The Casual Christian

The Romans persecuted the early church because it did not worship their gods. They were willing to tolerate other gods and even incorporate them into their pantheon, but they could not condone one who said, "No one comes to the father but by me" (Jn. 14:6). Beginning with Nero, the Roman emperors subjected Christians to exile, imprisonment, beatings and execution for refusing to publicly offer sacrifices to them or their gods. This persecution continued with varying degrees of severity from 64 AD to 324 AD when Constantine signed the Edict of Milan, banning persecution of Christians.

In 381 B.C. Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of Rome. House churches moved into the auditoriums where pagan priests formerly held sway. The church began to take on many of the characteristics of Roman pagan religions, including a professional priestly class, liturgical worship, and an official religious hierarchy. Pastors presided over a lecture hall filled with passive listeners who did not participate in worship the way the early believers had. Ministry became the domain of the religious professionals and believer-to-believer ministry gradually diminished. Power and prestige corrupted the church and turned it into an autocratic institution.

After the fourth century A.D., it actually became fashionable to become a Christian. Converts' motives were suspect because of the benefits that accrued with church membership. Within the span of one hundred years, the persecuted church had become the persecuting church as believers turned against their enemies with the full weight and force of a sympathetic government.

We have come full circle today. Christianity is protected and even favored by our government. Presidential candidates who have never darkened the door of a church try to pass themselves off as believers to curry favor with the vast number of "born again" voters. Mega-churches with elaborate architecture and expensive furnishings dot the landscape like the basilicas of Roman days. Preachers have stressed the blessings of belief and downplayed the demands of a sovereign Lord. Many modern converts, eager to appropriate all the blessings of faith, are unwilling to participate in the sufferings of Christ the way the early believers did.

Is it time for another Reformation? Or are we at the end of the church era just prior to the return of Christ? It would seem we are perched upon the precipice of end time events, just waiting for the return of our Lord. Why? Because the Jews have been re-gathered to their homeland signaling the end of the church age. It is time to put our houses in order so that when Christ appears we will be found faithfully building His kingdom.

The Casual Christian pp. 3-4, 8