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I am sure you share my concern for the moral collapse of our nation. Sadly, even though we hear many national leaders calling for a return to “family values,” “moral renewal” and “faith,” few realize that the foundation of our national moral health can only be rebuilt upon Jesus Christ and the Word of God. We do not need the religious tyranny of a national church such as that imposed on Europe by the Catholic church during the “dark ages,” but if we, as a nation, are to survive, we must have a return to our identity as a Christian nation and a Christian people.
What concerns me even more than the state of our nation is the health of the Body of Christ in America. Is the church’s own wall in disrepair? Are we prepared to endure an approaching storm? Much good can be said about the American church, of which I am a fellow member; dependent upon my brothers and sisters, and needing the grace of their fellowship and love. This mission is dedicated to serving the Body of Christ, and assisting evangelism. Much of our support is received from local churches. I do not speak to condemn, but to exhort, edify and prepare the American church for what I perceive as an approaching trial of our faith. In support of the church, may I begin my exhortation with the words of the Apostle Paul?: “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 8
It is God who has justified His children, and on that final day as we stand before Jesus Christ, the world will not be able to bring one single charge against God’s elect. It is the world who will stand condemned. However, until that day, we must examine ourselves, judge ourselves, perfect ourselves, and strive to realize all the potential that God has called us to in Christ Jesus. Note that trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword, death, life, angels, demons, the present, the future, height, depth, nothing that attacks us in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Persecution and trial are not the greatest dangers facing American Christians; but the deceitfulness of riches, the cares of this life, and the influence of false prophets in these last days. These are dangers which come from within our own hearts if we are not fully rooted in Jesus Christ, and abiding in Him. Our Great Loss
Voice of the Martyr’s had an article about a Korean church elder who was quoted as saying: “In many Christian conversions today, people move from the position of being ignorant sinners to that of being active enemies of God.” He went on to explain that “it is becoming popular for a self-centered sinner to move into a self-centered ‘me focused’ Christian religion and ignorantly leap over the cross, missing the sacrificial life which Christ taught and represented.” He continued, “in America it is easy for movements to form which jump over the cross and miss the true depth of Christ-likeness because we live in a no pressure situation. Many ‘new believers’ today are not under pressure to form Christian standards and are conveniently taught that it is socially easy to follow Christ. Therefore, many verses on daily sacrifice, denial, crucifixion and burial are bypassed in the more attractive rush to resurrection.”
I am increasingly convinced that, in America, the greatest danger to the Body of Christ is our failure to comprehend and embrace the “high calling of God” in Christ Jesus. This is the call of Jesus Christ for each one of us to “deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.” In America, very few Christians understand what it means to live a disciplined, sacrificial life. This is leading us into errors such as the so called “prosperity gospel,” a dangerous, over-emphasis on signs and wonders, pride, worldliness, carnality, out of control emotion, and a “show business” style absurdly claiming the “anointing” of God. The marks of the suffering of Jesus Christ are rarely upon us. We are bringing reproach on The Holy Spirit of God. I speak this warning and correction as a Christian often in wonderful fellowship with Pentecostal and Charismatic brethren because of their Christ-like love; their desire to be a witness of the Savior; and their desire to worship and praise God with freedom and God given emotion. I embrace my brethren in the Pentecostal community because of the fruit of the Spirit I have seen, not because of the “gifts” of the Spirit which I have also seen, sometimes properly, and sometimes improperly exercised.
The problems are seen by many today, (sadly also by many lost people), and we must address them. Hank Hanegraaff’s “Christianity in Crisis” is a book every Christian today would do well to read to be forewarned about many of the serious errors facing us. We are clearly warned in Scripture: “But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. I Cor. 11:31-32 But these problems are only symptoms of an underlying weakness in the Body which gives rise to spiritual illness, hinders our effectiveness, and causes a stumbling block to the lost.
The “Low Call” The cause of our failures in the American church is the embracing of a form of legalism which has replaced the cross in our lives. The American church has embraced what I call the “low call” or “low goal.”
Legalism is any substitute for the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus” to deny self and take up our cross. Legalism replaces the “living way” of the Spirit with formalism, tradition of men, or bondage under the old covenant law in place of our liberty to pursue the higher goals of the “law of Christ.”
