Western Civilization

September 5, 2010

WORTHLESS SALT: WAKING THE DEAD CHURCH IN THE WEST

Melissa L. Morgan

OUTLINE WORTHLESS SALT: WAKING THE DEAD CHURCH IN THE WEST

Summary: Can we compare our western churches to the dead church of Sardis, or the lukewarm Laodicean church? (2) The church in the west, like the ancient city of Laodicea, is rich in material wealth. Few Bible believing westerners lack necessities, either spiritual (church services, classes, Bibles, literature) or physical (basic food, clothing or shelter). Many churches in the west preach a “health and wealth” gospel, promising abundance as reward for giving tithes. Much of social gospel theology preaches that Christ primarily came to give money to the poor, through individuals or the government. Yet many emergent churches forget that Jesus came to save the lost—the poor in spirit. Salvation is only by faith through the grace of God—not through men.

Since Christ calls the church a body, perhaps we can use an example from life science. If you were just barely alive and I poked you, your body would jump! The Western Church has been “poked” through the years, and most of the body has failed to jump. Perhaps if we bring in a church doctor, he will find a faint pulse here and there, but it seems to be fading fast. Yet together, let us strive to strengthen ourselves, our families, our community, and the things which remain—until He comes again!

Thesis: The church of Christ in the West has lost its flavor, and has become contaminated with the world. However, we can strengthen what remains and become more Christ-like.

Has the church in the west become the dead church in Sardis of Revelations, “worthless salt?”

Explanation of the church of Sardis, Laodicean church
Explanation of 'worthless salt.”

Poking the dead church—Checking to see if it is alive

A. The salt of the western church has been contaminated from relativism (I am personally opposed, but I can't “impose” my morality on others)

B. Also contaminated by sins of abortion, promiscuity, homosexuality, secularism, evolutionism, paganism, Marxism, etc.

C. Contaminated salt is only good for throwing out—need to love the world, be in it but not of it.

Resuscitating the dead western church requires true repentance and revival.

A. Shocking the church--Christian heritage and revivalist sermons

B. Strengthening what remains individually, as well as in the family and church.

Worthless Salt: Waking the Dead Church in the West

Melissa L. Morgan

Every cook knows how to use salt for seasoning, flavor, and as a meat preservative. Salt, essential to life, also cleans and purifies. Although salt is such an ordinary substance, what can really replace it?

In the Old Testament, salt symbolized God’s covenant with man (Numbers 18:19). In the New Testament, Christ called his church the salt of the earth. (1) Yet, if the western church has forgotten its covenant and become contaminated by sin, it no longer serves the function of salt—as a preservative and as flavoring to season the world. The dead church will be thrown out and stepped on, as Christ warns us.

The Revelation of John describes seven churches, in seven cities. Some people believe these cities also refer to stages of church history. Whether or not the seven churches describe church history, they are clearly meant for the instruction of the body of Christ, His church.

Can we compare our western churches to the dead church of Sardis, or the lukewarm Laodicean church? (2) The church in the west, like the ancient city of Laodicea, is rich in material wealth. Few Bible believing westerners lack necessities, either spiritual (church services, classes, Bibles, literature) or physical (basic food, clothing or shelter). Many churches in the west preach a “health and wealth” gospel, promising abundance as reward for giving tithes. Much of social gospel theology preaches that Christ primarily came to give money to the poor, through individuals or the government. Yet many emergent churches forget that Jesus came to save the lost—the poor in spirit. Salvation is only by faith through the grace of God—not through men.

The church in the west revels in abundance—but maybe it isn't even alive. Does the western church fit the description of the Church of Sardis, the “Dead Church,” of Rev. 3:1-6? Many congregations offer stale, warmed over services taught by ministers who don't believe in the truth of scripture. These churches certainly act dead; they are populated by pew-sitters singing mournful hymns on Sunday, sounding more like a funeral dirge than a celebration.

How can we know if the western church is lukewarm, dead, or dying? All the churches in the book of Revelation can be illustrated by individual congregations. However, if our church—the one we attend-- is seriously ill or dead, we, as members, need to know about it. We can’t hide the stinky salt under the rug. It’ll just make us stinky too.

