by Charles R. Solomon, Ed. D.
Having ministered the cross (the believer's crucifixion with Christ) for more than 40 years in many impossible situations, humanly speaking, I have a vantage point which is accorded to few people. My ministry has been primarily to individuals and family situations, but this could readily be extrapolated to society at large. This ministry is in response to God's calling on my life in 1967 (Isa. 58:10, 11) and was documented in Handbook to Happiness (Tyndale), my first book in 1971.
Most of those whose lives have been transformed were in desperate situations, where they had no other way out than to find God's answer for their lives. Many had tried all known answers, including the helping professions, with no permanent resolution to their dilemma. Indeed, quite a number were suicidal and ready for God as the only answer to their impossible situation, which required a miracle, God's specialty.
Having witnessed these miracles consistently over more than 4 decades, I can confidently assert that the Church should have, and could have, been seeing miraculous life transformations every day of the week! However, the cross for the believer (Rom. 6:6) is not central in most church ministry, which means that the flesh is in the ascendancy. Harnessing fleshly solutions within the church, or referring to fleshly solutions via the helping professions, results in symptomatic relief, on occasion, but glosses over the fleshly root. The result is to utilize carnal weapons in a vain attempt to pull down spiritual strongholds (2 Cor. 10:5). Or, the flesh is thereby strengthened for its inevitable conflict with the Spirit (Gal. 5:17).
Since preaching the cross is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18), its lack causes a corresponding lack in power for ministry, or results in an all but powerless church. The situation inside and outside the church is becoming increasingly needy, with the church becoming increasingly impotent at the same time!
As the secular society becomes aware that its answers are futile, it will be forced to seek an answer beyond human intelligence and experience. When it is finally open to God's answer, it would logically turn to the Church which has historically been God's representative on Earth, only to find that answers given by an all but impotent church are little better than the wisdom of man and his collective answers.
Since the Church has been infiltrated by much wisdom of the world system, it is lacking the spiritual power to thunder, "Thus saith the Lord " and give answers that are diametrically opposed to that embraced by a secular society or such society as influenced by a church that has a "form of godliness but denies the power thereof" (2 Tim. 2:5).
Since judgment is to begin at the house of God, it is way past time for the cross to be applied in all aspects of church ministry, and witness corresponding life transformations inside and outside the Church. When this becomes the rule rather than the exception, even the world might dare venture into the Church!
The loss of power, and consequent apathy, has given the Church default responsibility in the godless functioning of society and its becoming marginalized by the world system. In other words, it is high time that the Church practices what it preaches and demonstrates the miraculous life changes and life styles which it has purported to engender!
Since it has allowed its message to be diluted, it follows that individual believers will be less than effective in their chosen fields of endeavor, from a spiritual perspective. A Christian may be very sincere and live and minister to the best of his/her ability and yet fall short of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the effort may be the best possible in human strength and yet be of the flesh. Not only will ministry in the Church suffer, but its members will have less than God-given impact in his/her chosen profession, though the profession may be secular in nature.
For example, a Christian physician may do a creditable job in medicine and have a witness while doing so. However, the treatment of the body, even with prayer involved, may fall short of being Christ and cross-centered and, thus, not leave an impression that is life transforming as a side effect of dedicated medical treatment.
To go a step further, medical research may be done by dedicated believers and be restricted to the body and the soul with only a nod of the head toward the spirit, but not being led and empowered by the Holy Spirit in the direction and implementation of the research. Lacking this vital dimension, the results are not statistically superior to that done by secular researchers who are dedicated to their assigned task.
The deficiency is even more glaring when considering the behavioral sciences where the spirit should have primacy over the soul and body. And, the Holy Spirit should be the Agent of change with the Word of God of greater significance than a human therapist (however dedicated as a believer) utilizing psychological principles and methodologies in the process of therapy. The latter will strengthen the flesh, while the former will halt its reign.
It has been the usual pattern to give the spirit honorable mention in psychological research by noting how often a person prays, reads his Bible, attends church, etc. which are behaviors, not necessarily spiritual life. Thus, the psychological arena is taken to greater depth and given primacy in the research rather than trusting the Holy Spirit for life transformation through the spirit, while assessing the impact of such on soul and body.
The shallowness of spiritual experience is manifested also in professions or pursuits which are traditionally considered to be secular in nature, such as business, engineering, and the like. And, yet, these pursuits are likely places for the Spirit to manifest Himself, given the opportunity by yielded believers.
