I first posted the words at the end of this particular post in October of 2010 under the heading Solzhenitsyn Was Right. A few days ago I was having coffee with an old friend and after catching up on events in our lives the conversation turned to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is my age and not new to 'church going' in modern America....and not a 'church goer' at this time of his life. There was emotion in his voice as he talked about his desire to know more the mercies and majesties of Jesus Christ. When the topic of church came up that emotion was gone and deadpanned reality set in immediately....even a touch of defiance....possibly expecting me to recommend a church for him to go to.
Maybe I surprised him with my response. The exact words elude me but essentially it was....'there are no churches to go to.' Now if you are a Christian then you are probably upset with my comment but permit me to qualify this and then we'll see if your ire is not assuaged a little bit.
There are indeed many churches.....in every city and township in America.....shepherded by a pastor doing his very best....and a congregation gathered together to worship and fellowship. This I'm not denying and this I thank God for....for this....to one degree or another....is America.....even from San Francisco to Maine.
My comment to my friend was not directed to whether or not there were adequate churches to attend where a Christian can receive Bible study, learn sound doctrine, partake of the Lord's Supper, and have his children baptized....where he can fellowship with wonderful Christians who love the Lord Jesus. There may be no place in our nation where one cannot find this.....and all praise is due our God and our Savior that we were born in this nation. My comment was directed to a man who panted to know more of the majesties of Jesus Christ and the power of the knowledge of His righteousness and faithfulness....who knew that there must be something more than what he previously experienced. This is where he will have a hard time finding a church. My recommendation was to find this for now in God's Word to him! My prayer is that God will awaken our shepherds to words that surely must echo in their library from the books collecting dust on their bookshelves...telling of the lives and ministries of those who carried on the faith for two millennia up to this age of near apostasy.
My words....'there are no churches to go'....were meant to shock....to tell him that I know the frustration that he has. This man does not want pablum....he choked on it before....he doesn't want a gospel patisserie of faddish desserts....he does not want to be condescended to in this life and death matter. He wants the Lord of Glory! I have searched for churches like this since I first saw God's sovereignty in all of life and creation. I even search for it when on vacation. I have found it on occasion....once it lasted for a decade.....but it is as hard to find today as a humble politician who would rather sell suits than be in the pocket of some party leader.
Yes there is hyperbole in my statement to my friend but what is not hyperbole is that this is a weak church age that only occasionally exalts and rarely warns....a weak age for preaching the majesties of Christ.....a church age that is influenced by the culture more than it influences the culture....and thus.....as the years have turned into decades which has now exceeded a century.....as Alexander Solzhenitsyn lamented.......we have forgotten God....and as a nation we are paying the price.
Solzhenitsyn Was Right
Over a half century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened." Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat : "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.
Maybe I surprised him with my response. The exact words elude me but essentially it was....'there are no churches to go to.' Now if you are a Christian then you are probably upset with my comment but permit me to qualify this and then we'll see if your ire is not assuaged a little bit.
There are indeed many churches.....in every city and township in America.....shepherded by a pastor doing his very best....and a congregation gathered together to worship and fellowship. This I'm not denying and this I thank God for....for this....to one degree or another....is America.....even from San Francisco to Maine.
My comment to my friend was not directed to whether or not there were adequate churches to attend where a Christian can receive Bible study, learn sound doctrine, partake of the Lord's Supper, and have his children baptized....where he can fellowship with wonderful Christians who love the Lord Jesus. There may be no place in our nation where one cannot find this.....and all praise is due our God and our Savior that we were born in this nation. My comment was directed to a man who panted to know more of the majesties of Jesus Christ and the power of the knowledge of His righteousness and faithfulness....who knew that there must be something more than what he previously experienced. This is where he will have a hard time finding a church. My recommendation was to find this for now in God's Word to him! My prayer is that God will awaken our shepherds to words that surely must echo in their library from the books collecting dust on their bookshelves...telling of the lives and ministries of those who carried on the faith for two millennia up to this age of near apostasy.
My words....'there are no churches to go'....were meant to shock....to tell him that I know the frustration that he has. This man does not want pablum....he choked on it before....he doesn't want a gospel patisserie of faddish desserts....he does not want to be condescended to in this life and death matter. He wants the Lord of Glory! I have searched for churches like this since I first saw God's sovereignty in all of life and creation. I even search for it when on vacation. I have found it on occasion....once it lasted for a decade.....but it is as hard to find today as a humble politician who would rather sell suits than be in the pocket of some party leader.
Yes there is hyperbole in my statement to my friend but what is not hyperbole is that this is a weak church age that only occasionally exalts and rarely warns....a weak age for preaching the majesties of Christ.....a church age that is influenced by the culture more than it influences the culture....and thus.....as the years have turned into decades which has now exceeded a century.....as Alexander Solzhenitsyn lamented.......we have forgotten God....and as a nation we are paying the price.
Solzhenitsyn Was Right
Over a half century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened." Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat : "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.
