This past Sunday April 16th I heard a
sermon where the Pastor felt the need to apologize to unbelievers who
may have been sitting in the congregation and those who may have been watching
online. He did this because of the hypocrisy of Christians toward them - the
unsaved. He said many unbelievers will not attend church due to Christians two-faced
lifestyle. While I have to admit that many “Christians” live hypocritically, it
is unfair to write a blank check and label all Christians hypocrites. A lot of
us are living holy and faithful (never perfect) lives before God and man.
I want to analyze some
reasons why unbelievers do not attend church.
- True worship and Bible teaching will convict them
· The last thing a sinful
person wants is to feel bad about the life they’re living. Men love darkness
rather than light because their deeds are evil (John 3:19).
A person that is hostile toward God and His children is
unwilling to sit still long enough to hear the word of God, have the Lord open
their hearts to receive God’s love that is contained in His word
2.
They do not love God
· The unredeemed hate God
and the things of God for they love themselves. 2 Timothy 3:4 says evil people
love pleasure and themselves rather than be lovers of God
3.
They are enemies of God
·
The Bible regards the
unsaved as sons of disobedience and children of wrath in Ephesians 2:2-3. This
is similar to what John the Baptist said regarding those who are not in Christ.
He said the wrath of God abides on them (John 3:36). That means because they
are enemies of God, God is angry with them
Actually, the unbeliever will attend a
church that is user friendly. In other words, they will go to a church that has
a concert atmosphere. They will play secular music with worldly theatrics so
that the lost sinner can feel “comfortable.” The gospel message isn’t preached
so there is no conviction of sin and salvation doesn’t occur. You are not
commanded to repent of your sins and turn to God. The mass deception is the
attendees believe they have received the best of both worlds. You attend
“church” and you get a free concert experience in the name of Jesus. WOW! Two
worlds for the price of one.
Truth be told, many of the lost will
not attend Church because they simply do not want to. Church to them is dry and
boring. They get nothing out of it. Many will attend Church if they are
entertained. They want a performer rather than a responsible God fearing Bible
teaching Pastor. I believe labeling the Christian as a hypocrite sounds to
them like a legitimate reason to avoid the house of God. For many unbelievers branding Christians
hypocrites is their escape route not to face their own evil ways.
We do not need to apologize to the
world
For a Pastor or any Christian to
apologize to the unsaved is unnecessary. All we owe them is love and respect
(Romans 13:8). That is something that they do not give to the Church - and
especially not to the Lord. I am not saying the Church’s hands are always clean
or have been clean throughout history. The biggest indictment against the
Church to my knowledge was the Crusades during the eleventh to thirteenth
centuries A.D. During that time wars were fought to reclaim lands - mainly
Jerusalem that had been stolen by Arab Muslims. Just because many said these
were Christians who committed these atrocities, doesn’t mean they were actually
Christians. Many of them were Roman Catholics who fought.
If we are talking person to person
then of course we as believers should apologize to a non-believer if we have
wronged them. They should do the same toward us out of mutual respect. But
corporate apologizing I completely disagree. There is no Biblical support for
that.
The lost have and currently mock,
persecute and murder Christians around the world. Are they willing to apologize
for their sins? Of course not. The lost are also hypocrites everyday. They want
to save the planet but kill the unborn. They are unfaithful to their spouses.
Many of them hate the traditional family and promote LGBTQIA+ rights and
same sex unions and marriage which is an affront to Almighty God. When we call
it wrong, then we are labeled “phobic.”
Hmmmm…I thought the world said we are
not to judge. Isn’t calling Christians “phobic” judging? Just sayin!
The lost bow their knees and worship
at the altar of tolerance. In God’s eyes it is sin. There are two forces at
work here. The kingdom of light vs the kingdom of darkness. It makes no sense
for the Bride of Christ to apologize to the bride of the devil (John 8:44).
Admonition to the Church
Because of the complaints of the lost
which some are legitimate, we need to check ourselves and tighten our spiritual
belts so that we are better witnesses for Christ.
Proverbs 25:26 says, “Like a muddied
fountain and a polluted spring is a righteous man who yields and compromises
his integrity before the wicked.”
We must watch our conduct so that when
the world attacks us for our faith they will be ashamed because their fiery
darts will not land and burn us with guilt.
1 Peter 3:15-17 says, “But in your
hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense
to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with
gentleness and respect. Having a good conscience so that when you are
slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
For it is better for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing
evil” (i.e. being a hypocrite).
So to us as believers, let's stop
being Pharisees and love our unsaved neighbors - not bowing down to their
godless lifestyles, but not put unrealistic moral burdens on them that we are
not even willing to handle ourselves. Do you expect an unsaved person to come
to the house of God and not be who they are? They’re an unregenerate sinner. We
all were one once too! Lets
show compassion. For it is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance
(Romans 2:4;2 Timothy 2:25).
And to some Pastors and some religious
“Christian celebrities” who feel the need to apologize to the unsaved, you’re
out of pocket. Our job is to evangelize the lost so they will have the opportunity to repent of their sins, not apologize to them. To do
so is to make the Church look weak. It's not hateful to condemn the homosexual,
lesbian, queer, transgender, CRT and woke lifestyles, etc. As long as you
provide the right Biblical reasons for that condemnation. To excuse it is sin;
that is the epitome of Church hypocrisy.
Remember, the Church is the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16).
You can’t truly love someone if you do
not tell them the truth.
I need to
express this caveat. Some people who are unchurched will put on their “moral
hat” because they are in Church. They will exercise some respect-meaning they
will leave their dirty lifestyle outdoors. Now for those who refuse to respect
God’s house and defy the rules should be removed from the assembly. Just like
we would not allow anyone to disrespect the rules in our own house, we cannot
allow anyone to disrespect the rules in the Lord’s house.
The last
thing we want to do is think the unbeliever is off the hook for their sin.
Apologizing to them on behalf of the Church for their ungodly lifestyle is
exactly the message some are tragically sending. The apologizing must be made to the one who is the most offended of all, God Almighty.