Great periods in history are defined by great struggles. Early in the history of the church, there was the infamous struggle for the doctrine of the trinity against the heresy of Arius who, with his followers, denied the full deity of Christ. This struggle resulted in the church’s uniform stance against the heresy and in the composition of the still recited Nicene Creed of 381 A.D. A little over a millennium later, after hundreds of years of false teachings perpetuated by wicked men and the ignorance of the masses in Europe, the Reformation erupted, regaining for the Faith such pivotal doctrines as “justification by faith alone apart from works” and “the priesthood of all saints.”
Today, we find the church in turmoil yet again. All around us, false teachings such as the prosperity gospel and fundamental doctrinal misunderstandings such as that of nature of the trinity (as revealed by the popularity of The Shack) are being propagated throughout the American church. Amid this, we do find the American church struggling with issues facing it, but what issues is it struggling with? Is it the sacrificial and life-demanding nature of the Gospel? Is it the orthodox understanding of God as trinity? Is it the great doctrine of justification by faith alone which we have somehow lost again? No, our “great” struggles in the American church today are concerning the type of music that is being played in our worship services, the buildings we build to house those services, and whether or not Joe Schmoe is drinking a beer while he is cooking a hamburger on his grill. We are so consumed with making sure that Frank is tithing his gross income rather than his taxed income that we have neglected everything that is weighty concerning the Faith which are forefathers fought for with their blood. And because of our neglect we shall be remembered (if we are remembered at all) as the generation that had much potential and resources (e.g. freedom, money, etc.) and yet did nothing with them. Just a thought.
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