In The Church

TODAY the enemy has invaded even the sacred precincts of the church of the living God. When I was a child no pictures were ever shown in the church. It was exclusively a place of worship, for prayer, for praise, for reverence and for the hearing of the “thus saith the Lord.” The Word occupied the most prominent place in the service; the sermons were often an hour long. Then gradually the appeal to the eye crept in. First there were harmless pictures and images of a moral, religious or cultural nature. Then came the motion pictures. Today in many churches, entertainment has largely replaced prayer; pictures have replaced the preaching of the Word of God; and hundreds of preachers have succumbed to Lot’s temptation, because they have found that pictures will get a bigger crowd and a better offering than the simple, plain “thus saith the Lord.” Many a church cannot get a baker’s dozen out to a prayer meeting or to a preaching service, but it can pack the house with a “sanctified” show, or a western movie in a religious garb, or a minstrel show.

Add to all this the introduction of television, with its tremendous potentialities for evil if not strictly controlled, and we have, we believe, the answer to the question; What is the cause of the tremendous increase in crime, especially juvenile crime, immorality, wickedness and irresponsibility, and the breakdown of the home? It was Satan’s master stroke when he showed Eve the tree, when he caused Lot to behold the plain of Jordan, and Achan the Babylonish garment. When Eve’s eyes were opened by sin, her ears were immediately closed to the voice of God. The more the appeal is made today through the eye, beautiful as the programs may be, the less people will care for the Word of God.

Adapted and modified excerpts from Studies in the Life of Abraham by M. R. De Haan (1891-1964)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.