Church in Revolt

Dr Francis A Schaeffer got it just right when he said that "Christianity is not romantic, not soft.  It is tough-fibred and realistic."  The message that God has called His servants to preach is a tough, manly message, and this work is certainly not for the faint-hearted.  So tough and uncompromising is this message that the world reacts, sometimes violently, to it, as it did in Jeremiah's day.  Schaeffer: "The Bible makes it plain that this message is going to be poorly received by a church and by a culture in revolt."  Now how true is that!  In fact, you can always tell the church that is in revolt against God by observing its reaction to the message of judgement.  A self-righteous church will, by default, revolt against the Word of the Lord.  Churches that are backslidden do not know how to live to please and honour God, but they do know how to react to His Word! 

You can assess your church by identifying its reaction/response to the preaching of the Gospel.  Does it despise it?  Does it loathe and oppose it?  Does it seek to silence it?  Or does the church love the Gospel and does she love to hear it preached in all its fulness?  Does she welcome those who preach it with open arms?

That there is no middle ground between these two polarised positions is clear to see.  Yes, God's heart is full of love towards the lost and also toward His own people.  But when they revolt against His truth, they can no longer expect His grace to be showered on them while they remain in spiritual revolt against Him.

And what is true of the church is also, and sadly, true of the culture in which the church operates.  Once our culture was based on solidly biblical foundations, but with the passing of years of humanism and secularism, that foundation has been destroyed, and there is no longer a Christian consensus in the West.  Our culture is in revolt against God. The devil is actively at work amongst us.  And few seem to see it or care.  They will have to sand alone, because establishment people in every walk of life will close ranks against those who have the courage of their convictions to stand apart from the evil that is being perpetrated against decency and truth.