The Lukewarm Church: Has It Left Its First Love?

As a country, America has certainly left her first love.

Originally, America was a place for religious freedom and independence from oppression and a place of freedom to worship and serve God. Men came here from across the ocean, leaving everything behind in hopes of escaping the persecution from the powerful and oppressive churches of Europe like the Catholic Church or the Church of England, who were all powerful and controlled governments and could imprison you or put you to death if you didn’t agree with them or spoke against them.

Our original Founding Fathers framed the Constitution from biblical principles and faith in God. It was their intention to give us freedom from religious oppression and the evil of tyranny from corrupt governments. They knew that this was not possible unless men looked to God for wisdom and godly principles.

So how did America fall as she has? Is it not because the church has lost the moral influence on society it once had and has made compromises to please the people? Could it be that the American church has left its first love, the love of God and His Son, Jesus Christ?

So what has happened to the church in say the last 100-plus years? Well, 100 years ago if you were in sin, you would be very nervous about going to church because the Spirit of God was there. At that time preachers did not preach “easy believism” and false grace but spoke with power against sin and conviction from the Word of God.

In those days a preacher was a farmer, a rancher, a blacksmith, a carpenter or factory worker. Preachers did not worry so much about pleasing people as pleasing God. So they spoke the Word of God freely against sin and called men to repentance and holiness. Churches were usually small and localized with pastors and elders giving personal attention to the needs of members.

There were no megachurches and for the most part, no career paid pastors with their vocation of just preaching. These men didn’t sit around a church office all week living off the working people’s money.

In those days, divorce, fornication, adultery, drunkenness, dishonesty and most any other sin were not allowed in the church and were frowned on by the society because the church had such a powerful moral influence on the world around it. Church was once a place to get spiritual instruction and correction for the soul, but now it is a place to get your ears tickled and to be made comfortable in your sins.

Church was once an institution for holiness but now has become a big business and social club. The tithe teaching has greatly multiplied over the last 100 years as preachers have taken more and more money for their income and to build large, fancy monuments to themselves. Pastors once prayed with tears over their flocks but now they fleece the sheep for unjust gain. There is no question that the church of America has left her first love, Jesus. And unless it returns to her first love, she will not enter heaven.

“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Rev 2:4-5, ESV). {eoa}

Connect with Don Britton at christianmyths.org and on Facebook. Order Don’s book, The Great Deception of American Christianity Without Christ at christianmyths.org and amazon.com.