American Christians can be fairly described as “good people,” but is that all we are called to be? In our churches we are called to receive Christ as our Savior, be baptized, join the church, tithe, be good moral people, good citizens, good parents, good spouses, and good employees. Certainly we should be all of the above, but is that all? If so, we have embraced legalism. But, thank God, there is so much more after salvation, for all of us. Having been saved from wrath through the cross of Jesus, we are offered by our Lord the inexpressible privilege and honor of following His example by carrying our own cross. This is our highest ideal. This is our “high” call. We are called to be martyrs; to lay down our lives for the sake of others yet lost, as Christ laid down His for us. We are to personify Jesus as we speak of Him. We are to be living sacrifices, “to suffer with Him,” “to know the fellowship of His sufferings,” to allow “the sufferings of Christ to flow over into our lives.” Is this call being presented in the American church today?
We are commanded not only to believe in Jesus, but to “be like Him,” and to “follow Him.” We are called to follow the example of the Apostle Paul and the other disciples. The following record of the sufferings of the life of Jesus and the Apostles gives evidence of the truly successful Christian life. The sufferings of those who follow Jesus today, also bears record of their success in the Christian life. Have any of the following experiences happened to you as a result of your faithfulness to Jesus? If so, rejoice. How do we as American Christians “score” on the following “Marks of Success” found in the Word of God?”
The Marks Of Success (according to God)
The following experiences are taken from the Scriptures in describing the lives of Jesus and the lives of the Apostles.
“To suffer the loss of all things, to be homeless, hungry, to give up all that you have, to suffer with Christ, though rich to become poor, to suffer rejection, persecution, beatings, lowly, as though you were not, without eloquence or superior wisdom, in weakness and fear, with much trembling, as servants, as slaves, condemned to die, as lambs led to the slaughter, on display, spectacles, dishonored, thirsty, in rags, brutally treated, working hard with your own hands, cursed, slandered, the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world, denying yourself, taking up your life, distressed for the comfort and salvation of others, sharing in others sufferings and burdens, under great pressure far beyond your ability to endure, despairing of your life, feeling the sentence of death, in deadly peril, with great anguish of heart, with many tears, hard pressed on every side, perplexed, struck down, carrying about in your body the death of Jesus, always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, outwardly wasting away, in great endurance, enduring trouble and hardship, in imprisonment’s, riots, through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report, genuine yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, yet living on; beaten, yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, yet possessing everything; bodies that have no rest, harassed at every turn, conflicts on the outside, fears within, in severe trial, in extreme poverty, not being a burden to anyone, severely flogged, exposed to death again and again, stoned, shipwrecked, adrift in the open sea, constantly on the move, in danger in the country, in danger in the city, in danger from rivers, in danger from criminals, in danger from false brethren, laboring and toiling, often without sleep, being cold and without clothes, often without food, pressure of concern for all the churches, feeling weak with those who are weak, inwardly burning because of those led into sin. In danger of arrest, in weakness, bearing insults and difficulties, making a fool of ourselves (for Christ’s sake), spending everything we have for others, expending ourselves as well, having our property confiscated, living as aliens and strangers on the earth, not receiving in this life the things promised, longing for a better country, mistreated with the people of God, experiencing disgrace for the sake of Christ, tortured, jeered, chained, stoned, sawed in two, put to death by the sword, clothed with sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, mistreated, wandering in deserts and mountains and in caves and in holes in the ground, bearing on your body the marks of the Lord Jesus, resisting sins to the point of shedding of your own blood…” Taken from the Gospels, and the Epistles of the New Testament.
These are the experiences of God’s people who obtained a “good report” in the Word of God. Is this in any way a picture of the American church or, as Paul said to the Corinthian church, are we “reigning as kings” at a time when we are called to sacrifice and to bear our cross? Are we “seeking the city which is to come,” or are we trying to receive our reward now? Are we with Jesus “outside the camp, bearing His reproach,” or are we inside the camp, too settled down in the comforts of this world? We have drifted far from our call.
Is the American church holding forth a vision of excellence and self denial? Are we producing a generation of fervent men and women of God as Jesus desires, or just “lukewarm”, “worldly”, “good” people? What does our Lord desire of us for our good and happiness?
