The commercials are eye-catching. The products have differed, but the aim of the ad has been the same. Sit people, blindfolded, before a TV camera. Parade a line of tastes and smells before them and them choose their favorite. Of course, the camera keeps only the records of the consumers who pick their product over the others. How many others, whose experiments lay dead on the cutting room floor, choose “the leading brand” over the competitor paying for the commercial? All of that is neatly set aside, thanks to the selective wonders of technology.
How many religious groups parade themselves before God in each generation? >From His exalted throne up in heaven, He discards with perfect omniscience all who carry with their faith in Christ, their intense morality, or their evangelistic zeal the doctrines of men (cf. Matt. 15:13). He claims only one religious group, the one for which His Son gave His life (Acts 20:28), the one founded upon the foundation of Christ (Matt. 16:18), and the one following the pattern He has left them (John 16:13).
Within the one body (Col. 3:15) He claims, however, are individual congregations who in time depart from His doctrine, lose their distinctiveness, or drift from their evangelistic direction. When this happens, even these are in danger of rejection (John 12:48). Churches in Asia Minor felt this sting (cf. Rev. 2:5). What kind of church does God not want us to be?
God does not want weary churches. Paul warns against weariness in well-doing (Gal. 6:9). It is possible to find the narrow way so difficult to travel that a congregation finally gives up on doing right. The right way is rarely the easiest way. The opposition of the world pressures God’s people, and faint-hearted saints must strive to endure.
God does not want weakened churches. He abhors church leaders who are so afraid of losing “contributors” that they kowtow to them. His wrath is kindled by preachers so pensive about their pension that they fall prey to tickling the ears of the worldly (2 Tim. 4:3). He has difficulty stomaching a lukewarm membership, made tepid in failing to be distinct (cf. Rev. 3:16). As always, those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
God does not want worldly churches. He warns against it (Jas. 4:4). When churches try so hard to look like the world to the world, they ultimately fail to reach it. They have nothing to offer it which it does not already have. But, in the process, they lose God’s acceptance.
God does not want “wanting” churches. Belshazzar was “weighed in the balances” and “found wanting” (Dan. 5:27). The goal of any church is to get beyond this stage of “wanting” (i.e., lacking) maturation and completion (Jas. 1:4). But, what about churches who are not trying to grow, win souls, train her males to be preachers, elders, deacons, and teachers, and train her females to be strong, convicted, pure, and holy Christian women, and learn more and more of God’s Word?
God does not want wasteful churches. American churches have the overwhelming majority of the money, trained preachers, facilities, schools, persons of influence, healthy bodies, and like resources. That we are not “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) is surprising. No church, in these affluent circumstances, should struggle to meet unchallenging budgets. Brethren should not be begged and prodded to do personal work. Involvement and commitment should be assumed traits of born-again people! We are sitting on a gold mine of opportunity and material wealth. We must be able to stand before the King some day and make a good accounting of our stewardship of these things.
Opportunities abound before us (Gal. 6:10). Let us blossom into the churches the Father wants us to be (Jas. 1:27), Jesus died for us to be (cf. Ti. 2:14), and the Spirit teaches us to be (Rev. 2:7ff). God wants a willing, working, waiting, and watchful church. At all costs, let us avoid becoming a church God does not want us to be.