The Great Cop-Out

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20 

 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” - Mark 16:15 

 The above two passages were spoken by Jesus to his disciples after his Resurrection and prior to his ascension into Heaven.  This directive to go throughout the world sharing the Gospel message is known in Christianity as “The Great Commission”.  It is the very purpose of the Christian Church and should be the personal mission statement of every Christian who has ever lived. 

The Great Commission enabled Christianity to conquer the pagan society of the Roman Empire.  The Great Commission saw each barbarian tribe of Europe turn from its pagan culture as Christianity advanced across the continent.  The Great Commission brought Christianity to the ends of the earth as the Christian nations of Europe established colonies throughout the world.  The Great Commission gave rise to the United States of America, a nation founded on Christian principles and one that would become a potent vehicle for spreading the Gospel message to the last corners of the globe through its vast wealth and technological advances. 

 We who live in what has become the twilight of Western Civilization stand on the shoulders of martyrs and missionaries – brave and selfless individuals who dedicated their lives in pursuit of The Great Commission.  But now when the time has come for the baton to be passed on to our generation so that we might run our leg in this noble race, we have chosen instead to step off the track. 

 Modern Christianity became a victim of its own success.  It had permeated culture to the point where many Christians took their faith for granted.  These Christians grew spiritually lazy.  First, they stopped sharing the Gospel.  Next, they stopped living it.  They compartmentalized their faith, treating it like an outfit they would pull out of their closet every Sunday morning to wear for a few hours before putting it away again.  For some Christians, even this weekly exercise was too taxing and thus active Church attendance began to drop. 

 In the face of falling attendance (and hence falling revenue from offerings) Christian ministers began to panic.  They sought solutions to reverse the trend of waning congregations.  The answer far too many of them settled upon was to exchange the confrontational premise of the Gospel (i.e., we are all sinners in need of a savior) with ego-soothing self-improvement seminars which transformed sin into simply areas where one needs to improve for one’s own personal benefit.  Some congregational leaders have gone further still and transformed Church from a worship of God to a worship of each individual’s personal identity choice.  In these denominations there is no need for salvation.  There is only affirmation of the individual as a perfect and unique creation of God. 

 As we can see in the rapid deterioration of the moral state of our society, this abjuration of spiritual responsibilities by so many Christian leaders and their congregations has consequences. Too many Christians are living as though we are still in a Christian society. We are not. We are living in a culture that now more closely resembles the pagan cities in which Paul preached his first gospel messages. 
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 At a time of growing darkness, when the light of the Gospel is needed most, far too many Christians are hiding their lanterns. Too many are choosing to be conscientious objectors in the culture war – claiming some theological moral high-ground in abstaining from the very debates that threaten to degrade the morality of our society. In doing so, they have replaced The Great Commission with The Great Cop-out. They look for any excuse, cling to any passage of scripture they can twist to soothe their conscience as they cower in the corner while one by one the lampstands of the Christian society under whose nurturing glow they had the benefit of growing so fat and lazy are overturned and extinguished. And when the darkness finally overtakes them will they at last bring forth the light they had been withholding?  In that fateful hour will they risk becoming the focus of the wrath of the enemy now that all allies they might have had if they had found the courage to fight earlier have been swept aside?  Or will they dutifully extinguish their light with a whimper and join the darkness because it is an easier path?