The Sin of the Church

God is a person.

God is not a thing or an object, He is a person. 
Like any person, God has a personality; He can be offended and pleased just as you or I may be. And like every person you know, you can know God but that relationship filled with such knowledge cannot be achieved in one simple encounter.

Once an individual human being decides to engage God - their spirit comes to life; quickening what was once dead. This is not an end, but rather a beginning - it is a new life, a new person and a new creation through the grace of God.

The great sin of the church is that we do not encourage our people to pursue a further knowledge of the God they claim to worship. 
We are far too satisfied with the very basics of faith without engaging in a deeper knowledge of the One who brought us to life by His Spirit.

The impulse within the heart of man to seek after God originates with God Himself.
Many times men stop seeking after God after their initial encounter with God; but why?
It could very well be that it is the church itself, the Body of Christ in the world, who tells the seeker they no longer need to seek God because they have spiritually 'arrived.'

The man may be 'saved' but he is not thirsty for the Living Water of God; in fact, he is usually taught to be satisfied with very little.
And this is the great sin of the church.

Instead of discipleship, we now accept the fact that people may exercise faith without any change in their moral behavior. In fact, not only do we accept this - we enable it to happen. 
For example, when was the last time you heard Church discipline being exercised for adultery? And if it did happen, how bad was the church criticized because they seemed 'unloving?' 

We as the Church have allowed ourselves to be bullied by those not of our faith, in the name of our faith, to the point where we tend not to exercise our faith because we are afraid of what people will say about us.
The result is that we have churches full of people who have been taught to 'believe' but have never repented of past sin.
They may have 'received' Christ  but there isn't any special love for Him, His People or His Holiness.

The very fact that someone has come to Christ means that God has moved in their heart to draw them near to Him. When Christ is received by the individual, this is not to be the end of the relationship, but a grand beginning.
One of the things that marked Holy men and women of the past is the fact that they desired to know more of God personally. In fact, Moses used his knowledge and relationship with God as an argument for knowing Him better. That situation ended with God passing by Moses as he was hid in the cleft of the rock.

In modern times, it seems that we have become trapped with this 'accept Him' mentality where the acceptance of God's existence is all that is needed; so, we stop there. 
If this is true, then you have indeed found God and there is no more need to seek after Him.
If this is true, then there is no reason for us to believe that the Church is important.
If this is true, then there is no need to heed the words of Jesus when He said, 'Follow Me.'

The truth is that what is really needed is a growing relationship with God, just as you have a growing relationship with your spouse, your parents, your children and your friends.
Again, God is a person; He is able to be known to others but full knowledge of Him cannot take place with one simple encounter any more than one encounter with one female makes you want to marry them.

With God, as with people there is a relationship to be cultivated. The lack of cultivation of this relationship between the believer and His God is the sin of the Church.
Instead of cultivation of this relationship, instead of Christ, we now have programs.
Instead of discipleship, we have methods and activities. 
Instead of solid repentance, we have good works.
And none of these things can satisfy our hearts the way Christ can because it was God who created the impulse within you to desire a relationship with Him in the first place. 

Nothing will be able to fill the hole in your heart except Christ. 

Too often, we fail to teach this; some don't even realize this universal truth. 
Instead, they are given shallow inner experiences where spiritual revival should be taking place.
They are given hollow worship which demonstrates a bare minimal knowledge of God.
And the peace of God we so speak of from pulpits every week - it remains unknown because to have the peace of God in your heart, you must believe on the Son of God in your life.

As we approach Palm Sunday, we remember the shouts of 'Hosanna' from so long ago; hailing Christ as the King of the Jews. The Palm branches that were waved were a symbol of Jewish nationalism - they were right, He was truly their King.
But today, for all who believe, He is our King as well.
And this King, who died for you and lives for you - desires to know you. Not as a subject in a Kingdom, but as a servant and worker for the Most High God.

God is a person - continue to seek Him and you will know Him.

Until next time, try to win one for the good guys.