I was recently thinking about the church, the ministry, and the times we live in. A lot has changed over the years since I first pursued the call to preach the gospel. As a fundamental Baptist schooled in dispensationalism, the heart of what I believed was that God gave His Son to save sinners from eternal damnation. The gospel message was simple: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). Dispensationalism, for me, involved the history of redemption—His story—God’s working in time to bring about the deliverance of a people for His own name’s sake. All this was carefully recorded so that Scripture alone was sufficient to “make one wise unto salvation” (2 Timothy 3:15).
Preaching the gospel meant preaching the gospel. A preacher’s job was to open the Bible and tell his audience what God wrote so that people might see Jesus Christ and understand what He did for sinners. Of course, in those days, I thought that we could actually convince sinners to believe. However I also knew that God gave the Holy Spirit to help us do that work of convincing. The Spirit had to convict of sin (1 Thessalonians 1:5; John 16:8), create despair in the heart, and leave the convicted hopeless and helpless to fix his own fate (Acts 2:37). Then, I believed that the Spirit opened the heart to the gospel (Acts 16:14) and granted the sinner repentance unto faith (Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25). Every Bible-believing preacher I knew understood that no sinner ever came to faith in Christ without the work of the Word and the Spirit.
Some things have changed. The fundamentalism I first espoused has changed. The ministry became a contest to see who could build the biggest church—the biggest empire. Preachers became emperors in their little realms, dictating the rules and standards. Doctrine fell out of favor. Sermons became the means to control people, not to teach the Word. Perhaps unconsciously, a new form of legalism took the stage.
The whole face of evangelical Christianity has changed. The gospel is no longer sufficient, but any and all carnal means are used to get people to come to church. Services have become “seeker friendly.” Pastors do not talk about sin and certainly not about eternal damnation in Hell. Preaching has become short inspirational pep talks, and church time is filled with rock concert entertainment to keep people coming back.
The culture has had it impact on the change as well. Morals are out with sin, and anything goes as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. All who disagree—God and His people—are labeled as intolerant, and all who take a stand for something are fanatics and lunatics.
However, after forty plus years of ministry, I have concluded that while some things do change, the basics have not. People are still sinners, lost and bound for judgment. The gospel is still the sinner’s only hope. The Bible is still the only reliable source of the message, and the preacher is still the only method God uses to get that message out. The Holy Spirit is still doing His work and the church is still triumphant. To God be the glory.
Preaching the gospel meant preaching the gospel. A preacher’s job was to open the Bible and tell his audience what God wrote so that people might see Jesus Christ and understand what He did for sinners. Of course, in those days, I thought that we could actually convince sinners to believe. However I also knew that God gave the Holy Spirit to help us do that work of convincing. The Spirit had to convict of sin (1 Thessalonians 1:5; John 16:8), create despair in the heart, and leave the convicted hopeless and helpless to fix his own fate (Acts 2:37). Then, I believed that the Spirit opened the heart to the gospel (Acts 16:14) and granted the sinner repentance unto faith (Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25). Every Bible-believing preacher I knew understood that no sinner ever came to faith in Christ without the work of the Word and the Spirit.
Some things have changed. The fundamentalism I first espoused has changed. The ministry became a contest to see who could build the biggest church—the biggest empire. Preachers became emperors in their little realms, dictating the rules and standards. Doctrine fell out of favor. Sermons became the means to control people, not to teach the Word. Perhaps unconsciously, a new form of legalism took the stage.
The whole face of evangelical Christianity has changed. The gospel is no longer sufficient, but any and all carnal means are used to get people to come to church. Services have become “seeker friendly.” Pastors do not talk about sin and certainly not about eternal damnation in Hell. Preaching has become short inspirational pep talks, and church time is filled with rock concert entertainment to keep people coming back.
The culture has had it impact on the change as well. Morals are out with sin, and anything goes as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. All who disagree—God and His people—are labeled as intolerant, and all who take a stand for something are fanatics and lunatics.
However, after forty plus years of ministry, I have concluded that while some things do change, the basics have not. People are still sinners, lost and bound for judgment. The gospel is still the sinner’s only hope. The Bible is still the only reliable source of the message, and the preacher is still the only method God uses to get that message out. The Holy Spirit is still doing His work and the church is still triumphant. To God be the glory.
amen! This really was refreshing to read! Thank you for posting this!
ReplyDelete