Dangers in the Present-Day Church

Wong Ming-Dao is not widely known in the western world but prior to the twenty-three years he spent in prison in China for the gospel's sake he published The Spiritual Food Quarterly. The following is from that periodical, translated by Arthur Reynolds from the copies that he and his wife took with them when they were recalled from China by the China Inland Mission in 1951:

"The greatest danger to the church is not persecution. It is not attack from outside. The greatest danger to the church is corruption and deterioration within. When the church is healthy then progress and prosperity will follow naturally. Even if the church is unhappily attacked by an external force as powerful as a hurricane it will only become stronger and healthier itself.

"But if the church becomes corrupt, and its inner condition degenerates, it will not be able to stand against troubles from outside, and it will inevitably collapse. Externally the church may appear to be flourishing, but like the city of Babylon it is only awaiting God's time to destroy it. The church of today is surrounded by forces of evil and has been subject to numerous attacks. But the real danger does not lie there. The real danger is found inside the church. Alas! Far too many believers are unaware of these dangers, which are formidable. And of the believers who are unaware of these inner dangers a large number are inhibited by too great a regard for other people's 'face' (i.e., reputation). Or it may be that the reason they are unwilling to speak out plainly is their fear of losing out some way themselves. So although the danger in the church of this present age is very great, both the ordinary believers and their leaders are apparently unconscious of it and they are moving steadily to the inevitable end in a dream. In a frightening situation of this kind, so long as no one will stir himself to raise an outcry, the future of the church is so uncertain that no one dare forecast what will happen.

"I am moved by a strong sense of mission so that I cannot do other than speak out. I will now set out for consideration some of the greatest dangers in the church of the present time.

1. Worship of Wealth

"The worship of wealth is an evil phenomenon which is found all over the world. You cannot count the multitudes who see nothing and seek nothing but money. The thought of wealth has so gripped their hearts and so blinded their minds that they see neither friends nor brothers nor parents nor God. Future dangers are out of their sight. In order to amass wealth they will sink to anything. They have no hesitation in harming other people; they are ready to betray friends as well as masters; they are prepared to discard their conscience; they commit sin without compunction and they will even resort to murder. The iniquities that now characterise society arise largely from the love of money. How true it is, as the Bible faithfully tells us, that 'the love of money is the root of all evil.'

"The church is a body of people whom God has chosen out of a world of sin. This has important implications. It means that God's people must separate themselves from all unrighteousness and all uncleanness. They must trust in God and serve God and worship God. And they must do all this with a single mind.

"But what has happened? Many of them in these days leave God, who called them, out of their reckoning. They follow the ways of the world. They begin to worship wealth. That the people of Canaan should worship idols is not in any way strange. But when the Israelites whom God mightily delivered from Egypt to do the same--that is strange indeed. Even stranger is the fact that among those who worshipped idols were the princes and the leaders of Israel. When unbelievers today worship money we are not unduly pained, for that is what we would expect. What causes us pain is that Christians worship money. And we are pained even more to find that church officers give a lead to ordinary believers in this worship of money.

"People who do not believe in God, whatever their occupation, have this common propensity that they put money first. This is because they have no knowledge of the omnipotent God, and it is money, to their eyes, that represents the greatest power. So their actions are not by any means strange. Alas! So many in the church today are treading a road that is no different from the road trodden by unbelievers. Their priority is not God but wealth. Many churches, when they contemplate a particular enterprise, never think of getting down before God to pray, and to seek His guidance and undertaking. They are only concerned with soliciting contributions in order to finance a particular project.

"The strongest evidence of this 'Mammon Worship' is the prevalent attitude of attaching weight to wealth and of despising poverty. Vast amounts of money are in the hands of wealthy men. To get money, by following human methods, involves going to these wealthy men 'cap in hand' and playing the sycophant. Wealthy people are invited to occupy the best seats in the church building and to fill the important offices in the church. Board members, Board chairmen, Committee members, Committee chairmen, Elders, Deacons, Presidents, Honorary pastors--these seats are largely occupied by people with money. The state of their Faith and the state of their morals are questions not considered. So long as you have money, you can be a church leader. So long as you have money you can occupy the best seats in the church building. So long as you have money you will be respected by the congregation and you will be welcomed even by the pastor. Even when it is known that the wealth of these people has amassed by dealing in opium and trading in tobacco, or by using an official position to squeeze money out of people, or by using other methods that involve others in severe loss to secure their gain--no one takes the trouble to enquire. So long as you can give evidence that you are rich, then no matter where you go you can count on being welcomed and respected. No one will ask whether your wealth has been acquired honestly or not. That is the situation in present-day society; and that is the situation in the present-day church.

