Changi Chapel

Who changed things from the vibrant, Spirit-empowered “by life or by death” faith of the New Testament to today’s spineless Sunday-morning religion?

Who changed things from “Leave everything and follow Me” (see Luke 14:33) to “Pray this little prayer and you’re set for eternity”?

Who changed things from “All who live godly lives in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (see 2 Tim. 3:12) to “Ask Jesus into your heart and enjoy a comfortable life”?

Who changed things from a fearless proclamation of the truth, whatever the cost or consequences, to a watered down, compromised message that is afraid to offend anyone?

As A.W. Tozer once said, “If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.”

This remains true of most of the contemporary church in the West.

Who changed things from a God-centered faith to a man-centered faith, from "Take up your cross and deny yourself" to "Bypass the cross and empower yourself"?

Who changed things from holiness being beautiful to holiness being bondage, from the early church being known for its high standards to the contemporary church being known for its scandals?

Who changed things from the people of God being a threat to the powers of darkness to the people of God being active participants in darkness?

In the early church, Paul instructed the Corinthians to separate themselves from people who claimed to be believers but were living in outward, unrepentant sin (1 Corinthians 5). Today, some of those people lead our churches and preach from our pulpits. Who changed things?

When did Jesus stop being enough?

When did obedience become an option?

Who changed things?

So, who changed things from the biblical version of the Jesus faith to the modern American version?

I ’m far more concerned with what He says than with what the latest polls say.

I say that we go with the power of the name of Jesus and the wisdom of the Word of God and the fullness of the Spirit. I say that we go with the New Testament model, applied with boldness and with compassion to the needs of the day.

Years ago, Leonard Ravenhill said, “One of these days some simple soul will pick up the Bible, read it, and believe it – and act on it. Then the rest of us will be embarrassed.”

I want to be that simple soul. How about you?

Do you want authentic New testament Christianity or the modern American version? What will you choose today?

Michael Brown
Author/Bible Teacher/Messianic Believer 
www.Askdrbrown.org

© Michael Brown – Excerpted, abridged and adapted from his recent blog. You can read the full article at http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/in-the-line-of-fire/42808-who-changed-things

Your comments, thoughts or suggestions are welcome. The body text is by the author, the header and the words in italics are mine – John B. Samuel

Twitter: @johnbsamuel