One vital area that the Spirit should rule without fail is that of theology; but that is frequently not the case, since an educated and gifted theologian may not have experienced the cross (Gal. 2:20) and can hold a contrary theological position. Obviously, a shortcoming here at the outset will result in further deviation as his/her propositions are developed. Only as theology is Christ and cross centered will it be a tool in the hands of the Holy Spirit and be the precursor of miraculously transformed lives through the word of God by the man of God.
Of course, all of this feeds together to have a major impact on government—either positively or negatively. The true Church will have influence in government, if it is widely known, where it can speak for God; or its lack will, at least by default, pave the way for secular humanism and/or alien religions. Since this is the current situation in our country, it will require a completed Reformation to revive the Church and cause it to be a major player in today's society.
A weakened Church has given rise to a concerted effort by the secular humanists and the liberal press to undermine the influence of the Church and pressure it into a 'politically correct' stance. Only a Reformation fueled by the preaching of the cross in sanctification or discipleship, which impacts the Church nationally, will serve to return the Church to a stance that is both respected and formidable, since it will be typified by transformed lives and Spirit-empowered ministry.
An individual or an entity at an extremity is a candidate for Holy Spirit transformation. When the only way out is up, there is fertile ground to be lifted by 'the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" from the grip of 'the law of sin and death' (Rom. 8:2)!
The situation in our country is rapidly moving in a negative fashion so that it will likely be the rule, rather than the exception, for desperation to provide fertile soil for spiritual transformation. However, our country will, in all likelihood, be too far down the slippery slope of humanism and socialism to be retrieved from its clutches unless major revival rescues it from oblivion.
The near bankruptcy concerning wisdom and common sense (to say nothing of our near financial bankruptcy), and the near absence of adherence to absolutes, combine to reduce our country to a level of mediocrity heretofore unknown.
SUMMARY
Since our churches tend to be more perfunctory than Holy Spirit empowered, and believers in their daily lives and occupations do not function in the Holy Spirit (with some happy exceptions); and God and the Lord Jesus have been disinvited from public life, we are reaping what we have sown in immorality, corruption, violence, mass murders, and near anarchy.
Our people are being taught to look to the government rather than God when, in truth, God is our source, despite the government's interposing itself between us and Him in destructive ways. In today's sociopolitical milieu, militant secular humanism, aided and abetted by the liberal press, equates the Christian Church with the conservative right. While much of the two might be coincidental, such representation of the Church is a caricature.
With the preponderance of the Church omitting the cross for the believer as its marching orders, it has been severed from its Power Source and Authority! As such, it is little more effective than its sworn enemy, secular humanism and its allies, which causes undue confidence to be placed in conservative leadership's espousing values consistent with Christianity. The result is conservative flesh fighting secular flesh with neither led and empowered by the Holy Spirit; both are askew from God's will, with secular flesh having the majority in its camp.
Nothing less than a new Reformation, empowered by the Holy Spirit, will empower the Church to stem the tide of secular humanism, along with all of the destructive agendas in its wake! The motive force behind such a Reformation can only be the individual believer's experiencing his death and resurrection with Christ (Rom. 6:3-11), and consequent filling of the Holy Spirit for life and service. This has been the truth undergirding the life transformations mentioned earlier and past major awakenings that the Church has known—scriptural discipleship!
COME WALK WITH ME
Come walk with me—
A journey well worth taking,
With many peaks and valleys
For a servant in the making.
We must first get to know God (John 3:3)
To know what He expects,
And then we learn His ways (Ps. 103:7)
As our living He directs.
-C.R.S.
He speaks through His Son (Heb. 1:2)
In this age of grace;
First, we seek His hand,
And then we seek His face.
Our sin becomes more vivid
As we experience conviction,
And confess our sin we must
If we're to know redemption. (1 Jn. 1:9)
Many come to know Him
As personal Savior and Lord;
But few go beyond to Life (Phil. 1:21)
As admonished in His Word.
The Church must have disciples (Luke 14:27)
To complete His work on Earth;
Losing their lives to save them,
They come to know their worth. (Matt. 16:24, 25)\
As they learn to disciple others,
Transformation can be expected; (Rom. 12:2)
Believers who aren't disciples
Will find themselves dejected.
As they endeavor to help others
With the best of man's inventions,
They find their goals frustrated
While having noble intentions.
When we are yoked with God, (Matt. 11:28-30)
He moves with consummate ease,
But attempting help in our own strength
Is not our God to please.
Ardent employment of world's wisdom
Leaves much to be desired,
And absent ministering the cross
Means hard work will be required.
We must work for the night is coming, (Jn. 9:4)
And it is now all but upon us!
As we're faithful to His Lordship,
We can shed the flesh's onus!
The Spirit waits to honor
A people yielded to Him;
As the Light of the World dawns, (Jn. 8:12)
The world's lights grow dim!
