Time to Wake Up Church!
by
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The Church Is an Influencer but Not a Controller.
There is much debate today over separation of church and state. Much of the debate is quite confusing. The truth is that the church being the salt, light, and pillar and foundation of His truth, is meant to influence everything including governments. There is a difference between influencing and controlling. The church was never meant to control the world or the appointed political leaders. Christians are to influence the world to live by God’s standards.
Jesus did not try to manipulate or control those around Him. He acknowledged man’s God-given free will to choose between good and evil, but encouraged and influenced people to behave in ways that reflect the two most important commandments—to love God and to love our neighbours.
The church is also meant to introduce the Creator to those who do not know Him and to reflect His character, power, wisdom, and majesty. What does this mean? The church is to be God–like and show compassion, mercy, patience, kindness, justice, and love both within itself and to the world outside. The Bible says “Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Col. 3:12–13 NLT). It is through this behaviour that the world will be influenced.
The first church described in Acts 2:41–47 enjoyed the favour of all the people, and each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. The early church displayed such devotion to God and love towards each other that they stood out. Their focus was on pleasing God and looking after those who belonged to the fellowship and the Lord did the ‘adding to the fellowship.’ From the letters to the churches written by Paul, Peter John, and James several years later, it is clear that their focus too was on the same things—they addressed the various issues taking the focus away, and urged the believers instead to be devoted to the Lord and to each other. In the next chapter we will be looking at the equipping of the church for evangelism.
Unfortunately, the church at times has tended to use force to bring His rule on earth and as a result failed miserably. As people of the new covenant we are to use mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Jesus was the perfect example of this.
The Church must Exert Its Authority on the Forces of Darkness
The Bible says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world's rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12 MKJV). Our enemies are organised spiritual forces under Satan. Our battles are to be fought both on our knees in prayer and in active godly service. The church is to exert its God-given authority over dark forces to overcome and defeat the evil plans of Satan.
One might ask, “Why is the world going in the wrong direction if the church is so powerful?” The answer is that the church is not doing the job it is meant to do. This is partly due to a lack of understanding of its role, responsibility, and the power that the church has to fulfil this responsibility. When solid Biblical teaching is lacking, we remain ignorant of these magnificent truths. We accept the status quo. We tend to think negatively, that the world will eventually get so bad that God, independently of us, will intervene. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Although this is a complex matter to fully understand, we cannot be excused for thinking that the church will ultimately need to be rescued through the rapture. Does the Bible say so? No! Will the Lord be coming to take a defeated or a victorious church back with Him? I believe the Lord will come for a victorious church displaying all the power of God, even while evil is at its zenith. To think otherwise is to say that evil will ultimately triumph and that the church—the body of Christ— is powerless and ill equipped in the face of evil.
We can expect evil to increase towards the end of the age as predicted in the Bible (see Matt. 24:12). And once the church which is salt and light is removed through the rapture, evil will reign supreme. Satan will enforce without any opposition, his evil on the earth and those who come to know the Lord during this period known as the tribulation period, will be subjected to some of the harshest persecution the world has ever seen. This will all happen according to God’s eternal plan as He initiates events during the last days.
Come on church! We are powerful because Jesus is our head! So let’s influence the world through our faith, good behaviour, and the love we show to each other and to the world.
Proof of This Reality From History
Look at history: The body of Christ has been behind every major change whether it is in the abolition of slavery, introduction of equal rights, fair and just government or building hospitals and schools in poor countries, and in 1215, of the production, then preservation and proclamation of the Magna Carta which became the foundation for the freedoms we enjoy today. The early church was described as turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6).
The most recent of influences have been the British Empire (between the16th and 20th century) and the United States of America (between the 18th and 20th century). They have changed the world through education, legislation, government, research, innovation, human rights and military might—all with God’s help as these nations trusted in God.
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About the Book
The contention of this book is that the church is not being what it should be to the world as a result of tolerating false or misleading teachings. We need to examine what we have absorbed and get back to the basics of our faith, if we are to live right and be a stronger, more powerful influence in this world. Twelve fundamental topics are discussed with review questions for personal contemplation or for group discussion.
My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will help us see the truth through the scriptures that we examine, and that we will understand things the way they were meant to be understood. There is no guarantee that everyone will come to the same conclusions as a result of the scriptures and arguments presented in this book. But this book would achieve its purpose if it results in some serious discussion and questioning of our current understanding and results in some positive changes.
About the Author
Rabi worships at Waverly Baptist in Melbourne, Australia, where he is a Bible study leader, prayer coordinator, healing-ministry leader, and Careline volunteer. He is also a Christian religious instructor and director of Glen Waverley Healing Rooms.
He served as club director and on the board of YFC Sri Lanka from 1970 to 1983.
Rabi graduated as an engineer and has postgraduate qualifications in business and financial administration and in training and assessment.
He currently works as a business improvement specialist.
He shares from years of experience as a professional in the business world, having held senior corporate roles and through active involvement in Christian service. He has published several articles and continues to influence his readers through his writing.