THE DECLINE of CHRISTIANITY?

[…I am obliged to say plainly, that I fail to see that all the external improvement of the last forty years, is accompanied by any corresponding growth of practical holiness! There is no decrease in the total idolatry of recreations, or the extravagant expenditure of money, or self-indulgence of all kinds. On the contrary, there is far less repentance, faith, holiness, Bible-reading, and family religion! If this state of things is not a most unhealthy symptom in the condition of a Church, I know not what is! …The leading idea of many minds in this day appears to be, that it does not signify much what a man believes or teaches about what are commonly considered the principal verities of the Christian faith. A wave of extravagant liberalism in religion, as well as in everything else, is sweeping over England. Concerning the Trinity, the Divinity of Christ, the atonement, the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, conversion, justification, the inspiration of Scripture, the future state, and the like—it seems to be agreed that men may believe as much or as little as they please, and nobody is to find fault. The only question you are to ask is, whether a man is 'earnest, sincere, and zealous,' and if he is, you are not to ask anything more. It is thought very narrow and illiberal to say that any opinion in religion is false, or that anybody is unsound in the faith. Distinct and positive statements about anything in Christianity are thought downright uncharitable. All the old dogmas are to be held back, and never to be put forward in a solid, tangible state—or to be put forward in such a foggy, misty manner that, like a half-developed photographic plate, they are never to come out distinct, sharp, and clear. I challenge anyone who observes closely the pulpit utterances of this day, or reads speeches which touch religion, to deny the accuracy of what I have just said.] ~ (J. C. Ryle, "The Outlook" 1886).

Written in 1886 and addressing the prior 40 years!
Has it gotten better, or worse?

I have recently been impressed with how many of us (I don't say all - but yet most whom I have "encountered") presume to be so knowledgeable of scripture application that we assert dogmatic "opinions" about other people's lives when we should be advancing only the scripture. Is there none that know the "fact" of the matter, the mind of Christ? Of course there is. But let us suppose that a revelation of scripture is for the individual, what the individual learns of God, and not necessarily for widespread application in everyone else's lives. What do I mean by this?

 Certainly God's Word is universal and applicable for all. But what you know of the truth this minute might not be what I am ready for right now. It might be meat for you… but still milk for me, or as a baby is apt to do sometimes… I might turn my mouth away. It is for YOU to "apply" to YOUR life. The understanding of it might then come for me, in how I "see" the practical application in your life. Isn't this what Jesus did?

I see the forums and blogs and debates within the church and especially on the Internet. (No one argues in person as one does on the Internet. The obscurity of anonymity is our own inner sanctum in which to be "boisterously authoritative". God knows.) I see in the book of Job... Eliphaz the Temanite (Teman was a grandson of Esau), Bildad the Shuhite (Shuah was a son of Abraham by Keturah), Zophar the Naamathite (Naamah was a sister of Tubal-cain), and Elihu the Buzite (Buz was a son of Abraham's brother). Job's friends attempted to explain, rationalize, justify what had happened to Job. Catastrophic, devastating things that (self) righteous know-it-alls would conclude were the punitive wrath of God. There was truth in what they said to Job, but none of it applied to Job's present situation. What they said applied to Job in general, in that he was a sinner, but then so were his friends, who were not afflicted as such. So the question was, "why are the righteous afflicted"?

I see the righteous, perfect Word of God assailed by the wickedness of the world, and I see the "friends" of the Word trying to figure out, not only what it (the Word) means, but why does it not prevail. We blame each other. The Catholics blame the Protestants; the Methodists blame the Pentecostals; Joe blames Bob. Those of us who DO read the Bible, find a "sudden" revelation and "BAM"…Oh…that's what that verse means! It seems we then try to apply what we know/learn of the Word to everyone/anyone else, as Job's friends tried to instruct him. Some write books to share their vast wealth of Bible understanding. Some have created religious empires.

It must be first perfected in the individual's life… our own lives. If we would first perfect this "process" in our lives, we would not be authoritative "leaders", we would be humble servants. I see that most of us, if not all, have reached a plateau wherein we think we are "teachers" because we are so "learned" in the Word. But then many Sunday School teachers are NOT knowledgeable in their subject matter. Many teach/lead from pre-packaged, rhetorical lesson books…. the gruel of the religious nursery. We (corporately) are hasty to teach others, but others point back at us and say, "Hypocrite". "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" Job 38:2.

Who has "time-enough-to-come-back-to-it" which takes us away from studying, learning, absorbing, engrafting the Holy Scriptures?

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" Rom. 11:33.

You have time to NOT "find these out"? Who has been perfected to the point that one has recreation time? Who has justification to stop praying? Who has time to blog about recipes, or whether "tongues" is valid today, the "Gap Theory", whether there will be a "rapture", or what leviathan is? Who has time for end-time prophesies? I am not ready for the END time. We are expending a colossal effort on a waste of time,

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understanding what is the will of the Lord" Eph. 5:16-17
(emphasis mine).

Who is perfect? Who has fully matured? Who has the promise to spend more time in the Word… tomorrow? Who has tomorrow? Some of the expressed laissez-faire perspective says, "Well, I've come this far through my "best" effort. God has brought me along… worked with me. It's all I could do. This is where I'm at. Come the resurrection I will be fully perfected to be like Christ". Really? Some of us are talking QUANTUM LEAPS! Do we believe in quantum leaps? And so then, does that justify our lack of diligence, discipline? Is that slothfulness?

My Bible talks about… 

Constantly… "Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right" Ps. 106:3 (emphasis mine);

Always… "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void to offence toward God, and toward men" Acts 24:16 (emphasis mine), see also 1 Cor. 15:58;

Without Ceasing… "Pray without ceasing" 1 Thess. 5:17;

Vigilance… "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour" 1 Pet. 5:8;

Perseverance… "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" Eph. 6:18;

Patience… "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" James 1:4;

Running… "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run, that ye may obtain" 1 Cor. 9:24;

Continuing… "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed" John 8:31;

Daily… "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart" Acts 2:46….also Acts 17:11 - Heb. 3:13;

Occupy… "Occupy till I come" Luke 19:13.

And oh so much more.

We (corporately) have been told and been made to believe complacently, that we are saved…it is done…we are "fixed". We are a "new man". My Bible says (and yours as well),

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" Phil. 2:12.

"Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is" Mark 13:33.
I think we should read Job 38 - 42 and one of the Gospels, everyday.

"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begins with us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" 1 Pet. 4:17.