Numbers Do Lie

Accountants always believe in numbers. They can study your books of account to know whether a business is doing good or bad. So they say, “Numbers don’t lie,” but it’s not necessarily true in terms of Christian ministries.

Boracay used to be the most sought-after beach resort in the Philippines, but news reports below said it’s no longer true today. Here once more is proof that nothing lasts forever. During its heyday, every investor milked the island to make money, without any consideration of its long-term negative effect on nature. Improper waste disposal of the masses, among other things, had eroded the sanctity of the island. Similarly, the same has long occurred in the modern church or Christianity.

Christians always have the desire to multiply their number and yet, they refuse to keep biblical disciplines, compromising truths of the Bible, thereby throwing away the sanctity of the church. Negligence will always have its cost. It’s like falling into quicksand, the more resistance Christians exert, keeping even further away from biblical truths, the deeper they sink.

Mind you, Christianity is not simply about learning biblical truths, but learning biblical truths and living it out. As the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.” The apostle Paul said it adequately: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, TO OFFER YOUR BODIES AS A LIVING SACRIFICE, holy and pleasing to God— this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-2 NIV‭‭)

Don’t be mistaken; Paul was not asking Christians to keep the discipline during Sunday gatherings. The pronoun “your” here, used by Paul, is in the Greek plural. Therefore, by “bodies or body”, Paul was calling upon individual Christians, as a member of Christ’s body, to live their everyday life in godliness, and that is his call for the church’s spiritual act of worship, thereby keeping the sanctity of the church.

Consequently, see Paul’s words to the misbehaving church in Corinth:

“Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1Co 5:6-7)

Again, see how serious was Paul in his call for church’s sanctity. Once again, Paul said:

“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”” (1Co 5:9-13)

Look, Paul even quoted from Deuteronomy, the Scripture “purge the evil person from among you”, to demonstrate that his call was not from him alone, but God Himself.

Sadly though, even today, a lot of modern churches refuse to deal away the bad eggs that are among them. Worse, they appear to be in a state of denial, pretending that all is well and good. Hence, the rust that is within them, which they refuse to reckon with, has eaten up its entire structure. That is the common sad story of many Christian congregations. Most start well, yet somehow end badly. Those who struggle to survive are actually in a near-comatose state.

So what is the common mistake?

John chapter six started by telling us a large crowd had been following Christ Jesus. The crowd was said to be five thousand people. To modern Christian thinking, that’s a successful ministry, isn’t it? All because modern Christianity has adopted the world’s concept of success and CEO mindset – it’s all about the numbers and ROI (return on investment). Consequently, by such a barometer or measurement of success, Christ Jesus would have a failed ministry. See John 6:66-67. “After this many of His (Christ Jesus’) disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”

To add insult to injury, out of the twelve, one even betrayed Jesus Christ. Yet, truly Jesus Christ was faithful to His ministry. The disciples came to know the truth about Him. See the preceding verses. “Simon Peter answered Him (Jesus Christ), “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.” (John 6:68-71)

Christianity is never about the numbers. In God’s kingdom and workings, numbers do lie. It’s not about the quantity but the quality. Christianity is about the one lost sheep recovered. It’s about Christians learning the Scripture and living by the Scripture. The failure of a church is always due to its non-adherence to the Scripture. Christians cannot let God’s truth slide or be diluted due to concerns about attendance or a decrease in memberships. Christians cannot compromise God’s truth, for that alone keeps or upholds the sanctity of God’s church. Jesus Christ was never concerned His large following would be diminished. Jesus Christ said, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Mat 7:13-14)

See also the words of Christ Jesus to the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation. It has no ifs or buts, only compliance with God’s standards.

On the flip side, faithfulness to God’s truth would have its sure reward. Every Christian has a role to play. Every investment – be it time spent, money offered, or anything else done for the spread of the Gospel – would have its return. And God alone rewards our faithfulness, notwithstanding whether we are early or late in His ministry. Christ Jesus taught that truth in Matthew 20:1-16, the parable of the Lord’s vineyard vis-a-vis His laborers; everyone would have one single and common reward – that is, entrance into God’s kingdom.

Now, if anyone would desire something else other than be part of God’s kingdom people, then sorry to say this: you are repeating the sin of Adam and Eve. They both succumbed to the temptation of the serpent, which is the devil, foolishly rejecting God, who alone is our sufficiency in all things.

Christians, stop compromising the faith. Do not lose sight of God’s true concern. Numbers mean nothing to God if it lacks quality. Elijah was wrong thinking he had failed vis-a-vis his call for Israel to return to God. The Bible said, “Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.” (Rom 11:2-5)

God alone calls people to salvation (Rom 11:4). The Gospel is always God’s means in calling people to salvation (Rom 10:14-17). God concerns Himself with the faithful remnant, not the entirety of Old Covenant Israel (Rom 11:4-5). Saving faith comes only by hearing the Words of Christ (Rom 10:17). The same applies to us Christians today. We should only and always be concerned about the truthfulness of our Gospel message and the validity of its message in our daily lives.

Peter, in the words of Acts 3:6, declared, “I possess neither silver nor gold, but in the name of Jesus Christ, I offer you what I have.” Share freely, for you freely receive. Stay updated by heading to our about page and subscribe directly to receive notifications in your inbox. Blessing!