But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. [Acts 14.3]
This statement was made relative to Paul's and Barnabas' visit to Iconium.
If the message of God's grace in Jesus Christ was true and confirmed by miraculous signs and wonders in Paul's day, what is wrong today?
To be certain, the message of grace has not lost its power.
Could it be then that the messengers have so personalized, spiritualized, and contemporized the original message of grace that the modern version of it has none of the power of the original?
We should not think for a moment that mankind does not personalize, spiritualize, and contemporize the message of grace. When this happens, and it does, idolatry is afoot and we see this very thing occur in Paul's and Barnabas' next town:
When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!” They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. Now the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, “Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” But even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them. [Acts 14.11-18]
So, has the modern Church adopted idolatry? Has the modern Church become so infiltrated with idols that the message is no longer the genuine message of grace? The answer to these questions is glaringly obvious in the overwhelming powerlessness of the modern Church. Miraculous sings and wonders are not the norm but the exception in today's Church and that means that the genuine message of grace is not the norm but the exception.
If the people of Lystra wandered from the message of grace in elevating Paul and Barnabas idolatrously, what does the Church today do to itself regarding the message of grace in elevating man's industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology to god-like status? Does not the Church today do just this very thing to praise these industries as "gifts from God" when, really, they are the shrewd inventions of man whose overriding goal is not the betterment of their customers but instead the retention of their customers!
Does not the Church do this same thing with religious leaders? Does not the Church give them "rockstar" status and recognition - hanging on their every word while the Church is anemic and weak in their own personal devotion to God's Word and prayer? Answer" Yes, that is exactly what happens!
We know the genuine message of grace is being adhered to when miraculous signs and wonders are present. How do we know idolatry has distracted us from the genuine message of grace? There are limited or NO miraculous signs and wonders.
But, there is good news! There is a "litmus test" that is quite effective in identifying when the genuine message of grace is being presented: it is persecution of the messenger. Satan, masked by a plethora of idols, unleashes his worst against any messenger of the genuine message of grace. The only real exception to this truth is when people are so deeply involved with their idolatry that they callously dismiss the genuine message of grace as foolishness (along with its genuine messengers)...
Father, this message is an indictment upon the modern Church and it is an indictment upon me. Miraculous signs and wonders are all but non-existent in our day signaling that Your true message of grace is not being presented. Please just put a stop to all our excuses we make to ease our corporate conscience that all is well. Instead of personalizing, spiritualizing, and contemporizing the message of grace, may we instead be found giving up our own way, taking up our cross, and following Jesus. So be it.
