Why Do You Wait?

In the events pertaining to the Apostle Paul’s dramatic conversion, he was asked by a devout Christian named Ananias, “Why do you wait?” (Acts 22:16). Here’s the context:

And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' (Acts 22:12-16, ESV)

Ananias’ question was essentially a rhetorical one to tell Paul that he shouldn’t delay any longer in joining the true church. You see, Paul had by that point seen and experienced the risen Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). His experience with Christ made something very clear: Paul had been in the wrong church. He had been a part of the Jews at Jerusalem who denied Jesus Christ and were persecuting Christians. Paul’s church, and especially Paul himself, had made it their aim to try to destroy the Christian faith. The irony of course, is that the Jews of all people should have welcomed and embraced Jesus and the gospel. It was from the rich heritage of the Jews that God rose up Jesus as the Christ. Jesus came first to the Jewish people, calling them to repent and believe in him, and to receive him as their Messiah. Sadly, most did not receive him. And so whenever a synagogue of Jews ultimately rejected Jesus and the gospel, they essentially were cutting themselves off from the true church of God. That’s why Jesus instructed his followers to shake the dust off their feet at them. This was a practice that Paul himself would later do to synagogues that would reject his gospel preaching (e.g. Acts 13:48).

And so when Ananias asked Paul, “Why do you wait?”, he was telling Paul it was time to now leave his old church and become a part of the church of Jesus Christ. Since Paul now knew the Christian message to be true, there was no reason for him to stay with an apostate church that rejected Jesus. This is clearly Ananias’ point, because after asking this question of Paul, he then tells him to “rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” Paul’s baptism would formally mark his joining the church of Jesus Christ as an expression of his new faith in the Lord. Paul had been in the wrong church and fighting for the wrong causes, but God graciously awakened him to his errors. God showed Paul that he should not delay any longer, but should instead immediately get out of that apostate church and join Christ’s church.

My point in bringing up Paul’s story is to use it as an analogy for many people’s situation today. For over a hundred years, theological liberalism has infiltrated churches that historically had been faithful witnesses to Christ. Sadly, many of the previously faithful mainline denominations of Christianity have now gone so far astray. Far too many congregations have fallen prey to the false teachings of theological liberalism. Such churches may still in appearances use the Bible and speak of Christ, but their sermons and teachings are neither biblical nor Christian. They have long since departed from “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). They preach “a different gospel which is really no gospel at all” (Galatians 1:6-7). Essentially, such churches have become apostate and are no longer part of the true church of Jesus Christ but have become a “synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9).

It is for the professing Christians who find themselves still members in such churches that I write this article today. I have had conversations with such people over the years. The story I hear from them is typically the same. They continue to hold out hope that God would yet turn their unfaithful church around. They persist as members in the church, trying to make a difference. They are trying to “fight the good fight” (1 Timothy 6:12) to bring their church back to the truth. And yet they all seem to know that at some point, if things don’t change, they will need to leave in order to pursue a faithful congregation.

Well, as such churches continue to slide downward into greater and greater apostasy, I ask these who profess Christ in their midst: “Why do you wait?” I ask that in the spirit of Ananias’ question to Paul. I ask it in the spirit of encouragement that maybe now is finally the time for you to shake the dust off your feet and return to Christ’s church. Yes, there is a time to fight the good fight. Wisdom is certainly needed in that area. But when a church has clearly departed from the Christian faith and is no longer preaching the gospel, it is time to leave. It is not good for your soul to belong to an apostate church. Whatever difference you think you can make, you can speak your convictions best by leaving. And so I ask, “Why do you wait?”

If you are reading this and believe it applies to you, I encourage you to take the next step and pursue joining a faithful church. If I can be of any help to you in that pursuit, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

About the author: Rev. Reid Hankins is the pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Novato, CA.