Part of the Vine?

Part of the vine?

Jesus said,

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  

If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."  John 15:5,6

Here’s a thought and a warning to the church in North America. According to a Pew Research Centre telephone survey conducted in 2018 and 2019 65% percent of Americans describe themselves as Christians down 12% over the past decade. Thus my question is; why is Christianity declining? Especially when many particularly evangelicals say the United States is a “Christian county”.

I think the answer is fairly simple. The church is not doing it’s job. It’s become sidetracked. Getting involved with politics and a myriad of other things. It’s becoming if it already isn’t the vine branches that are about to be thrown away. 

Decades ago Mahatma Gandhi said something that could be said of North American Christians today when he said,

“Jesus is ideal and wonderful, 

but you Christians -

 you are not like him.”

                                                 Mahatma Gandhi.

The apostle Paul warned,

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,  without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,  treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—  having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

What Paul is saying here describes many who call themselves Christians today.

Sadly those within the Church do not follow the admonition of the apostle Paul who said,

“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:12,13.

Christians in North America get it in reverse. They fail to judge the wrong doing in the church and expel those doing it. Instead the judge those who they believe are doing wrong outside the church. Thus placing a road block for those outside the church from coming to know Christ.

The North American church needs to clean up its act. If it doesn’t it will hear the words of Jesus who said,

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  

For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  

I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 

“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:41-46.

Please think about it.