God and the Irreverent Church

Pastors today have a tendency to deliver blasé messages that, at best, teach us merely how to walk through the world as good people. A particularly excellent message (for a modern pastor, anyway) might even expound on the way to treat our neighbors. But mostly we are taught how to manage our finances, what the qualifications are of a good church leader, or why we need to give to missions.

They rarely if ever teach us how to treat God.

This seems like a major oversight to me, considering the tremendous emphasis the bible places on treatment of God by God’s people. I mean, the bible does kind of go on and on about this particular subject, vigorously stressing the importance of treating God properly. This inculcation is especially made clear in Hebrews 12:28 ‘Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.’

Boom, there it is: Reverence and godly fear.

Sadly, we are no longer taught to revere God. There is remarkably, disturbingly, little respect shown for God during church services, let alone outside the church. We may honor Him with our mouths, but our hearts are, in truth, far from Him (Matthew 15:8).

And this appalling failure commences before church even starts, in the sanctuary. Years ago pastors would close the doors to the sanctuary before service began, with the understanding that those who entered through these doors would do it with mouths closed and hearts open. We were to enter God’s holy place with reverence, keeping silent before Him, meditating on His word. The term ‘sanctuary’ denotes a holy, or sacred, place. Today when you enter the church sanctuary you are assaulted by what sounds disturbingly like a middle school cafeteria; people are standing around yammering away, sipping their lattes, in a hubbub that is distinctly irreverent.

You find no respect for God in God’s house.

This may seem like a petty point to some, but it is indicative of a larger problem in modern Christian society, and it serves as a display of our disrespect toward our Creator: there is no longer any place where we show God the reverence He deserves.

For Christian piety and godly fear to thrive (and they must, or our faith will continue to crumble) we must find a place besides our bedroom, where we shut our mouths and honor God. In Leviticus 19:30 God commands His people: ‘You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.’ Ecclesiastes 5:2 commands us to rein in our blathering: ‘Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hasty before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few.’

If church services are classes for the Christian education, and our pastors are the teachers, then our Christian education is incomplete and our pastors are failing us.

Above all else in this world, we need to revere our God. It is clear that for some time now our ‘teachers’ and those in control of the church have been steadily relegating the Creator of the universe to the role of an impersonal ideal. This way God appears more acceptable to larger numbers of people (which means more money for those running the show). They figure that if they can whittle God down from His 'IN THE BEGINNING GOD' immeasurable self, to a generalized sense of good, then their attendance figures will increase, with an attendant increase in income. This is why church and religion have become big business.

And it all began with an improper irreverent view of Almighty God.

Think on this: Does your pastor permit idle chatter in the sanctuary before the start of services? Does he play loud obnoxious music—that focuses on us rather than on our Savior—that grieves God? (Amos 5:23). Does he fail to offer a moment of silence to permit the Holy Spirit to move through the assembly?

Is it possible your pastor is failing you, failing in his duty to you? If so, you might want to consider spending more time alone with God. Also, make it your duty to keep silent while you sit in your pew or chair at church, choosing to meditate on God’s great word before the services begin, instead of indulging in idle and irreverent chatter. Be an example of a reverent servant of God.

False Teachers are Wolves in Sheep Costumes

False teachers are Satan’s messengers. False teachers are men-pleasers; they preach more to please the ear than to direct people to God. Teachers are meant to be guides, shepherds, leading men to God. Every sermon, every book they write, must serve this purpose: to direct people to God’s word. We cannot increase in knowledge of God without spending time in His word. Pay attention to their ‘messages’. Do they exalt the self instead of God? Do they seek to lead you to a worldly ideal of a better life, rather than leading you to Godly action and humility? God resists the proud (1 Peter 5:5). If your pastor teaches you to think highly of yourself, to believe that you have power within you, then he is teaching you to be proud. This is one of the most blatant indicators that your pastor is a false teacher. YOU DO NOT HAVE POWER WITHIN YOURSELF. You cannot save yourself. If we could save ourselves, if we could fully order our steps—fate—in this world (Psalms 37:23, Proverbs 16:9), then we would not need a Savior. We are in desperate need of a Savior, every hour of every day. We owe Him. We need Him. If your pastor does not lead you to this biblical conclusion about your place in this world, then he is failing you, and he is certainly not helping you to increase in knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10). False teachers teach us to say Yes to the self, to our desires, but the true servant of God teaches us to say No to the self, and Yes to the will of God. False teachers say ‘Declare to yourself that you are a masterpiece’, but Jesus says ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me’ (Matthew 16:24). 

The reality of mankind’s fallen state and desperate need for Jesus is glossed over by false teachers, in order for them to avoid uncomfortable commands, and instead tell people what their itching ears want to hear.
Let us not focus on what we want, which is the way of the world, but rather let us reflect on God’s will.

The only way to protect ourselves from false teachers is by knowing God’s word. It is our shield. So spend more time in scripture, reading it, meditating on it, living it. Because if you don’t, you may find yourself being duped by these wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15).