"This worship of wealth leads to another hateful and shameful practice. It is begging for contributions. In order to carry on the work of God you obviously sometimes require money, but God shows us that what is needed for His work should be offered willingly by those who believe in Him. Only by acting in this way can we please Him (Exodus 25:1,2; Corinthians 9:7). But because the church worships money and neglects the things of God they do not follow the method that He has ordained. What they do instead is to make their appeal obsequiously to the rich.

"Poor believers do not have the pastor visit them even once in two years while wealthy believers are visited perhaps two or three times every month. As the saying goes, 'The poor live in the busy market yet no one asks about them while the rich, although living in the depths of the mountains, are seen from afar.' Such a tendency appears even in the churches. How can it do other than cause the name of God to be blasphemed? And how can it do other than cause the weak to stumble?

"An even more hateful practice in some churches is to seek contributions even from unbelievers and evil men, not enquiring whether they worship idols or whether they are atheists.

"Is not the God we trust in an omnipotent God? Is not the earth with everything in it subject to His rule? If the church pleases God by the way in which it works for Him can He not provide all that is needed? How can the God who rules heaven and earth allow His servants to go around begging? If God does not provide the money that is needed it means that God is not pleased with the way that the church is working. In that case we had better stop.

2. Conforming to the Pattern of the World

"The command which God has given to us is found in Romans 12:2: 'Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.' In spite of this command the church today is striving to conform to the pattern of the world. The bigger the city in which the church is situated, and the more prestigious the church, then the more does it strive to emulate the world. Let me cite several circumstances in which this conforming to the pattern of the world is evident.

"People in secular life who want to promote some enterprise, no matter what it is, show a common tendency. They seek out several men or women of wealth and influence to be a rallying point. They feel that otherwise they will fail to get a hearing from society or to obtain the respect of the people. We frequently see advertisements placed in the newspapers by Middle Schools, Technical Schools and Universities inviting applications from prospective students. Invariably you find an important figure from the military or political sphere to be listed as Chairman or Directors or Honorary Principal. As often as not, however, this Chairman of Directors or honorary Principal has no idea even of the direction in which the main entrance is facing. Even less is revealed of his particular responsibility in the school or of his particular contribution. It is simply that the school authorities urge him to accept this position and almost unconsciously he nods his head. That is all. Where wealthy and influential people are concerned their name alone holds tremendous power of attraction. Small wonder then that people in secular life, no matter what enterprise they are engaged in, will strive to get the support of such people. Cunning people thus make use of a common weakness to advance their own particular enterprise.

"Some churches, which are to be pitied, are in this respect conforming to the pattern of the world. They do not preach the Gospel; they do not uplift the Lord Jesus; they do not manifest the good qualities that would appeal to the people who sit in the darkness. Invariably and for no good reason they use the name of some important person such as the head of a government, a manager, or a chairman of some kind, to be a notice board for the church. They hope in this way to enhance the prestige of the church and thus to attract people from outside. Yet it is still an open question whether the personalities they bring forward have yet repented and believed in the Lord Jesus. Even believers should not be used in this way simply on account of their wealth and prestige. How much more serious it is when those exalted by the church have not yet truly believed in Christ! Or who are at best backsliders!

"In another matter the church follows the pattern of the world. It is when they invite preachers not on the basis of their faith and zeal and virtue, and knowledge of the way of holiness, but stressing both qualities as natural ability to conduct public relations and manage business. In fact some churches have reached the point at which all they enquire is from which school or college the applicant graduated. What certificate has he? So long as he has the graduation certificate of a particular university or seminary, that is all that is necessary. Does he believe the Bible or not? Does he believe in Christ's way of salvation or not? Is he truly saved? Is he spiritually minded? Questions like this are never asked. A candidate may have a firmly held faith. He may live a highly moral life. He may be resolute in his aim to serve God faithfully. He may be clearly called to serve God as well as clearly saved. But so long as he does not possess the required graduation certificate he cannot expect the people to welcome him.

