Bjcorbin's Blog

We live in a time of unprecedented “corporate sponsorship”, where everything from a college football bowl game (e.g. the “Tostitos” Fiesta Bowl…) to the stadium in which it’s played (e.g. the “RCA” Dome…) can bear its own commercial moniker.  In the business world this type of arrangement is viewed as a “win-win” situation, whereby the corporate entity generally provides much needed resources in exchange for the benefits of having their name associated with a particular venue, event, team…  While each arrangement can have its own unique characteristics, generally a sponsor will have a limited amount of control over the things that it promotes.  For instance, the corporate sponsors of a concert tour aren’t able to dictate which songs are played each night; the sponsors of a NASCAR team don’t have a say in when the car takes a pit stop, and the sponsors of a college football bowl game don’t get to call any plays. 

This is true of venues as well.  When the Ohio State University built its updated sports complex, the Schottenstein family brought their considerable resources to bear; and in exchange their family (and corporate) name was included on the facility.  While the arena is known as the “Schottenstein Center”, this family does not own the property, nor are they necessarily present when it is in use, nor are they the focal point of the activities within it, nor are they in control of those activities.  Ultimately their hope is simply that their name will eventually become synonymous with Ohio State University athletics, and the qualities ascribed to that program.

In the midst of a time of prayer, I felt like the Lord said that in much of the church His role has been reduced to that of a “corporate sponsor”.  That because of His benevolent gift of long ago His name has remained on the buildings, but that He is often not the focal point of the activities within them.  That His message of hope is frequently replaced with other messages, which are viewed as being more culturally relevant.  And that the pursuit of His will has generally been forsaken for the pursuit of other ambitions.  He said that a “spirit of antichrist” has infiltrated the church, and that many who have loved Him are now being taken captive through hollow and deceptive philosophies, which depend on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Him.  And that though we still value our name being associated with His, He is often just invited in the hope that He might somehow subsidize (i.e. bless) our vision.

While I’m not much interested in the examination of demonic spirits, I must admit that there are some subtleties with the spirit of antichrist that warrant a closer look.  This spirit is not opposed to people connecting with a church, as long as they don’t become personally connected to Jesus.  It is not opposed to an active church, as long as that activity doesn’t result in lives being genuinely transformed.  It is not opposed to people being “spiritual”, as long as there isn’t any corresponding submission to the Spirit of God.  It is not opposed to people having faith, as long as that faith is never invested in the person of Jesus Christ.  It is not opposed to people being disciples of the church (or of Christian values), as long as they never become disciples of Jesus. 

The truth is that this spirit works closely with the spirit of religion and it actually thrives in a religious setting.  It seeks to keep our eyes focused on everything but “the Author and Finisher of our faith” and to make Christ “implicit” within the church; as it knows that it is solely our connection to Christ that will allow us to have any impact in this life or the next.  It opposes the centrality of Christ and the sufficiency of His “finished” work.  It seeks to reconstruct the veil that keeps us from coming directly into God’s presence and to reinstate the need for intermediaries in our relationship with Him.  It seeks to keep us focused on what is “seen”, so that we never access what has been attained for us in the “unseen” realm.

Based on what has been the popular Christian portrayal of the end times, it is easy to imagine the snarling manifestation of the spirit of antichrist, spewing venom against all of Christendom; but I sense that there is a far more dangerous manifestation of this spirit that has already taken root.  It thrives in an atmosphere where people call themselves Christian, but live in a way that is undiscernibly different from the world.  Where their leaders are attractive and gifted, but bear no resemblance to Jesus Christ.  Where people have a sense of being empowered by God with no corresponding sense of submission to Him.  Where accommodation and tolerance are valued above absolute truth.  An atmosphere where our natural senses are almost constantly stimulated, while our spirits remain largely dormant.  Where God is represented in symbols and rituals, but is not truly tangible to us.  Where prayer doesn’t move past petition/declaration and actually become communication.  Where people evoke the name of Christ, but feel no real sense of connection to Him.  Within such an atmosphere the spirit of antichrist has the ability to move about undeterred and undetected, while our own sinful nature propels us toward futility.  Under such conditions we become a people who have a form of godliness, but who live in way that denies His true power.  A people who honor His name, but whose hearts remain far from Him.

In times of prayer I’ve sensed that the pervasiveness of this spirit can be directly attributed to the church’s ongoing efforts to make itself relevant to a post-modern society.  With what I believe to be a misguided understanding of the “Great Commission”, the church seems to be desperately trying to reinvent itself in the hopes of attracting the culture to Christ; as though we might somehow package salvation in a way that eventually invalidates the scripture that says, “To those who are perishing, the cross is foolishness”.  Or as if we might attain some eternal gain through temporal means, despite the fact that all of our authority and strength come from the spiritual realm.  I believe that such efforts have largely resulted in the church losing focus on its true objective and in many cases to the compromise of its core values.  Instead of the church influencing the world, the church has simply become worldly. 

While this spirit may sound formidable, its extrication is simply a matter of putting Christ in the center of everything we do.  It is defeated when we have a personal and passionate relationship with our Lord and Savior; when we worship Him in Spirit and in Truth; when we speak directly to Him and allow Him to speak directly to us; and when we commit ourselves to live in response to Him alone.  If we lived in a way that genuinely demonstrated Christ’s character (i.e. the fruit of the Spirit); if we were known by the way that we loved each other; if we were true worshippers and partakers of the divine nature, Jesus could literally draw men unto Himself.  God has not commissioned us to build a bridge between the world and the church; He has commissioned us to be the bridge between the world and Him.