We live in distressing times. We hear about, and sometimes even see, wicked injustice. And we witness the responses. Some respond by protesting the evil. Others go beyond that and add to the evil.
As we consider what is going on, we find it troubling. A call for change makes sense. Life in America cannot continue like this. We will, no doubt, hear more about the need for change as election day draws near.
And yet, I think that it is important to ask, ‘What kind of change do we need? What kind of change should we seek?’ It is not enough to change some laws. It’s not even enough to change some institutions. If we are to have real change, lasting change, then it is people who must be changed. But that isn’t clear enough. Merely changing some behaviors or some habits won’t do the trick. That won’t result in real, lasting change to our world. A set of bad behaviors changed for better ones, will, in time, simply slip into a different set of bad behaviors. What is needed is change down deep, a change that will remake the heart. And that can only happen by the Gospel.
But we don’t see the Gospel doing as much deep heart-changing as one might expect after even a quick read through the New Testament. Why is that? The reason seems clear to me. The problem is the Church. If the world is going to be changed by the Gospel then what will be needed is the Church being changed by the Gospel - and that isn’t happening so much.
People these days are no longer interested in listening to some explanation of the Gospel. Why should they? They need to see that it actually works. They need to see Christians’ lives being changed by the Gospel. But what do they see instead? Our lives, like theirs, become filled with worry when our vain sense of being in control meets up with reality. We, like they, are focused on the comfort of our families, expected success at our jobs and an unquestioned desire for a care-free retirement - you know, the ‘good life’. When they look at us, what they see looks so much just like them. But when they can see that the Gospel actually makes a difference in the nitty-gritty of life - our ability to be at peace instead of anxious, even at the worst moments, our willingness to pay the price to really love others, our having a hope that is so much more than just wishing really hard - when they see that we live on a different level than they do, that’s when they will be willing to listen to how the Gospel can do that for them.
So, what shall we do? The place to start is prayer. Pray that God will deal with us, His Church. The first step is for us to be shown how we aren’t believing the Gospel in the nitty-gritty of life and how our expectations and hopes reveal that. Then, pray that, by repentance and faith, our lives would be changed, and changed deep down so that we will submit to Jesus as Lord as He calls us to do what we would have previously thought of as completely unreasonable. That’s where we need to start. And in time, as the Spirit does His amazing work in us, there will be change. Bit by bit, we will be able to show the Gospel to the people around us. As that happens, they will notice. That is when they will become eager to hear us explain our Gospel to them.
Or to say it differently, pray that the Spirit will once again revive His Church and thus bring honor to Himself as He uses us to change the world by the Gospel.
As we consider what is going on, we find it troubling. A call for change makes sense. Life in America cannot continue like this. We will, no doubt, hear more about the need for change as election day draws near.
And yet, I think that it is important to ask, ‘What kind of change do we need? What kind of change should we seek?’ It is not enough to change some laws. It’s not even enough to change some institutions. If we are to have real change, lasting change, then it is people who must be changed. But that isn’t clear enough. Merely changing some behaviors or some habits won’t do the trick. That won’t result in real, lasting change to our world. A set of bad behaviors changed for better ones, will, in time, simply slip into a different set of bad behaviors. What is needed is change down deep, a change that will remake the heart. And that can only happen by the Gospel.
But we don’t see the Gospel doing as much deep heart-changing as one might expect after even a quick read through the New Testament. Why is that? The reason seems clear to me. The problem is the Church. If the world is going to be changed by the Gospel then what will be needed is the Church being changed by the Gospel - and that isn’t happening so much.
People these days are no longer interested in listening to some explanation of the Gospel. Why should they? They need to see that it actually works. They need to see Christians’ lives being changed by the Gospel. But what do they see instead? Our lives, like theirs, become filled with worry when our vain sense of being in control meets up with reality. We, like they, are focused on the comfort of our families, expected success at our jobs and an unquestioned desire for a care-free retirement - you know, the ‘good life’. When they look at us, what they see looks so much just like them. But when they can see that the Gospel actually makes a difference in the nitty-gritty of life - our ability to be at peace instead of anxious, even at the worst moments, our willingness to pay the price to really love others, our having a hope that is so much more than just wishing really hard - when they see that we live on a different level than they do, that’s when they will be willing to listen to how the Gospel can do that for them.
So, what shall we do? The place to start is prayer. Pray that God will deal with us, His Church. The first step is for us to be shown how we aren’t believing the Gospel in the nitty-gritty of life and how our expectations and hopes reveal that. Then, pray that, by repentance and faith, our lives would be changed, and changed deep down so that we will submit to Jesus as Lord as He calls us to do what we would have previously thought of as completely unreasonable. That’s where we need to start. And in time, as the Spirit does His amazing work in us, there will be change. Bit by bit, we will be able to show the Gospel to the people around us. As that happens, they will notice. That is when they will become eager to hear us explain our Gospel to them.
Or to say it differently, pray that the Spirit will once again revive His Church and thus bring honor to Himself as He uses us to change the world by the Gospel.
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