Quote:
Originally Posted by Truly Blessed
I agree with you ML that the standards for Christians in general in NB were most likely present prior to the formation of the UPC of NB. I know that there were many standard teachings that were nothing more than the personal convictions of some men who were able to popularize these into holiness issues, but at the same time, today it seems the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction to the point that many Christians have no convictions at all.
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Pastor Blessed
There is a sad truth in your final statement: "the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction to the point that many Christians have no convictions at all."
One of the greatest dangers facing the twenty first century church is the pressure to conformity that is coming from (To use an overused buzzword) a post-modern world. You can see its effect in the posts on this forum:
- Everybody has an idea, nobody has absolute truth, and every idea is of as much worth as any other.
- Everybody has an opinion, all opinions are valid, and strongly held convictions are an unpopular concept.
There are undoubtedly people who will sneer at the idea of you and I lamenting a lack of convictions among modern Christians, but the truth is that the North American church, not all, but a large segment, is drowning in a sea of worldliness: in love with money, drunken on pleasure, and full of pride.
Some are so infatuated with the concept of liberty that they can't tell the difference between the world and the Kingdom, and others have covered worldly hearts with a cloak of rules until they deceive themselves into thinking they're righteous when they're only religious.
God grant to the North American church transformation through the renewing of our minds until we will love God more than pleasure, and cease seeking entertainment at the altars of God. Lord, wash our eyes with the Heavenly eye salve until we will see the poverty of our materialism, and let our humbled hearts be broken at your altar until we will live as servants rather than entitled lords. Purify us from our religious worldliness until you can see the image of the Son of God in us. Amen.