Worldliness or Faithfulness, Part 3 - Are You Becoming Secularized?

There is a story told about a frog in a kettle. The frog is placed in a kettle of warm water. The frog does not notice that the water temperature is being turned up gradually until it is too late. He dies from the heat of the water not realizing the danger he was in.

Societies are suffering from the "frog in the kettle" analogy. They make decisions that seem innocent enough, only to realize later the impact these decisions bring to their society. Whether the issue is gay rights, abortion, euthanasia, or simply a lack of spiritual influence over society, the changes seem logical to the unregenerate mind but reveal the moral compass of the nation has been removed.

In 1945, a book was written about the spiritual condition of England. "We are convinced that England will never be converted until the laity use the opportunities daily afforded by their various professions, crafts, and occupations." During the time of this writing, 30% of England’s population attended a church of their choice. Today, less than seven percent attend a church of any denomination in England. It has become a secularized nation. To the majority of Englishman, Sunday has reverted from Son’s day to indeed, “Sunday,” a day to relax, to take it easy, a day spent working on your tan.

During this same time, more than 40% of America was attending church. Today, less than 30% attend church and it is rapidly declining. The reason is that more and more believers are seeing the local church as irrelevant to the world they live in. Surveys reveal that up to 90% of church members believe they are not being taught how to apply the Bible to the complex world of work where they spend 60-70% of their time. It is not a question of them being taught the Bible; it is a question of relating the truths of God to their world!

Is the gospel of Jesus Christ relevant to the 21st century? The proof is in the pudding—if you are not witnessing a transformation of the inner person, you are being secularized.