The Average Church Attitude

 Tares vs Wheat

In the past fifty years, there has been a major change in the attitude of the average church goer.  There was a time when prayer requests centered around the salvation of family, friends and neighbors.  There was a real concern for the lost condition of souls.  The spiritual life of the believer has changed from “others” to me.  There are four areas where the tares and wheat are in conflict.

1.    Narcissism

Narcissism is one of the tares that has sprung up in the church.  The “Me first” which says I am number one, and other people matter only as they serve to fulfill and satisfy self.  There are those within the church that are only concerned about their rights, their privileges, their happiness.  The spiritual life of the church takes a backseat to these individuals.  Even in their speech it is filled with “me first” statements.  The tares have been planted in every church.  You will find this whole concept of my self-esteem, put-yourself first, you are number one, in every church.  This is the secular worlds view of the individual.

When the roots of the tares wrap around the wheat, Christians become infected with this spiritual disease.  They talk about being tired of doing the work of the LORD.  They begin to complain the sermons are not uplifting, the Sunday School class is not positive enough, they whine that the church is not doing anything for them.  It will not be long until the church is not a priority in their life.  Jesus instructed us to crucify self and put other first in our life. (Matt.16:24-24; Philp.2:3)

2.    Self-indulgence

Closely related to narcissism, self-indulgence says that life ought to be lived solely for my needs and pleasures.  This whole philosophy is based on “love”.  If I am showing “love” then it is alright.  After all God is “love” so what I do in love will be blessed by God. It is responsible for the acceptance of same sex marriage, adultery and fornication within the church. In their attempt to justify their self-indulgence they influence the wheat to tolerate what they are doing because it is done in “love”.  What soon happens is the wheat begins to condone their life style and soon it is a common practice.   The wheat dies and the tares flourish.

3.    Materialism

Materialism says, “I am what I have” and “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Instead of concentrating on the spiritual and eternal things, materialism seeks after those things that can be seen, touched, tasted, smelled, and possessed. Everything and everybody takes a second seat to material-ism—the accumulation of things. In contrast to this, Christianity teaches that we ought to be laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven. In other words, life is an investment, and we can either invest for short-term benefits or long-term gains.

Jesus describes this generation in His Revelation to John in chapter 3.

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; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.  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:  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.

4.    Diversity

America churches  pride themselves about their diversity. Diversity is the secular culture's belief that there are many different right ways to live and believe. Find whatever works for you. If it's Jesus and Christianity, fine. If it's Hinduism, great. Whatever you want to believe is just fine. Find the church of your choice. Rigidity is out. Absolutes are out. All paths lead to the same god. God wouldn't turn away sincere people. All this nonsense is from the tares that have been planted by Satan. In America, even witchcraft and devil worship are constitutionally protected religions. Many seem to think that the Creator of the universe is somehow limited by the Constitution of the United States. He is not! Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The apostle Paul taught, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). By the way, that name is Jesus. Any culture totally given over to being diverse in their approach to God has forgotten that there is a Law above the law. America, both collectively and individually, will honor God and be blessed, or it will disobey God and pay the bitter consequences. The same is true for a church that has allowed the tares of diversity to be planted.

This conflict of tares vs wheat has brought about the secularization of American churches, which in turn has had a tremendous effect on Christians. It is as unfortunate as it is true that we have bought, nearly “lock, stock, and barrel,” the secularization lie. Consequently, we have given ourselves over to a traditional, uncritical, and unscriptural view of the separation of church (the sacred) and state (the secular).

Today, Christianity may be privately engaging, but it is socially irrelevant. The central sectors of society (business, technology, science, medicine, law, politics, etc.) have been stripped of religious influence. As Americans, and, unfortunately, as Christians, we have thought it only proper to internalize our religion. This “privatization” or secret discipleship has contributed to the current secularization of America. But, more importantly, it has caused true Christianity to be without any real impact in public life. Afraid to mention the name of the Lord publicly, except within the limited confines of church and family, for fear of being thought un-American, uncivil, unprofessional, anti-social, sectarian, and fanatical, we now find ourselves without any real impact in our communities. Instead of being the salt that savors and the light that shines out of darkness (Matthew 5:13-16), we have allowed the “Wall” the secularists have erected between church and state to force us to publicly blend in with the rest of society. The same within the church.  There are areas that are off limits for discussion like abortion, same-sex marriage, and conservative politics.

Embarrassing as it is, the secularists have actually become victors by default. They are occupying territory that Christians have withdrawn from. Thinking it our duty to espouse a principle that forces us to eliminate the Lord from ALL of government and MOST of society, we have allowed the tares of secularism to wrap their roots around the wheat to strangle the life of freedom from the church.

 More Tares than Wheat

The Bible teaches that the church is supposed to influence the world as salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16), but instead the church has often been influenced by the world. Ezekiel 22:26 sends a stern rebuke to believers who make no distinction between that which is common and that which is holy.

Truly any congregation that has no distinction from the tares and wheat is close to extinction! The reason so many evangelical churches have grown so rapidly is not necessarily because of a true spiritual revival but because of cultural accommodation.   The growth is from the tares.  Tares grow faster than wheat and suck up all the life-giving nutrients from the soil.

A church that avoids what is culturally controversial, and preaches a message that is non-offensive to sin will be popular with the tares.  When a pastor is more concerned about not offending, than preaching a Gospel that transforms lives, then he belongs with the tares.

When a church fails to have its member profess a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then the door is open for the tares to take over. It is a sad day in the church when premarital sex, cohabitating or living a life that is or questionable morals, then the tares have taken over.

When the church has the same view as the world when it comes to sexual ethics, then there are more tares than wheat in the congregation.

When the youth of a church by and large adopt and or celebrate unbiblical views regarding family and marriage, then that congregation has more tares than wheat.

Not to engage in the worship music wars, but there are churches that use secular music as a normal part of their church service. This is no doubt being done to show those outside the church how relevant the church is to the culture, then the congregation has more tares than wheat.

There are times when entertainment is appropriate in the church.  However, when the primary objective of a congregation is to attract crowds by giving them an “entertainment experience” rather than present a message of transformation then the congregation has more tares than wheat.

When people only want to be able to say they are a “Christian” without repentance, or a transformed life, then they are among the tares and not the wheat.