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ARE WE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL?

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ARE WE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL?

11 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

“… I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ…” — Romans 1:16.

Is Christianity becoming more and more apologetic in its approach to the modern world? It often looks as though it is on the defensive in this new age of exploding knowledge, particularly as it faces the challenge of skeptical questions about the validity and relevance of historic Christian doctrines.

A college professor of religion says that this is one of the most persistent temptations facing Christians today, not only in the academic atmosphere of the campus but on every level of life. And he is probably right. His description of how we go about witnessing, so gingerly and self-consciously, fits many of us rather well. He says that we go to our contemporaries with hat in hand and say, in effect: “Now I do not mean to take up your time, and I certainly hope I will not inconvenience or discomfit you, but if you can spare a moment, I should like to speak a few inoffensive words in behalf of the Lord of creation and history.” …

As the professor said in his article, “this may account for the frequency with which preaching seems to say: ‘If you do not all repent, after a fashion, and confess your sins, so to speak, you will all be damned, as it were.’ “

Yes, it’s true: many preachers are always pulling their punches in the pulpit. And it isn’t any wonder that their preaching leaves men cold; as a matter of fact, it doesn’t even command their respect. They know the preacher is afraid to tell them the truth.

We justify our silence by saying: “now let’s be fair, open-minded and scholarly about this thing; maybe we can learn somthing from it; maybe this man has something we can use. Anyway, we don’t want to be accused of bigotry; we don’t want people to think that we have no room for new ideas in our religion; or that we can’t keep up with the more liberal and progressive trends in theology today. So let’s not be too quick to condemn what might become a popular school of thought; let’s not be dogmatic and reactionary. And by all means, let’s keep the channels of communication open; let’s engage in dialogue with each other; that’s a good way to witness too, isn’t it? And who knows, we might even be able to convert someone to our point of view.”

That’s the way we talk, but the truth is that we don’t have the courage of our convictions — if, indeed, we actually do have the convictions. We don’t dare to call heresy by its right name. And even when we do begin at long last to say something against it, we say it very apologetically; we make as many concessions as we can — for the sake of argument, of course; and we are always gracious enought to allow for the possibility that we might be wrong, even though we know clearly what the word of God teaches, and that it plainly condemns this new heresy.

What’s the matter with us? Are we ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ today? Are we ashamed of the great Good News that God has come down here in the person of His only Son to save men from sin and death, and to redeem the world from destruction — are we ashamed of that? Are we ashamed of the Bible which gives us this gospel, and which was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? Are we ashamed of the great creeds of the church which were written with the blood of martyrs in order to defend and proclaim that gospel?

What could be more important and more relevant in this world of new knowledge and learning than the gospel of Jesus Christ? This is the greatest discovery of them all — the discovery of the grace of God unto salvation — far greater than the most amazing discoveries of science today.

Why, the whole universe revolves around this gospel. It always has, for centuries, from the very beginning of time. In fact, there would be no world if God had not entered it with His saving grace to put it through the process of redemption. Take the gospel out of the world, and what do you have left — what happens to all the great things man has done?

No indeed, this is no time for Christians to be apologetic about their faith. This is no time to question the relevance of the gospel, or to suggest that perhaps it should be overhauled to make it fit all this new knowledge which has burst upon us in these latter days. We have nothing for which to apologize. The everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ needs no adjustment to make it acceptable today. There is nothing in it that cannot stand the test of truth in the full light of science and learning. If we are ashamed of the gospel today, maybe we don’t really know what it is; or maybe we don’t really believe it any more.

What do you think the apostle Paul would say about all this? What would he say to Christians who blush or back away when they have an apportunity to speak a word of witness for the Lord who died for them on the cross and conquered both sin and death for them? What would he say to preachers who are so careful not to offend the sophisticated skeptics in their congregations? What would he say about our feeble attempts to make the gospel more appealing and more plausible by quoting from contemporary poets and philosophers who have said something nice about it even though they do not believe in it, rather than quoting from the prophets and preachers of the Bible who spoke with divine authority: “Thus saith the Lord!”?

