Pop quiz:

Which iconic movie concluded with a threefold repetition: “Madness! Madness! Madness!”?

You are correct if you said, Bridge On the River Kwai.

It’s not just a fitting refrain for the absurdity of British POWs building a sturdy bridge only to have it blown to smithereens by their own mercenaries. Madness is a reflection of our own time as we deliberately demolish the foundations that made Western civilization possible.

The madness of moral and cultural relativism.

The madness of the consumer-oriented church.

The madness of abandoning scripture.

“Behold, days are coming,” declares Lord Yahweh, “When I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of Yahweh.” (Amos 8:11 LSB)

At the bottom of the madness lies a church which, without the foundation of the truth and authority of scripture, is defenseless against the rising tide of cultural relativism. She has nothing to say against the whelming flood, and nothing better to offer in its place.

Therapy, perhaps?—as Christian Smith described the modern religion more than a generation ago: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.

Encouragement, perhaps?—as Joel Osteen sells his message without judgment from behind an empty suit and a flashy smile. Because talking about sin, you know, is a real bummer. And it’s hard to fill a sports arena with a negative message like that.

Theatre, perhaps?—as charlatans like Benny Hinn put on a circus act of “Holy Spirit” power that is far more likely to be the manifestation of demons.

The church’s impotence in the face of our madness is hardly surprising. She does not know her right hand from her left. Are we prepared to admit that God is judging the nations, and that as a matter of first priority, his judgment rests on the church as well?

And what does that judgment look like inside the church? The Bible is not read nor preached—except insofar as it is abused to give a veneer of binding authority to a patently false message.

“I did not send these prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, then they would have caused My words to be heard by My people and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds.” (Jer 23:21-22 LSB)

Can there be any serious doubt? Many of our churches are being led by an assortment of uncalled, unconverted “ministers” who fill their buildings with false converts by means of a false gospel of freewill salvation. All you have to do is raise your hand, sign the card, or pray the prayer. We have turned just about every church into a tent crusade that offers the same superficial message and produces the same superficial results. When you’ve been to visit once, you’ve seen all they have to offer. Next week will be more of the same—like a Broadway production that runs on forever.

Rather than weekly worship, we have weakly pep rallies.

Rather than biblical discipleship, we have feel-good pseudo-evangelism.

You see, in spite of the pretense of saving souls, even the gospel we preach is a false gospel—which might help explain why the church is full of false converts who come and go like fickle bargain shoppers. We preach not Christ crucified, but God loves you just the way you are. It’s a popular message—as evidenced by the size of the crowds. But it’s also a boring message, as evidenced by the high turnover. After all, how many times can you sit through a repeat performance of Cats before you get tired of it?

The Apostle Paul is so clear on this point that it’s almost comical: only the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe—and the gospel says that while we were yet enemies of God, Christ died for the ungodly. No man can be saved by his works. We are no longer under the covenant of works—and in spite of all human efforts to carve out a non-existent middle ground between the two covenants, there is no hybrid salvation by grace that relies just a little on the covenant of works. And there is no promise of power attached to any such human invention. Paul stakes his own eternal destiny on it (Gal 1:8-9).

The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works, wherein life was promised to Adam, and in him to his posterity, upon condition of perfect and personal obedience. (WCF 7.2, emphasis added)

Man by his fall having made himself incapable of life by that covenant [of works], the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the covenant of grace: wherein he freely offered unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto life his Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe. (WCF 7.3, emphasis added)

Anyone can draw a crowd, but only God can convert a dead heart. Only the unadulterated gospel has the power to do that.

For it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Pet 4:17 LSB)

What will be the outcome for anyone who denies the gospel?

In a word, madness.

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J.R. Dickens is a lay leader in the Presbyterian church. This fall he is presenting a Reformation conference on the importance of sola scriptura. The event page is found here: