“It’s time to call remnant theology what it actually is. It is a heresy that demands repentance.”
That line was penned by the Lutheran thinker and pastor Rev. Dr. Chad Lakies. The “remnant theology” that he’s addressing is something that he feels has crept into (especially Lutheran) churches that Satan has used to distract us from the mission of God.
Remnant theology proposes that in certain times of cultural oppression against the Church, it is the Church’s job to simply shrink. It may go further, even to rejoice in the idea that the reason for the shrinking Church is that it is so beset with persecution that “only the true believers” are really sticking around. The shrinking Church then becomes a badge of honor, showing the “faithfulness” and “zealotry” of the shrinking congregation. After all, the logic goes, “the sinful world oppresses us because it wants to persecute the Gospel.”
Remnant theology is not without sociological grounding – it is true that it is less likely today that someone will be only a “cultural Christian”. People that just “played at being Christian” 25 years ago, attending obligatory Christmas and Easter services, are now more likely to simply say “I’m not Christian” than to continue a charade. Due to this reality and shrinking birth rates in the United States – the Church is smaller across the United States and Europe (it IS growing like crazy in places south of the equator, by the way).
The problem is “remnant theology”, however, isn’t about facts – it’s about attitude. The attitude of “remnant theology” says “Fine. This shows how pious and faithful we ‘real Christians’ are.” But if you read the Book of Acts and early Christian history – it is precisely in eras of great persecution that the truly “pious and faithful” Christians have taken more seriously the call to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28).
Lakies continues “We cannot defend decline when the church’s very calling is to ‘go….and make disciples of all nations,” and to proclaim the Gospel “to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1). That is the problem. We’re tempted to justify the Church’s decline – to make it something inevitable or even something good. But God created the Church to reach out with His message of the Gospel centered around His Son, Jesus Christ.
So as we look at the state of the Church in our country, let us not celebrate how pious and faithful the Church has been or is today. Clearly it hasn’t been that lately, because we’re hemorrhaging out souls from our sanctuaries. God’s Word doesn’t return to Him void, but our actions and words are often void because of our sins (often sins of omission).
Jesus said, “The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few.” (Luke 10). He wasn’t talking about just professional church workers there, that concept wouldn’t even be a thing until later. He is talking about His Church, His Baptized. He is talking about you and me. So let’s repent together. Let’s look for ways that we can actually follow our Lord in His mission to save the lost. He will forgive us, but He will also show us the way. Let us follow Him on that way, each of us.