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The Future of the Church
It may seem a bit presumptuous to assume one can know what the future holds for the church as if he Is a prophet. We can neither claim to be a prophet, nor, like, Amos, the son of a prophet (Amos 7:14). There have been infallible prophecies uttered in the past, however, regarding the future of the church. The Old Testament prophets foretold its coming. John the Baptist said it was "at hand" in his day. Jesus predicted it would come In the lifetime of some of those who heard Him speak (Mark 9:1). The apostles warned of an apostasy which history reveals did occur (II Timothy 4:1).
We can also know that ultimately the future of the church will be eternal victory. Matthew 16:16-18 tells us the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Nothing could prevent its establishment and it shall not be destroyed. The theme of the book of Revelation is the eventual victory of the faithful in the church of the Lord. I Corinthians 15:24 speaks of the kingdom, which is the church, being delivered to the Father. But this glorious and final victory does not and will not prevent apostasy arising from time to time.
Where are the strong congregations of which we read in the New Testament? What happened to them? Have they not ceased to exist? They left the truth arid fell away. We can be sure that during their good years they would not have supposed that these congregations would someday cease to exist.
Crisis and Conflict
We can be confident that the future of the church will be one of crisis and conflict. It has been that way since Pentecost. The Lord warned of such spiritual warfare and even persecution that would come from many sources against His disciples. The church is in a struggle against evil, fighting the good fight of faith in a world that loves the darkness of sin. Christ came to bring peace between God and man, but that will not necessarily produce peace between men. There are those who will follow the Lord and those who will not. There will ever be conflict between those two. While our fight is not a carnal one (II Corinthians 10:4), it is a warfare nonetheless.
As We Sow
We might be assisted in knowing something of the future of the church when we take notice of the unrepeatable law of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7,8). We can learn something of the future by considering the past. The kind of seed that is sown will determine the kind of fruit produced. We know what the early church was by what it taught and what it practiced. We know what the church Is today by what is taught and practiced. The church of the future will be according to what will be taught and practiced. For this reason there is a justifiable concern by faithful brethren for the future of the church with many false and denominational concepts being promoted by many in the church.
Just what Is being taught? Will the church of the future have the proper respect for the authority of the Word? Is the Word being taught or laid aside for other ideas? The seed of the kingdom, which is the Word of God (Luke 8:11) only produces the Lord's church. We cannot expect to sow and tolerate the sowing of that which is contrary to Scripture and the church he as it ought to be. There must be "sound speech." So much that we hear from many quarters, from literature used, modern speech so called Bibles, from college classes, publications some produce, is foreign to "thus saith the Lord." While many in the church have knowledge of truth and even warn of the trends that run against the truth, what of the oncoming generations as the truth is more and more set aside and the ways of men adopted? Are we so blind and hardened as to think this will not affect the future of the church, and in an adverse way?
The Issue might be presented with a series of questions. Will the teaching done in the church be Bible or human theology and philosophy as taught in colleges? Will we preach the gospel or promote gimmicks? So many in the church have obviously opted for the flashy dresser, the hurrahs, jive talk in a show of being "relevant," give away prizes, helicopter rides for attendance, trips to resorts and playgrounds, listening to the politicians, etc. Shall we have emphasis on the message or spend our time adopting the methods of those in error?
How Led?
Will the church he led by elders who know and love the Book, or by editors who want to sell papers? Shall we be influenced by gospel preachers or by modernistic professors? Will our guide be Scripture or so called "scholarship?" Shall we alter our mission from evangelism, edification, and benevolence in favor of secular education, recreation, entertainment, and "feeling good?" Can we retain our distinctiveness or shall we drift Into being just another denomination as some advocate? These are fair questions and present the problems facing the church In precise terms that will affect the future of the church.
Will we build churches or buildings? Shall we offer worship and praise or just get "high" with emotionalism, big promotions, headline contributions, and battery charges? Will the church actually progress or digress? They are not the same thing, you know!
Godly elders could and should prevent the church from falling away. But how many had rather keep "peace" with men than seek the way of the Lord?
Conviction or Convenience?
Will our faith be that of conviction of conscience by the Word or compromise and convenience? In many instances the latter seems to be prominent! Shall we convert the world or conform to the present culture? Many are trying to change God to fit the times when our task is to change the world to fit God. Bigness rather than soundness is the watchword of many. Is it not evident that some are more concerned about budget than baptisms, and looking for responses rather than conversions? Such questions need our consideration because they bring us back into the way that helps us see where we are, and what may be more important, the direction we are going. This will have a tremendous impact on the future.
