I live in Morristown, TN. It's a wonderful place to live. Morristown is best described as Small-town, USA. There's a tight, family feel throughout the community. We still have service stations that offer full-service. Local farmers still set up their produce stands right in the heart of town. My wife and I could not ask for any better place to raise our children.
There are some train tracks that run right through the middle of town. The tracks run from east to west and most of the folks around Morristown tend to think of the tracks as something of a boundary line. Everything north of the tracks is the northside of town, and likewise for the southside.
Generally speaking, most of the residents would probably agree that the "nicer amenities" are found on the northside of town. Most of the nicer homes are found north of the tracks. The largest and most ornate church buildings are found there as well. The northside is also home to Morristown's country club. I could go on, but you get the picture.
The southside of town is a little different story, especially towards the middle of the city. A large number of middle income folks used to live in small homes on the southside of town, but many of them have now relocated to the suburbs. Consequently, their old homes have either been sold or have been passed on to loved ones after their death. Homes on the southside are often a little older, in need of repair, and many of them have become rental properties. The southside of town is also home to the local Housing Authority, also known as "the projects" to most of the locals.
While driving over the tracks today, a thought occurred to me: "It doesn't matter what side of the tracks you live on. The Gospel is good news to everyone on both sides of the tracks." We often like to put people in categories, but God doesn't do that. The Bible says that "the rich and the poor have this in common, the Lord is the Maker of the all" (Prov. 22:2). As such, the Gospel of Jesus Christ "is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes - first for the Jew, then for the Gentile" (Rom. 1:16).
How good it is to know that God's saving power and awesome love is not just good news for a few. The death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior is God's gift to all mankind (1 Tim. 2:4). That begs the question: If the Gospel really is good news for everybody, why do we tend to share it only with those who are most like us? Could it be that sometimes those on the northside of the tracks aren't interested in those on the southside, and vice versa?
Perhaps this will serve as a reminder to us that there won't be a set of train tracks running down the middle of heaven. We'll only have one class of people in glory - the Bride of Christ. God help us never to forget that we have the privilege of sharing His good news with everyone. Maybe the greatest way we can honor our Savior during this Easter season is to share His Gospel with those on both sides of the tracks. In doing so, we might be called "a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Matt. 11:19). That's OK - it won't be the first time that's ever happened. I think it happened to a man from Galilee about 2000 years ago.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Have We Become "Gospel-Hardened?"
Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the Bible Drills of my church's local Baptist association. While there I had the chance to catch up with one of my pastor friends. I noticed he wasn't wearing his usual "Sunday best." Instead, he was wearing a blue polo shirt. As I got a little closer, I noticed it read "Honduras Mission Trip." My pastor friend explained to me that his church had just returned from a great mission trip to Honduras. He said they saw 148 people pray to receive Christ as Savior during the course of their trip. Praise the Lord!
After we spent a few minutes rejoicing over what God had done, I asked him a question: "Why don't we see God doing things like that in America today, especially where we pastor here in the South." His response to me was very simple: "I think we've become Gospel-hardened." I knew what my pastor friend was talking about, but I don't think I'd ever heard it put quite that way before. What my friend was trying to say is that in many cases the people of our churches and our communities have heard the Gospel so many times, it's almost as if they've become immune to it.
Let me give you an example. Have you ever been sick for a long period of time only to have the doctor prescribe you a good dose of antibiotics? If you have, then you know that antibiotics are very effective at treating illness...at least for a little while. Yet after a while, the body begins to grow accustomed to the presence of the antibiotics. As a result, they no longer do the job they were intended to do. The body's immune system no longer feels the power of the antibiotics.
I'm concerned that perhaps that's exactly what has happened with the Gospel in America, especially in the South. It seems like the people of our churches have been exposed to the Gospel so much that they are no longer excited by it's saving power. Could we even say that the Gospel has become "past-tense" in some of our churches? It's something that I responded to "way back there" when I walked an aisle, prayed a prayer, visited my preacher, etc.
We find some of the same attitudes when we go witnessing in our communities (which by the way is not near often enough). We share the Gospel with folks and ask if they've placed their faith in Christ. Some people respond by saying, "Oh yeah, I've already done that." I'm usually tempted to ask, "Why aren't you and your family in church?" If you think about it, a Christian that never goes to church is like a car that never drives down the road. When others are asked about the Gospel, they seem completely disinterested. "I've heard it all before" they might say.
So what's the problem? Has the Gospel lost its power? Absolutely not! It is still "the power of God unto salvation for everyone that believes" (Rom. 1:16). So why is it that people all over the world are coming to faith in droves, while the people of America seem to be totally indifferent? Perhaps it's because we've become too prosperous. We have faired so well that the Gospel has become like an unnecessary antibiotic to us. God help us.
What's the answer? I think we've got to pray that God would remove the spiritual blinders that the "god of this age" has placed over the minds of the people inside and outside our churches. We may even need to pray that God would remove His hand of prosperity and protection so that people will see once again their need for a Savior. Maybe when that happens, the people of our churches and communities will move from being Gospel-hardened to Gospel-humbled. What a day it will be when Christians can genuinely sing that old song again, "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me - a sinner condemned unclean."
After we spent a few minutes rejoicing over what God had done, I asked him a question: "Why don't we see God doing things like that in America today, especially where we pastor here in the South." His response to me was very simple: "I think we've become Gospel-hardened." I knew what my pastor friend was talking about, but I don't think I'd ever heard it put quite that way before. What my friend was trying to say is that in many cases the people of our churches and our communities have heard the Gospel so many times, it's almost as if they've become immune to it.
Let me give you an example. Have you ever been sick for a long period of time only to have the doctor prescribe you a good dose of antibiotics? If you have, then you know that antibiotics are very effective at treating illness...at least for a little while. Yet after a while, the body begins to grow accustomed to the presence of the antibiotics. As a result, they no longer do the job they were intended to do. The body's immune system no longer feels the power of the antibiotics.
I'm concerned that perhaps that's exactly what has happened with the Gospel in America, especially in the South. It seems like the people of our churches have been exposed to the Gospel so much that they are no longer excited by it's saving power. Could we even say that the Gospel has become "past-tense" in some of our churches? It's something that I responded to "way back there" when I walked an aisle, prayed a prayer, visited my preacher, etc.
We find some of the same attitudes when we go witnessing in our communities (which by the way is not near often enough). We share the Gospel with folks and ask if they've placed their faith in Christ. Some people respond by saying, "Oh yeah, I've already done that." I'm usually tempted to ask, "Why aren't you and your family in church?" If you think about it, a Christian that never goes to church is like a car that never drives down the road. When others are asked about the Gospel, they seem completely disinterested. "I've heard it all before" they might say.
So what's the problem? Has the Gospel lost its power? Absolutely not! It is still "the power of God unto salvation for everyone that believes" (Rom. 1:16). So why is it that people all over the world are coming to faith in droves, while the people of America seem to be totally indifferent? Perhaps it's because we've become too prosperous. We have faired so well that the Gospel has become like an unnecessary antibiotic to us. God help us.
What's the answer? I think we've got to pray that God would remove the spiritual blinders that the "god of this age" has placed over the minds of the people inside and outside our churches. We may even need to pray that God would remove His hand of prosperity and protection so that people will see once again their need for a Savior. Maybe when that happens, the people of our churches and communities will move from being Gospel-hardened to Gospel-humbled. What a day it will be when Christians can genuinely sing that old song again, "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me - a sinner condemned unclean."
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