You’ve seen the King’s Guard around Buckingham Palace in London. They stand at their post, and nothing distracts them from their task. Nothing! You’ve taken your brand-new puppy for a walk, and he goes here, there, and everywhere. Soldiers are disciplined. Puppies have a lot to learn. Christians do too. “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” This, from the pen of St. Paul to the Corinthian church, their marching orders for life in a culture shifting under foot.
Christians are called to plant their feet firmly on the ground of the teachings of the Scriptures. At Corinth, problems arose at every turn—adultery, idolatry, disunity, issues in worship, and lawsuits, among several others. After pleading with the church to carry on in their faith, believing in Jesus’s resurrection from the dead, he challenges them with words of encouragement. The ground is shifting under your feet. But you must sit tight and remain firm, holding the ground of truth. It will pay eternal dividends.
Culture can wear believers down to the point where we look no different than the world. Churches capitulate, losing confidence in the way Jesus runs his church. We have traded preaching (which is a unique New Testament verb) for TED talks. Worship looks more like a nightclub than a sacred event rooted in the historic faith and practice of the church. Gospel presentations equate an address change form from the post office—from hell to heaven. We are seeing high numbers of wrong-headed thinking by the church on significant moral issues. One writer I respect well said, “Christianity is not a condiment. We don’t take our worldly lives or worship and sprinkle a little Jesus on to make it okay.”
Christians need to individually and corporately stand firm on the faith once and for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1). While culture shifts quickly, the church remains the pillar and buttress of truth (1 Timothy 3). If the church changes, where in the world can people go to find sanctuary, solace, heaven? The church should carefully consider why they do what they do the way they do it and what it communicates. Does the way we communicate help or hinder the sacred message? Is it confusing? Watered down? Is the content of Christianity treated seriously or tritely? And importantly, we don’t make up alternatives to worship, preaching, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper—these are the means by which the Savior nurtures his flock.
I’ve ministered through three decades, post all of the gimmicks of the generation before me. They don’t appeal to me for many reasons. What does appeal to me are eternal truths, including the reality of the resurrection of Jesus, made real in the lives of believers. I suppose I’m a stuffy member in the King’s Guard rather than the fun puppy. That’s okay, my labor will not be in vain.