This man Paul was not afraid of his world — and remember, it was just as sophisticated as ours is, perhaps more so; it was full of new ideas in Greek philosophy and Roman culture. It was a world of much learning and vaunted wisdom. But Paul stood up in the middle of it and said: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.”

He said that as a student of the times, as a scholar who knew what was going on around him; he was respected for his learning; he was not a religious fanatic; he preached with discernment and insight. He compelled the attention of the best minds as well as the common people when he declared that the gospel of Jesus Christ was the greatest power in the world, the power of God unto salvation. They listened to him when he said that this was the most important thing for them to know, and that it was designed by God to meet the deepest needs of their hearts and of the world.

Paul was thankful for the gospel, and glad to preach it. He said: “God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” And he was determined to go all the way to Rome with the gospel, to the world capital, to the highest seat of authority and power, even though it cost him his life to preach it there.

So too, when he went to Corinth, which was one of the most cultured and sophisticated cities of that day, he preached nothing but that gospel of the cross. Later he wrote to the Christians in Corinth: “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and His crucified.”

Oh, I know, we are not supposed to offend our listeners. The propaganda artists and public opinion experts want us to make our programs as broadly appealing as possible. And of course, the modern ecumenical architects are in favor of that too. But does this mean that we must omit or at least play down the distinctive gospel of Jesus Christ because it will antagonize a few people? Are we supposed to come with a message that will be broad enough to embrace everybody while it brings the knowledge of the saving grace of God to nobody — a message that doesn’s even have the cross of Christ in it, and therefore has lost the power of God unto salvation?

What do you think Paul would do with modern day communications? Do you think he would go to the microphone, knowing that they would give him an audience of literally millions of people, and then use these powerful instruments merely to entertain with faintly religious dramatic episodes, or to interview some important person, or to present a panel discussion on a modern problem without any reference to the gospel of Jesus Christ, or to preach a sermon on a secular subject rather than call men to the cross of Calvary?

Oh no, not Paul! He figured it was his business and the business of the whole church to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord; to preach it simply and directly, without apology, and without catering to the fickle tastes of the secular, smug, sophisticated public, and without adjusting the word of God to make it more attractive to the mind of man.

Do you remember what Paul did when they gave him that prominent platform on Mars Hill in Athens? That was something like a broadcasting center in his day. What did he do with it? Well, in less than two minutes he got right to the heart of the gospel, calling those people to repent, and warning them of the judgment to come. No, they didn’t all like it. Some of them mocked him when he talked about the resurrection of Christ. But that didn’t bother Paul. He wasn’t ashamed of the gospel he preached — and that’s one big reason why he made such a tremendous impact upon this world. Even the wise men of Athens listened respectfully to him and said they would like to hear him again.

The same thing was true about the other apostles in those wonderful days when the enemies of the gospel complained that these men were “turning the world upside down.” The record says that they went everywhere with “boldness” — that’s the word that characterized them best, not only when they faced the ridicule of the world, but even when they had to face the bitter hatred of those who were determined to kill them because they insisted on preaching the gospel of the cross.

What are we afraid of today? Why are we so apologetic? This new age of discovery and knowledge and learning and science, this is one of the finest opportunities the church has ever had. What a day in which to preach the gospel of One who, as Paul said, “is the image of the invisible God.… all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”

What could be more relevant today than the gospel of the Son of God who rules this whole vast cosmos which is now opening up before our very eyes, giving us new perspectives, new dimensions, new frontiers, but also a whole new set of problems to solve and questions to answer? In fact, how are we ever going to make sense out of this world unless we see that it is centered in the cross of Christ?

Besides, there is still another reason why we need that gospel today, an even greater reason. We may be living in a new world, but we are still the same old sinners at heart; and we need the same old gospel, the gospel of One who is “the same yesterday, and forever.” Unless we put our trust in Him, and thus make our peace with God, we shall always be lost sinners in a lost world, no matter how much we know about that world. We need a Savior who not only holds the whole universe in His redemptive hands, but who became one of us to save us from our sins.

No, we don’t have to be ashamed to say that we believe in Him! The whole world ought to know that! It ought to know where we stand: at the cross of Christ; and that we are going to stand there no matter what happens. For we know that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us!

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ARE WE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL?

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