Poking the Church

The church in the east faces persecution daily. (3) Persecution has cleaned out the eastern cupboard, purifying the good salt—the salt that is alive with flavor and untainted with decay.

In the west, persecution is light. Most westerners have heard God’s plan for salvation—or at least a distorted version of it. Millions claim Christ as savior, without ever allowing Him to change their lives or hearts.

The western church has been poked, in the arena of a battle against an increasingly relativistic, atheistic, Marxist society. Is the body of the western church asleep, or stone cold dead, lying on the arena floor? Can we find a pulse? I fear it has been lying there for quite a while—for so long that the flies and maggots are beginning to settle on it.

There may still be some who remember when the church seasoned western thought. Mainstream, scholarly books of the past, as recently as the early twentieth century, demonstrate a lively contrast compared with our present culture of Christian-bashing.

In the early twentieth century, Henry Cope, from the University of Chicago, worked “to exhort parents to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord … With a confident hope that religion in the family is not to be a wistful memory of the past but a most vital force in the making of the better day that is coming, this volume is offered as a contribution and a summons.” (4)

Sadly, Henry Cope's book—and advice—has now become barely a memory in western civilization. Can you imagine a modern state sponsored university publishing materials specifically promoting Christ and the “nurture and admonition of the Lord”?

If Christ has been kicked out of American public education, what about private organizations? The Religious Education Association (REA) was founded in 1903 by William Rainey Harper, biblical scholar and first President of the University of Chicago. Harper wrote books such as The Priestly Element in the Old Testament (1902), The Prophetic Element in the Old Testament (1905), and Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Amos and Hosea (1905). (5)

Today, the REA proudly claims to be "rich with diversity; its membership includes those from the Baha'i, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant and other traditions involved in all aspects of religious education." (6) What happened? The REA is only one in a cascade of falling dominoes; Institution after institution, founded by Christians, surrenders to relativists, multiculturalism and atheists.

Has the church of Christ, the salt of the world, become worthless, no longer seasoning western civilization at all? Recently, David Noebel sounds the alarm, writing that “The Christian worldview is in retreat in nearly every arena of life—including our universities, media, arts, music, law, business, medicine, psychology, sociology, public schools and government.” (7)

A worldview based on molecules to man evolution now claims to be uncontested as “settled” scientific fact in the government (no longer public) schools. Yet, hundreds of PhD scientists study the evidence for intelligent design, but they are not allowed a voice in the schools—or in most churches and Christian colleges. Carl Wieland writes, ...”never before have there been so many good, solid answers available for Christians to defend their faith and to use to see others won to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (8)

Jonathan Sarfati, PhD, spotlights the obvious end to evolutionary thinking, quoting computer scientist Jaron Lanier:

“There's a large group of people who simply are uncomfortable with accepting evolution because it leads to what they perceive as a moral vacuum, in which their best impulses have no basis in nature.”

Oxford professor Richard Dawkin's response: “All I can say is, That's just tough. We have to face up to the truth.” (9)

To the extent that the church accepts this moral vacuum, glorifies man’s knowledge and devalues God’s Word, we endanger our western heritage of freedom, which is dependent upon acknowledgment of our Creator. Our forefathers wrote in the Declaration of Independence, that we are “endowed by our Creator” with rights, including the right to life. Those who do not believe that we are created in the image of God have no reason to respect human life, from conception until natural death. This has led America into our national sin, hidden by the church as well as the state. The clinic is killing babies next door to the church, yet the church remains silent.

During the time of St. Nicholas of Myra (the real life inspiration for Santa Claus), the vibrant church changed the pagan society from a culture of child-killing and death to a culture of life. (10) The American church barely jumped when the national sin of abortion poked it. Our modern church in the west has been converted back by the neo-pagan culture into a church of death.

If the church has been warned (poked), for generations, but doesn’t respond, it must be dead, or near death. When the church dies, what happens to the West? What will become of the western church, if it more closely resembles the lukewarm or the dead church described in Revelation? Can western civilization survive?

Clear! Resuscitate, Remember and Strengthen What Remains

Imagine a gripping scene, as emergency medical technicians shout “Clear!” before shocking a silent heart back into a steady beat with a medical defibrillator. Similarly, what can serve as a sufficient shock, to bring the lukewarm or dead western church body back to Christ?

