Crisis in the American Church

“Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”

Matthew 12:25

There currently exists a crisis in the American Church. Do you know what it is? Are you aware that it is not just recent but has been around for many years? It is a crisis that has plagued the Church throughout history, but seems to be manifesting itself with tremendous strength in America today. It is the crisis of division caused by apostasy.

You probably don’t know what this word means as it is not commonly used today. Apostasy means “the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief.” For the American Church, it means the abandonment of the Bible as the authoritative truth of the Christian faith. According to a recent study by George Barna, over 50 % of American evangelical Christians do not believe the Bible is inerrant or trustworthy. A stunning 74% of them believe that people are basically good instead of sinful, 43% believe that Jesus sinned during His lifetime, and 58% believe that the Holy Spirit is not a person but rather a symbol (American Worldview Inventory 2020: Final Release #12, Arizona Christian University, January, 2020).

In other words, secularization has crept into the beliefs of the American Church. Previous commonly held core beliefs with regard to sin and salvation (law and gospel) are now being replaced by secular views. As a result, some churches and denominations now more closely conform to a pagan, secular culture. And their numbers are not small. Most every mainline Protestant Church has a denomination within it that rejects some Biblical teachings. They include the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PC-USA), and the post separation United Methodist Church (psUMC). And there are many others that are following the same apostasy. They are rejecting Biblical Truth for secular views, most of them having to do with sexual freedom, identity and behavior.

It appears that Christians who have secular or “progressive” views think that abortion is acceptable, a person can choose their gender, and that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. All of these do not conform to Biblical teaching. God’s Word says that “He knit us together in our mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13) and that we “should not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Abortion is the murder of a human being, someone God alone created. Abortion also results most often from the sin of adultery (sex outside of marriage). God’s Word also says the “He created us, male and female” (Genesis 1:27). God chose our gender. We have nothing to do with it and we cannot change it. God’s Word also says that “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24). It’s called marriage, and it’s clearly only between a man and a woman. The Bible also condemns sexual contact in any other context (Exodus 18:1-30). The Bible is very clear on these sexual matters, yet there are some Christians who reject these Biblical teachings in favor of their own secular beliefs. This is apostasy.

So how did this division and crisis in the Church come about? To begin with, sadly, it has always been in the Church. We only need to go and read the New Testament to confirm it was happening back in the early Church. Paul warned the Churches in Rome and Corinth to “watch out for those who cause divisions” (Romans 16:17) and that “there be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10). The New Testament also condemns the practice of sexual immorality that was common at the time (Acts 15:20, Galatians 5:19, Ephesians 5:3, Colossians 3:5, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 1 Timothy 1:10, Hebrews 13:4, and Jude 1:7). Even Jesus Himself spoke out against sexual immorality in Matthew 15:19. Since the Bible also declares that Jesus is the Word (John 1:1 and 1:14), He was obviously referring to all forms of impure sexual relations. Since its beginning, the Christian Church has had to fight off pagan practices and influences that have attempted to corrupt the Church and defy its teachings. It is no different today, although perhaps a bit more pervasive now.

So, why has this crisis re-emerged so strongly? I believe that it has been brewing since the 1960’s with the development of the pill and the emergence of the sexual revolution (sex between consenting adults). These two developments have led to an explosion of sex outside of God’s boundaries of marriage and have resulted in millions of abortions, escalating divorce rates, and the wider acceptance of homosexual behavior for the past 50 years. But it seemed to have gained an extra boost in 2008 with the election of Barack Obama and the subsequent change in public attitude and government policy towards gay marriage and gender identity. Unfortunately, this acceptance by our society has also crept into the Church in the form of cultural and secular beliefs that are contrary to Scripture.

So, what can the Church do to counter this secular influence? Perhaps the first and most important question the Church must ask itself is this – “Is this the result of our own lack of discipleship?” Have we not taught Biblical values (or in some cases avoided it) because the topic was “too sensitive”?  Have we allowed the culture to have more influence than God’s Word amongst our church members? Have we created a generation of church attenders and not disciples of Jesus Christ and His Word? I think the Church needs to take a good hard look at itself in this regard. It’s not too late for the Church to refocus on discipleship and teaching Biblical truth. It must take the culture head-on and not allow its secular beliefs to be tolerated or accepted in the Church! If it doesn’t, then the Church will continue to be divided in America and lose its ability to impact our nation for Christ.

Jesus told his disciples that while we are to be in the world, we are not to be of the world (John 15:19). Peter wrote that we are “aliens and strangers in the world” (1 Peter 2:11). Jesus also called us to be “salt & light in our world” (Matthew 5:13-16). Consequently, we are called to be separate from the world and not like the world. If the Church is like the world then it cannot influence the world to be different than what it is. And if the American church wants to influence our nation for Christ, then it must be unified in both Biblical belief and practice. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:25, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”

But we must also be aware that God is sovereign and will bring about His purpose through this crisis by His Holy Spirit. Could He be preparing the Church to make more disciples by reinforcing the teaching and acknowledgement of Biblical Truth? Could He be calling the Church to revival and restoration of God’s authority in our nation?  Could He be sending His Spirit to reveal the apostasy to those who engage in it and bring them to repentance? Only time will tell.

For those Christians who acknowledge Biblical authority, who “hate evil and cling to what is good” (Romans 12:29), and who witness for Christ and His Word, God will use them to bring the Church in America back to its Biblical foundation. This apostasy must be confronted and removed from the Church in America if it is to come together in unity in order to effectively proclaim the gospel and the truth in our nation.