Being the Remnant Church 1: "Don't Go to Egypt"

There are a number of ways to describe the religious landscape of our rapidly changing culture. The term post-Church is a bit confusing to many people because there are still many churches in America and new churches are started with great frequency. It takes some explanation to convey that the term post-Church is a shortened version of post-Constantinian Church -- a historical reference that tends to confuse more people than it illuminates. Post-Christian is another term that is widely used. It rightly indicates that the relative population of Christians in America has greatly diminished from the peaks of the middle of the last century. However, while it is an accurate description of our culture, it is not a meaningful way of describing the Church in our culture. Among the options, the best descriptive title of the Church in present day America is probably the Remnant Church. Not only does the word remnant aptly describe the greatly diminished Church in our nation, it is a biblical description that provides critical guidance to church leaders and members.

The most frequent use of the word remnant in the Bible is in reference to the people of Judah who were spared from the Exile or preserved in it to return to Israel.  Not surprisingly, Jeremiah uses the term more extensively than any other book of the Bible. We can learn some valuable lessons about being the Remnant Church from the Word of the Lord that Jeremiah proclaimed to the remnant of Judah. One of the most important lessons is "Don't go to Egypt" (Jeremiah 42:19). God spoke this command to the remnant to redirect them after they had made plans to leave Israel to live in the land of Egypt. As a remnant, the people had lost their status, strength, and security. They faced serious hardships because they were small in number, vulnerable to their enemies, and living under the rule of a hostile government. They were faced with the harsh realities of being a remnant and they didn't like what they were experiencing. Even though God had told them that He had a purpose for them in Israel and assured them that He would preserve them according to His promises to their forefathers, they were looking for a better solution to the hardships of being small, insignificant, and vulnerable as a remnant. They looked to Egypt for their new source of status, strength, and security. Concerned for the well-being of His people and wanting them to look to Him alone for what they needed, the Lord responded clearly and forcefully through His prophet: "Don't go to Egypt."

As the  Remnant Church in America, we need to take this command to heart. Like the remnant of Judah, we have lost much of what we once enjoyed in our culture in terms of status, strength, and security. The Church is no longer respected as an institution and clergy are view with suspicion and distrust. The political clout that had promoted and preserved what were seen as biblical values has given way to defeats in all three branches of our government. That same government has taken an active role fighting for the perceived rights of the advocates of immorality and against the liberties of the people of faith who will not embrace them. Some Church leaders are calling on Christians to fight against this rapidly rising tide of hostility toward orthodox Christianity and to remain steadfast in the Faith whatever the costs may be. But many others are calling their people to go to Egypt.

The Egypt that entices the Remnant Church in America is not a foreign country, but our own country that has become foreign to us. The status, strength, and security that the Church has lost is now found in the activist organizations that endorse and promote various sins under the banner of equality and in the politicians who have found new life in supporting their causes. Going to Egypt for us is leaving the Word of the Lord in one way or another in order to find ways to tolerate, accept, or embrace the popular values of our culture in order to regain the status, strength, and security that we no longer have. "Don't go to Egypt" is a clear warning to flee from that temptation and a call to embrace our remnant status and purpose. While the road before us is not pleasant and it is certain to be filled with the hardships of being small in number, insignificant in the public square, and vulnerable to our adversaries,  we have an important purpose as the Remnant Church. Our purpose is to preserve and to promote what has been entrusted to us by faithfully proclaiming the Word in purity and truth and rightly administering Christ's Sacraments. 

Being the Remnant Church is a call to the Cross. We can either take up our crosses and bear them in Christ for the sake of the world or we can abandon that call, set our sights toward Egypt, and attempt to reclaim greatness in the world. Our Savior's urgent plea for His Remnant Church is "Don't go to Egypt."

SDG,
@RevMAWood