Throughout scripture we are confronted with the grim reality that a great chasm exists between sinful man and an infinitely holy God. Despite his best efforts man cannot cross this chasm in hopes to be in right standing with God. This is precisely why our infinitely holy God had to come to man’s side and become the bridge across this chasm. The reality of man’s sinful nature and of God’s holiness has been lost on the American evangelical church. This chasm has been reduced to nothing more than the white picket fence that separates Dennis the Menace and Mr. Wilson.

The disregard for man’s sinful nature and of God’s infinite holiness can be seen most clearly in three areas in the local church in America today. While additional symptoms could surely be added to this conversation about healthy church life, these three are the most dire and should be of great concern to church leaders across the country.

Not Practicing Church Discipline

The idea of practicing church discipline is abhorrent to many evangelicals. To think that there may be an instance where someone may be publicly confronted for their unrepentant sin and that confrontation is seen as healthy for the church dumbfounds many today. Immediately someone unfamiliar with church discipline shows their concern for the feelings and self esteem of the person deep in sin and little to no concern for the health and sanctity of the body of Christ.

The visible church is a direct reflection of the character of God and just as God does not tolerate unrepentant sin neither should the church from its members. Whenever a local church allows its members to live in a pattern of unrepentant sin it is disobeying the commands of Christ concerning the protection of the church and it is not showing the maximum amount of love to the member in sin. Ultimately, if discipline is carried to the final stage of excommunication, the unrepentant sinner is turned over to their sin and is to be treated as an unbeliever all to the end of hopefully seeing the sinner repent and come back to the fellowship restored and reconciled. This is all in an effort to protect the sanctity of the church out of reverence to the holiness of God. Our Lord Jesus himself gave the church and her leaders authority (Matthew 16:13-20) to guard the gates of the church and sometimes, based on the words of Christ himself, this means practicing the privilege of church discipline as outlined in Matthew 18:15-20. When a church willingly neglects to practice church discipline and allows unrepentant sin to run rampant in its members it is showing direct disregard to the holiness of God, denial of the seriousness of sin and it ceases being a church altogether.

Irreverent Worship

The ultimate goal for the church is to worship God. This was true of the Israelites in the desert and it is true of us today. God has given His people guidelines as to how to worship Him. In Leviticus chapter 10 we find Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu being consumed by fire from the Lord because they decided to worship God in their own way not authorized by Yahweh. God takes worship seriously and so should the church.

In John 4 Jesus tells us that worshippers of God “must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” These words of our Lord could be expounded on for pages, but the one take away for this article is this: approved worship has a source and that source is God himself. He has given us approved methods of worship such as prayer, reading of scripture, singing of scripture and preaching of scripture. In most churches today the worship service could easily be confused with a secular rock concert. From the lights, lasers, smoke and even the lyrics there is no reverence of a holy God to be seen, only the feeding of emotional needs of the culture. Worship leaders (which is an altogether misused title considering the entire service should be worship) have traded a commitment to orthodoxy for an ever-changing sense of cultural relevancy. This shift of revering the holiness of God to revering the emotional needs of the culture begs the question…Just who is being worshipped?

Lack of Emphasis on Theology

A very simple definition of the word “theology” is an understanding of God. When Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17 he says, “this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” To study theology is to deepen one’s understanding of God, which would seem like an honorable and encouraged endeavor. Instead, theology is deemed too intellectual for common Christians to pursue. Christian youth are encouraged to devote countless hours to the study of Algebra, Biology, Calculus, etc., but relatively zero hours to theological matters. To quote Voddie Baucham “Christianity is about more than knowledge, but never less.” What Voddie is saying is that pursuing Christianity is an intellectual exercise not limited to the super intellectual. Indeed the entrance into a saving relationship with Christ does not require a certain amount of theological knowledge, but once the Holy Spirit has sealed that relationship there is no excuse to remain in spiritual ignorance.

This is perhaps the area that needs the most attention in the local church. The two previous areas of conversation flow directly from an emphasis, or lack thereof, of theology. To quote the wise pastor Brandon Scroggins “Theology informs ecclesiology.” This is a very true statement that any church leader should meditate deeply over. A church’s overall handling of theological matters will have direct impact on the discipleship and the pursuit of holiness by its members.

These three areas are red flags flying over most evangelical churches in America today. Red flags that signal the reality of man’s sinfulness and God’s holiness are not seen as diametrically opposed positions on an infinite spectrum. The major issue with not taking these two truths seriously is that if the good news of Christ coming to bridge the gap between God and man is not laid against the backdrop of just how wide that gap is then the good news cannot be truly and fully appreciated. The so-called churches that do not take these truths and the aforementioned symptoms seriously can scarcely call themselves churches. They are merely organizations under the loosely defined banner of “Christian.”

Does your church practice discipline, worship reverently and take theology seriously?

Are there churches in your area that do?