Quote:
Originally Posted by n david
Noah and biblical history isn't the reason for dwindling numbers in churches. The reason for dwindling numbers is because a lot of churches, possibly the majority of christian churches in america have no power. Lives are unchanged, people can go clubbin' and bump n grind on friday and saturday then sing in the choir on sunday. You can live life and party like a rockstar and still be on the church board or in a church ministry. Churches have become centers for so-called "social justice" and have become politically correct. There is not black and white; no naming sin as such. Instead sin is tolerated as merely being human and fallible. There is no hell, no judgement for sin.
Fortunately I believe there will be a day when some churches finally wake up, shake off the dust, get back to the Bible and there will be a final great awakening.
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Well, I obviously wouldn't see it that way.
The churches you are describing, that sound carnal from a distance, are ironically the only churches making progress in the post-modern culture. There are dozens of "Seeker" churches, that are commonly labeled as "no hell, no judgement, no naming of sin", that have church populations made up of well over 50% new believers, when the national average is less than 10%. And they're making much of their progress in the younger post-modern culture. Mosaic, for example, in the very tough artistic crowd of LA, has a church populated by 80% ages 28 and under, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 70+ percent of them are believing Christ for the first time.
God's "power" is demonstrated in many other ways than just the judgement of sin, the preaching of hell, and the demand for modified behavior. It (God's power) is also shown in kindness, love, joy, peace, gentleness, etc., and the other "Fruits of the Spirit", and it's those elements that, apparently, are most attractive to the unbeliever, for we are known by our love and by our fruits.
I would wonder what the results would be if you walked a post-modern college campus and issued the power of God's judgement, the speaking of hell, and the clear lines of "black & white" (a term I don't care for). I wonder how many would turn from their wicked ways and trust Christ.
I rarely call out sin in messages. Why? The "works of the flesh" are "obvious" according to
Galatians 5. They already know. What they want and need to know is how to resolve these issues and what they CAN do, rather than what they CAN'T.