Major polls continue to show little difference in the behavior--abortion, lying, stealing, infidelity--of those who call themselves born-again, as compared to those who do not claim to be believers (11). In addition, the west is threatened by Islamic terrorism, a culture of death. How did the church react to the September 11 terrorists’ murders?

Briefly, America seemed ready to seek God. We brazenly demanded that “God bless America.” When will America bless God? The devastation of 911, although a severe shock, doesn't seem to have produced a lasting effect.

Most pastors today won’t tolerate the shocking but effective “hellfire and brimstone” sermons that heralded the Great Awakening. (12) Few western ministers confront sinful behavior in the church, such as homosexuality, greed, and adultery. As worthless salt, the church is no longer able to preserve meat (the west); the dead church is thrown out to be trampled by men. We may continue to see a growing rejection of Christianity in America, as we have seen in Europe, and even an ultimate collapse as western civilization slides into subjugation by Islam.

What must we do?

When was the last time you heard a sermon with a theme similar to Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners In the Hands of An Angry God?” Or what about Charles Finney’s sermon “Preaching So As To Convert Nobody”? Finney chastised the dead church that avoids “preaching doctrines that are offensive to the carnal mind, lest they should say of you, as they did of Christ, "This is a hard saying. Who can hear it?" and that you are injuring your influence.”

Perhaps the western church may revive, if it resurrects sermons from our revivalist past, which won’t just “tickle your ears.” We can remember our Christian heritage, strengthening what remains through educating the next generation. (13)

Early in the twentieth century, W.M. Ramsay, a Professor at the University of Aberdeen wrote ominously: “The Church as a whole must revivify itself, or suffer the penalty... this Church is cooling and degenerating, but to him that overcometh vigour and life shall be given.

On the other hand, the Sardian Church has not been uniform in its conduct, and it shall not all suffer the same fate. The Church as a whole is dead; but a few, who form bright and inspiring exceptions, shall live as citizens of the heavenly city. There is no hint that Sardis shall be spared, or the Church survive it. Its doom is sealed irrevocably; and yet a remnant shall live.” (14)

Is western civilization doomed? I don't know about the west, if it will revive; however, if it can be saved, it will follow national revival. Peter Marshall wrote his first edition of The Light and the Glory (15) more than a quarter century ago, urging Americans to repentance. Marshall wrote:

“If just a fraction of us Americans choose to go the Covenant Way, it will suffice...America would yet become the citadel of light which God intended her to be from the beginning!”

What is this Covenant Way, which Marshall spoke about? It is written in 2Chronicles 7:14:

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

David Quine, author of World Views of the Western World, quotes Dr. William Graham Scroggie:
“Human history is not in the grip of fate, but in the hands of Him Who was pierced for us on Calvary.” (16)

In view of my own human frailty and sinful nature, I thank God; Christ is fully able to resuscitate and purify His church and each of us individually! Pure salt preserves and saves, but it also irritates. As we come alive, we must expect opposition. The cross is an offense to the world, like salt in a wound. Yet together, let us strive to strengthen ourselves, our families, our community, and the things which remain—until He comes again!

WORTHLESS SALT: References and Notes

1. Matthew 5:13, Holy Bible, KJV, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."

2. Revelation 3, Holy Bible, KJV, "1. And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 2. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 4. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 5. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 6. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 7. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 8. I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 9. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 10. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. 13. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 14. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

3. Learn more about it the persecution of the eastern church in Gospel For Asia, http://www.gfa.org and The Voice of the Martyrs, http://www.persecution.com . Accessed 2 Sep. 2010.

4. Cope, Henry F. Religious Education in the Family series, part 3, The Family and the Church. (1915), University of Chicago, Preface (Project Gutenberg Edition). Henry F. Cope also served as General Secretary of the Religious Education Association.

5. "William Rainey Harper." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com, http://www.encyclopedia.com . Accessed 20 Aug. 2010.

6. Religious Education Association, www.religiouseducation.net/Org/reahistory.htm. Accessed 2 Sep. 2010.

7. Noebel, David. (2006). Understanding the Times: The Collision of Today's Competing Worldviews (Revised 2nd Edition). Manitou Springs, CO: Summit Press. Conclusion: Part Six, page 485.

