Gary Villamor

No Middle Ground: the Church in a Compromising Position Gary Villamor

The Bible states unequivocally that there is "one body and one Spirit -just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Eph. 4:4,5). What the world sees, however, is a church with a thousand faces and ten-thousand voices: The teachings and practices of those who call themselves Christians today are anything but "one." They are, in fact, so estranged and contradictory to the New Testament writings that many of these so-called churches are indistinguishable from the culture in which they're found. Rather than being "called out" and separate from the world, they have embraced it. Instead of being a "peculiar people," they easily blend in with the rest of their society. No Middle Ground addresses this problem and rests the burden of changing these appalling circumstances squarely on the shoulders of those individuals who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. The church has no witness to the world today because the church has no integrity, and it lacks integrity because it has been lying with the enemy in the bed of compromise! This book not only identifies the roots of this compromise, but provides several means for the individual members of the church to be a part of the solution. We have got to stop pointing our fingers at the world and blaming them for the wickedness all around us: The world is, after-all, just being the world. It is the church that has been assigned the responsibility of providing light and salt to the world. Content to sing our "praise" songs, to read our Left Behind books, and to attend one seminar after another, we have forgotten that our calling is to make disciples while we participate in the Gospel. More than being familiar with the words of our Master, we are challenged to live as He lived; a life of self-sacrifice and extravagant love for others. We see greater numbers of people than ever before repeating a simple prayer of "ac