The masses demand that which will soothe them in their sins and amuse them while they journey down the Broad Road!
(Arthur Pink)
"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths!" 2 Timothy 4:1-4
That time has arrived! Church-goers today will not endure sound doctrine. Those who . . .
preach the total depravity of man,
insist upon the imperative necessity of the new birth,
set forth the inflexible righteousness and holiness of God, and
warn against the eternal and conscious torment awaiting every rejecter of Christ,
find it almost impossible to obtain a hearing. Such preachers are regarded as puritanic pessimists, and are not wanted.
In these degenerate times, the masses demand that which will soothe them in their sins and amuse them while they journey down the Broad Road! The multitude is affected with itching ears which cravenovelty and that which is sensational. They have ears which wish to be tickled, ears which eagerly drink in the songs of professional and unsaved soloists and choristers, ears which are well pleased with the vulgar slang of our modern evangelists!
The things which are now done in so many churches--the socials, the fund-raisers, the bazaars, the concerts, the moving picture shows and other forms of entertainment--what are these but idolatrous commercialization of these houses of prayer! No wonder that such places are devoid of spirituality and strangers to the power of God. The Lord will not tolerate an unholy mixture of worldly things with spiritual.
"Get these things out of here! Stop turning My Father's house into a marketplace!" John 2:16
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A clean path to Hell!
(Charles Spurgeon)
Unbelief will destroy the best of us!
Faith will save the worst of us!
There is a clean path to Hell--as well as a dirty one.
You will be lost if you trust to your good works--as surely as if you trusted in your sins.
There is a road to perdition along the 'highway of morality'--as surely as down the 'slough of vice'!
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us!" Titus 3:5
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Robbing the Body of Christ
Every day, you get out of bed, put on clothes, and walk to the kitchen to eat breakfast. You maybe watch the news or check your email, and a few minutes later, you drive to work at 60 miles per hour on a road where other vehicles can pass by within feet. In the first hour or so that you’re awake, your body completes thousands of complex tasks that are so routine they go unnoticed. We hardly even think about them.
Our physical frame is a creation of remarkable beauty and intricacy. And while certain parts seem more attractive than others, all are useful. The body’s interdependent nature—that is, the way the different parts rely on one another to perform properly—is an apt metaphor for a Christ-centered church. When believers use their gifts and talents to operate and depend on each other, the whole body functions properly to the glory of God.
However, many people in church today feel insignificant. Upon seeing the successful work of others, they decide they’re not really needed or assume they haven’t got the “right” talents to make a worthwhile contribution. Those are lies from the devil. When his misguidance succeeds—which is all too often—one more Christian backs away in hopes that someone else will do the Lord’s work.
Hanging back instead of seeking a place to serve is unfair to the congregation, because your unique contribution is integral to the unity of God’s church. Your role might not be center stage, but it is vital to Jesus Christ and to His body on earth.
~Charles F. Stanley~
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