Why should people be members of the Church of Jesus Christ? What good does being a part of a Christian congregation bring?

Over the years, many people have decided that there is no earthly benefit in being a church member. The church, they feel, is irrelevant. It does not speak to the needs of the age. Membership has no payoff value. And so a whole generation has abandoned the church. The "me" generation concluded: "There is nothing in it for me."

Lately, however, we hear some amazing accounts of a return to the "church." The Dec. 17 issue of Newsweek magazine ran a feature article entitled, "And the Children Shall Lead Them: Young Americans Return to God." The figures are even more surprising: 18 million souls are returning to the "church."

What are we to make of this? Are we watching the beginning of a Great Awakening? Why are the young people going back to the "church?"

Well, the article in question sheds a great deal of light on the matter. It turns out that the youth are asking the same questions as always. They are still saying: what's in it for me? How is the church "relevant?" Can the "church" satisfy my search for meaning? Can it fulfill my needs?

The difference is that today there are many so-called churches which are very busy developing "programs" which do, in fact, serve the "needs" of this generation. The Newsweek article reminds us that many so-called churches have very little to do with the real Gospel. For instance, we read that many clergy have "air-brushed sin out of their language." Young people will not go to a church which calls people to repent and give their lives to God in totality. Clergy focus more on the supposed sins of society (capitalism, racism, multi-national corporations, sexual discrimination etc.) than on individual sin.

In this modern movement, ministers are not evaluated on the basis of their faithfulness to the Word of God, but according to their "success" in keeping the people "coming and giving." How can ministers do this? First of all, by doing away with all talk of hellfire and judgment. Instead, the church must "totally accept people as they are without any sort of do's or don'ts."

A pastor who wants to be "successful" will not be inclined to discipline his flock into obedience to the Word. Conversion, repentance and a renewed walk of life according to the Word are all antiquated concepts which cannot "speak" to the youth of today!

The great object of the modern (so-called) church is to make people feel good about themselves. A positive self-esteem, a bubbling ego, these are the great goals of this modern religion. Newsweek evaluates the situation with these words:

Unlike earlier religious revivals, the aim this time (aside from born-again traditionalists of all faiths) is support not salvation, help rather than holiness, a circle of spiritual equals rather than an authoritative church or guide. A group affirmation of self is at the top of the agenda, which is why some of the least demanding churches are now in greatest demand.

Thus, it is no wonder that a modern generation goes back to "church." For this church is no church at all! At best, it is only a vestige of the true church of God. At worst, it is a religious club with an explicitly pagan agenda.

Let us not be deceived. This is no true revival. This is no national conversion. Instead, it is a retuning of a humanist program. The big concern in this program is still the glory of man! The sovereign Word of God is still silent. About the Lordship of Jesus Christ people will hear nothing. They cannot stomach such a message because they do not want to give God jurisdiction over their lives.

In the kind of approach to religion that is exemplified in the Newsweek article, we hear nothing about the real reason for the existence of the church. What is that, you ask? Well, as church, we exist to glorify God! The church is to be God-centered and not man-centered! We are not called to be church members so that our human needs might be satisfied! We don’t go to church on Sunday morning and afternoon in order to give our collective self-image a good boost. The point of being in church, rather, is to worship God and to serve Him at every moment of our lives.

God calls the church into existence so that He might again have a people that knows and loves Him, a people that praises Him every day again, a people that can,

live with Him in eternal blessedness to praise and glorify Him. Lord's Day 3

Of course, it is always easy to critique non-Christian views of the Christian church. But what about our own views? How do we look at the church? Do we look at the church as something that exists for us? I've often heard remarks like this: "Church doesn't do anything for me." Or: "I don't get anything out of church "Or: "Church is boring. It doesn't interest me."

All these complaints might even have some validity to them. It is not good that the Gospel is sometimes presented in a boring manner. And a sermon should be relevant, that is, it should speak to the issues of the day. It should bring the Gospel with a discerning awareness of contemporary temptations and questions. It should help us face the challenge of being a Christian in this modern world in which we live.

And yet, we may not think of the church as existing for us. No, the church exists for God! And the biggest question is never: what's in it for me? Instead, the number one issue is: "What can I do for my God and King?" Instead of always complaining about some supposed lack in the local church, we should be severely self-critical, asking ourselves: "What does God get out of me? Do I worship Him with my whole heart? Is He glorified by my words and conduct? Is it my aim in life to "hallow His Name?"

True religion means that our lives are centered on God. It means that we repent of our self-worship and learn to serve Him alone with our whole heart.

This kind of religion, of course, will be deemed "irrelevant" by a big portion of this modern generation. People will think that a church which preaches such a message cannot really "do" anything for today's world. It can't help in solving modern problems. Modern people don't want to talk about a holy God in heaven who has certain rights over us and who is angry about our sins. Instead, they want to talk about man and his needs. Religion stays on the horizontal level.

But this earthbound perspective is exactly why modern religion cannot really help man. Oh sure, these modernist churches might soothe people's feelings and dull the pain of a meaningless life, but they cannot really help man because they don't deal with the root problem which is rebellion against God.

The only way to find help on the horizontal level, the only road to true problem solving here on earth, is to first recognize the sovereignty of God over our lives. We need to acknowledge His claims. His Word speaks with authority to us and we are called to submit. True healing for modern man starts when he repents of his self-willed ways and learns to obey God.

Thus, the only church which is truly relevant is a faithful church, one which is God-centered and which does not cater to a modern mind. A modern church can only follow people away from God; it can't lead people back to God! For it derives the content of its message from the world. It allows the world to set the agenda.

And so let's not be so quick to criticize the church. Instead, let's be happy and thankful to be part of a body which simply sticks to the sure pattern given to us in divine revelation. And let's do what we can to make sure that our local church remains a "pillar and bulwark of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15), a church which makes no compromises when it addresses a modern generation.

For the moment at which this compromise begins, is also the moment that the church has become truly irrelevant. As soon as the church starts catering to man, it at once becomes useless for man.

Is there a payoff in being a church member? Does it help us in our human life? Can the church be "relevant" in a modern, problem-filled world? The answer to all these questions is positive. But the church can be all these things only if we realize that the first and last goal of life is to glorify God. As we learn that truth, then, indeed, our own lives, too, are transformed. We learn peace. We become whole. We put away bad habits and learn new and holy ones. Life is restored and healed under the refreshing influence of the Holy Spirit.

We live to glorify God. But what's good for God is good for us. His glorification means our sanctification. In that truth lays the relevance of the church.