The Church Under Attack (Steve Sutherland/Flickr/Creative Commons)

The Church of Jesus Christ is under attack worldwide. In the Middle East and Africa it is under violent attack from Islam but, in the west it is also under attack from such lies as humanism, atheism, false prophets and teachers, and yes, from political correctness. The devil, knowing his time is short, has pulled out all stops in his attacks. If he is unsuccessful in attacking from the outside, he attacks from the inside with sexual perversion, the pride of kingdom building and ‘bigness’, and even the philosophy of trying to be all things to all people. Biblical standards are expendable and take a back seat to a ‘feel good’ gospel.

Jesus would not be welcome in most churches today with His message of “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” He warned about the end times –

“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” – Matthew 24:11, 12

The phrase “because lawlessness will abound” is not referring to robbery or murder, although it may result in these, but it is referring to breaking God’s laws as given in the Old Testament. And the phrase “the love of many will grow cold” is referring to obeying the commands of Christ. Jesus said “If you love Me, keep My commands.”

You cannot claim to be Christian and willingly or knowingly break Christ’s commands without genuine repentance! Apply this standard to some of the current issues of the day:

1. abortion – “Thou shall not murder” and Jesus saying “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”– Luke 18:16
2. divorce/remarriage – God declares “I hate divorce”– Malachi 2:16, and Jesus taught “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” – Matthew 19:9
3. homosexuality – The “moral” laws in the Old Testament such as killing, stealing, lying, adultery, sexual immorality and so on are all valid today. Jesus referred often to the Old Testament, and that He didn’t come to abolish it, but to fulfill it. Although many of the ceremonial and dietary laws of the Old Testament do not necessarily apply today, the moral laws do. They are as significant today as they have been throughout history. For example, Leviticus 20:13 states, “If a man lies with another man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination.” Other passages in the New Testament are clear on this issue as well. Romans 1:18-32 and 1 Corinthians 6:1-20 are good places to start. In short, mankind did not see fit to acknowledge God, and they suppressed the truth; therefore, God gave them over to a depraved mind—to do those things which are not proper. Homosexual behavior, and sexual sin in general, is comparable with dishonoring the body and turning from God.
4. false gods – “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” – Isaiah 45:22. When churches are celebrating “Chrislam” and inviting Muslims to hold prayer services in the church, they are setting up idols and false gods before the people for the sake of political correctness.
5. humanistic family planning – This is basically wanting to take the place of God who gave as His first command to mankind – And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” – Genesis 1:22. When Christians disobey this command they are not only disobeying God but they are also giving the country to others, such as Muslims who will out multiply them thus giving honor to a false god.
6. voting for those who promote disobedience to God’s commands – When we vote for those we know are promoting issues that are anti-God, we are also guilty of those practices. We may not be in favor of abortion, same-sex marriage, etc.  but, if we knowingly vote for those who are, we are guilty of those practices as well!

There are many other issues that I could comment on but hopefully these will be enough to get you thinking about the many ways the Christian Church has surrendered to the philosophies of the world instead of obeying God’s commands.

The Apostle Paul warns, “Know this: In the last days perilous times will come. Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, slanderers, unrestrained, fierce, despisers of those who are good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power.” – 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Can any deny that these signs are among us in abundance?  Then where are the convicting messages that lead to repentance in our churches today? Shane Idleman writes in CharismaNews –

I’m convinced that the majority of the churches in America are seeking to please the masses rather than convict. Repentance is rarely sought and sin is often excused. We want to build a church rather than break a heart. This leaves people confused and deceived because we teach and live a form of Christianity void of repentance … void of truth. This article will offend those going against truth. – Judgment Will Start in the House of God, Charismanews.com

The political news of the day, heavenly signs being displayed before us, earthly signs such as many earthquakes in various places, mass die-offs of birds, fish, and cattle around the world, and apostasy in the Church all point to the last days quickly approaching. Peter warns us that something else will also be happening –

“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” – 1 Peter 4:17

It is time for us to repent for allowing the corruption of the world to sneak into our hearts and thus into the Church. If we turn back, God will heal us and our land. As Jeremiah pleaded with a rebellious Israel –

“Set up signposts,
Make landmarks;
Set your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities.” – Jeremiah 31:21