Eroding From The Inside

To erode means to diminish or destroy by degrees, or to deteriorate. I see this when I go to the beach and see pieces of the cliff laying on the beach below.

Erosion is also going on in the church, especially within the denominations. These denominations were founded upon God’s word. They aligned their beliefs in accordance with God’s word, but over the years erosion has taken its toll. Many of these denominations have begun to drift away from their theological roots.

In a 2008 article, the headline was, “Russian Orthodox Church Stolen – Brick by Brick.” The story began, “Wanted: One missing Russian Church. Last seen in July. Reward for its return.”

The church, which was 200 years old, was closed and used by the Soviets as a school for the disabled. But it closed its doors in 1998 and turned back over to the Russian Orthodox Church. In July, 2008 they decided to reopen the church and when they came in October, it was gone.

How can a whole church be missing? How does one steal a church? It would seem one brick at a time. A business owner from a nearby village was paying four cents a brick. So, the local villagers dismantled the church, brick by brick, and sold it.

The local priest said this was nothing less than blasphemy and a grave sin, but I see it as symbolizing the erosion that is going on in today’s churches. Little by little the church is being dismantled, not from without, but from within.

The church is not preparing people for the hard realities of life: the betrayals, illnesses, losses, disappointments, and death with the truth of God’s word. People need the truth of God’s word to cling to through these hard and difficult times, not some pop psychology or philosophy that is here today and gone tomorrow.

People need to be grounded upon the sure foundational truths of the Bible if they ever want to survive.