-R.C. Sproul Jr.
The lost are not merely wrong, but dead. Unfortunately the aim of modern day evangelism is misplaced in two major areas. One, they assume that the gospel is that lil’ tidbit of cosmic information needed to make the right ‘decision’. It’s brutally obvious. Just pay attention to the words that are employed. It’s sickening to listen to someone preach and try to convince another person to accept their gospel. The gospel is not information.
Secondly, we Christians speak a different language. We go in with a whole list of presuppositions and expect, nay often assume, that the recipient will answer in the affirmative. Words often used are ‘God, sin, and Decision’ and they hear ‘Santa Claus, mistake, and I’m a god. The modern evangelism movement is working off the capital of our grandparents with the same assumptions getting the same results. Legalism and rebellion. We can no longer assume that the Average American Joe (or Josephine) knows what we mean when we say ‘God’.
Also, my fellow churchmen, think on this. An excerpt from a series of sermons on 1 Corinthians by Harold Harrington.
They did not need another invitation to receive Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life. What they needed was a call to live that life of godliness which is expected and which must be evident in all who make the claim of belonging to Christ. Every sermon is not about “getting saved”. Most sermons in the church must be about living a moral and obedient life in this world under the Lordship of Christ. In the assembly of the saints a major concern is saintly living. As a pastor I have become more and more dissatisfied with the preaching of the so-called evangelical churches even to the point of exasperation.
It’s high time reformed, evangelical, protestant preaching, call it what you like, returned to the example of Paul found in First Corinthians. It’s time it stopped assuming that the audience each week needs to be converted. Yes, some individuals may be unconverted. In fact it is likely. The free gospel of God’s saving grace must be evident always. And it will be evident if we are instructing Christians in the saintly life in the light of God’s saving grace. However, if conversions do take place in the weekly assembly of the saints, they will be incidental. We correctly assume that people assembled for worship each week in sound Christian churches, bearing the marks of a true church, are for the most part saints. It’s really slanderous to assume otherwise.
1 comment:
Your best post yet, Matt! I read it when you first posted it, but I'm commenting now because you haven't posted anything new in a while. I would quibble with Harold a bit, though I agree with most that he's written. (the truth is it's probably just fun to quibble with Harold).
You quote Harold:
"We correctly assume that people assembled for worship each week in sound Christian churches, bearing the marks of a true church, are for the most part saints."
First of all, we don't assume anything. We judge by the Word of God. The Word of God calls all baptized believers that assemble for worship: saints!
Harold refers to 1 Corinthians. Paul begins the letter thusly:
"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours"
This is what Paul says to a church ravaged by divisions. They are all sanctified, all saints. This does not mean that they are all living rightly in terms of the covenant they are a part of. They may indeed be despising the blood of the covenant... and they shall suffer their just reward, all the more terrible because they were holy, set apart.
I mean, even the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing woman. This household holiness does not excuse him from his unbelief. It makes him all the more accountable.
Judgement begins at the household of faith.
So, I conclude by saying:
We correctly know that people assembled for worship each week in sound Christian churches, bearing the marks of a true church, are all saints, and should be treated accordingly, given both covenant promises and warnings.
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