Where is faith in Jesus Christ and His Coming?

I have read so many articles this year already that ask what is happening to the church. They don't say the 'body of Christ'. They say 'the church' and often say... 'the church in America'. The answers are always the same: the challenge of cultural issues which includes politicized sexual orientation, the trend toward globalization, and theological shallowness, skepticism, and apologetic failure.

All of which I agree with. However, they miss the foundational problem: this is a fallen world and a serious lack of faith in Jesus Christ and His Second Coming! And, in fact, most have no idea that Jesus Christ is coming back!

Just about everyone with some kind of credentials will say that Jesus came to show the way on how to lead a good life. He was a man who loved people and because of that he was led by his spirit to demonstrate the right way to live with each other.

Indeed, Jesus did demonstrate how to live in this fallen world; He said, "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" ~ John 14:6. He did this to prepare for His Return.

He had to come then and has to come back! Its a battle that He and we (being born again) are engaged in... a battle against the evil one. That is why He came for the sinner. Let us not forget that he died on the cross, was buried and resurrected to get rid of the law of sin and death set in motion by Satan...

"For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh" ~ Romans 8:3. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life ~ John 3:16. He came to restore us to what we were created for and created to be.

And, there is much much more going on in the spiritual realm than most realize which does manifest in this fallen physical world. Did you know that most if not all of the Bible describes this and the battle at hand.  Sadly, Jesus Christ's Second Coming is hardly ever heard about in church today as something we need to physically and spiritually prepare for. This is what we seem to have forgotten in the post modern church 'body of Christ'.

I see people clinging to the things of this FALLEN world! They go to church but not to worship the one True God as He should be worshiped. They are going mainly to make social connections, or to ask for prayer for their ailments, financial troubles, family and or relationship issues etc. I rarely hear anyone ask for help in their relationship with Jesus Christ and how to go about improving that and how to become a solider for Christ in these end times.

Members of the body need to put on the full armor of God. They won't become a solider for Christ just by signing up for soup kitchen detail. They need to get into the Word of God, putting on the full armor of God which is the Word, the Bible...consuming it as living bread and living water and sharing that with others so they too can eat the bread of life.

Sadly, I don't hear about teachings on how to engage with others on that level let alone disciple others so that they can spread the Good News who is Jesus Christ; that He, (God the Father/Son/Holy Spirit) died for our sin, was buried and resurrected and that He is coming back to reboot the entire universe.

When He comes back, we need to be ready to recognize Him and accept His gift of eternal life. There is only one way to the Father and it is by Him. Yes, He is coming back because this is still a fallen world and its going to be rebooted. Yes, we have the Holy Spirit in us now but His Kingdom in its entirety is still to come. The Bible tells us this truth. There is more prophecy on this than there was on His first coming. The entire Bible is a guide to the reboot.

Also folks, what is happening to the church is that many in it have been given over to a reprobate 'depraved' mind. Reading from Romans 1, "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. 

They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them" ~ Romans 1:18-32.

Reading Matthew 24:4-13 ~ What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. 

These things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

 

Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and mislead many. Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

How will He come? "Look, he is coming with the clouds," and "every eye will see him, even those who pierced him"; and all peoples on earth "will mourn because of him." So shall it be! Amen. Rev. 1:7.