Reformed. Christianity. Evangelism. Modern Culture.
Many times we see and hear people say come to church and God will give you this or that. It is now so common to have people call themselves ‘Christians’ and yet they have never heard of sin and righteousness. So you ask, ‘Is there anything wrong with that?’ Well you see the knowledge of sin comes after you know what the law of God is – for sin is lawlessness toward God. A man who has come to see the weight of his lawlessness toward God knows his immeasurable debt to Christ. Furthermore …
The Gospel is only “Good News” to those who have heard, and believe, that there is a diagnosis of “Bad News” about themselves to start with. If we simply present the Gospel as a route to a better life, we are deceiving people about their true condition. More importantly, we are mis-representing God’s holiness and His serious view of their sin.
“The true ministers of Christ bring men to the law; now this condemns them, and shows them to be under the curse: He that offendeth in one point is guilty of all (James 2:10). As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them (Gal 3: 10). (William Tiptaft as recorded in “A Sermon preached on 25th December 1829 at the Great Church, Abingdon (St Helen’s)”)
The acknowledged “Prince of Preachers” Charles Spurgeon put it this way:”But more, there is war between you and God’s Law. The Ten Commandments are against you . . . . The First one comes forward and says, ‘Let him be cursed, for he denies me. He has another god besides me; his god is his belly, he yields homage to his lust.’ All the Ten Commandments, like ten great pieces of cannon, are pointed at you today, for you have broken all God’s statutes, and lived in the daily neglect of all His commands. Soul! You will find it a hard thing to go to war with the Law. When the Law came in peace, [Mount] Sinai was altogether on a smoke, and even Moses said, ‘I do exceedingly fear and quake.’ What will you do when the Law comes in terror, when the trumpet of the archangel shall tear you from your grave, when the eyes of God shall burn their way into your guilty soul, when the great books shall be opened, and all your sin and shame shall be published? Can you stand against an angry Law in that day?”
Charles Spurgeon states elsewhere “Lower the law and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt; this is a very serious loss to the sinner rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion. I say you have deprived the gospel of its ablest auxiliary [its most powerful weapon] when you have set aside the Law. You have taken away from it the schoolmaster that is to bring men to Christ.”
Excerpt from What is the Gospel?
You [fail] yourselves by leaving your children in a state of ignorance, for you heap upon yourselves the consequences of their sins as well as your own. When a child breaks one of God’s commandments, it is his sin; but it is also the father’s if he never taught the child what the commandment of God was. Wicked children become heavy crosses to their parents. When a father or mother must trace the source of wickedness to his or her neglect in training the child, cross is laid upon cross and the load becomes unbearable. Can there be a greater heartache in this life than to see your own child running full speed towards hell, and know that you were the one who outfitted him for the race? …Read More!
One interesting writer I have come across, (of course I am always the last one to discover good writers) says:
“Men are not turning to Christ because they have no sense of sinning against the Lord. They are not convicted of sin because they don’t know what sin is. They have no concept of sin because the law of God is not being preached. You cannot improvise a hasty sop, ‘All men have sinned.’ You must dwell on the subject at length. Exposit the ten commandments until men are slain thereby [Romans 7:11]. When you see that men have been wounded by the law, then it is time to pour in the balm of Gospel oil. It is the sharp needle of the law that makes way for the scarlet thread of the Gospel.” ~Walter Chantry, Today’s Gospel Authentic or Synthetic Read More
There are several people who have impacted my life in different ways. God has brought me to listen to very insightful teachings that have shaped me and are continually reforming my personal life in ways I probably cannot illustrate. One or two years ago I was searching for tracts online and I landed on a sermon that has always been an inspiration to me. Hell’s Best Secret by Ray Comfort is akin to Keith Green’s classic song Alseep in the Light-once you listen to them they continue to replay in your mind. They are evangelistic anthems so to speak. If you have ever listened to this sermon, you will agree with me it should be broadcast loud and clear, down every byway and highway, every church yard and barn yard needs to resound with this message. Maybe I should get him a Segway for open airpreaching…or well maybe standing on a good old salt box will just do all the same 😉 [The Transcript: Hell’s Best Kept Secret] Read More
One interesting writer I have come across, (of course I am always the last one to discover good writers) says:
“Men are not turning to Christ because they have no sense of sinning against the Lord. They are not convicted of sin because they don’t know what sin is. They have no concept of sin because the law of God is not being preached. You cannot improvise a hasty sop, ‘All men have sinned.’ You must dwell on the subject at length. Exposit the ten commandments until men are slain thereby [Romans 7:11]. When you see that men have been wounded by the law, then it is time to pour in the balm of Gospel oil. It is the sharp needle of the law that makes way for the scarlet thread of the Gospel.” ~Walter Chantry, Today’s Gospel Authentic or Synthetic Read More
A Twisted Crown of Thorns ® 