Where Christ Is Not Preached

Our church youth director Chris M. says, "many evangelicals today would be happy with a public religion without any content." Indeed, this certainly seems to be the case. I was shocked to read the presidential proclamation on the National Day of Prayer. In it George Bush says,

Americans of many faiths and traditions share a common belief that God hears the prayers of His children and shows grace to those who seek Him. Following the tragedy at Virginia Tech, in towns all across America, in houses of worship from every faith, Americans have joined together to pray for the lives that were lost and for their families, friends, and loved ones. We hold the victims in our hearts and pray for those who suffer and grieve. There is a power in these prayers, and we can find comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 3, 2007, as a National Day of Prayer. I ask the citizens of our Nation to give thanks, each according to his or her own faith

Do you hear what he's saying? He is essentially saying that there is "power" in the prayers of people of all faiths. He is in fact urging people of all faiths to pray to whatever God they choose to pray to. As president, this is fine - we live in a society with the blessing of freedom of religion. But if the president is a Christian as he says he is, his statements are in fact heresy and a direct denial of the supremacy of Christ.

Here's my point. Chris is right. As long as the president says he is a Christian and promotes certain moral issues that Christians generally support, many evangelicals are perfectly happy with that sort of public religion, without any content, and without any Christ.

Oh, that the evangelical church in America would return to its first love (Rev. 2:4)! Michael Horton's comment below is very telling...

What would things look like if Satan actually took over a city? The first frames in our imaginative slide show probably depict mayhem on a massive scale: Widespread violence, deviant sexualities, pornography in every vending machine, churches closed down and worshipers dragged off to City Hall. Over a half-century ago, Donald Grey Barnhouse, pastor of Philadelphia's Tenth Presbyterian Church, gave his CBS radio audience a different picture of what it would look like if Satan took control of a town in America. He said that all of the bars and pool halls would be closed, pornography banished, pristine streets and sidewalks would be occupied by tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The kids would answer "Yes, sir," "No, ma'am," and the churches would be full on Sunday ... where Christ is not preached.