The church in America has changed or dismantled many of the old ways. They now offer circus shows and entertainment venues costing hundreds-of-thousands to stage, have centralized power into one man, disseminate political speech from the pulpit, adopted a "business model for growth", yoked with unbelievers, etc. What does the church in America need to change from wrong to right to be pleasing in God's eyes and for building up the Saints?
Firstly, the "altar call" and "reciting the sinner's prayer", as methods to bestow the gift of salvation by God needs to go. That's a lie.
1Co 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
A man in his natural state cannot choose God. God must first choose the person and place His Spirit in them before they can understand their sinful condition, need for repentance and a savior. So the church begins to get a sizable group of people who met God on their own terms, did not have His Spirit when they made a "confession of faith", and began living a life based on following the other church members and the Bible (which the carnal mind can't understand) and assume a nice moral existence, probably feeling real good about their goodness.
Secondly, the sermons and teachings must now be kept at the lowest common denominator, to make sure the new "converts" and always arriving un-regenerated folks, don't get scared away from the pew with anything too dramatic from God's Word, like one has to die to self daily, or the necessity to face persecution or defamation for following or speaking God's truth at all times. What happens to the actual called by God, where is their growth addressed? (I could write for pages on separating the men from the women, and the joke "women's bible studies" have become - the first object thrown out was the bible, But I digress).
As the parable of the wedding feast conveys, it's not just the invitation that was extended; it's the wedding garments on the inside (that only God can see), that makes one worthy to attend the ceremony. These clothes can only come through sanctification resulting from a lifetime of obedience to, and fellowship with, Jesus Christ. This is the main purpose of the church, to promote the sanctification of its members and present them worthy when they come before Christ.
Mat 22:11 "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes,
12 and he *said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless.
13 "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
14 "For many are called, but few are chosen."
None of us can know for sure who is a real follower of Christ, therefore, go full speed ahead, maturing in the height and depth of teaching, and let the new people catch up. If they have the Spirit of God, they will.
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