Has the Christian Church Improved Since the New Testament?

Starry Skies, by Van Gogh, and the darkened church in the village

Hey Andy, has the Christian church improved any since the New Testament? Do you think it is more enlightened now than at the time of the Apostles?

Galatians 1:6-9
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.


Hi, are you familiar with Van Gogh and this painting? When I was in seminary, I learned something about him and this picture that really spoke volumes about the direction of the Church since the days of the Apostles.

Van Gogh is said to have once been a preacher for the Lord. But after being persecuted for his style of ministry and choice of clothing, he was pushed out of service. During his journey of spiritual healing afterwards, he painted this picture, “Starry Skies”. If you’ll notice, the skies are full of magnificent lights, all creations of God, which with all their might, shine God’s Glory! But the city below, doesn’t. In fact, if you’ll look closely in the original painting (and in this one), you’ll notice that Van Gogh made it a point to show that the lights in the church were completely out. By doing this, he was communicating his views of the church in his day (fake copies of the painting miss this).

Has the Church Improved?

So has the Church improved any since the Early Church of the New Testament? That’s a good question. I know that churches today often look to the early Church as models of how to be the Church today. I also know that much of what the Apostles wrote about in their letters, the churches of today are also facing and suffering from. Many of these issues include:

  • Divorce among believers
  • Domestic violence / dysfunctional “Christian” families
  • Working outside the box and considering it as worship
  • Politics
  • Lack of stewardship (tithes / giving)
  • Lack of relational commitments
  • Lack of discipleship
  • Lack of holiness among believers
  • Lack of alignment between vision and implementation
  • Confusion of the mission
  • Youth ministry/nurturing (adult ministries are often seen as more important, or first in line)
  • Lack of Evangelism
  • Sexual Ethics
  • Burn-out / lack of Sabbath time
  • Lack of intentional Communication
  • Cliques
  • Gender Roles in leadership (actually, this wasn’t even an issue in the early church)
  • Improper use and understandings of spiritual gifts
  • Prosperity Gospel
  • Gospel of Cheap Grace
  • Biblical illiteracy
  • Universalism
  • Divisions
  • Justification of sin
  • Persecution within the walls of the church
  • World’s culture taking over the Church’s culture
  • Status-seekers
  • Spiritual deadness
  • Manipulators
  • (Incorrect) philosophical theories preached from the pulpit instead of Biblical Truth
  • Tradition getting in the way of worship
  • A focus on happiness instead of holiness
  • Doctrines based on God’s attributes, but taken out of context (accepting God as love, but not as judge, for instance)
  • Churches and leadership not following through on what they claim to believe…

Honestly, after doing this for over 2000 years, and also when you look at the training of God’s people since the giving of the Law of Moses, you’d think we’d have things in better shape today than they did in the early church, especially since we have the Scriptures, the Apostles letters, explanations from popular Christian leaders, etc. to look back on. But since we continue to make the same mistakes, I sometimes have to wonder myself.

So to answer your question, I’m going to say, “no”, I don’t believe the Church today has improved any (or much) more than the Church of the New Testament.

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