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| The terrible bombing attack in London on July 7 was probably designed to create fear and to destroy our sense of security. The show of public defiance indicates that in general terms the bombers have failed. At the same time, though, there was understandably apprehensiveness, not only in London but elsewhere, that such a tragedy could just as unexpectedly happen again. It nearly did.
Events have moved on swiftly since those initial bombings that indiscriminately brought such sadness and suffering, but there are undoubtedly lessons to be learned. One is the suddenness with which jubilation can be turned into the deepest grief. On Wednesday the capital was rejoicing in being chosen as the site for the 2012 Olympics. On Thursday came the carnage brought about by four young men. It is a reminder to us of the limitations on the control we can exercise over events.
There is another matter of great importance and that concerns our sense of community. Throughout history there has been the tension between the search for unifying factors and the strength of the differences that divide people from one another. One factor that has played an important role in holding people together has been a common religious belief. Numerous examples could be given but the Reformation period provides us with both aspects of religious influence. The division between Romanism and Protestantism led to internal conflict within nation states. The overwhelming predominance of one or the other became a unifying factor in which nonconformity was penalised because it was deemed politically as well as spiritually subversive. Within our own country anything which diverged from the Anglican norm was frowned upon or even acted against.
We live in a community that is multi-cultural and multi-religious. In some parts of the country this is much more obvious than in others. While we have an established church there is religious tolerance and freedom of speech. This has not been arrived at easily, and the tensions that are experienced because of the differences that exist seem on the one hand to be imperilling tolerance and at the same time putting pressure on freedom of speech. In the desire to remain a tolerant society we are in danger of becoming intolerant. The terrorism in London could increase that pressure. The efforts to bring religions closer together could make it more difficult for each to maintain its particular convictions.
It is in this climate of thought that we who are Evangelical and Protestant Christians need to renew our confidence in our convictions and our mission, There has been much to shake that confidence in recent years. False teaching abounds even in circles that would claim to be biblical. Links between Rome and Protestant denominations are closer than they have ever been. There are divisions among Evangelicals over a variety of issues, often leading to infighting and a failure to reach out with the Gospel to the unsaved population around. The multiplicity of changes has caused confusion and splits in our churches. Yet this is not all new. The apostolic church had its problems and still it continued to grow.
The challenge to us, therefore, is to look again at our foundation and to make sure that we are building on that, and that we are building in the right way. God is still on the throne. The Lord Jesus Christ is building His Church. The Holy Spirit still lives in all the Lord's people. What more do we need to get on with the work and to live the life to which we have been called? At the Centenary Thanksgiving Service at the Kensit Memorial College in June I preached on "The Heart of our Work" as it is described in 1 Corinthians 1:18,23,24. From these verses I answered three questions to do with our calling as preachers, and while it mainly concerned men in the ministry we do not need a pulpit before we can speak to others about the Lord Jesus. We simply need to know Him as our own Saviour and Lord.
The first question was this. What is our business? It is to preach Christ crucified. That alone justifies our activity. Without that all else is meaningless, powerless. All else that we preach hangs upon, centres upon, and draws its life and meaning from the truth of Christ crucified. The great and essential truths concerning the deity and humanity of Christ relate to His purpose in coming into this world to save sinners, and for that He must be Christ crucified. As the final revelation to us of the character of God we see Him most clearly revealing all those divine attributes at the cross. As we look to Him as our example in suffering, in forgiving, in relationships between husbands and wives we are pointed in the New Testament to the cross.
Nor is it enough simply to say that He died for us and for our sins, true as that is. We must preach Christ crucified as dying in our place, bearing our sins, dealing with God's wrath. Substitutionary penal atonement is at the heart of this message, and it is vital we preach this when it is being denied even in Evangelical circles. It is also essential that we preach the resurrection in connection with our Lord's death. We do not worship a dead Saviour. His resurrection declares the completeness and finality of His work. It declares the victory of Christ crucified.
What will be the response? Paul gives a threefold answer to this second question. The Jew cries out against the whole idea of a crucified Christ. It is blasphemy, he thinks. It is a cause of offence, and there are those in the churches as well as elsewhere who react like this to the message. To the Gentile it is foolishness. He can raise all sorts of rational objections, and he still does, whether he is an atheist or liberal theologian. The Jew wants powerful evidence, and the Gentile looks for a wisdom that satisfies human rationality. Both are blinded and both are perishing, heading for hell.
The third response unites what in the world is divided. It brings together both Jew and Gentile in the response of faith as they see in Christ crucified the power of God and the wisdom of God. These are the people who are being saved, delivered from perishing and on their way to the most glorious future beyond what anyone could possibly imagine. Nor is this something they have earned or deserved, worked out or decided upon for themselves. They are those who have been called by God.
The third question asks, why should we continue our work? The answer must be obvious, though it needs to be stated because preaching is out of fashion as a means of communication. It is argued that other methods need to be adopted today, and judged by human standards alone those other methods might seem to be more effective. How many conversions do we see under our own ministry or that of others? The deterrents to faithful preaching ministries appear great. Yet we should remember there were deterrents in Paul's day, at the time of the eighteenth century, during Spurgeon's ministry and that of Doctor Lloyd Jones, and the Lord still drew many to Himself.
Why continue? The Gospel is still the power of God unto salvation. Through the preaching of Christ crucified people are still coming to faith in the Lord Jesus. They have experienced the power of God at work in their souls, bringing them out of darkness into God's marvellous light. The number of God's elect has still not been completed. There are others still to be called, and the work must go on and will go on until our Lord returns. We should renew our commitment to our crucified, risen and glorified Lord and go on proclaiming this wonderful message, the greatest and most important message ever, giving all the glory to the Lord Himself.
No matter what goes on around us we have our commission from the Lord and that should be our confidence. We do not have to silence other voices. We do not need to be intolerant of the presence of adherents of other religions in our country. As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ we are called to love our neighbours, whoever they may be, even while we affirm the uniqueness of our Saviour, warn them of the wrath to come unless they repent, and call them to trust in Him. How they respond to us is their responsibility, and the Lord has warned us of the troubles that may come. We must be careful, though, that any offence we may cause is the offence of the cross and not any bad behaviour on our part.
These are momentous days but God has put us here for such a time. We need not run away from the challenge. Rather, we should earnestly seek Him in prayer asking Him to grant us all we need to serve Him faithfully and to be a means of blessing to others.
Originally published in September - October 2005 issue of Protestant Truth. |
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