A Spirit of Apathy Rev. 3:14-16
The church of Laodicea had an apathy problem. They were lukewarm. The problem with the church of Laodicea was that, in our eyes, they were not bad people. They were just a regular church, filled with normal people. If the church in Laodicea existed today, they would be singing the same hymns as us, they would have the Lord’s Supper, they would meet every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. They probably enjoyed each other’s company and they probably sang out during the song service, and they probably even listened when the preacher was preaching God’s Word. I also believe that if you would have walked up to most of the members of that church and asked them, “Do you believe that it is the church’s job to bring souls to Jesus?” They would have said, “Of course, obviously, that’s the Great Commission!” What was the problem with Laodicea? I believe it was the same problem that a lot of churches have today. Across America today, there are Christians who are lukewarm. Why is that? Because they have a Christianity that affects them on Sunday but not for the rest of the week. It isn’t that they are against people coming into the church and getting saved. In fact, when people start getting saved and baptized and when visitors come who do not look like “good Christians” they rejoice over the goodness of God. The problem is not that they feel entitled like the point before. The problem is that they are apathetic. They simply did not care. Once again, let me point out, if you were to ask them if they cared about lost souls, or having a fervent, passionate walk with God, they would give you a very confused look and say that they obviously did. What was the problem? Their words said one thing while their actions said another.
We have churches that are dwindling and dying all across this country and it is largely because of apathy in the pew. There are some Christians who feel entitled, there are some who doubt, but the overwhelming majority of Christians are simply apathetic. They do not care about living a genuine Christian life. They are content with their “Sunday only” Christianity. It has worked for them for years, why should they change it. They sit in the pew and hear sermons on reading the Bible, or on prayer, or on soul-winning and they nod and agree with what the pastor says, but then they wake up on Monday and don’t read the Bible, they don’t pray, and they don’t plan on being a witness for the Lord. Almost as if they are the exception to the rule. Maybe they make excuses for why they don’t go soul winning. Maybe they say ridiculous things like, “Well, soul winning is the pastor’s job” or, “I don’t want anyone to think bad of me if I witness”. And the church dies more and more with every passing year, because it has people willing to sit in a pew, but it doesn’t have people willing to crack open a Bible, or get on their knees, or walk a street with a handful of tracts.
My mom used to have a shirt that said, “Your talk talks and your walk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.” (Try to say that 5 times fast!) What a very true statement! We have a lot of Christians who play a part on Sunday but are someone totally different the rest of the week, their walk is talking louder than their Sunday talk talks. It’s no wonder that unsaved people refuse to get saved because of how hypocritical Christians can be. BECAUSE SO MANY CHRISTIANS ARE TOTALLY HYPOCRITES! But when you boil it down, it isn’t because those Christians are malevolent, it isn’t because they are mustache-twirling villains who want to see the world burn, it all simply comes down to the point that they do not care. They are apathetic.
I am amazed by the need for the Gospel that Hartwell, Georgia has. It seems like every time I go out soul winning their are people who have never heard the Gospel. I ask them, “Are you 100% sure that you are on your way to Heaven?” And most of the time people will shake their heads and say, “I know that I’m not going to Heaven. Before I came to Georgia, I lived in Maryland, and I honestly believed that it was going to be difficult winning souls to the Lord in Georgia, because it seems like in the South everyone thinks that they are already saved. But not Hartwell. In Hartwell, there are many, many lost people and they KNOW that they are lost. That burdens me. Not as a pastor, but as a Christian, it is my obligation to give them the Gospel. An apathetic person will hear that and say, “Well, that’s nice pastor, keep up the good work,” and never lift a finger to see souls saved, but a person who is passionate about their Saviour will say, “Sign me up for soul winning, pastor. There is a need and I want to help fill that need!”
Whatever happened to passionate Christians? Whatever happened to Christians who cared more about their growth in the Lord and the salvation of the lost than they cared about how much money they were making or the entertainment, or their quality of life? There used to be Christians who lived under the motto, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” But those Christians today are few and far between. Churches are dying. Yes, some are dying because of doubt, some are dying because of wicked Christians who feel entitled, but most are dying simply because an apathetic disinterest in serving the Lord. Don’t sit, soak, and sour. SERVE. God has called you to be more than a Sunday service Christian, he has called you to be an every day Christian.
A young lady named Rosina was enjoying a day on the town. She went to the city with a group of friends, they enjoyed a sightseeing and shopping. They went to a coffee shop and sat and drank some speciality lattes. It had been a great day, but the sun was going down and it was getting time for them to go home. As they walked to their car they walked past a dark alley where one single light showed Rosina and her group of friends that there was a man being beaten up by another man. Rosina and her friends were not sure what to do, so they simply kept walking to their car, acting as if they had never seen it and that nothing ever happened. The next day, as Rosina saw the newspaper, she was shocked to find that the man who had been beaten up in the alley ended up dying. She could’t help but feel responsible for the death of this man. If only she had called for help, if only she had dialed 911 and got the police or someone to come. She could have done something, but she didn’t, simply because she didn’t care to and a man died because of it.
We have a lost and dying world that we live in. It is on its way to Hell. Do you care? Do you care enough to do something about it, or will you just walk by and doom people to a Christless eternity. Apathy will not just affect you, but it will affect the unsaved that you come in contact with as well. The church can no longer afford apathetic Christians; now is the time for every single one of us to serve the Lord with a fervor and a passion for Him.
Conclusion: So, the question that you may be asking tonight is, “Pastor, is my church dying?” My honest answer is that I do not know. I cannot tell what is in your heart, neither can you tell me what is in mine. The question then should be this, “Am I killing my church or am I building it?” The spirits of doubt, entitlement, and apathy will kill this church, but a spirit of faith, selflessness, and passion will build it. Are you being a builder or a destroyer?
Keep tuned in for a guest post by Kreig Durham coming soon, and a new series called, "Lessons from My Dad"!
Check out Calvary Baptist Church of Hartwell, GA here
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