Hip Church or Deceived Church? Part I

In Jeremiah 6, the prophet is prophesying to God's beloved people. The fall of Jerusalem is imminent. The reasons for its fall are many, but at the center is the adultery of God's people.  Their disregard of His true prophets (who speak for God); their coldness of heart; their willingness to compromise all that God has revealed as to belief and behavior and their unwillingness to repent, will cause Jerusalem to burn and its people to cry.

I am sure, as they heard Jeremiah calling out in God's holy city, they reasoned among themselves: If we have done nothing wrong, why should we repent?  

These words of Jeremiah resonate today.  Why?  Because humans beings don't change.  Our sin nature, bequeathed to us by Adam and Eve, still seeks out the dark corners and turns away from God.  

We still say,  If we have done nothing wrong, why should we repent?  

Let's stroll through Jeremiah 6, and see how we, like the people then, have traded in God's truth and His holy Word for what makes us feel good and makes us blend in with the current culture, so as to not offend.  

We have, in America, gathered around us teachers who promise us untold wealth; a perfectly healed body every time illness darkens our door; miracles, signs and wonders every time we show up; worship services that provide a "Sunday experience"; and laughter and stories that dominate the preaching, with a touch of Scripture here and there.  Not enough Scripture to offend us, but just enough to make us feel like we "did church." 

In Idaho, I drive by a certain church quite often.  The latest series boasted by it on its marquee is, "Why Church Sucks."  I know, I know.  They are probably lamenting how church is inadequate in meeting people's needs, and of course, because they have figured it all out, their church doesn't suck. 

But we are the church.  So we suck.  We are Christ's Body and we are His visible representatives on earth.  But we don't measure up to this church's definition, because the word, "church" is used in the broadest possible way, at least on the marquee.

What if a YMCA marquee said, "Why Fat People Suck"?

What if a school marquee said, "Why School Sucks"? 

Fill in the blank and no matter how you see it, "sucks" is utterly pejorative and has no redeeming value.  Especially not on a church marquee.   

We don't fix church issues by using cultural references and hip phrasing.  We use the Word.

How about, "How Church Could Be Better"? (Nah--not edgy enough)

How about, "The Word Only Is A Sure Foundation" (Nah--too old school)

How about "Jesus is Our Head and We Are His Body!" (Whoa--too obscure for the modern church consumer!) 

Let the Word teach us.  Walk with me through some verses in Jeremiah 6.  

"This is what the Lord Almighty says:
'Let them glean the remnant of Israel
as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
like one gathering grapes.'"

(God's faithful remnant is always present.  Not every preacher, church nor Christian is walking their own way.  They want to follow their Savior and Lord to the fullest.  They are quietly doing Kingdom work as good and faithful servants.)

"To whom can I speak and give warning?

Who will listen to me?
Their ears are closed
so they cannot hear.
The word of the Lord is offensive to them;
they find no pleasure in it.
But I am full of the wrath of the Lord,
and I cannot hold it in."

(When people refuse to listen, the question has to be asked, "Why?" The consequences of spiritual deafness will be catastrophic for the Jewish people in Jerusalem in Jeremiah's day.  Our spiritual deafness to God and our willingness to listen to the culture for how we conduct church will be catastrophic as well.)

“Pour it out on the children in the street
and on the young men gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
and the old, those weighed down with years.
Their houses will be turned over to others,
together with their fields and their wives,
when I stretch out my hand
against those who live in the land,”
declares the Lord.

(When we do not listen to the whole counsel of God, and listen only to what tickles our ears, we do not hear the warnings of Scripture.  Cause and effect are very evident in the Word; it is to our peril that we eschew it.  Our arrogance leads to the stumbling of the innocent, the unsaved and those who struggle.)

“From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.
They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
when there is no peace.
Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the Lord.

(Wow.  The blame of these dire words is aimed at the teachers and their motives as they lead God's people.  They speak falsely, lulling the people of Jerusalem to disregard the truth of God's impending judgment, as Jeremiah cries out.  Today, big churches have big budgets and big budgets needs lots of tithes and offerings.  Expensive sound equipment, big screens and lights--which today are seen as indispensable--require full coffers.  To keep people in and giving money, preachers need to satisfy church consumers and keep them coming back.  They preach light, happy sermons and make people feel good.  God was not pleased then and I deeply worry He is not pleased now.)

"This is what the Lord says:
'Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
I appointed watchmen over you and said,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But you said, ‘We will not listen.’"

(Despite God's many efforts to cajole, warn and inform, the people ignore Him, satisfied with their false sense of security.  Move up in time and just look at the birth of the church in Acts.  No business plans.  No surveys. No demographic studies.  Just the Holy Spirit indwelling the hearts of  men and women who loved Jesus.  Wind preceded the Holy Spirit's coming:  a powerful, sweeping, new breath of new animation into old clay, to make a new Adam. Tongues of fire came and settled over their heads: passion, commitment and the power to burn away deception with the unifying language of love and truth had arrived.  The church was born.  Powerful day.  Powerful church.)  

"Therefore hear, you nations;
you who are witnesses,
observe what will happen to them.
Hear, you earth:
I am bringing disaster on this people,
the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not listened to my words
and have rejected my law.
What do I care about incense from Sheba
or sweet calamus from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
your sacrifices do not please me.”  

                                                  (Jeremiah 6: 9-20) 

(Sobering words.  God does not brook deception, adultery and spiritual deafness endlessly.  His people felt His judging hand when Jerusalem burned and its occupants cried and died.  Their worship was deemed unworthy because deception rather than truth animated their behavior.  They, in essence, worshiped themselves.  A man-centered faith with man-centered standards and beliefs characterized their relationship with God.  Are we any different today?  I think not.)

Are we truly listening to His Word?  Or are we listening to our deceived culture (the one we should be transforming) as to what church should be?  If that church's marquee is any indication, we are in peril.