The Empty Church
Charles Hodge
Duncanville, TX
6/11/97
THE EMPTY CHURCH
Denominationalism is dead. Thomas C. Reeves has written an eye-opening book,
The Empty Church. Get it. Read it. Churches are empty come Sunday. Forget about evening services. Travel throughout Europe to see the empty buildings.
Sad-sad-sad! But our sadness should not be in empty buildings.
Our religion is empty. We recently traveled throughout Southeast Asia. Islam, Buddha, Hindu, etc. One tour guide said it was nearly impossible to convert Muslims - one in ten thousand! He further said Christians were easy converts to Islam! Jehovah God incarnate in the risen Jesus is left for Mohammad and bankrupt Islam! Another tour guide was critical of Islam. I asked her if she was
Christian. She said,
I was but converted to Buddhism. Culture has sold us the fact Christianity is irrelevant, a relic of the past.
Our faith is empty. We trust doctors, science, welfare, politics, psychology, money, success, popularity, political correctness. We just don’t need God anymore. God doesn’t work anymore. Christianity is Easter and Christmas. Positive thinking, self-esteem, success are more practical. Faith in God, the Bible, church, holiness, seemingly, are not practical.
We are empty!! The problem is not
empty buildings. The problem is
empty Christians.
You cannot run on
empty.
• We are not here to
fill buildings.
• We are here to
fill Christians.
•
Full Christians will fill buildings.
Gimmicks, fads, gadgets fail! The answer? God! Christ! Bible! Faith! Repentance! Humility! Church! Evangelism! Mission! Servanthood!
Saving souls and making saints are our job. This also will fill our churches.
—Charles Hodge
Duncanville, TX