"It is a common feature in schools today that many students are not the least interested in pursuing true knowledge for its own sake. It is only necessary for them to wave a piece of paper--their graduation certificate--and all is well. Society will assure them of an occupation. They will have food to eat. They will be highly respected. We can only lament such untoward circumstances. What happens is that earnest believers who have been truly blessed by God and called to serve Him are given no opportunity to work. On the other hand the important positions in the church are occupied by those who have no other claim than the graduation certificates they clasp in their hand.

"There is another deplorable feature in which churches of today are imitating the pattern of the world. It is that many church leaders who influence large groups of believers are actually pursuing the pleasures of sin. Their amusements and habits are 100% of the world. The most grievous aspect is that both leader and believers are engaged in these things openly. No one reproves them, and they themselves have no feeling of shame. In course of time, therefore, these worldly amusements become accepted as legitimate recreations. The church is thus penetrated and permeated by these detestable practices of the world.

"A few years ago in one of our large cities I was confronted with what to me was a most disturbing sight. I had been invited to preach in the chapel and after the bell had rung I went in. Facing us at the back of the platform, and behind the chairs for the pastor and the preacher, was a group of young women. Their clothes were extremely smart--red, green, yellow, purple--and made of dazzling silk. It seemed that no two were wearing the same style. If the people coming in were unaware beforehand that a service of worship was to be held, they would certainly have got the impression, I fear, that it was a fashion show to display beautiful dresses. When you stop to think about it, why in fact were these young women, in their elegant apparel, sitting there on the platform at all? They were of course the choir. But since the function of singing hymns is to praise God why do they have to wear such ornate and eye-catching clothes? I do not blame the young women who were acting in ignorance. But I do want to ask the pastor and the leaders of the church why they look for people like this to make up the choir. And why make them sit on the platform where they face the congregation? And if the church leaders make arrangements like this why is it that no one in the congregation makes a move to protest? Why does no one advocate changing the practice? We know that it is the practice of business firms to employ beautiful and fashionably dressed young women in order to advertise their goods. But what is the real motive of the churches in using such a method? Church leaders ought to be warning believers against conforming to worldly customs like this. Yet not only do the leaders fail to do this, on the contrary they arrange for these young women with their beautiful and alluring dresses to sit prominently on the platform. At the very least it promotes a showy atmosphere; at the most it can indirectly create a path to sin. This is a happening that I have seen not just in one church but in many churches.

"God had commanded those who belong to Him to come out from unbelievers and to be separate from them. Yet the church of the present-day persists in following worldly ways and in going hand in hand with those who are God's enemies. Just as Israel of old disobeyed God's commands and copied the evil ways of Canaan, so does the church of today ignore God's teaching and copy the evil customs of the world.

3. Toleration of Sin

"It is not strange that all kinds of sinful practices arise within the bounds of the church, for the Lord Jesus clearly told us that tares sown by the enemy would grow amongst the wheat that He Himself has planted. He also clearly indicated that the wheat referred to His disciples and the tares to those who belong to the devil (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). Just as you cannot prevent tares appearing in the wheat field so in the church you cannot prevent the appearance of children of the wicked one. Amongst believers who have truly repented there arise not a few who are carnal and who are easily led into sin. This is not strange. Nor is the situation sufficiently far gone to endanger the church. Nevertheless the church should adopt the attitude of deeply hating sin of any kind and set itself to cut it out, however painful the process may be. Only by acting in this way can the church deliver itself from falling into greater danger. If you follow a policy of tolerating sin and indulging it, then the sinful condition will spread until the church is permeated by it. 'If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector' (Matthew 18:15-17).

"These instructions were given to the disciples because the Lord Jesus well knew that the danger arising from tolerating sin was very great. He directed His disciples to exhort the sinning brother in a spirit of love. If he then hardened his heart and refused to repent, if he would not listen to the words either of one brother or two or three brothers, and if he went further and despised the faithful words of the whole church, all that remains is to treat him as strangers and tax-collectors are treated. This is a safeguard for the whole group of believers.

"If on the other hand you refrain from acting according to these instructions then it will become more and more difficult to avoid these evil tendencies being emulated by others in the church. The church will then become permeated by sinful practices.

"The apostles also made regulations to deal with the latent danger in the church. You will find references to this issue in the following passages: 1 Corinthians 5:19-23, Galatians 6:1, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 1 Timothy 4:20, Titus 3:10, 11.

