Today, we scarcely find people who resemble Jesus. This is a great challenge for us— theologians, church leaders, and Christian congregations—who are called to be witnesses in society. How do we testify that Jesus is Savior? That salvation happens through the transformation of our character and disposition, when we are restored to God’s original design. Therefore, we must dare to live out of the ordinary. We must dare to live unnaturally compared to others who are not the chosen. If we still use the ways of Christians from 400–500 years ago, with doctrines that are still maintained and fiercely defended today, we will not be able to face a world that has become very wicked. We must open our hearts to receive insight, revelation, illumination, or enlightenment from God, so that we may receive a fresh word from God’s heart to confront the increasingly corrupt influence of the world today.
Again, the failed efforts of Western society and its theologians to save the church and their societies today are both a map and a valuable spiritual lesson for us. Churches led by leaders who only know God from the academic space of seminaries or theological schools have created an atmosphere of Christianity without an encounter with God. Meanwhile, church groups that emphasize the gifts of the Spirit and miracles often fantasize about God without portraying the life of Jesus. In the end, they fall into prosperity theology, so Christianity is offered as a means to solve life’s problems—illness, economic issues, marriage, children, etc. Ironically, Christianity is reduced to a tool for meeting physical needs.
In fact, God uses charismatic churches. The Lord raised the Pentecostal movement to return to what Jesus taught—to return to the early church. But it is not just about speaking in tongues or spiritual gifts; it is about becoming believers who truly deserve to be called Christians because their lives are like Christ’s. That is what is valuable and of quality; that is what is permanent.
We are not to speak in tongues at every moment, but we must portray the life of Jesus at all times so that people call us “Christian.” The early church devoted itself to the apostles’ teaching and was willing to lose property, family, even life for the sake of the Gospel. That is why they were called the triumphant people—more than conquerors compared to those who excel politically, economically, by rank, title, or power. Believers conquer because they cannot be separated from the love of Christ. So the question for us today: by what measure do we judge our victory? Victory over what?
Specifically, for ministers of God, we are most responsible for the current state of Christianity. If Christianity is declining or deviating, then the church, synod leadership, and ministers must be held accountable. For we—pastors, servants of God, and synod officials—are viewed by the congregation as those who represent God in the world and steward His church.
Many congregants still think like adherents of other religions who consider clerics, ulama, or religious leaders as mediators between God and the people. Therefore, if the leaders themselves do not encounter God and possess only theological knowledge, how grievous is the state of the faith of the congregation they lead? When the world is so corrupt, and the congregation lacks spiritual sensitivity to discern truth, it is ultimately dragged into mere religiosity. They do not live in the true Gospel—namely, making Jesus alive in daily life. As a result, many Christians live with the normalcy of the children of the world.