WHERE ARE WE GOING, RELIGIOUSLY?

So our former Prime Minister has ‘converted’ to the Roman Catholic Church. Whilst a boost to that communion it has perhaps come as no great surprise. What may be a great surprise is the changed status of the Roman Catholic Church itself in our society. It was a shock to read the other day (24th December) in one of the quality national dailies an article entitled ‘A confident faith invigorated by a willingness to fight God’s corner.’ What was it about? A resurgent protestant evangelical movement in the mainline churches? No, it was about the fact that there are now officially more Catholics in England and Wales than there are practising Anglican Protestants! Our point in drawing attention to this is not to knock the Catholic system. It is clear that evangelical protestants will have to address the errors of the Roman Catholic system, as measured against the Biblical teaching. However, the fact is that the commentator we have quoted is at least right about this: that the Catholic position, unsound as it is in our view, has had far more robustness and moral integrity than much of Protestantism in recent years. Protestantism has been dying largely because the mainline Churches have failed the nation. The acceptance of critical views of the Bible in the late 19th Century and the growth of liberal theology have ravaged the Church. Evangelical religion became marginalised in the big broad Churches and inevitably they became bodies which showed little robustness or resistance to the onset of the secular society. The vanquishing of the Biblical call to repent sin and believe in Christ as the divine Son and only Saviour; the displacement of the insistence on the necessity of the new birth by the Holy Spirit; and the undermining of Biblical authority in the mainline protestant Churches have been responsible for this demise. They have been so lacking in confidence in the plain authority of Scripture that it has more or less paralysed them as far as making any strong moral pronouncements on many of the major moral issues and ‘political correctness’ of the day. They have largely lacked a ‘prophetic’ voice in the nation and have reaped the consequences in terms of diminished power and influence. The Catholics have gained in at least seeming to have a strong position on abortions, and sexual morality, notwithstanding some scandals involving some of their clerics. In our view these are the roots of the weakness of mainline Presbyterian and Anglican churches, which seem to be awfully compromised with worldliness.

What is the answer? For the smaller conservative Churches the call is to be steadfast and immovable, morally and spiritually, with strong reliance on the authority of the word of God and law of God in personal and Church life. The call is for ceaseless prayer, and for discernment about error and emphasis on the necessity of repentance and faith, and the new birth, for anyone to be a Christian. The call is to maintain and preach high standards of Biblical morality and spirituality and get a vision for its spread. The call is to stand in the evil day, whatever the cost may be. People will see the sense of conservative evangelicalism, which is simply the right view and only sustainable view of Biblical religion and healthy Church life. And pray for the revival of true religion, and for reformation in the mainline Churches. They have in some respects the ‘ear of the people.’ Only what is heard is often not impressive. Maybe there will be a ‘melt down’ of such Churches before recovery begins. All such matters should be a concern for our prayers and influence, in dependence upon the great Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Because we want to see a vibrant Church throughout the United Kingdom. May the Lord hasten such a day, not least as we go into a New Year.

JWK