The other day I fell into the rabbit hole of “Song Reactions” on YouTube. If you don’t know what this is, type in the search bar the name of an old song with the word “reaction” at the end and a list of videos should appear, as long as the song is not too obscure. I was watching reaction videos to Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably numb”. People were crying by the end of the song. Roger Waters wrote the song because he had become “comfortably numb” to the machine that kept Pink Floyd going. The album The Wall is mostly about that machine (but Waters must’ve liked the money the machine generated for him because he kept recording and touring).

As I am watching these videos I was struck by the thought of how the church has become “comfortably numb” to false teachings brought into the church by false teachers. Please read the following from Jesus in the Book of Revelation 2:

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:    
    The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:
    13 ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write:    
    The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:
    19 ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

This is Jesus rebuking the churches in Pergamum and Thyatira because they have allowed false teachers to spread their false teachings in their churches. Jesus calling out false teachers. Notice what Jesus said about Jezebel, He gave her time to repent but she did not repent and Jesus pronounced judgment against her which is a pretty harsh judgment. Jesus called on these churches to purge both the false teachers and their false teachings from their churches. Purge, not tolerate or make excuses or explain that they once taught orthodox doctrine but have a few iffy teachings but hey, they are mostly misunderstood.

Today’s church has allowed a lot of false teachers to flourish within the church. I’m not talking about the obvious teachers like Benny Hinn or Paula White. I’m talking about false teachers like Tim Keller and his Marxist ideas. I’m talking about Al Mohler who has up until now been silent about the plagiarism of Sermongate and the denial of the wokism of seminary staff that he personally hired, staff that are training future pastors.

The church in general has become comfortably numb to false teachings. The church has become comfortably numb to inane and vapid worship music. The church has become comfortably numb to the truth taught in God’s Word, the truth that people are sinners and need to know they are sinners, that it is the church’s responsibility to expose that sin and that unrepented sin will be punished in hell for an eternity.

The church needs to snap out of our lethargy and return to our first love, Jesus Christ and His truth. We are easily manipulated by someone who says Jesus’s name a lot but what they are actually saying is not what Jesus would endorse but would call upon us to expose and purge from our midst. Being comfortably numb is not a good place to be but the church seems to be comfortable with that.