Wouldn’t it be great if people took God seriously?
Wouldn’t it be great if people took God seriously enough to take His Word seriously?
In detail, I mean.
As in, all of it.
As in, out of a true love for Him (see: John 14:15).
Wouldn’t it be great if the professing Christian church in America led the culture in this direction…instead of away from it?
The increasingly disintegrating American culture is not primarily a product of liberalism, however much secular “conservatives” may say otherwise. It’s not primarily the product of ignorance, however much the “education”-minded may imagine otherwise. And it’s not primarily the result of hedonism or materialism, however much the “hyper-spiritual” among us may proclaim to the contrary. The dying American culture is first and foremost a product of the professing Christian church’s abandonment of the full, life- and world-defining Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In making the Gospel just about our personal salvation and letting the rest of creation go to hell without too much concern or opposing effort on our part, we have abandoned the Great Commission and denied the nature of the true, supernatural Gospel of Christ.
In considering ourselves “good to go” with a mere profession of faith accompanied by “good works” like regular church attendance, Bible readings, and other Christian-ish activities, we’ve traded in the comprehensive Christian life and worldview for a self-centered, comfortable, easy path of disengagement and pre-emptive surrender. We’ve traded in the life- and culture-transforming mission of the Gospel-fueled Great Commission for a life of minimal effort and minimal (if any) commitment to “take every thought captive” (see: 2 Corinthians 10:5) and become disciples who actively strive to obey all that Christ has commanded (see: Matthew 28:18-20).
Where the Gospel of Jesus touches literally everything, we have decided to keep our version of it neatly sequestered and safely “in it’s place”, relegating it to largely ornamental status. We like to admire and read Scripture about how awesome it is, and talk about how awesome it is, but when it comes to application…well…did I mention that it is a beautiful ornament?
It’s an ornament that we like to keep in a display case and show off “at the right times”, with “the right people” and in “the right places”, but when it comes to bringing its purposeful, everything-defining light into contact with everything, as Christ has clearly commanded His people to do and as the very nature of the true Gospel requires, well…we like to keep it simple…and vague…
We love to say, “Jesus died for sinners!”
But we hate to define sin.
We love to say, “Repent and be saved!”
But if we won’t define sin, what is it that people are supposed to repent of, exactly? (See: The Little gospel That Can’t.)
If failing to do what God has commanded and doing what God has forbidden is sin, then we obviously can’t have a coherent, vibrant, effective Gospel presentation if we are not about the business of identifying what those sins are in detail in light of His Word, can we?
Even the twelve-steppers understand that the first necessary step to solving a problem is acknowledging that it exists, right?
article continues below
If someone asks, “Is homosexual intimacy a sin?”, most of us have little trouble saying that such activity is indeed sinful.
Yet if someone asks something along the lines of, “Is it okay for me to send my five year old off to the State for what we all know is an explicitly anti-Christian ‘education’?”, we often hem and haw. Or, even worse (and far more commonly), we say something like, “Sure. Go ahead. Just be sure to use the comparatively little time you have with them to try and at least begin to compensate for some of the satanic spin on the pursuit of knowledge that they are being modeled and molded to emulate and embrace all day long each weekday.”
And then we wonder why each successive generation of professing American Christians is less Christian, more liberal, and more Statist than the last. (See: Statism 101: State-run “education” makes a State-dependent population.)
Has God spoken any less clearly on the necessity of Christ as the explicit core of children’s education than He has on the subject of homosexuality?
Could our abandonment of His Word in the one area be the primary reason we are experiencing so much hellishness in the other? (See: Limp Wristed Gospels Make Limp Wristed Cultures.)
Has God not spoken clearly as to the nature, purpose, and application of law, economics, and civil government? (See: Presuppositional Law: Where we begin with law determines where we end.)
Has God not spoken clearly and sufficiently to us so that we might understand and profitably pursue every good work possible in His creation?
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (emphasis added)
The Gospel is not all about us.
It’s all about Him.
It’s all about Him restoring everything. (See: The Awesome Gospel.)
It’s all about Him restoring everything by His grace through His Spirit-filled people in accordance with His Gospel-fueled Great Commission. (See: Jesus Conquers Everything.)
The sooner we ditch and repent of having ever embraced the pathetic little self-centered “Gospel in a Bottle” that we’ve allowed to lead our culture to where it is now, the better.
Big Government, Big Materialism, Big Liberalism, and Big Hedonism are not what’s killing America. Not primarily, anyway.
Little Gospel Syndrome is what’s killing America.
~
If you know of anyone who might appreciate this post, please share it. If you’d like to see articles like this continue, please click here to help.
Please also “like” us on Facebook, “+” us on Google+, follow us on Twitter and feel free to sign up for new articles by email using the buttons in the upper right corner of the FBC home page.
Also feel free to check out the latest designs at Fire Breathing Tees and the latest memes at Fire Breathing Memes. Thank you for your support!
© 2015 Scott Alan Buss – All Rights Reserved.
Thanks Scott,
Great message , right on the mark. Why would anyone be inspired to become a Christian based upon todays weak and innocuous gospel? You may as well attend the church of Oprah or Ellen D. ; you get the warm fuzzy feelings without the uncomfortable pews. I was converted to Christ after I realized how pathetic I was, and how hopeless my own efforts were. It was then that I turned to Jesus who gave me hope over my sin, and victory over my defeat.
Thank you so much for the encouragement and example, Dennis. Soli Deo Gloria!