Paul’s command to the Ephesians to be very careful how they walk (Eph. 5.15-17) echoes similar exhortations from Solomon, the prophets, Jesus, and other apostles. Christians – and churches – are charged with keeping a close eye on our discipleship.

It’s when we stop paying attention to our lives – and our churches – that problems can begin to appear.

The Corinthians of Paul’s day had evidently not been diligent in their watchfulness, for in a wide variety of ways they failed to keep their practice in line with the teaching he had given them from the Word of God. In his concluding charge to the Church of Corinth, Paul reminded them of the need to “watch” lest their problems multiply and they fail to bring their practice back in line with apostolic teaching.

This solemn charge to pay close attention to how we live and how we grow our churches is one the struggling American Church needs carefully to consider.

False teaching

In at least three ways the Church in America has failed in its duty to be watchful.

The first area is that of the teaching of the Church. The liberal views that undermined and led to the near collapse of mainline churches throughout the last century – so deftly exposed by the likes of J. Gresham Machen, Carl Henry, Cornelius Van Til, and Francis Schaeffer – are no longer a threat to more evangelical churches.

However, the worldview of postmodernism, with its emphasis on sentiment, individuality, pragmatism, and private meanings for just about everything, is.

Certain evangelical theologians today talk about the “relative” certainty we can have that Scripture is really true. They want us to believe we can only really understand the intentions of the Spirit of God if we salt in a fair measure of the spirit of the age in our Biblical exposition.

Many evangelical preachers, meanwhile, set aside clear exposition of the text to speak “from the heart” to the felt needs of congregations, as though meeting felt needs were the purpose of the Gospel and the mission of the Church.

On many fronts false teaching has penetrated the theological defenses of the Church; yet most church leaders are largely unaware of this drift, and the people in the pews hardly notice (Heb. 2.1).

Falling through temptation

Second, churches must exercise greater vigilance over temptation.

In our day we have seen Christian leader after Christian leader in churches, ministries, business, and politics exposed for some scandalous sin and dismissed from his ministry. Is it not likely that that the people they were leading are hardly more circumspect against temptation than they (Jn. 13.16)?

The Corinthians fell through temptation into sin by preferring tolerance to truth, and by accepting schism and division in the Body of Christ as normal. These same practices – in different guises and to differing degrees – plague the churches in America today, yet most Christians have never learned how to recognize temptation or deal with it in a Scriptural manner.

Blown opportunities

Finally, the churches need to be watchful so that they don’t miss opportunities to minister the grace and truth of God to their local communities (Eph. 5.15-17). Once the building goes up, a typical church begins to be ingrown. Most of its budget and virtually all its facilities and ministries are invested in itself, with very little effort given to seeking the welfare of or the lost within the community around them.

So, just as in the areas of teaching and temptation, the churches in America need to be more watchful for opportunities to serve and love their neighbors. Otherwise we will continue to struggle and to anchor our place on the margin of society ever more firmly.

Watchfulness must take place at many levels in a local church, beginning in the souls of its members but extending from there to all a church’s activities, plans, and expenditures. Unless we watch, brethren, how will we ever know if we’re drifting from Scripture into the arms of worldly ways?

Next steps

Meditate on Hebrews 13.17. How do the elders or leaders in your church “watch” over the souls of church members? How do church leaders evaluate or assess church programs? See what you can find out about these questions.

Additional Resources

Download this week’s study, Hope for the Church.

Sign up for ViewPoint Leaders Training and start your own ViewPoint discussion group.

Need vision for a revived church? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, Preparing Your Church for Revival, from our online store.

And men, download our free brief paper, “Men of the Church: A Solemn Warning,” by clicking here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.