A common phenomenon in Anglican churches is that many believers lack systematic, continuous and comprehensive teaching and training, and therefore do not understand their mission. A proportion of believers will divide Christ’s saving grace from sanctification, and will also dichotomise church life as well as social life, believing that the church is the church and society is another matter. Believers spend more than 95% of their time in society, and they are the light and salt of society. If they do not understand the teachings of the Bible and their mission in society, they will not be able to fulfil the mission entrusted to them by God and become His witnesses.
The mission of the believer is to preach the message of salvation by living in the likeness of Christ, so that people may believe in the true God who created the world. Therefore, the life of believers in the church must be a preparation for their life in society, so that they are equipped to face the challenges of social life. The mission of the believer is primarily to be a witness for God in society, and the church must be a constant source of supply and help to equip them.
The church needs to help the believers to understand that they have become part of the church through baptism and have received a mission: to be God’s witnesses in the world. Being God’s witnesses requires holy living. The Scriptures clearly tell us that it is because the saving grace of Christ is exceedingly great that those who receive it must live holy lives. Paul says in Eph. 4:1, “As you were called, so conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the calling with which you were called.”
While grace is certainly the foundation of the Christian faith and what we receive is solely by God’s grace, sanctification is a process that cannot be compromised after grace. Many times the process of sanctification is disliked by lay people and avoided by churches because of the cost involved, lest members left the church. Pastors are also under pressure in this area. When there is a decrease in membership, that means the pastors are not capable, hence, they may try to “fit in” with the demands of the congregation. Pastors often seem to become salesmen who only want to perform well, and the “customer” is always right.
An article in The Malaysian Insider is thought-provoking. In his article “What is Driving (Increase of) Faith in this Country”, Dina Zaman has an interview asking about the reasons for the increase of Christians in our country. She interviewed a man called Desmond Ong, who argued that the increase in Christian numbers had nothing to do with faith. The increase is due to the fact that churches focus on human relationship, offering good promises, good social support, and feels as good as shopping in a shopping mall. This is the impression that Christianity gives. While Desmond is not the representative of the majority, he is somehow a representative.
Christianity is slowly descending to a point where “it doesn’t matter who Jesus Christ is”. In the church, as long as the relationship is good and everyone is happy, it does not matter what the truth is. My own experience is that on two occasions, because I preached in the Sunday sermon that Christians should not get divorced, I was confronted with the dissatisfaction of members. Some members eventually chose to leave the church.
Is the church really a place that “focuses on human connection, offers good promises, good social support organization, and feels as good as shopping in a shopping mall”, but doesn’t have to follow Jesus? Isn’t the discipleship is the most important thing in the church?