Quote Source – Jeff Hilles
A Biblical Christian worldview perspective – It is important to acknowledge that while we live in these tents (our bodies – 2 Cor. 5:1), there should be no expectation of perfection (unlike Heaven – Matt. 5:48). On earth, our behavior can be seen as a spectrum ranging from bad to lesser of evils, then, behavior that could be considered good, then, great, and finally best case. Further complicating our ability to know where we stand on this spectrum is that often times one is not sure what the ‘most Christian’ decision is when looking at situations through the cloudy lens of our own sin nature (1 Cor. 13:12).
An example is church attendance which has seen an overall drop of 12% since 2021. There are, of course, some who can’t physically attend (homebound) and so ‘best case’ for them is some version of social media. The other extreme are folks who have become unchurched without any justification nor even a poor replacement (such as online). Perhaps worst are those leaders of their households who don’t recognize the importance of Biblical Christian church attendance for their families. Finally, there are the rest of us who fall somewhere in between.
In the Bible there is recognition that we are sinners living in a sin-cursed world (Rom. 7:22-24). God does not accept sin, but He has provided for it, through Christ, and certainly acknowledged its existence (a need for continued repentance).
For each decision we make in life there are a range of choices from bad to best case. As we live our lives as believers, it is important that as we are a continuous learner about God and His expectations, taken from His instruction manual for life, the Bible. Over time, we need to see progress, in our own lives, moving away from ‘bad’ and toward ‘best case’ in both the small and big decisions of life. That process, which follows salvation, is called sanctification (details here).
POSTSCRIPT: From a reader/commenter…
That statistic could be a little depressing until the larger picture is considered. I think it’s important to note that this drop in church attendance refers to the USA only, and to the current period of history only. According to https://research.lifeway.com/2024/01/22/8-encouraging-trends-in-global-christianity-for-2024 Christianity is actually growing worldwide.
Still, I realize that American Christians may look at the worldwide trend and ask, “Great, but how does the spread of the Gospel in Mongolia help me with the growing secularism in my neighborhood?”. I think that’s where they need to see that they are part of something much greater than just their own neighborhood, or their own nation, or even their own era of history. Revelation chapter 7 speaks of “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” and even Angels worshipping the Lord with that great multitude.
Regardless of what happens to be going on in the USA, good or bad, at this particular point in history, the thing that those in the USA, who actually serve the risen Lord, are just one little part of is much bigger than the USA. It’s a massive and diversified thing that is spread across hundreds of nations, and thousands of people groups, and existing in countless generations throughout thousands of years of history. Despite all its size and diversity, there is one common factor to every person in it: one Lord. And it is exactly what its Lord built it to be, a timeless creation that the gates of hell cannot prevail against.
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
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