8. Wieland, Carl. (1996). Stones & Bones: Powerful Evidence Against Evolution, Green Forest, AK: Master Books. Page 42.

9. Sarfati, Jonathan, Ph.D. (1999) Refuting Evolution: A Response to the National Academy of Sciences' Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science. Green Forest, AR: Master Books. Chapter 6, Humans: Images of God or Advanced Apes, page 89.

10. Grant, George. (1991). Third Time Around: A History of the Pro-Life Movement from the First Century to the Present. Brentwood, Tennessee: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, Inc. Chapter 2, How Firm a Foundation: The Apostolic Church, page 29.

11. Comfort, Ray. (No copyright, August 2000). God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message. Bellflower, CA: Living Waters Publications, Chapter 1, Phenomenal Growth, pages 9-11.

12. Stanton, M. and Hyma, A. (1992). Streams of Civilization. Arlington Heights, Ill: Christian Liberty Press. “Puritanism and the Great Awakening,” Chapter 4, pages 90-93. “Keeping the outer forms of religion did not make one a Christian, Gilbert Tennent told his congregations. One must be personally surrenders to Christ and allow his whole life to be changed.” Previous to revival, the church body in America had “reached a low ebb in culture and religion.” Significantly, Tennant taught in the “Philadelphia Synod of the Presbyterian Church in 1738,” which hindered his work. (See reference to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3.)

13. Download a free Holiness and Revival CD, containing Great Awakening revivalist sermons, from Godfuel Ministries, http://www.godfuel.org. Accessed 2 Sep. 2010.

14. The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia, And their place in the plan of the Apocalypse, W. M. Ramsay, D.C.L, Litt.D., LL.D. Professor of Humanity in the University of Aberdeen,1904: Chapter 26: The Letter to the Church in Sardis, internet edition, http://philologos.org/__eb-lttsc/chap26.htm . Accessed 2 Sep. 2010.

15. Marshall and Manuel. (1977, 2009). The Light and the Glory. Old Tappan, NJ: Power Books. The Search Ends, page 446-451.

16. Quine, David. (1998) Answers for Difficult Days: Surviving the Storm of Secularism. Richardson, TX: The Cornerstone Curriculum Project, Study Number 7, What Is the Meaning of History?, page 47.

WORTHLESS SALT: BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV).

Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. (2008). "William Rainey Harper." http://www.encyclopedia.com. Accessed 20 Aug. 2010..

Comfort, Ray. (No copyright, August 2000). God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message. Bellflower, CA: Living Waters Publications.

Grant, George. (1991). Third Time Around: A History of the Pro-Life Movement from the First Century to the Present. Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, Inc. The book is now freely available on the internet: http://freebooks.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/210e_47e.htm .

Marshall and Manuel. (1977). The Light and the Glory. Old Tappan, NJ: Power Books.

Morgan, Melissa and Hugh. (2010). Where Do You Want to Go Eternally? Smashwords Edition. Also Hugh Morgan personal notes.

Noebel, David. (2006). Understanding the Times: The Collision of Today's Competing Worldviews (Revised 2^nd Edition). Manitou Springs, Co: Summit Press.

Ramsay, W.M. D.C.L, Litt.D., LL.D. Professor of Humanity in the University of Aberdeen,The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia, And their place in the plan of the Apocalypse. (1904). Chapter 26: The Letter to the Church in Sardis. http://philologos.org/__eb-lttsc/chap26.htm. Accessed 2 Sep. 2010.

Sarfati, Jonathan, Ph.D. (1999) Refuting Evolution: A Response to the National Academy of Sciences' Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science. Green Forest, AR: Master Books.

Stanton, M. and Hyma, A. (1992). Streams of Civilization. Arlington Heights, Ill: Christian Liberty Press.

Quine, David. (1998) Answers for Difficult Days: Surviving the Storm of Secularism. Richardson, TX: The Cornerstone Curriculum Project.

Wieland, Carl. (1996) Stones & Bones: Powerful Evidence Against Evolution. Green Forest, AK: Master Books.