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."