On Tuesday p.m., January 29, 2008, following the Florida Republican Primary election, Dick Morris was interviewed on Fox News, and he was asked why Senator John McCain received more votes than Governor Mitt Romney. The principle reason cited by Mr. Morris can be summed up in his statement: “The Republican Electorate is drifting to the left.”

The purpose of this article is not to cite election results, nor to tell anyone how to vote. However, in recent years the GOP has been perceived as being more conservative than the Democratic Party. Hence, the terms “Conservative” versus “Liberal,” and “right wing” versus “left wing” have been freely used. Worded differently, “:conservatives” are perceived as being “right wingers” and “liberals” are regarded as “left wingers.” Therefore when Mr. Morris said “the Republican electorate is drifting to the left,” he, in essence, said the Republican electorate is getting more liberal. And I presume he is correct in his assessment.

Interestingly, the terms “conservative” and “liberal” are also widely used among members of the Lord’s church. For the most part, during the last 50 years of the 20th century, “conservatives" opposed the sponsoring church concept, as well as church support of human institutions which were set up for the purpose of doing the work God obligated the church to do. Others were called “liberals” because they favored the sponsoring church set-up, and because they endorsed the concept of local churches financially subsidizing human institutions which were founded in order to do the work God authorized the church to do.

For the record, I confess to being a “conservative” or a “right winger,” both politically and religiously. As an American citizen, it concerns me when Judges completely disregard the Constitution of the United States, and make rulings which are at variance with the Constitution. But as a Christian, a member of the New Testament church, it concerns me even more when brothers and sisters in Christ disregard their spiritual “Constitution,” namely the New Testament of Jesus Christ!

Admittedly, great as I perceive it to be, I must confess that the Constitution of the United States is a human document. But the Bible is not a human document. It is “the word of God,” Hebrews 4:12. It was “given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16), and even the very “words” of the Bible (as recorded in the original manuscripts) were given by “the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:9-13). It is a complete revelation from God to man, containing “all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). Moreover, we are forbidden to take liberties with the Bible, lest we incur the anathema of God (Gal. 1:8, 9; Rev. 22:18, 19; 2 Jn. 9, etc).

While I perceive the Constitution of the United States to be the best human document governing the affairs of our nation, I can not say that one has to be an American in order to go to heaven. Though I believe “the governing authorities...are appointed by God” (Rom. 13:1), I can not say that God is more the Author of our form of government than He is certain forms of government in other parts of the world. Hence, the mere fact that a politician may be “drifting to the left” may not have a great bearing on the Richter scales of eternity. Yes, as an American citizen, I become concerned when the evidence indicates that either political party is “drifting to the left.” But as a Christian I must put things in proper perspective, and be more concerned about trends “to the left” which may very well affect the well being of millions of souls for all eternity! And, yes, I believe many local “churches of Christ” are “drifting to the left.”

Of course, the condition I am referring to is not peculiar to our time period in human history. A study of the Old Testament reveals that the history of God’s people during the Mosaic age was that of one apostasy after another. Moreover, New Testament writers often warned God’s people that such would occur in this the gospel age. Speaking to the elders of the church at Ephesus, Paul gave the sad news that “from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:30). Writing to the saints at Thessalonica, Paul referred to “the day of Christ,” and said “that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first" (2 Thess. 2:2, 3). In 1 Timothy 4:1 the same apostle said “the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith.” Indeed, the New Testament contains numerous warnings of a “falling away.” For that matter, even during the first century, while some of the apostles yet lived, there were departures from the faith. There were “some among” the saints at Corinth who said “there is no resurrection of the dead” 1Cor.15:12). Two men, Hymenaeus and Philetus, “strayed concerning the truth, saying the resurrection is already past,”  and they overthrew “the faith of some” (2 Tim. 2:17,18). Numerous books of the New Testament addressed the problems of Judaism which so often crept into churches in the first century. It seems that brethren, even then, were continually “drifting to the left.” It has often been observed that “the Lord’s people are never more than one generation from apostasy.” All it takes is for one generation to let down its guard, for one generation to lessen its vigilance, for one generation to be untaught in the true principles of the religion of Jesus Christ, and apostasy sets in. But it doesn’t happen overnight. Generally it occurs because God’s people start “drifting to the left.” Such “drifting” may occur either deliberately, or inadvertently because of a lack of study and a lack of vigilance. In my judgment, most such “drifting” is more inadvertent than deliberate. However, regardless of the cause, drifting is drifting!

Evidence of a Leftward Drifting

1. Increased worldliness among God’s people. Dancing, immodesty, social drinking, etc., are increasingly tolerated, condoned, and even defended among God’s people. God has not changed His mind regarding the tragic consequences of “the works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19-21), but many of His children now-a-days choose to be more politically correct than biblically sound.

2. New Theories on Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage. Jesus taught that an innocent victim in a marriage relationship can put away his/or her mate “for the cause of fornication” and remarry, but that divorce for any other cause, and a subsequent re-marriage results in an adulterous relationship (Matt. 5:32; 19:9). However, thanks (?) to so many unscriptural divorces and subsequent unscriptural second “marriages” in modern society, many, many new theories have been invented in the fertile minds of preachers, elders, etc., in order to find a “loop hole” in God’s marriage law.

3. A failure to practice corrective discipline. Biblically speaking, when God’s people err from the faith, when they become immoral, or walk “disorderly” in neglecting to keep their ranks as Christians, corrective disciplinary measures are to be taken (Rom. 16:17,18; 1 Cor. 5; 2 Thess. 3:6, etc). Generally speaking, brethren know these passages are in the Bible, but many of them say nothing and do nothing about the problem. When pressed for a reason for their negligence, some say “that kind of action won’t work here.”

4. Special church provided programs to deal with the “felt needs” of the members. No doubt there is a need for Christians to learn how to manage money. Perhaps there is a need for some to improve their self image. But the Lord’s church must function as “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). For that matter, when God’s people develop “godliness with contentment” (1 Tim. 6:6), their money management problems will largely cease. And when they develop those qualities referred to as “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22, 23), their “self-image” problems will largely disappear.

5. Shorter and shorter sermons and the tendency to “preach the gospel and leave everybody else alone.” Supposedly people now have a shorter “attention span,” so a sermon which goes longer than 30 minutes seems like an eternity to some. “Everybody likes to be liked,” and “nobody likes to be embarrassed,” so many preachers have succeeded in “eliminating the negative and accentuating the positive.” Consequently, they refuse to identify false teachers by name, and they hesitate to contrast truth with error. As a result, brethren often have less knowledge of the existence of error, a greater tolerance for error, and less love for the truth.

Conclusion: “What more can I say?” Actually, a whole lot, but we have run out of space. Brethren, let us keep the faith. Let us avoid “drifting to the left.”

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“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip” (Heb. 2:1).