The Voice Of The Church
"For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything."
(1 Thessalonians 1:8)
"America has been great because it was built on sound Christian principles. Our nation acknowledged and honored God, the Creator, and as a result, He blessed the nation. However, years ago, our churches adopted a neutral position with regard to society, wherefore, those principles melted away. Our Christian foundation eroded and we lost our stability."
(Americanvision.com)
The question that has been on my heart these days, in the midst of all the problems, controversy, division, and corruption in our country is: "where is the voice of the Church?" Why are we not "sounding forth" like the young church at Thessalonica? The news was out how these Christian's had "turned from idol's, to serve the living and true God." (v.9)
What I see happening in the church today is a compromising of Biblical truth.
The Bible is to be lived out as it is, not twisted to meet our wants and desires. And in the arena of home/family, government, education, politics, religion, etc. the church's voice is very weak. We as the church have allowed the world to silence us, and to deaden our influence upon the world.
"During musical tryouts, a young man with a horrible voice auditioned for the lead part. He simply didn't have the ability to sing and that became more obvious with each passing measure. His entire rendition was off pitch and painful to hear. The panel of judges sat in stunned silence, but when he finished, one judge jumped to his feet and gave the young man a rousing ovation. Once the stagehands had escorted the young man out, the judges looked at their colleague with sheer surprise and exclaimed, "How could you applaud for such a pathetic voice?" The judge replied, "I wasn't affirming his voice. No, I was praising the young man's nerve for doing that in public."
(Ministry 127)
To the world, the Church does not have a popular, and pleasant message. As the apostle Paul instructed the Christians' at Ephesus, to be"speaking the truth in love,"(Ephesians 4:15) we are to do the same. God's Word demands a commitment to salvation, and righteousness; a message the world doesn't want to hear, but needs to hear.
It will take nerve, and boldness, to "sound forth" the Word of God, by our lips, and by our lives. But it is so necessary that the church be heard today.
"Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"
Then Simon Peter answered Him. "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68)
Why are we as the church, to keep sharing the Bible with the world? We have the Lord Jesus'
words of eternal life. There is no other words, where by the world can be saved. GP