The Unresponsive Church Pt.2

In our present series of posts, seasoned pastor (and long-time pastor of pastors) John Benton steers us through what unresponsiveness is, what causes it and how we can handle it if we are serving the Saviour in the local church. In this week’s instalment, he identifies the first of three causes behind the lack of responsiveness in a congregation. The other causes will be identified and explored in subsequent weeks.

What does Scripture say about the origins of the spiritual deterioration that leads to a lack of response in a congregation?

I want to suggest that the unresponsive church emerges from three causes, each of which will be unpacked in separate articles week by week. The first one is the major cause – the other two are additional factors. The major cause is idolatry. Two other frequent contributors are to do with leadership and church size.

Resembling our idols

Idolatry is seen as the primary cause of spiritual deadness in Scripture.

Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.
They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.
They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk,
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
Psalm 115.3-8

Notice the last two lines. Idols bring deadness Let’s briefly remind ourselves of how this works in Scripture. Genesis explains to us that we are made to be image bearers of God, Genesis 1.26, 27. We are made to be reflectors of the LORD. That means that we become like what we worship.?

One of the great positive OT examples of this is seen in Psalms 111 and 112. They are a pair.

The first, Psalm 111, praises God – and among his attributes we see, v3, ‘his righteousness endures forever; v4, ‘the LORD is gracious and compassionate’; v5, ‘he provides food’ and ‘remembers his covenant forever’ -wisdom is to fear the LORD, v10. The second, Psalm 112, is about the man who fears the LORD, v1 – and what is said of him? ‘His righteousness endures forever’, v3; he is ‘gracious and compassionate’, v4; ‘he scatters gifts to the poor, v9 and, with a gracious twist on the remembrance aspect, ‘he is remembered forever, v6. He is like the God he worships. That’s sanctification. The NT takes up the same idea positively in 2 Corinthians 3.18. As we behold Christ’s glory we become like him.

But by-and-large the OT focuses on the negative side of this dynamic. What happens when we put something else in the place of God (the definition of an idol)? We find that we become like the false god and it brings spiritual death to us, Psalm 115.8. We detect this first in Genesis 3. Satan is first introduced in 3.1: ‘Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made!

It will probably have been pointed out to you sometime that the word ‘crafty’ or ‘subtle’ describing the serpent is virtually the same word as ‘naked’ – as mentioned in close proximity to 2.25, concerning Adam and Eve. What happens after they have disobeyed God and believed and obeyed the devil’s word – virtually becoming his worshippers – making him their god? It seems, they take on a new kind of ‘nakedness’ of which they are ashamed, Genesis 3.10. Adam says to God, ‘1 heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’ Their nakedness has become the same kind of nakedness as that of the devil. They were ashamed because they have become like him! And of course, this leads to death. ‘Dust you are and to dust you will return’ says God to Adam, Genesis 3.19.

We find this same dynamic worked out throughout the rest of the OT. The Israelites worship the golden calf and they become ‘stiff-necked’, just like a calf. ‘The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer,’ Hosea 4.16. In the days of Isaiah, the people of Judah worship the ‘sacred oaks’, Isaiah 1.29, but what effect does that have on them? Isaiah 1.29-31 tells us. God is says, ‘you will wither like those trees you worship’, and it is this idolatry which is referred to in Isaiah 6 and makes even the great prophet’s ministry fruitless. Judah will be cut down like a ‘terebinth and oak’, v13 Meanwhile their idolatry makes them unable to receive God’s word: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving’, Isaiah 6.9 In fact, the effect of the word will be to harden them more, ‘Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed’ Isaiah 6.10.

The same theme is carried into the New Testament. In the Gospels we find a new form of idolatry. It is the idolatry of tradition and legalism which has hardened the hearts of the Pharisees so that they are even against people being healed on the Sabbath day! They are trusting in themselves and their religious performance not in God. So often, therefore, Jesus concludes what he says with the who has ears to hear let him hear, Mark 4.9; Matthew 13.9. He says this because many do not have ears to hear. Their idols of self-righteousness and legalistic duty have deadened their perception.

And, of course, that same concern for hearing is carried over into the Christian congregations as Jesus, through the apostle John, addresses the 7 churches in the book of Revelation. That same phrase from the lips of the Lord Jesus rings throughout – ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’, 2.7; 2.11; 2.17; 2.29; 3.6; 3.13; 3.22.

Identifying our idols

The fact of that phrase – linked to idolatry – being repeated to every church means this is something that every church and every pastor need to be constantly concerned about if they care for the health and responsiveness of the We must identify the idols of the modern day. For us the upfront idols are those of money, sex, and power (is that an idol for your eldership?), and self is constantly seeking to take the place of God in our lives.

Also in our own day, people idolize celebrity, respectability, being liked by other people, health and fitness etc. These are the things even church people look to, or at least half look to, in order to make their lives ‘work’ for them. They look to these instead of to Christ and him being all in all. Or again, a more subtle idol for those who are not well off is just being so taken up with ‘making ends meet’ or keeping the family together that it takes over their lives. Instead of seeking first God’s kingdom and trusting him, immediate needs fill their horizon.

Another way of putting all this is to think in terms of the fact that idols grieve the Spirit, Ephesians 4.30. Or we can think of the parable of the sower. The riches, cares and worries of this world are idols and choke God’s word. This idolatry needs to be addressed, pastor, if you are going to see a new responsiveness in your congregation.

Dr Benton has graciously allowed us to share materials on this theme which originally appeared in booklet form on his Pasta Pastor website.