As yet, much of the modern-day church is still under the delusion that a nice building, an overflowing bank account, and a digital footprint are adequate replacements for the presence of Christ in their midst. No, they can’t offer the one thing that sets Christianity apart from all other faiths because they themselves do not have Him residing in their hearts, but they can provide some great entertainment in lieu of Jesus.
The Laodicean mindset is alive and well, wherein if we have
things and can put on a good show, that’s all we’re ever going to need. Jesus
said otherwise, but what did He know? His worship leader wasn’t racing up the
Billboard charts, was he?
There is no Biblical substitute for godliness. If your desire
is to walk uprightly before God, godliness is a prerequisite and a virtue we
must nurture, grow, and mature in our hearts daily.
The simplest definition of a biblical church is Christ in
you! No caveats, no addendums, no amendments, Christ in you! You can have all
the other things, the comforts, accolades, finances, and name recognition, but
if Christ is absent, it’s all for naught. Conversely, you can be meeting in a
barn or a shed, with little to show by way of opulence of stature, but if
Christ is in you, if He is present and in your midst, you have everything.
We cannot view this life or what defines success through the
same prism the world does. It’s when our minds have not been renewed and when
we have not the eyes to see that we are constantly trying to build up
ourselves, our ministries, or our churches in a manner antithetical to what the
gospel prescribes.
It's not a reason for gloating when the world praises you as
the ideal Christian or church. Instead, it's a call for deep introspection and
self-reflection. Why is a world that despises your Master so enamored with you,
His servant?
Those with a form of godliness never grow. A form of
godliness does not lead to sanctification, righteousness, or maturity. It is a
stagnant thing that gives way to all manner of organisms growing therein, and
the more time passes, the muddier it gets to the point that for fear of missing
out on something, they believe everything, and with each newly minted teaching
or doctrine, they shift further away from the light. That, or the make a
sideways move from one tertiary focal point to another just as empty of life
and Jesus as the last.
It’s not only biblically permissible but encouraged to turn
away from anyone who attempts to draw you away from Jesus or shift your focus
to something other than knowing Him all the more.
1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I determined to know nothing among
you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
But why when there was so much more to know? How long’s the
service, what sort of children’s programs do they have, what percentage are
regular tithers, how many are on auto withdrawal, and how many write a check
every month? There is so much information to collate, annotate, and chart. So
many plans to make based on attendance frequency and individual responses to
the newest series.
Why know nothing among them except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified? Because He is the only thing that matters. The only thing of import.
And the only thing of eternal consequence. If godliness is your pursuit and
desire, then it is incumbent upon you as an individual to turn away from those
who love pleasure rather than God and those with a form of godliness and seek
out those whose singular desire is Christ Jesus.
The environment you subsist in will affect you whether you
intend for it to or not. I can tell myself I’ll stay warm until I’m blue in the
face, but if I’m sitting on a block of ice surrounded by snow, I’ll get cold
eventually. This is why Paul’s counsel to those who desire to live godly in
Christ Jesus is vital. Be around those who share your love of Jesus. Surround
yourself with men and women whose goal and pursuit is not earthly gain or
personal fame but the furthering of God’s kingdom.
2 Timothy 3:6-7, “For of this sort are those who creep into
households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away
by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of
truth.”
It was already happening two thousand years ago! Even during
the days of the early church, with all that it entailed, there were those who
crept into households and made captives of the gullible, convincing them to be
led away by various lusts. There would always be some new revelation, some new
doctrine, some new thing that they would insist upon, but that new thing, being
absent of Christ, never led anywhere. This new thing that was supposed to
revolutionize one’s prayer life, intimacy with God, understanding of the cosmos,
or how one experiences the supernatural always focused on the individual as
being indispensable, replacing Jesus with himself and insisting that they, rather
than Christ were the way, the truth, and the life.
With the advent of the internet, those isolated incidents that
Paul points to are no longer isolated or rare. There’s always some new thing deemed
essential, but if that new thing doesn’t point the way to Jesus, it’s worthless
to your spiritual man.
But brother, you don’t understand how important this or that
new thing is. It’s eye-opening and paradigm-shifting, and it will flip your
entire understanding of the universe, which is actually a multiverse on its
ear! We’re talking multi-dimensional, inter-dimensional, shape-shifting,
time-warping, intergalactic beings here, man. Does it point the way to Christ
and the cross? No? Then I’ll pass. Nonetheless, thank you for including me in
your mass emergency alert e-mail.
How exactly do Big Foot, aliens, and cavity probes performed
by inter-dimensional beings with glowing fingers draw you closer to Jesus?
Asking for a friend.
But you don’t understand. I don’t want to! Jesus is enough
for me, and I’m determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. Then you’re a denier. A denier of what, exactly? Will getting
sun blindness looking for spaceships bring me closer to Jesus and the foot of
the cross? I didn’t think so.
If that's the case, then why discuss the end times or the last days of the church? Because those topics undergird the need to be closer to Jesus, to trust Him, to be rooted in Him, and to hope in Him. It emphasizes the need for all of Him and not some of Him, knowing that only in Him and through Him will we navigate the troubling times ahead. It goes back to Jesus and the paramount need for Him every time, without fail. That’s why one thing matters and the other doesn’t.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea, Jr.
Posted on 11 August 2024 | 1:21 pm
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