In the Fullness of Time

IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME
Conservative reformed Christianity in a secular age
W.T. McClendon

We Christians who approach Holy Writ from a conservative reformed
perspective find ourselves living in a context which demands accommodation.
In terms of general population, those who largely grasp the concept of
reformed Christian theology find themselves few and diminishing in number,
even in an area of the world thought by many as the buckle of the Bible
belt. Any student of history will tell you that those who follow The God of
the Old and New Testaments have varied widely in number over time. From the
conservative Christian perspective, the followers of God have ranged even
more widely, from quite nearly entire nations to only a single Man hanging
on a cross, another willing to offer his son for a sacrifice to God, or
another about to face banishment or execution for his beliefs. When such an
individual is found willing to stand facing such consequences, the
importance of the message, the consequences for failure and the nature of
the individual who stands alone are axiomatic.

Anyone identifying themselves as a conservative reformed Christian, while
fully cognizant of the implications of those assertions, likely realizes the
rarity of those beliefs. For in the eyes of an increasingly secular,
ignorant and apathetic society, the message and mission of Christ face
mounting disapproval. Many in this small circle rightly observe that the
tolerance espoused by those around them applies to virtually every belief
system but their own. The "politically correct" mindset quickly embraces
those who espouse women's rights, offenders' rights, victims' rights, moral
pluralism, religious pluralism materialism and conditional ethics will as
quickly condemn those who state "I stand for Christ" as being intolerant.
While reformed theology would teach its advocates that no human being is
ever anything more than a forgiven sinner in moral terms, designed at outset
"to worship God and enjoy Him forever," it is possible that the larger
church, has become every bit as seduced by the very secularism they condemn
to the extent that they themselves condemn those among their ranks who stand
firmly for Christ as intolerant, unrealistic or unsophisticated. And only
after having disavowed the moral absolutes for which the Cross of Christ
provided atonement do they set about preaching adherence to Christian
morality to a world which by their own definition lacks even the ability to
comply. And having failed that, they turn to human vanity, building with great pains
and fortunes material monuments to the pride of sinful men, in the hope of
filling those vast halls and corridors with individuals having as scarcely a
clue to the true meaning of the message they theoretically teach as they
lack the ability to teach that message. So as in the death of a massive
sun, they swell enormously in volume and glow with many times the luminosity
of their youthful vigor. But those end times are short indeed, for within
the vast, tenuous envelopes of the over bloated star resides a core whose
massive expenditures of energy cannot long be sustained. The star then dies
with one brilliant convulsive explosion so violent as to attract the
attention of the entire universe. And hopefully, prayerfully we dare trust,
the dead remnants of the glory years now long gone contain the seeds from
which a rebirth of new light can be found.

The solution for the church hidden in the church is not to force Christian
morality on an unbelieving world, to surround ourselves with masses of
people we leave ignorant of the Gospel entrusted to us, to accommodate and
concede to an unbelieving world, or even to impress the world with our
wealth and the monuments we build for ourselves. The solution is to
accommodate ourselves and our teaching to the Bible and the Christ that gave
that Bible to us. We must accept the fact that though our numbers might at
times in history be small, we find solace in the fact we did not compromise,
but held true to Holy Writ. An old preacher once stopped by an old church
entering its death throes and was accused of ruffling feathers and preaching
a message which made people uncomfortable. That very discomfort might have
been the hope of new life if embraced. An elder spouted "it's change or
die." Adapt and change, yes. But change by accommodating ourselves to
scripture, not the secular world. If the Church can not be discerned from
the secular world, like the dying star, is it not already dead?
So let us talk. Reformed web sites are a dime a dozen now. But lest we
find ourselves pleasantly sniffing and admiring our tulips in the garden
while another sows, another waters, God gives his increase and sends forth
the harvesters, we will be found wanting. We think ourselves astute with
our books stacked about us. What are we to do with what God has given us?
Might we be the seeds of a new birth of light? And how might we accomplish
this end?

Bibliography:
a. The Heidelberg Catechism