It makes a difference the direction we are going. This does not minimize the importance of where we are. Suppose you are traveling from one place to another. Where you are is obviously important. If you really wish to reach your destination, does it not matter the direction you are going? Will you reach It If you are going the wrong direction?
The analogy fits our conditions. We are on our way to heaven. At least, that is the desired destination. Where we are matters. Whether we are faithful in Christ or not makes all the difference in the world and in eternity. But what is our direction? Are going toward the goal, or are we drifting away from the path we must travel?
Quite often brethren speak of the pioneers of the Restoration Movement. Certainly, they had the right goal. They taught the right pattern, plan, and blueprint from the Scriptures. (Some deny the Bible Is our pattern, but they are apostates and heretics, no longer believing what the Bible teaches about His church). Those of yesteryear demonstrated a noble spirit. But they are not now, nor have ever been, the authority. No faithful gospel preacher ever cites them as authority. They advocated what Peter demanded in I Peter 4:11 about speaking as the oracles of God. They had the Word and had the right attitude toward it as the Word of God. They sought unity based on truth, nor mere union and "unity in diversity." They were not willing to negotiate, compromise, or bend with current events. We need more of that disposition today if the future of the church is to be acceptable to God.
Not All
Not all that is called "churches of Christ" are really what they are called. We have long known that the term "church of God" is a correct term to Identify God's people. But it takes more than just the name, even though the right name is Important, to be right with God. Too many have become tolerant of sin, without discipline, winking at theistic evolution, premillennialism, working of miracles today, claiming the direct operation of the Holy Spirit, practicing worldliness, fellowshipping the unbaptized, even offering to forget differences and seeking fellowship in spite of grave and incompatible doctrinal differences. This "love me, but leave me alone to do my thing" attitude of many makes them suspect that they are no longer "churches of Christ" although they may have such a sign in front of their meeting house. Churches can be rich, but not righteous. They may have great size, but also great sin and error. The phrase, "a glorious church" does not properly identify many congregations that choose to wear the Lord's name. They have been overcome by more digression than they admit.
Apostasy is never more than one generation away unless the church is properly taught and Its work properly authorized. Many who love the truth and the church as the New Testament teaches have warned that there is emerging from our number a new denomination, using gimmicks and methods of false religions, promoting their erroneous views through modern versions, being led by those who are determined to restructure the church to a fashion more acceptable to the religious world and our sinful culture. Such is the case with the new Jubilee Church springing from Nashville, Tennessee, and those under the influence of the Tulsa Workshop, and the so called "Christian Colleges" with their know it all professors, who know more about the theologies of unbelievers than they do about the Word of God. The false doctrines and concepts are being endorsed and promoted through papers (Wineskins, Image), schools (DLU, ACU, etc.) and other means such as big extravaganzas like Jubilee, etc.
Preach the Word
The only way to assure the future of the church to be acceptable to God is to preach the Word , know the Word, practice the Word, not go beyond the Word, demand authority from the Word. The church of the future will be composed of different people than the church today. Time arid death will see to that. Will those people believe and practice what Is taught in the Bible? They will not likely do so if they are not taught the Bible as the Bible is. Trends that take people away from the paths of righteousness develop slowly until they seemingly jump to a fast pace, as is now apparent. Step by step, rather than by gigantic leaps, there Is a very noticeable revolution that comes on the scene. There must be a constant measuring of ourselves, not by ourselves, but by the divine standard, with the resolve to adhere to that standard. Otherwise, the future of the church will be bleak and disastrous, and the present congregations will become like the congregations we note in the New Testament that no longer exist as a churches of Christ.
We can know what THE church will be like in the coming century. THE church will be like THE church of the first century. Just what everyone who claims to be a member of the church may be like is impossible to know at this point in time.
The church ultimately shall see God in His glory if those who compose it will remain faithful to the Lord, walk in the light as He is in the light, maintain their fellowship with Deity by obedience to the commands of Deity. If members of the church will live lives as Scripture requires, their future Is already promised, and the outlook Is wonderful. Then the future of the church will be bright and blessed. This is what we must assure for oncoming generations by standing firm in the faith, wielding the sword of the Spirit In all matters.
There may well be days of suffering as we do this. Ridicule is already a common reality. Hearing the things the Word calls sacred and holy blasphemed by the renegades of Satan are heard all around. There may even be physical persecution as in days past. But keep in mind the inspired words of Paul In Romans 8:18, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."