Recently I have come to see just how worldly so much of mainstream Christianity and popular Christian culture really is. The theology of the modern church is basically a variation of 'Human Potential' style movements... Motivational or Positive Thinking, Self-Help, 'Live your best life now', Prosperity, Church Growth, etc. It is the same ideology and philosophy that the World is teaching. Everything is about maximizing your potential and boosting human interaction and relationships in the world... coming together into unity with the world. It is all about being a positive actor in the world and getting the most of your experience in the world.
I listen to Christian radio, and listen to the most popular Christian speakers and personalities, and they are advancing this common drumbeat over and over again. As Dean Gotcher meticulously explains in the linked video, the reason this is happening is because of our strong desire to go along to get along. We generally hate to be in conflict with the group, and will do almost anything to reduce conflict/tension, and harmonize with the society around us. (the Dialectic process) ... This is what has happened to the church. It has been constantly seeking harmony with a world that is moving further and further away from God's established truth.
For a long time I have been blinded to this reality. When I heard these speakers using scripture or saying the name "Jesus", I would immediately let my guard down and just assume that it must be good, but I now know that I was seriously lacking in discernment. Jesus himself tells us that just because someone uses His name, does not mean they are doing the will of the Father.
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves... ...“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ - Matthew 7:15, 21-23
And it was Satan himself who used scripture while trying to deceive Jesus in the wilderness.
The lie infecting mainstream Christian theology today is that the Gospel is just something you use to improve your life and relationships here in this world. It is all based around a temporal obsession with this world, here and now. Scriptures are selected that tend to only focus on fellowship, and good works, 'accessing your higher self', and anything that can be geared towards increasing community growth and 'positive-thinking' styled motivational talks. On the surface it all looks and sounds very good. But it is not the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a diluted image of the gospel meant to improve one's life here in this world.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is essentially about the war between two kingdoms.
The kingdom of this fallen world versus the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus announces this reality at the very beginning of his ministry:
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” - Matthew 4:17
In our rebellion in the garden of Eden, we were banished from God's Kingdom, sentenced to wander in the wilderness of a fallen world under the law of sin and death. The whole point of Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection, was to make a way for God's children to enter back into His Kingdom when it finally returns at the end of this age in the "Day of the Lord"...
Jesus goes into much detail about the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven during the 'Olivet Discourse' in Matthew chapters 24 and 25. (also Mark 13 and Luke 21)
As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray... - Matthew 24:3-4
But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. - Matthew 24:13-14
If you study scripture, (Old and New Testaments) you will come to find that a huge chunk of it (roughly a third of all scripture I believe) is all about this prophetic Day of the Lord, when the Kingdom of Heaven comes to earth and the Holy One, the Son of Man, the King of Kings, Jesus Christ the Lord establishes His Kingdom on this earth. He rules with a rod of iron and makes earth his footstool.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. - Matthew 24:29-31
This is just one example of the prophecy of the Day of the Lord found in the Old Testament, but all of the prophets speak of it, often at great length.
Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand—
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times
nor ever will be in ages to come.
- Joel 2:1-2
The whole Bible converges around this reality of the Kingdom and the coming of the Messiah. Jesus came to earth first as a suffering servant in order to take on the wrath of God and sins of the world when he died on the cross. The next time Jesus comes back will be as the conquering King.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. - Galatians 1:3-5
This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything else proceeds out of this reality of the Kingdom. This is why Jesus had to go to the cross for us. What is left for professing believers is to decide which kingdom they really belong to.
The rich young man in Matthew chapter 19, we find has devoted his life to following God's commandments, and yet still goes away sorrowful when Jesus instructs him to trade in his earthly treasure in exchange for the treasure of the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19:16-22) ... The lesson here is that you can be living a Godly life by all appearances, and yet secretly be holding back your little piece of the kingdom here in this world.
Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. - Matthew 19:27-28
... and so we return to the present situation with mainstream Christian culture that seems entirely focused on this worldly kingdom. This is a style of Christianity that compromises on almost anything in order to reduce tension or conflict with the world, and pursues harmony with the culture and philosophy of the world. It feels good to be in greater human relationships. It feels bad to be seen as a strange and peculiar person.
The world loves the "social gospel"... the gospel that says Christianity is all about just loving each other and doing good works. This is a gospel of the world, that seeks greater and greater world harmony and unity, and so models itself after the world as it blows about to and fro like the waves of the sea, unanchored to any truth. But the truth is that Jesus came to divide, not unite this world. (Luke 12:49-53)
Eve used her natural senses in the garden to rebel against God. God gave her a clear command to not eat of a certain fruit, but she saw with her eyes that the fruit looked good and let herself be deceived by the serpent that God must not have really said what He said. Of course most Christians do not even believe in the account of the garden of Eden and the fall of man and the origin of sin and death in the world, because they seek a greater harmony with the world which teaches them that it is foolishness to believe the Bible reveals anything about the history of the world. Instead Christian culture encourages us to be "reasonable" and believe in a naturalistic Evolutionist model of world history instead. We are told to rely on our "reason" just as Eve used her own reasoning to deny God's Word.
Since the questioning of "Science" brings too much conflict and tension with the people around us, we instead justify our abandonment of scripture in order that we may have greater harmony in our human relationships here in this world.
Similarly, since any discussion of the return of King Jesus and the end of this world (and all we have invested in the world) brings so much discomfort and tension with worldly culture... we just stop talking about it altogether. Or we tell ourselves that we already living in Christ's kingdom, denying the Day of the Lord altogether. (Preterism, Amillenialism)
The apostle Peter even specifically warns against those who will deny the truth of the Creation of the world, the judgment of the world through the flood of Noah, and the final judgment of the world in the return of Jesus in the Day of the Lord. (2nd Peter Chapter 3)
Most Christians today laugh at the idea that the world was ever judged by a flood.
For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” - John 5:46-47
The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. - Revelation 1:1-3
I can't remember a single time I heard any of these popular Christian personalities speaking about the end of this world in the Day of the Lord in any literal "this is actually going to happen" sense, for the aforementioned reasons. Even though it is a fundamental part of the Gospel, it makes people uncomfortable. We want to be part of the kingdom of the world here and now and we want to be liked and respected in our human relationships here and now.
There is a certain false Jesus that is quite palatable to the world. A Jesus that could easily be swapped out for any flavor positive-thinking spirituality. A Jesus that simply represents one's higher consciousness over negative emotions. It is everywhere in churches today. These are professing believers whose eyes glaze over if you bring up anything in scripture besides the elements that can be worked into this feel-good positive-thinking spiritual system. Should we not be constantly seeking the truth in His word?
I believe God opened a lot of eyes with recent global events. We can see how much the mainstream church 'synced up' with the narrative and the fear-mongering of the world. How churches got in line and bowed down to to the dictates of "science" with everyone else, ultimately closing their doors, and then only returning to in-person fellowship when the authorities of the world allowed them to. I thank God he is tearing the veil off and letting us see. I believe more and more we are going to watch the mainstream church systems harmonize and unite with the world.
Is this the "Lukewarm" church of Laodicea? Churches that may have once been burning hot for the Lord but now have gradually fallen in temperature to a lukewarm equilibrium with the surrounding human environment. These professing believers love their church communities, their charity drives, and want to keep a superficial Christian culture and family tradition, yet in their lives there is nothing really different about them from the world around them. They are comfortable in their worldly kingdoms here and do not which to jeopardize that status. But Jesus wants us to give it all up to follow Him.
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. - Revelation 3:14-18
