Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness is revealed…— 2 Thessalonians 2:3 AMP
In the first part of this article, we said that we believe a weak foundation in Christ will be one of the reasons that will trigger a falling away or rebellion against God. This falling away is not just about the moral decline prevalent in our world today, but about the rejection of God’s truth.
Right now, many who once professed faith in Jesus Christ are abandoning sound doctrine, embracing deception, false teaching, and allegiance to a leader.
This weak foundation in Christ will be made worse by the unnecessary admiration and association with church organisations and their preachers. Churches known for their charismatic preachers or popular worship bands tend to attract young people who find these churches exciting. Belonging to or being associated with one of these churches or named preachers has become very popular, trendy and something of a status or image upscaling. No wonder there’s so much “church hopping” and a recycling of believers in Christendom.
Movement between churches is as old as the Christian faith itself. It can be caused by various reasons such as differences in doctrines and leadership styles. However, today we see the latest trend: people seeking to join a particular church because of its popular worship band or charismatic celebrity preacher. People find it easier to talk about their church and leaders than about Jesus as the author and perfecter of their faith.
There is precedent for this church preference and personal admiration for preachers. In 1 Corinthians 1:12, the Apostle Paul encouraged believers to focus on Christ as the foundation of their faith, rather than allowing differences in leadership styles or teachings to create division. He said, “Some of you are saying, ‘I am a follower of Paul.’ Others are saying, ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Peter,’ or ‘I follow only Christ.’ Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!” 1 Corinthians 1:12-13 (NLT)
As Christians, excessive admiration and loyalty to human leaders is almost like making small or insignificant the sacrifice of the One who was crucified for our sins. We must guard against identifying too closely with human leaders or placing too much allegiance and emphasis on them. Our loyalty and identification belong only to Jesus Christ and the truth of His gospel message.
People are also moving churches because they are seeking answers and solutions to their problems. All over the world, people are overwhelmed by many problems such as pandemics, natural disasters, terrorism, moral depravity, war, injustice, etc. Because of the chaos in the world and the seemingly lack of solutions, people are readily willing to accept the leadership of anyone who claims they have a solution to their problems.
We will talk more about this in the next article.
Stay blessed,
LaraLex
Hills and Valleys 