There has to be a reason for the moral decline of America. Sadly, we can lay it all at the foot of the American church. It goes straight back to the gospel. The church evangelizes itself with an incomplete gospel and, in turn, teaches its members an incomplete gospel. The result is that there are far too many church members who are lost within the walls of the church and do not have a complete understanding of the gospel. They do not know who to evangelize or how to share their faith.
The way most churches evangelize themselves is the same. 1) Believe what we believe (most likely, the facts of the gospel). (I am not saying that you can get the facts wrong; however, true saving faith is more than simply agreeing with the facts.) 2) Pray this prayer. 3) Go through our rituals. 4) Show up on Sunday and look like a Christian, and you are in.
Most people inside the American church do not associate the hard demands of Jesus with the gospel. Do we really associate disowning ourselves and being willing to die for Jesus with the gospel (Luke 9:23)? Or what about giving up everything you are for everything that he is, like the example Jesus shared of the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22)? Or what about putting no human relationship before Christ (Luke 14:26)? We have separated the hard demands of Jesus Christ from the gospel. This is evident in the fact that we have also separated grace from a changed life.
We have taken things that people would find offensive about the cross out of the gospel. When we compromise on the gospel, Satan can use that to deceive millions of people about their salvation. I speak as one of them myself. When we compromise on the gospel, the church is destroyed, and then a nation follows suit. It’s not about blaming any specific group of people, but it is about taking responsibility for where America stands now. I respect every man of God I have ever sat under. I am not asking men of God to change the way they preach. I would, however, like to make the suggestion that they change Sunday school for a while to teach the doctrine of salvation, including in that a major emphasis on repentance. This aspect seems to be missing far too often.
We can’t fulfill the Great Commission when we have so many lost people within the church. The church itself is the mission field that needs to be reached first. The only thing that can turn this country around is a saved church that is led by the Holy Spirit.
If you disagree, do this one thing: Have your church answer, anonymously, a two-part questionnaire: 1) Are you saved? (yes, no, unsure) and 2) Why are you saved? Just see how many “no” and “unsure” answers you get. Then see how many “grace” and “faith” answers you get. If we don’t even know why we are saved, we can’t possibly know the gospel in its entirety.
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