Giving Christ His Place

From AW Tozer:

Christianity at large and the Church generally speaking, are afflicted with a dread, lingering illness that shows itself daily in the apathy and spiritual paralysis of its members.

How can it be otherwise when twentieth-century Christians refuse to acknowledge the sharp moral antithesis that God Himself has set between the Church, as the Body of Christ, and this present world with its own human systems?

The differences between the churchly world and the followers of the Lamb are so basic that they can never be reconciled or negotiated. God has never promised His believing people that they would become a popular majority in this earthly scene.

I wonder how many believers would join me in a clear-cut manifesto to our times? I want it to be a declaration of our intentions to restore Christ to the place that is rightfully His in our family situations and in the fellowship of the churches that bear His name.

Are we willing to demonstrate the standards of godliness and biblical holiness as a rebuke to this wicked and perverse generation?

Too many modern churches believe that they can reach the world by becoming more like it. This might initially attract a few curious seekers, usually for misdirected reasons such as their quest for increased prosperity, better health, worry free living, or other goals stemming from promises contained within the "tickle the ear" messages coming from the church. The vast majority of unbelievers however, will generally reject church members attempting to assimilate into the world. Their most common reaction will be to rightly accuse the member of being a hypocrite. "See, I knew you didn't really believe all that Christian morals, ethics and stuff". If the unsaved can't see any difference between us and them, what incentive do they have to join us?

The church cannot transform the world if we are too busy assimilating into it. It is only when the church bends the knee and confesses Jesus as Lord to the glory of the Father (Php 2:10-11), and remains faithful to the Biblical teachings that the unbeliever will see something worth responding to. Returning to Pastor Tozer, he offers this prayer:

Lord, though the Church and the world often collide, I pray that each member of the Body of Christ will be so full of integrity that many unsaved people in the world will be pointed to Jesus Christ.