All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995 Ed. (NASB95)

This is a draft of the Introduction to The New Testament Revival of Western Christianity, available on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/cXrtpfE

When you look at your own walk with the Lord, as well as that of your closest Christian loved ones, how much similarity do you notice between them and the general tenor of the believers in the New Testament? Besides this, considering the impact of the 1st century body of Christ on the pagan world around them, how much of an impact do you see your church and the churches in your area on the unbelieving world that surrounds? How many believers have you seen significantly growing over the past several months, and how many unbelievers have you heard were converted through the witness of your fellow congregants?

If you’re honest with all of these questions, it’s most likely that your portrayal of what you claim to be New Testament Christianity is a miserable misrepresentation of such. In the western world, most of our fellow church members remain in almost the same spiritual condition of Christlikeness for years on end, while it might be barely within the span of a few years that even a couple of unbelievers profess to become believers, and show forth fruit in keeping with repentance. I realize that I’m speaking in generalities, but you’ll have to admit that these things are true in most of the western world. What’s even worse is that most of our unbelieving neighbors have never learned the basics of the gospel, let alone been exposed to a thorough explanation of it.

In the backdrop of this grievous state of affairs, there are glimmers of hope, though. In the past several years, I’ve noticed a significant revival of zeal for holiness, devotion to God’s Word, passion for the growth of churches (hereafter called “assemblies”), and boldness in evangelism. However, this has only been occurring in small pockets of western Christianity, and even most of these pockets have a long way to go until they recover the fire, fervor, and effectiveness that most of the New Testament assemblies enjoyed.

Nevertheless, for the most part, western Christianity (especially in the U.S.) is largely twisted, deceived, misguided, cold, selfish, worldly, and beset with deeply rooted pride. I know that I’m largely making sweeping generalizations, and this diagnosis is a severely depressing one. However, I think if you’ll take a sober look at most of the Bible-believing Christians in your general geographic area, you’ll have to admit that my judgment is basically accurate.

To hammer home my points, let me give you a few specific areas in which western Christianity falls far short of the practice of the first vibrant, zealous, and growing assemblies. First, think about how the New Testament describes believers’ love for one another. 1 John 3:16 enjoins,

“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

How often do you do this in your attitude and motives, and how often do you see this done by your closest Christian friends? I think it’s safe to say that we don’t care enough about our brethren to lay down our lives for them, let alone just give up an extended period of time to ask them how they’re doing, and find out how we can help them to obey the Lord.

Second, most of our assemblies and Christian lives are so engrossed and ensnared by the selfish, decadent, and pleasure-loving world around them that we have little to no influence on them in the way of teaching them the gospel. In other words, most western believers are so much like the non-Christians around them that they forget about the soul-damning ignorance of their neighbors. What’s even worse is that those believers who clearly demonstrate their knowledge of Jesus fail to make good use of the clear opportunities to preach the gospel to their unbelieving neighbors. Most of us are either self- or inward-focused, and give little thought to how we can use every opportunity to share the gospel of salvation with our perishing neighbors.

A third area of our western practice that makes a mockery of New Testament Christianity is the activity of our weekly gatherings. In the New Testament, there are four key ingredients to the flourishing of the first assemblies, as outlined in Acts 2:42. The first Christians continually devoted themselves “to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Put in modern terms, they were practicing Bible study, mutual service, the Lord’s Supper, and group prayer. And these behaviors were continuous, not occasional. Every time they met together, they taught God’s Word, served one another, celebrated the Lord’s Supper, and prayed together. Does your assembly do these things every week? And even if you say yes, do you practice them the way the congregations planted by the apostles did? Is your teaching effective? Does every member serve others in some way? Do you celebrate the Lord’s Supper as a family meal? And does everyone have the opportunity to have their needs prayed for? How deficient our assemblies are in these areas!

The results of these failures to follow New Testament teaching are seen in the characteristics already noted. Rather than being steadily transformed by the renewing of their minds, most western believers are very conformed to this evil world. Rather than treating their fellow believers as actual eternal brothers and sisters, most Christians treat their fellow congregants as fellow club members. Rather than devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching about Scripture, most believers either largely neglect Scripture learning, or devote themselves to their favorite preachers’ or authors’ teaching. Rather than serving their brethren every week, most believers simply come to the meeting to watch, listen, sing a few songs, and maybe engage in some casual conversation. Rather than praying with and for their brethren, most believers are content to pray for themselves, their families, and maybe a few close friends and relatives. And finally, rather than putting the Lord’s love and righteousness on display for unbelievers, most believers are content to go to work, make money, talk about the weather, and go home to their families – all while their coworkers and neighbors go on their confused, deceived, and merry way to hell.

Last but not least, I’m writing as a man in his late 20s who has suffered the loneliness, waywardness, depression, and confusion of struggling to grow in the Lord without more than one or two brothers that reached out to me to seek how they could help me become a well-rounded, established, and fruitful man of God. Thus, I know only too well the sinful neglect of young believers in their learning, discipline, and decision-making. This is no more lacking than in the area of raising up the next generation of wise, strong, and productive leaders of the Lord’s people. The prevailing system that operates to provide leaders for assemblies comes hardly anywhere near that which is taught and modeled in the New Testament. And this is due to the selfish, lazy, and foolish thinking and behavior of growing Christians and elders preventing them from mentoring and discipling those who are less mature. As will be addressed later, this is largely due to the unbiblical clergy-laity distinction and “professional ministry” institution, which makes assembly leadership into a full-time profession, and puts almost all the responsibility of shepherding, counseling, and administrating on the shoulders of one, or a few, men (if they still believe in masculine leadership).

All told, the attitudes, beliefs, and consistent behaviors of most western Christians bare little resemblance to those of the growing and fruitful believers of the New Testament. And what did those first believers accomplish? They turned “the world upside down,” and eventually conquered Roman society to such an extent that Christianity was regarded as the most beneficial religion in the Roman Empire (which included various problems to be addressed elsewhere). Further, about a third of the empire eventually at least professed to worship the Lord Jesus. Where is this influence and transformation today in the western world? Barely anywhere but in our hearts and our Bibles.

These aren’t easy problems to face, since one of the most significant causes of all these maladies is our besetting sins, even though they may be unknown to us. But this is no excuse to ignore our problems. The Lord has promised far better things for us! And if we’re to enjoy the blessings of abundant life, genuine brotherhood, and powerful witness that are our rightful possessions in the Lord, then we must soberly consider what things we’re failing at, causing us to suffer from our grievous disorders. There are several practices that I’ve observed to be most lacking in the lives of most American believers, but are essential if we’re to grow in the Lord, and enjoy the fullness of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

To read the next chapter of The New Testament Revival of Western Christianity, this is the article to read (or you can pick from any of the main chapters of the book by looking in the Category, The New Testament Revival of Western Christianity Excerpts):

The Biblical Grounds for the Familial Unity of Christians (Part 2 of Major Western Problems)