When the Church Went to Hell — E.A. Johnston

Jeremiah’s Lament Over the Backslidden People of God

I want to read us our passage today, friends, from the book of Jeremiah in chapter 9. You can turn in your Bibles there now as I read us this sad depiction of the people of God as the prophet Jeremiah grieves in sorrow at their backslidden state.

Here now is the word of God, and may the Spirit of the Lord attend the reading of His holy word. Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.

Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people, and go from them. For they be all adulterers, and an assembly of treacherous men, and they bend their tongues like their bow for lies.

But they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth, for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord. Oh, friends, what a sad and tragic picture of a people who have forsaken God and still hug their religion.

The Modern Church’s Departure From God

And what a picture this passage paints of the modern church of our day, when the church walked away from the God of the Bible and went her own way on the road to hell. And that's the title of my message today, friends.

When the church went to hell. Listen, friends. The church went to hell when it quit being a moral compass to the nation. The church went to hell when it killed off the weekly prayer meeting and replaced it with divorce recovery groups and yoga classes.

The church went to hell when it went from being God-centered to man-centered. The church went to hell when it let the world into the church in an effort to reach the world. The church went to hell when it ceased preaching holiness unto the Lord and began preaching a sin and religion.

Worldliness, Entertainment, and the Loss of Biblical Preaching

The church went to hell when it watered down the gospel to make it more palatable to sinful man. The church went to hell when pastors became entertainers instead of preachers. The church went to hell when it let rock music and Hollywood entertainment inside its doors and into its sanctuaries.

The church went to hell when it stopped warning people not to go there. The church went to hell when pastors became teachers instead of preachers. The church went to hell when it stopped using the King James Bible.

The church went to hell when it stopped preaching up a bloody cross. The church went to hell when it ceased preaching the lordship of Jesus Christ. The church went to hell by choosing deacons for their net worth and business acumen rather than picking praying men who walked with God in lives of holiness.

The Distortion of Salvation and the Call to Repentance

The church went to hell when it broadened the way of salvation in ways Jesus never did. The church went to hell when it began sending people to hell by omitting man's duty of repentance. The church went to hell when it exchanged making a decision for being born again.

The church went to hell when it took salvation out of the hands of God and placed it in the hands of man. The church went to hell when it omitted that a crucified savior must have crucified followers.

Prayer, Holiness, and Dependence on God

The church went to hell when it began to operate on money and manpower rather than by prayer and holy ghost power. The church went to hell when it shut Christ outside and let the world in. The church went to hell when it kicked God out to make room for Hollywood.

The church went to hell when we fed our young people pizzas and movie nights instead of teaching them to avoid sin and live for Christ. The church went to hell when our members began to live like hell without any fear of God.

A Final Warning Against False Doctrine

The modern church today, friends, will send you straight to hell with their damnable doctrines and hellish heresies taught by half-hearted worldly pastors to their in-for-hell sin-loving congregations.

Remember a time in this country years ago when when you went to church you went there to stay out of hell. Now all you have to do is go to hell is to go to church. Heaven help us all. Let us pray.