charts, was he?

There is no Biblical substitute for godliness. If your desire is to walk uprightly before God, godliness is a prerequisite and a virtue we must nurture, grow, and mature in our hearts daily.

The simplest definition of a biblical church is Christ in you! No caveats, no addendums, no amendments, Christ in you! You can have all the other things, the comforts, accolades, finances, and name recognition, but if Christ is absent, it’s all for naught. Conversely, you can be meeting in a barn or a shed, with little to show by way of opulence of stature, but if Christ is in you, if He is present and in your midst, you have everything.

We cannot view this life or what defines success through the same prism the world does. It’s when our minds have not been renewed and when we have not the eyes to see that we are constantly trying to build up ourselves, our ministries, or our churches in a manner antithetical to what the gospel prescribes.

It's not a reason for gloating when the world praises you as the ideal Christian or church. Instead, it's a call for deep introspection and self-reflection. Why is a world that despises your Master so enamored with you, His servant?

Those with a form of godliness never grow. A form of godliness does not lead to sanctification, righteousness, or maturity. It is a stagnant thing that gives way to all manner of organisms growing therein, and the more time passes, the muddier it gets to the point that for fear of missing out on something, they believe everything, and with each newly minted teaching or doctrine, they shift further away from the light. That, or the make a sideways move from one tertiary focal point to another just as empty of life and Jesus as the last.

It’s not only biblically permissible but encouraged to turn away from anyone who attempts to draw you away from Jesus or shift your focus to something other than knowing Him all the more.

1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

But why when there was so much more to know? How long’s the service, what sort of children’s programs do they have, what percentage are regular tithers, how many are on auto withdrawal, and how many write a check every month? There is so much information to collate, annotate, and chart. So many plans to make based on attendance frequency and individual responses to the newest series.

Why know nothing among them except Jesus Christ and Him crucified? Because He is the only thing that matters. The only thing of import. And the only thing of eternal consequence. If godliness is your pursuit and desire, then it is incumbent upon you as an individual to turn away from those who love pleasure rather than God and those with a form of godliness and seek out those whose singular desire is Christ Jesus.

The environment you subsist in will affect you whether you intend for it to or not. I can tell myself I’ll stay warm until I’m blue in the face, but if I’m sitting on a block of ice surrounded by snow, I’ll get cold eventually. This is why Paul’s counsel to those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus is vital. Be around those who share your love of Jesus. Surround yourself with men and women whose goal and pursuit is not earthly gain or personal fame but the furthering of God’s kingdom.

2 Timothy 3:6-7, “For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of truth.”

It was already happening two thousand years ago! Even during the days of the early church, with all that it entailed, there were those who crept into households and made captives of the gullible, convincing them to be led away by various lusts. There would always be some new revelation, some new doctrine, some new thing that they would insist upon, but that new thing, being absent of Christ, never led anywhere. This new thing that was supposed to revolutionize one’s prayer life, intimacy with God, understanding of the cosmos, or how one experiences the supernatural always focused on the individual as being indispensable, replacing Jesus with himself and insisting that they, rather than Christ were the way, the truth, and the life.

With the advent of the internet, those isolated incidents that Paul points to are no longer isolated or rare. There’s always some new thing deemed essential, but if that new thing doesn’t point the way to Jesus, it’s worthless to your spiritual man.

But brother, you don’t understand how important this or that new thing is. It’s eye-opening and paradigm-shifting, and it will flip your entire understanding of the universe, which is actually a multiverse on its ear! We’re talking multi-dimensional, inter-dimensional, shape-shifting, time-warping, intergalactic beings here, man. Does it point the way to Christ and the cross? No? Then I’ll pass. Nonetheless, thank you for including me in your mass emergency alert e-mail.

How exactly do Big Foot, aliens, and cavity probes performed by inter-dimensional beings with glowing fingers draw you closer to Jesus? Asking for a friend.

But you don’t understand. I don’t want to! Jesus is enough for me, and I’m determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Then you’re a denier. A denier of what, exactly? Will getting sun blindness looking for spaceships bring me closer to Jesus and the foot of the cross? I didn’t think so.

If that's the case, then why discuss the end times or the last days of the church? Because those topics undergird the need to be closer to Jesus, to trust Him, to be rooted in Him, and to hope in Him. It emphasizes the need for all of Him and not some of Him, knowing that only in Him and through Him will we navigate the troubling times ahead. It goes back to Jesus and the paramount need for Him every time, without fail. That’s why one thing matters and the other doesn’t.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.