I have been preaching over 50 years, and the Lord’s church is under siege to an extent I
have never seen before. When I was a young man, I used to think that all we had to do was continue
to emphasize basic Bible doctrines, and the church would continue to grow and multiply all over
the world. But I have seen congregations falter and fail. I have seen members lose heart and
become unfaithful. I have witnessed an unparalleled increase in departures. I look around for the
faithful gospel preachers who used to surround me, and I am finding fewer and fewer. And I am
very concerned that, for all of our modern, technological advancements, mass media, social media,
etc., there seems to be precious little love and respect for what it really takes to grow the church
and make a real difference in the community.
Over the next several weeks, we will be looking at some urgent threats facing the church. I
noticed a recent issue of the Spiritual Sword itemized some of these threats in a very appropriate
way, and I will be referring to some of that list for this part of the series. We will be looking at a
number of threats, including:
Biblical Illiteracy: There was a time when the church of Christ was known for people with
strong Bible knowledge. But the Lord’s church is threatened by an influx of people with very little
Bible knowledge. And, many of our people are extremely shallow in their ability to effectively
handle the Scriptures. Many of the blogs and discussion posts which I see reflect a shocking lack
of Bible knowledge, and it’s obvious we are not doing much deep, serious Bible study as a whole.
Moral Collapse: It used to be unheard of for some of the serious moral lapses we are seeing
around us to occur within the church. Even outside of the church, some of these things were
relatively rare. Now, it seems we are being flooded with moral indiscretions reflective of a culture
which has decidedly moved away from God. This cultural shift is deeply affecting the church, and
needs to be called out and reversed.
Denominationalism: The distinctive nature of the Lord’s church is emphasized repeatedly
in the New Testament, but obtaining it is something of a lost art in today’s world. We see
denominational practices and teaching making inroads and gaining wider acceptance in the church.
Coupled with biblical illiteracy, it seems difficult for many of our members to tell the difference
between God’s way and man’s ways, much less to be able to effectively defend the truth. It is
urgent that we recognize and resist these pernicious errors.
Declining Numbers: Many congregations are currently in decline. Some of this is due to
demographic trends, but most of it is due to a long series of decisions to be more like the
denominations, and less like the Lord’s church. These decisions need to be reconsidered in a spirit
of humility.
Liberal Influence: False extremes, such as liberalism and anti-ism have long posed a threat
to faithful congregations. But the ability to maintain a scriptural balance seems to be more elusive
than ever. There are some keys to achieving this, which we will closely examine in the series.
Aging Membership: Some congregations have almost totally lost their young people, and
their optimism for the future. In some cases, the older folks who remain are going through the
motions, “keeping house,” having very little impact upon the community around them. We must
understand our young people, and recognize that they are the future of the church.
Impersonalization & Youthful Apostasy: There have always been special challenges to
young people, but in the current culture they are losing faith at an alarming rate. We will consider
some of the reasons for this trend, together with some Bible principles for reversing it.
The Lord’s church is facing some serious threats which require our immediate attention. I
hope this sermon series will help us better understand some of these, and respond appropriately.
Your careful attention and encouragement during this sermon series will be greatly appreciated!
