A Culture on the Verge of Hunger?
I believe we are in the "perilous times" of 2 Timothy 3. Paul warned Timothy that in the last days, men would be lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, unthankful, and unholy, etc. Increasingly, this seems to describe our time.
A couple of years ago, I heard a pastor relate an incident that created a strong reaction in me. He told of an encounter he had with an unbeliever who made no bones about his doubts and denials, ending the conversation with this pastor by saying, "Look, I just don't believe in God."
It was the pastor's reply that got my attention. Upon hearing the words "I just don't believe in God" the pastor said, "That's OK, God believes in you." As I reflected on this my stomach churned. I felt that, had I been in the same situation, I might have answered quite differently. Perhaps like this: "Friend, if you persist in this unbelief, you will one day answer for yourself before this Almighty Creator whose holy law you have broken, and whose existence you boldly deny. You are in danger of eternal damnation."
What's the point of relating this story? I believe the day is coming when we will not feel the need to give insipid answers to keep people from being offended or otherwise pushed away from the Gospel. I believe that as sin, selfishness, and unbelief increase, there will come to be a great spiritual void. This, in turn, could lead to a new hunger and a new receptivity for the Good News of the Gospel. For now, Christianity continues to be pushed to the margins of society, but with this comes a corresponding moral bankruptcy. I believe we may soon see the day where life for many has become so dark and hopeless, that folks may begin to long for the Gospel.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to bring light to those in the darkness of these "perilous times" by simply telling the story, and presenting the wonderful news? To reintroduce the light, to a culture where many have become keenly aware of the prevailing darkness, and of their own deep need? No "soft-peddling" or "editing" of the gospel, no more need for "seeker sensitivity," just a bold and ready witness to the Good News-- the offering of a healing balm... the gospel, clearly proclaimed, and eagerly grasped by desperate hearts!
Lord, hasten the day!
A couple of years ago, I heard a pastor relate an incident that created a strong reaction in me. He told of an encounter he had with an unbeliever who made no bones about his doubts and denials, ending the conversation with this pastor by saying, "Look, I just don't believe in God."
It was the pastor's reply that got my attention. Upon hearing the words "I just don't believe in God" the pastor said, "That's OK, God believes in you." As I reflected on this my stomach churned. I felt that, had I been in the same situation, I might have answered quite differently. Perhaps like this: "Friend, if you persist in this unbelief, you will one day answer for yourself before this Almighty Creator whose holy law you have broken, and whose existence you boldly deny. You are in danger of eternal damnation."
What's the point of relating this story? I believe the day is coming when we will not feel the need to give insipid answers to keep people from being offended or otherwise pushed away from the Gospel. I believe that as sin, selfishness, and unbelief increase, there will come to be a great spiritual void. This, in turn, could lead to a new hunger and a new receptivity for the Good News of the Gospel. For now, Christianity continues to be pushed to the margins of society, but with this comes a corresponding moral bankruptcy. I believe we may soon see the day where life for many has become so dark and hopeless, that folks may begin to long for the Gospel.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to bring light to those in the darkness of these "perilous times" by simply telling the story, and presenting the wonderful news? To reintroduce the light, to a culture where many have become keenly aware of the prevailing darkness, and of their own deep need? No "soft-peddling" or "editing" of the gospel, no more need for "seeker sensitivity," just a bold and ready witness to the Good News-- the offering of a healing balm... the gospel, clearly proclaimed, and eagerly grasped by desperate hearts!
Lord, hasten the day!
Labels: Evangelism, Gospel, Guest Post, Witness
posted by Petros at
7:00 AM
3 Comments:
Thank you very much for this encouraging word.
Sometimes it is hard not to get depressed at the spiritual darkness and rebellion toward God that is so prevalent in our country.
I am encouraged to continue to pray with more fervor and faith that the Lord use the darkness to bring more children to the Light.
What is impossible with men is possible (and easy!) for God to accomplish...that is comforting!
Peter, might I humbly suggest that "that day" has always been here. Edwardian preaching spoke of the sinner "as a spider on a web hanging over an open flame, waiting to be consumed by the fire". (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God). We must remember two things when it comes to sinners. Firstly, environment..... while it has some influence on behavior, will never create a hunger for that which the heart by nature, hates. (Persecution always works holiness in the believing heart. Corruption in society does create a longing in the believer for heaven.) For the sinner, the darker society gets, the more he or she is "at home". Hell is in part, the complete removal of all grace, both common and special in it's inhabitants. There will be no influence for good in hell. There will be no "kind deeds" or philanthropic endeavors in hell. There will be no mercy in hell. There will be nothing to look forward to. As Dante wrote, "abandon all hope, ye who enter here". If we really grasp this teaching, we would weep for the lost, we would pray for them, we would plead with them to repent and believe. God enable us to really believe this and act accordingly.
Secondly, sinners are described as dead and therefore unable to respond to environmental stimulus when it comes to faith. It takes the miraculous work of the Spirit of God to perform this task. Having said that, we should remember the long neglected doctrine of "common grace". Common grace working in the sinners heart may bring him or her to civil obediance, create philanthropic activity, even generate alarm and activity in society to perform a "kind of good work" but it will never regenerate the soul and cause what Professor John Murray described as "a radical breach with the dominion of sin" in the human heart. Sadly, we live in a day when perhaps 75% of professing christians don't believe in the virgin birth of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, substitionary atonment, let alone the doctrine of eternal punishment. Is it therefore any surprise that what many of us have heard presented as the Gospel, really has little truth at all in it?
We should thank God for the faithful message preached at TFC. Thank God we don't have a "seeker friendly" service. Our Elders, as do we, know that there is "none that seeks after God, no not one".
The darker it gets in society, the greator the contrast should be between darkness and light. Sadly, the modern American church isn't all that different from the dark society it lives in. Therefore, true believers are and will be seen as lights in the world. We must be different, not for difference sake, but unto the glory of God. The real question is: are we lights in the world?
We go back to the old Sunday School ditty..."this lil light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.....
Respectfully,
JR
Peter, One last thought. The darker our society gets, the more we see the "wrath of God". The essence of the wrath of God in society is seen in His "giving them up". Romans 1-2 speaks of two simultaneously occuring "apocaluptetai" or revelations. The first is the revelation of the righteousness of God in Christ. There is the revealing of the righteousness which is from God in the Gospel. It is unworthy of shame because it is the "power of God" unto salvation to them that believe. Secondly, there is the apocalypse or revelation of the wrath of God. This is seen in his abandonment of common grace in unbelievers. "God gave them up". There is a threefold abandonment which we should rightly view as the downpayment or earnest of the wrath to come. Just as the Spirit is the earnest of our glorification, the "giving up" of reprobates is the earnest of the wrath to come. There is a building up of thumos (wrath) toward the day of orgay (final wrath). We get the word thermal or heat from the word thumos. We get the idea of full release of wrath from the word orgay, (we get the English word orgy from this, which has the idea of abandonment.) So societal darkness should prove to be a warning to whomever has ears to hear, that a holy God is turning up the heat unto the day of final abandonment of wrath. How much more should we turn up the activity in warning the lost to "flee the wrath to come".
God let us believe this with our actions.
JR
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