Quoting James White . . .
[We can] by the means we use to proclaim the gospel, alter it and in fact empty the cross of its power, making it void. If we use worldly words of wisdom - human methodologies that prove we really do not trust God's Spirit to make God's message come alive in the hearts of His people - we may see "results" but they will not be abiding results to the glory of God. They will be man-made, and the resultant church anything but divinely blessed. An impure Gospel results in impure saints at best, or pure hypocrites at worst. Today the emphasis is upon the "end result" and being "user friendly." The fact that men of God are called to be His ambassadors and to proclaim His message without diminishment or alteration has been lost to a large portion of those who stand behind pulpits today.
Today the "minister" who is intent upon making himself "just one of the boys" or a "clown for Jesus" will gain an audience. How far from the attitude of the ambassador who, invested with the authority of the one who sent him to deliver a message, treats that proclamation with the dignity due to its author, resulting in the hearers likewise treating the message with dignity and respect. How little respect is shown the proclamation of God's message today! Congregations tell their pastors to keep it to twenty minutes - we want more music, more entertainment! Give us "gospel lite."
If you do not consider God to be holy and worthy of honor and fear and respect - if you do not believe His Word a divine gift of grace, His very speaking (but instead view it as the musings of men) - you will have no basis upon which to view the teaching of Christian truth as something with authority and dignity. This is what gives rise to the audacious demand on the part of most evangelicals today that the proclamation and content be tailored to meet "their needs"! As if the Holy Sovereign of the Universe is limited in the message He can deliver to His creatures by what His creatures feel they "want" to hear!
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1 comment:
Forget about "feelings" and "wants"...
What we need is Christ - and hearing comes by the pure, unadulterated word of God. If I went by feelings or wants I would be shifting as the wind. Thanks be to God for His unchangeable ways!
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