I must admit that I like new shiny and up to date things. I don't have to have them but I do prefer new. That isn't always a good thing. I have to be careful not to go on the Amazon website too often because I always see something new that I think "I really need!" Advertising has mastered the art of appealing to the "lust of the eyes." I remember a time about a quarter of a century ago I witnessed as a traveling preacher a great appetite within the church world for something new. There was a pride that said, "ho hum, I've heard that before." There seemed to be professional hearers within the church. Of course we all know that hearing is not possessing. To possess Truth we must seek it, comprehend it and draw it into our hearts by faith with a desire to live it out in our lives. We must understand that we cannot attain Truth without a humility that knows that truth is not ours for the taking. Truth becomes living truth when we humble ourselves and seek to be conformed to it. There is a negative and positive aspect to being changed by truth in actual life. The negative aspect is a realization that we don't possess it, we can't obtain it in our own efforts and we are destitute without it. The positive aspect is that embodied truth comes and takes shape in us only after we have stood in the naked reality of our need of Him. From this we see that the "negative" isn't really a negative but a launching pad for the positive, obtaining truth. There is therefore a negative and positive aspect to preaching or sharing the Gospel. Certainly there is the "good news" that Jesus has already settled the sin problem and He freely offers that cure to all of sin-sick mankind. Yet, before any man can obtain the personified truth in the form of Salvation he must first recognize he is eternally destined for hell and a separation from God. I can't remember when I last heard that coming from a pulpit. It is sometimes alluded to but not clearly communicated. There is a vast overemphasis on God's forgiving nature with little emphasis on the penalty for those who have not truly repented. Certainly none of us want to return to the "hell fire and brimstone" sermons of times past. Certainly the "kindness of God brings men to repentance" but there must be the understanding of the negative before the positive can become a reality.
In this era in church history where a strong desire exists to become more relevant to the world in order to win the world, preachers and teachers stand precariously on the edge of a slope of a false gospel. In our efforts to reach the new generation we must be careful not to leave out the ancient Truths of past generations. It is not knowledge or behavioral changes that sets the captives free but only Truth, God's Truth. As we seek to reach a new generation we must remember that the new thing is really an old thing.
May the Word of God and the guiding light of the Holy Spirit empower us to reach our generation with Truth that brings men to true repentance and salvation. Truth must be embraced before it can bring transformation.
