In this piece, we will continue to review chapter ten of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works, along with addressing the mass exodus from the established church by sincere Christians. Please find a link below where you can purchase the book from Amazon, should you desire to do so.
To pick up where we left off – the mass exodus from the established church by born-again, spirit-filled, Jesus loving Christians. I have written about this exodus, the cause and effect, a great deal in the past on this blog. If you go through the archives you will find various posting on the topic along with a series titled, The Spiritual Remnant. Please review those posting for greater understanding on my observations over the last twenty plus years.
The author notes that the home-church is becoming the preferred method of “church” for most of those Christians exiting denominationalized religion and institutional church. I agree it is becoming a preferred method for many reason. The author and I agree that relationship connection, accountability, and freedom from the unnecessary politics of the established church are the primary reason. Rev. Billy Graham in his last televised evangelistic program both acknowledged and encouraged this growing trend. People are returning to the blueprint Jesus laid out so many years ago when He and the apostles started out. I believe there is a prophetic reason for the fact that this is happening in history at this time but that is something I do not wish to go into at length at this time – perhaps, in another posting.
A survey was done by for an article in the Washing Post and Barna estimated that 20 million Americans or more have left the established church since 2000 and turned to alternative forms of worship, study, and receiving pastoring. These forms include home churches, online faith communities, and workplace ministries. Why is this happing? I will answer that question by asking another question.
Over 80 percent of Americans are Christians attending thousands of churches each week. They hear the music, listen to the sermons, do missions, pray, and have ceremonies yet America is, as the author states, “rapidly losing her very identity as a Christian nation.” So why is this true? The answer to that is why Devout Christians are leaving the established church in rapid numbers. The needed Truths are not being told or received in most established church congregations today.
Another question posed by the author is why so many “born-again Christians are getting divorced, taking antidepressants, hooked on online porn, or just plain confused, resentful, and dissatisfied with life?” Again, the answer is both simple and very complicated at the same time; the needed Truths are not being told or received in most established church congregations today.
I was part of the “seeker sensitive movement” in the 1990’s, and I along with many others I have known and served with have repented for allowing that movement to shift from what God was doing too far the other way; though I personally did fight against, warn, and resist that shift. Many of us have sought to find the balance God originally intended between established religion (religiosity) and sincere godly Christian spirituality. It has been difficult because people love to live in the extremes, and those two extremes, religiosity or grace-abuse, seem to be the primary camps of congregations littering the current church landscape in America.
Kupelian states, “too many of our churches have lost the essence of what it means to walk with God and have filled the vacuum with either excitement and entertainment or dry theology and ceremony.” Bingo! Religiosity. Christianity is mean to be a spiritual religion not a legalistic religion like Islam – performing rituals to please God or a god.
We will continue our exploration of the tenth chapter of this marvelous book in the next posting. Where happiness and peace are addressed.
How Evil Works
Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms our country entirely. Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms someone you know or even you. Knowledge is power and without it we will perish. We need to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to evil.
Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
The Marketing of Evil
Evil is sold in our society just as anything else might be sold, through marketing. Satan has marketed his product through those willing and those ignorant to his schemes. Through his craftiness he has turned the minds of even Believers to think that tolerance of his evil is some form of love. In so doing he has transformed to a large degree the once Devout Church and transformed our society to an enormous degree. He has not accomplished this without his workers however, the willing, the sold out for their own gain, and the ignorant masses following blindly behind the majority.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.