Scripture reading: Matthew 23:1–39

Church Acquired Infections

Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.”          (Jeremiah 7:4)

Where would you say a person is most at risk of catching a deadly infection: an African jungle? a New York subway? a kindergarten classroom? Think again. According to many studies, the place where one is most likely to become infected with a life-threatening disease is a hospital! Yes, that’s right. Hospitals are full of germs. And the germs you encounter in a hospital are often far more dangerous than those you find outside. Each year approximately 1.7 million patients become infected with a disease while in the hospital that is unrelated to the disease that brought them to the hospital in the first place, and 99,000 of these people actually die. Often called “Hospital Acquired Infections” (HAI), these diseases actually thrive in a hospital environment. In other words, an institution dedicated to promoting health can become a place where people get sick and even die from diseases lurking in the institution itself. This is frightening.

Now let me ask another question. Where would you say a person is most at risk of catching a deadly spiritual infection? Las Vegas? Hollywood? Wall Street? Think again. According to the Bible, institutions dedicated to promoting spiritual health may be the most risky environment on earth. Many who come to churches seeking a cure for the sin disease they know they have may actually catch another disease while at church that is more deadly than the one that brought them there in the first place! This is even more frightening.

God told his prophet Jeremiah to stand at the door of the Temple in Jerusalem and warn people as they came to worship about the spiritual dangers lurking inside (Jeremiah 7). And Jesus made it crystal clear that not everyone who claims to be a Christian and does Christian things is a Christian (Matthew 7:21–23). So be warned! Churches are dangerous places! But that doesn’t mean we should stay away from churches anymore than we should stay away from hospitals. It means rather that we should be vigilant and take precautionary measures whenever we go to church. Following are three simple suggestions you can take to ensure that you do not catch a “Church Acquired Infection” (CAI):
,. Avoid contact with all known contaminants, especially all forms of hypocrisy (the most deadly CAI). This virus thrives whenever there is worship divorced from obedience and when persons, rituals, places and activities pretend to be something they aren’t or pretend to feel something they don’t.
,. Wash often. Because it is impossible to avoid all contact with toxic sub- stances, be sure to wash frequently and thoroughly by confessing your own sins, receiving the means of grace, and experiencing fresh cleansing from the Holy Spirit.
,. Take antibiotics. The only guarantee against the bad infection of sin is the good infection of holiness. The church simply cannot protect you from sin; only the indwelling sanctifying Spirit can do that!

If the divine call does not make us better, it will make us very much worse. Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst.      —C. S. Lewis

point to ponder • Have you caught a spiritual disease from your church?

prayer focus • Your church, especially that leaders would not be sidetracked from prayer, God’s Word, and the “fresh cleansing of the Holy Spirit.”