What does EGW write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "Spiritual Decline in the Church"
Answer
The spiritual decline in the church often manifests as a gradual accommodation to the world and a lack of spiritual power, while people mistakenly believe that everything is fine. Pride, love of the world, and neglect of God's Word are central causes for the love of Christ growing cold and being replaced by mere formality. This condition is intensified by ignoring divine warnings and the dying of the missionary spirit. To stop this retreat toward "Egypt," a deep examination of the heart and an active turning toward service to others is necessary. God has not turned away from us, but our own sins separate us from His presence.
Withdrawal from Christ and Spiritless Laziness
The church has turned away from following Christ, its Leader, and is steadily retreating toward Egypt. Yet only few are disturbed or amazed by its lack of spiritual power. Doubt and even unbelief toward the testimonies of the Spirit of God are contaminating our churches everywhere. Satan wants it that way. Preachers who preach themselves instead of Christ want it that way. The testimonies are not read and not valued. God has spoken to you. Light has shone from His Word and from the testimonies, and both have been undervalued and ignored. The result is evident in the lack of purity, devotion, and sincere faith among us.
The Deceptive Appearance of Spiritual Welfare
I am filled with sorrow when I think of our condition as a people. The Lord has not closed the heavens to us, but our own course of continual backsliding has separated us from God. Pride, greed, and love of the world have lived in the heart, without fear of exile or condemnation. Heavy and measured sins have dwelt among us. Yet the general opinion prevails that the church is flourishing and that peace and spiritual prosperity reign in all its bounds.
The Death of the Missionary Spirit
The reason there is no deeper religious fervor in the church and no more serious love for one another is that the missionary spirit has died. About the second coming of Christ, which once was the subject of thought and conversation, little is said today. There is an inexplicable reticence, a growing displeasure with religious discussions; instead, even among the professing followers of Christ, idle, trivial chatter is cultivated.
Worldly Adaptation and Spiritual Darkness
The spiritual darkness that descends upon nations, churches, and individuals is not due to an arbitrary withdrawal of divine grace by God, but to the neglect or rejection of God's light by people. ... Through their devotion to the world and forgetting God and His Word, their understanding was darkened, their hearts became earthly and sensual. ... God did not even then cut off the Jewish people from knowledge of or participation in the blessings of salvation. But those who denied the truth lost any desire for the gift of heaven.
A Call to Awaken from the Death Slumber
My brothers and sisters, do you wish to break the spell that holds you captive? Do you want to awaken from this lethargy that resembles the rigidity of death? Get to work, whether you feel like it or not. Personally commit yourself to leading souls to Jesus and to the knowledge of truth. In such work you will find both motivation and a strengthening aid; it will both rouse you and fortify you. Through practice your spiritual powers will become stronger, so that you can work out your own salvation with greater success.
Extinguishing the Lamp of Truth
A formal sequence of religious services is maintained; but where is the love of Jesus? Spirituality dies. Should this rigidity, this lamentable deterioration, be perpetuated? Should the lamp of truth flicker and go out in the darkness because it is not refilled with the oil of grace?
🔍 Related Searches
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Original Sources (English)
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