The greatest hindrance to the effective witness of the Gospel is not national politics, or religious fundamentalism, or the sinful world around us, but it is the compromised church. Politics? History has seen the most draconian laws enacted against Christians, but the Church grew. Fundamentalism? The punishment for not bowing down to a statue, caused three men to be thrown into the fire. God walked with them through the fiery trial. Sinfulness in the world? Righteous Noah could stand firm in the midst of the most depraved generation since creation. But it is different when it comes to a compromised Christian witness. Time and again, the Faith has suffered in the hands of compromised individuals who represented it. The effects of this is always devastating.

Why is that so? Someone said “We are the only Bible that some will ever read.” If that is the case, then the signals coming out of some Christians are terribly mixed. Through the ages, we find a vast majority straddling the dividing line, with one leg in sinful practices and with the other leg in the Christian faith. The “called out” community did not heed the call and so retained those things that the Bible identifies as sinful. We have bypassed consecration and discipleship although the faith demands it. The message and the man do not match. This hypocrisy is called out by the world.

Many years back, two leaders from different backgrounds were met by a Christian ministry in India. One was a religious leader from another faith and the other a Dalit leader of renown. The purpose of the meeting was to find out their impression about the Lord Jesus Christ. It was interesting to note that both leaders, while condemning the lapses of the Church, had the highest regard for Christ. No unbiased person could disregard the life and teachings of Christ, but it is not the same with his disciples. We are guilty of lowering the standards and thereby losing credibility. This is the greatest hindrance to the Gospel. In the aforementioned meeting, the Dalit leader had asked the telling question”What would be status of my people in today's Church?” He went on to decry the prevailing class and cast divisions that are being tenaciously held on to by a large part of the 'Church.' This is not the model in the Bible. There is no racial, social or gender barrier but an equality for all. Paul clearly mentions in Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ.” Is this an utopian ideal? Far from it! The Church in Antioch had no racial or social stratification as Niger fellowshipped with Manaen, who was brought up with Herod. (Acts 13:1).

Christianity does not work unless it is Consecrated. No aspect of the Christian life and practice can work without it.  Let us look at some of them.

Consecration and Intensions. “How long will you waver between two opinions?” Asked a prophet to a body of people flirting with sinfulness while retaining the name of being God's people (1 Kings 18:21). They thought that they were getting the best of both worlds. That cannot be. As the Lord Jesus pointed out “No man can serve two masters.”(Matt 6:24). This is true in any sphere, be it secular or sacred. An occasional jogger will never win an Olympic Marathon. A lazy man dabbling with science, will never win a Nobel Prize. A half hearted man is a misfit in an army or in a workforce. Life calls for a singleness of purpose to be successful in any endeavour. This is why, the Lord Jesus begins with “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mark 1:15). Without a turning around from the prevailing sinfulness, an entry into the Gospel was impossible. You have to decide which bridge you want to burn, that is, the bridge that leads to the world or the bridge that leads to God. If both are left open, one will automatically retreat into the bridge that is closest to their heart. Remember Lot's wife.

Consecration and Prayer. In his book “The Essentials of Prayer” E. M. Bounds says “God must have men in their entirety. No double-minded man need apply. No vacillating man can be used. No man with a divided allegiance to God, and the world, and self, can do the praying that is needed.” If we are concerned with selfish goals, how can we find the heart to pray for God's concerns? How can we last the assault against us is we are not leaning on God by faith? “Prayer is dependance on God” as Dr. Theodore Williams put it. We cannot live the Christian life without God dependance.

Consecration and Discipleship. Of all the people who followed the Lord Jesus, seventy two were given some responsibility to preach the Gospel but only twelve were the closest to him. Even among that group, Judas had his eye on the money bag. Even in today's world people still sell out the Lord for financial gain.  Charges of tax evasion, bribes, dishonest financial dealings are being levelled against Christians these days. Often times religiosity has replaced true Christianity and many Churches are rife with politics.

To make matters worse, the challenge for every Christian is made harder by the reality of our own fallen sinful nature. Once we were slaves but in Christ the chains have been broken. Nevertheless the flesh, the body of sin remains a part of our experience. The apostle laments “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:19,20). Having a part of us that responds to the world is a sad reminder of our fallenness. We have been redeemed from the penalty of sin, we are being redeemed from the power of sin and will in eternity be free from the presence of sin. But on earth the reality of sin remains. It's stranglehold is broken but its residual effect keeps making it presence felt. John Gill in his commentary on Romans 7:24 has this to say about a cruel for of punishment that “Mezentius inflicted on criminals, by fastening a living body to a putrid carcass.” Imagine that. A living criminal bound to the body of his victim. This picture is a graphic portrayal of our sinful nature that we carry about, which is drawn towards the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

There is no solution for Religiosity except repentance. The religious person is claiming to see while being blind to the real things of God. You can wake up a sleeper, but you cannot wake up a person pretending to sleep. However for believers struggling with sin the Bible offers hope. There are some things that you could do.

1. Seek forgiveness: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
2. Seek deliverance: “Anyone born of God ... cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9). Avoid places, routines that can expose you to temptation. Never give up the fight.
3. Sin is costly, so don't give up the fight . Remember that we cannot escape the consequences of our actions. David sinned and God forgave him, but he faced the consequences of that action throughout his life. This should spur the believer to take a hard line towards sin. The more serious the sin, the more serious the consequence (Acts 5:1-11).
4. Avoid legalism:  We cannot live above the pull to sin by our human efforts. If we order our lives around a “do not do,” it will be an intolerable burden. Rather, we are called to trust in the finished work of Christ on our behalf, and expect His strength, by faith, to keep us from falling.
5. Be secure: He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion (Phil 1:6).

Divine grace has given the task of proclamation to us mortals. May this trust inspire us to new levels of love and obedience. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, may we be faithful to complete the task. The encouragement is “God is not a spectator, but a helper” as Bro. Rajkumar Ramchandran frequently says. God will help us till the end. May His name not be brought to disrepute through us, may we not be a hindrance to the furtherance of the Gospel.