There's something to that Daniel as I've seen and been in those very churches. All the makeup is there but lacks the Spirit of Christ among. For more conservative individuals some of the Evangelical churches go to the other extremes...
"Division because of truth is better than unity without it or in error"....you said that right!
I was in an Evangelical Free church for sometime as the Pastors teachings were so rich...everybody drew closer to Christ and understood more about Him for that.....Wonderful to be among those of like hearts and minds seeking more of the Lord..... Several Pastors would sit in on his bible studies for he was always open to being challenged and wanted participation.....once you have rich teachings among those who have depth of impute of their own, all students of God's word, well you can hardly explain how electrical the atmosphere...questions, opinions, scriptures abound...and a real effort to seek the truth and understanding it. And it is rare I have seen this since.
Yes, judgment has begun at the house of God....while the worldly churches clamor for unity....the Lord appears to be separating the Sheep from the goats in a way.
I have understood the true church will eventually go underground...perhaps as the churches become more secularized we'll see more people meeting in homes. I went to one of these but was not impressed...in fact challenged the "leader" because he was more like a cult leader...I think he was looking of his own following. I've been living by faith for quite some time and not always in my comfort zone....you learn how it is rather than just peoples opinions when it comes to which churches are which....but yes, I suspect things are going to become uncertain for many who wouldn't imagine not having a church building to worship in.
Well, the early church faced persecution often, and the Roman gov. makes ours seems rather moral by comparison. Nero had incest with his mom, killed his wife, castrated a boy and married him. And the liberals are still trying to blame the Christians for the fall of Rome. But you do not read much about the political circumstances surrounding the church in the Scriptures, because their affections were to be on things above, and their security in Christ.
“For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. “ (Hebrews 10:34)