"The above teaching, which is what the Holy Spirit gave to the church through the apostles, may be summed up as follows. You may approach the one who has sinned in the spirit of meekness and exhort him in the hope that he will repent and change. If he remains obdurate then he should be reproved in front of all concerned. If he still does not respond to rebuke and continues to sin, then the whole church should avoid him, lest others should also be led astray. This exactly tallies with the teaching of the Lord Jesus in the passage quoted earlier.

"What is the situation in the church today? Obviously we cannot say that there are no instances of churches that accord with the teaching of the Bible in this respect. But the majority of churches have thrust aside the instruction of Christ and they neither warn nor reprove those who err. Even less do they alert the church as a whole to be on guard against them.

"Look at the list. The covetous, the liars, those who engage in malpractices, those who seek personal gain from public funds, the licentious, those who fail to respect their parents, those who ill-treat their wives, those who drink to excess, those who engage in gambling, and commit sin in many ways--all these and more are found inside the churches. Not only do the churches fail to separate themselves from those who transgress in these ways, they will sometimes appoint these people to positions of authority where they serve as leaders and carry heavy responsibilities. Should they be people of wealth and influence then comment is superfluous. So long as they make substantial contributions to the church, so long as they invite the pastor and other leaders to special meals, and so long as they make a point of handing out presents, no action is taken. In this way a situation arises in which flagrant transgressors are designated 'pillars in the church.' Weak believers are naturally stumbled by these things, and those who have not truly repented become overbearing. Thus the church of Christ is transformed into the den of Satan.

"Naturally not all of the corrupted churches have deteriorated to this extent. They do not go as far as appointing wilful transgressors to office. On the other hand they fail to reprimand those who refuse to give up their sin. The reason they tolerate transgressors like this is either through fear of offending them or through not daring to offend them. Again, this is a situation that ought not be. If you fail to reprimand those who sin wilfully, and make no move to avoid them, evil influences within the church will steadily increase and the church will become thoroughly corrupt.

"One thing is hard to understand. The church leaders in these circumstances are not acting to derive personal advantages from these offenders, and at the same time they are acquainted with the teaching of the Scriptures, so why do they still tolerate and indulge these wrongdoers? Why do they not reprove and exhort them, and why do they not charge the whole church to avoid them? As onlookers we can perceive three reasons for this.

"The first reason is that church leaders themselves have not a few shortcomings and sinful habits. Since they themselves have been guilty of sinful conduct they have no 'face' to reprove and exhort others who offend. Even if they should ignore 'face' and resort to reproof and exhortation, the offenders will simply ignore them. 'You rebuke us,' they object, 'but ought you not to turn round and rebuke yourselves?'

"The second reason is having regard to the general situation. 'Having regard to the general situation' is a very wrong attitude. Many people are fully aware of the things that ought to be done and the things that ought not to be done. They go further and make up their mind to do the things they ought to do and to refrain from doing the things that they ought not to do. But they then have regard to the general situation, and because of this they fail to do what they ought to do and they fail to refrain from the things they ought not to do. This is one cause of the lowering of moral standards. It is one cause of the failure to eliminate evil practices in society. 'Having regard to the general situation' has ruined many projects and brought harm to I don't know how many people. Through having regard to the general situation many believers inside the church have fallen into sin and no one has been willing to rebuke them and exhort them. Even less is anyone willing to urge believers to keep away from people who persist in their sin. Thus does the evil spread, until the whole church is contaminated.

"The third reason is fear of persecution. To speak to people about their faults is far from easy. To add reproof to exhortation is even more difficult. To urge the whole church to avoid those who stubbornly refuse to repent is something more difficult still. Those who are prepared to go as far as this can hardly avoid giving offense and thus incurring persecution. Many believers are unwilling to take this risk, and church leaders will go out of their way to avoid it. So the situation in the church continues to deteriorate.

"To sum up, it is essential that the whole church change its direction and obey the teaching of the Lord Jesus, and that the church follows the rules set up for the church by the Holy Spirit and communicated through the apostles.

"I have observed, in various churches, a most detestable state of affairs. There have been people of evil character who were involved in practicing evil. Yet not only did no one reprove or exhort them, nor make any move to compel them to leave the church, but on the contrary they were shielded and favoured. If it were a case of church leaders being unaware of the situation this attitude would not be strange. What makes it strange is that even when these evil-doings are exposed the church leaders still remain aloof. This may be because those involved are friends or relatives of the leaders. Should anyone get up to admonish those involved then the church leaders can still cover-up for them and defend them. The sin of the church leaders in these circumstances is far greater than that of the original offenders."