A couple of weeks ago, a trending topic on twitter was #LiberalismInFourWords. I responded by saying,
“Unguided Freedom Is Bondage”
This post explains why I said that:
Revolving altars; Synchronized fountains of water falling on tinted glass backdrops; Lightning effects with variant shades, themes and colours; Entertaining music by talented vocals; Charismatic preachers with tablets, immaculate dress sense and tongues…well-oiled eloquoent ones; Church audience in attendance with various versions of the Bible on their phones; Projectors working overtime to display the Bible verses being preached, as well as keypoints in the preacher’s message….
That about sums up the state of Christianity in this current dispensation.
Christianity, as a religion, has never had it this good!
Right from the days of the early church in the Old Roman Empire to the mid-1900s, Christians had endured diverse forms of persecutions:
Some were ostracized; others were maimed, or even crucified.
Many were fed to hungry beasts; some skinned alive.
Many more were burnt to stakes while numerous others were impaled!!!
Indeed, it took something more than raw guts to be a Christian in those days. It took a very deep conviction, as that decision was similar to a death sentence.
As it were, one of the mysteries of Christianity to the Gentile world was that it seemed to even wax stronger and spread wider with increasing adversity in the form of persecution.
Naturally, one would always expect a system that could thrive in the face of affliction to do the same, or even better under favourable conditions.
However, History has shown us that this isn’t always the case.
For example, in the early 1900s, majority of Eastern Europe was under a strict communist rule which saw all religions as the ‘opiate of the people’ and subsequently banned them. Defaulters were jailed, tortured and eventually liquidated. Yet, despite the high risks involved in being a Christian during this time, the Brethren in this region still met regularly in underground Churches and the Gospel was propagated massively. Against all odds!
However, when you fastforward a couple of decades after Communism’s demise, the percentage of Christians in these Eastern European countries have drastically dropped. Even the larger portion of the few Christians left are the nominal ones.
So, I ask: ‘What is going wrong?’
When I look at the state of the Body of Christ today, I cannot help but wonder,
“Is this the Body that Christ ransomed with His precious Blood?
“Is this the Bride that the Lamb is coming back to marry?”
Listen up: Though the devil isn’t wise, the guy remains an cunning schemer!
You’ve gotta give him that.
You see, when satan found that adversity was only aiding the propagation of the gospel, he decided to change his warfare tactics to a more subtle one.
LUXURY!!!
Yup. Luxury.
The devil and his cohorts are still on the offensive. However, the Church has assumed that the apparent absence of adversity implies that the devil is tired and no longer interested in attacking.
Be sober. Be vigilant. Be watchful.
That’s the only way we’d be able to thwart the devil’s incessant attacks.
Life’s never been this good!
Technological advancements and worldwide peace seems to have made modern-day Christianity to be a shadow of what it used to be.
Please note that these luxuries aren’t evil, but when they shift the focus from Christ, they become potent poisons that can weaken our stand in Christ.
Resist the devil and he would flee from you.
Put on the whole armour of God.
The funny thing about the armour is that there’s no cover for the back!
What does this imply?
There’s no room for running away from our battleground in life.
When you turn away from the battle all in the name of luxurious vanity, you leave your back exposed to the fiery darts of the enemy.
It’s either wholehearted commitment to God or total union with the evil world system. You can’t afford to be double-minded about Christ. There’s no middle ground!
Christ is coming back soon.
This isn’t the time to be slack or lax!
This isn’t the time to let the fire on the altars of our hearts to go out!
Whoever puts his hand to the plough but looks back isn’t fit for the king’s prize.
Duty calls!
It’s time to stand up strong as true soldiers of God’s own army!
It’s time to lay aside all fithiness and superfluity of naughtiness!
It’s time to come to terms with yourself and ask,
“After all these things; After enjoying all the aesthetic values and exquisiteness of my church building; After enjoying my preacher’s motivational psychology and philosophical teachings…WOULD I STILL MAKE IT TO HEAVEN?”