When I first came to really believe in Christ, and a genuine love for Him was welling up within me, it was like a whole new world was opening up to me. I was completely ignorant to the broader landscape of American Christianity. I had no clue about the pervasive debates and bad influences that had impacted the church in our country. I just wanted to learn more about Jesus, to serve Him, and to worship Him with other believers. Well, the first church I attended as a new Christ-follower gave me ample opportunity to do so. It was a huge church! It literally had 6 services every weekend, and several thousand members. This church was not perfect, (as no church is), but it did have some incredible preaching of the Word – And by that I mean to say that it was entirely Bible-centered and the Pastor was faithful to sound doctrine in his teaching. Well, somehow I got it in my head that large churches were the norm, and that possibly it was a sign of God’s blessing for it to be so big.
Well, fast forward a few years, and I had moved to another state and joined another large. They boasted the largest congregation in the area in which I lived and seemed to have a good impact on the community. I could tell that this church was not the same as the one I had begun with, but at first, I didn’t realize how significant the differences were. However, soon I began to see some areas of emphasis that were askew. There was an incredible amount of focus placed upon “church growth.” Which isn’t of itself bad, we should all desire for our churches to grow. If your church doesn’t desire for souls to be saved then it is not a church at all! But by what means ought this end to be pursued? Herein lies the sticking point doctrinally speaking. It is easily observable that the broader American church has been willing to compromise and to turn away from sound doctrine to accomplish the growth they so eagerly desire. Sure, those churches have doctrinal statements on their websites that appear orthodox, and that would classify them as Evangelical – But such things so often prove to be nothing more than a thin veil that obscures the reality of the situation. Thus, while most might not be comfortable calling such churches heretical, I’d propose the following questions:
1) Is it not heretical to abandon the belief that the Word of God is sufficient?
2) Is it not heretical to make the church into something that is man-centered rather than God-centered?
3) Is it not heretical to abandon preaching about sin, hell, church discipline, and the holiness of God?
4) Is it not heretical to seek man’s approval, at the expense of whole-heartedly seeking God’s approval?
5) Thus isn’t it heretical (or at least very misguided) to look to the size (or numerical growth) of your congregation as a means of determining whether God is pleased with your church?
Our own little church in Virginia has recently seen some growth (new attendees, new members, and baptisms). And lest we become captivated and swept away by the lure of continuing to “grow” at all costs, I think it is important to clearly see the heresies that underlie many of the “successful churches” we see in the world around us. Over the next few weeks, it is my plan to write on these very points. It will be helpful for us to remember at the outset that God sometimes saves large numbers of people in an area, such as we see at Pentecost, and other times it is but a few – But it is always a remnant that are being saved. The multitudes have never received Christ, and most want nothing to do with Him when He is faithfully proclaimed. Nonetheless, we must preach Christ and Him crucified – And should God grant us the conversion of men’s souls we should rejoice! But let us never seek numbers alone as a sign of God’s approval, or we will find ourselves in the deadliest of snares.
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