The wonderful “prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” is only attainable by our individually taking up our cross, following Jesus, and, if necessary, suffering with Him. (To walk with Jesus is to often be at risk.) This is a sacrificial life of self denial and discipline which is not being proclaimed as our goal in the American church. This is a primary reason why many of our young people are bored with our form of Christianity. There is no sacrifice. This is not something we have to do, it is what we are called to do. Our salvation is a free gift. Our crown is something we earn. This is the great deficiency of the American church: We have been overcome with our prosperity and ease and have lost sight of our great call to be like Jesus and the apostles. We only want to believe and not to follow. Thereby we have become impoverished, though appearing rich. What has caused this? Legalism
A subtle form of legalism has robbed us of Christ’s true riches. Legalism is practicing form and external effort rather than clothing ourselves with Christ. Legalism as defined in Paul’s letter to the Galatians is using the law either for the purpose of justification, or after beginning with the Spirit, trying to attain our goal by human effort. (the law) Gal. 3:1-5
Legalism is any form or practice that displaces the “law of Christ”, the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus,” the “way of the Spirit”, and ultimately, the call of Jesus for each one of us to “deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him”. Legalism focuses on this world and our rewards here, the cross focuses on heaven and our rewards there. Legalism promotes self-righteousness, materialism and self satisfaction, the cross produces humility and a desire to sacrifice more and more. Legalism results in spiritual death, the cross provides unlimited, ever increasing, glorious life and fellowship with God. Legalism is easily attained, the cross provides new challenges every day and the confession of the Apostle Paul that “I have not attained.” In summary, legalism, professing life, results in death. The cross, an instrument of death produces life. It is the wonderful paradox of the cross. The cross of our Savior provided for our justification. Then loving us and desiring our greatest joy and good, He calls us to take up our cross and follow Him, not for salvation, but so that we might have fellowship with Him, sharing in His sufferings, joy, and reward.
“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like Him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind, and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philip. 3:7-14
Pray that God will raise up evangelists and preachers across our land who will exhort the American church to take up her cross and follow our Lord. This is the very opposite of the “prosperity gospel,” and the popular approach to giving today which threatens the curse of the law and teaches us to give in order to receive material possessions. You are no longer under the curse of the law, and are exhorted in Christ to give freely, not under compulsion.
Pray that God will use us as vessels of the character and person of Jesus, rejecting the cheap imitations we are seeing more and more of today.
We must suffer with Him if we want to reign with Him. We can no longer be content with the easy path of a self satisfying form of Christianity. How will we feel when we stand in eternity alongside great men and women of God who in every century gave their all, suffered the lose of all things and counted it joy. This step will not be easy for the American church; nor for you or me; nevertheless, we must, as members of Christ, cry out to God for renewal and reformation in ourselves and in the church. We cannot and must not be deceived.
Happiness will never be found in the possessions of this life. American Christians need to begin to pour their resources into the Kingdom of God and I do not think millions of dollars invested in huge buildings are the wisest investment. The church existed and grew very well in homes until the establishment of Catholicism. Because of persecution, I think we will return to house churches before the Lord’s return. We need to invest more in the lives of people, in building relationships, supporting public evangelism, helping the poor among the Body of Christ in Third World countries where $100 a month supports the family of a poor pastor or evangelist, and $200 will help an entire congregation. Their cry for help will not go unnoticed by God; nor will our indifference. Give where God tells you, how much He tells you, when He tells you, not under compulsion. Give freely, as the Lord has prospered you. If there is one obvious thing that American Christians can and should do for the Kingdom of God worldwide, it is to give. We are the richest nation in the world. May God help us not to keep it for ourselves. As James, the Lord’s brother wrote, “we are not to horde wealth in the last days,”… “we are not to fatten ourselves in a day of slaughter.” The Holy spirit and the Word of God will lead us. He will draw each of us closer to Him. But we must know Him by the living way of the Spirit, tested by the Word of God, and with a willingness to even experience the fellowship of His suffering.
I believe God will graciously and lovingly place the cross upon those in America who want to follow Him. May each of us have the courage and wisdom to recognize God’s high call for our life. The true riches of Christ await us. But these are only for those who are willing to run the race. Let’s not just go to heaven with half empty hand and heart. Let’s arrive full of joy. by Court Wood
Published by In Jesus’ Name Ministries Phone: 540-465-4755
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