Thus says the Lord: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.
But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'" --Jeremiah 6:16

 

17 July, 2006   comments: (0) Changed Message   The Lost Key To Gospel Relevancy Today's evangelism is striving after new and innovative ways to make the Gospel seem more relevant to unbelievers. Churches invest endless effort, creativity, and dollars in new ways of packaging an age-old message, so that it will seem more useful to unchurched Harry and Mary. But is it possible that contemporary Christianity is missing a key biblical component that brings into focus the true relevancy of the Gospel? The answer to that question, is found in this 300+ year old illustration of a broom, some water, and a bunch of dust. In referring to spurious evangelism techniques that were prone to produce false converts, George Whitefield once said that "the reason we have so many 'mushroom' converts, is because their stony ground is not plowed up; they have not got a conviction of the Law; they are stony-ground hearers". The solution that he gave, nearly 300 years ago is ever-so valid today: "First, then, before peace can be spoken to your hearts, you must be made to see, made to feel, made to weep over, made to bewail, your actual transgressions against the Law of God". That's something completely different than those churches today which refer to sin as a bad habit, or as something that merely prevents you from realizing your purpose and potential. How many churches and evangelism methods today, preach in the manner Whitefield is suggesting? And he was not the only one who understood that the Law makes the Gospel relevant; it was the understanding of so many of the great evangelists of past centuries. But it's something that is lacking in today's evangelism, which opts instead for its own synthetic relevancy. It's a message which often portrays Christ as something that you can choose for lifestyle enhancement. The great 17th century Confessions provide a summary of the Law's proper use. Belief statements like the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 (see chapter 19 on the Law) are rich with biblical application, which if embraced today, would have a profound impact on all evangelism. The best selling book of all time (other than the bible) also came from the 17th century. The usefulness of the Law in making the Gospel relevant - is illustrated in this excerpt from John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress: Then Christian was taken by the hand and led into a very large parlor [living room] that was full of dust having never been swept. Now after he had observed this scene for a little while, Interpreter called for a man to commence sweeping. As a result, the dust began to fly about so overwhelmingly that Christian was nearly choked to death. Interpreter immediately spoke to a gracious lady standing nearby, "Bring some water here and sprinkle this room." The lady having done this, the parlor was then easily swept and cleansed. CHRISTIAN: What does this mean? INTERPRETER: This parlor is the heart of a man who has never been sanctified [regenerated and justified] by the sweet grace of the Gospel. The dust is his original [Adamic] sin and inward corruptions that have thoroughly defiled the whole man. He who first began to sweep is the Law; but the gracious lady who brought water and sprinkled the room is the Gospel. Now while you saw, as soon as the man began to sweep, that the dust so swirled about the room that it became even more difficult to cleanse, and you were near choked to death, this is to show you that the Law, instead of it effectively cleansing the heart from sin, does in fact arouse, give greater strength to, and cause sin to flourish in the soul. And this result is in spite of the fact that the Law both uncovers and condemns sin, for it does not have the power to subdue. Furthermore, as you saw the gracious lady sprinkle the room with water, at which it was very easily cleansed, this is to show you that when the Gospel comes with its sweet and precious influences indwelling the heart, then, just as you saw the lady settle the dust by sprinkling the floor with water, so is sin vanquished and subdued, and the heart made clean, through the faith of that soul; and consequently that same soul is then made a suitable place for the King of Glory to inhabit. Barry Horner of BuyanMinistries.org further explains Bunyan's allegory: The room is man's polluted heart. Here that private citadel of the soul is portrayed as thoroughly corrupt. It is a pervasively sinful morass comprised of shameful and perverse depths (Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:9-18). The dust is original sin that defiles every crevice. Thus man is corrupt in every part of his being, or totally depraved, due to his inheritance of Adam's sin (Rom. 5:12). The comprehensive result is the sinful infection of the whole human race (Rom. 3:9-18). The sweeper is the law arousing corruption. Here Bunyan illustrates the biblical answer to Paul's question, "Why the Law then?" (Gal. 3:19). (1) As the sweeper causes the swirling and stimulation of the dust, so the Law of God, especially though not exclusively that of Moses (Rom. 3:20), encourages the arousal of latent sin (Rom. 5:20; 7:6-13; I Cor. 15:56). In other words, the codified righteousness of God awakens, excites and illuminates unrighteousness wherever it settles (Rom. 3:20). (2) Illustrations: The Law does not cleanse; it encourages and strengthens sin, like a park bench sign that warns about wet paint; it goads the sinful inclination of the heart The Law is like an X-ray machine that can reveal hidden depths; it is like a scalpel that can cut, probe, and lay bare deep-seated corruption; it is like a magnifying glass that can enlarge concealed disorders; it is a stick that can stir up sediment in a seemingly clear glass of water. The Law is diagnostic rather than remedial. Only a physician with spiritual medication can offer the prospect of a spiritual cure for a spiritual malady (Rom. 8:3-4). (3) Thus the Law exhorts, discovers, arouses, stimulates, forbids, and condemns (II Cor. 3:7, 9), but it has no ability to vanquish sin and produce righteousness. The Law judges, but it cannot justify (Gal. 2:16). The Law is an excellent and admirable ethic that proclaims the perfect righteousness of God. But it is impotent in that it has no dynamic, no saving power (Rom. 7:12; 8:3-4). The lady is the cleansing gospel messenger. She portrays the virtuous evangelist who adorns the evangelistic message that is proclaimed (Tit. 2:10). As the dispenser of the gospel, she effects what the impotent Law could not accomplish (Heb. 7:18-19). The cleansing influences of the gospel both subdue sin and make the heart fit for habitation by the King of Glory (John 15:3; Acts 15:9; I Cor. 6:19; Eph. 1:13; 5:26). The law has no cleaning ability. The gospel alone has the power to vanquish sin and produce righteousness in the human heart (John 15:13; Rom. 1:16-17; 3:24-26; 7:4; 16:25-26). This truth involves both initial conversion and ongoing sanctification. The believer is saved and kept by the gospel (Gal. 2:2). Charles Spurgeon read The Pilgrim's Progress over 100 times, and his sermon entitled Law and Grace even mentions this particular section of the book. The Pilgrim's Progress version that the above excerpt is from, is called The Accurate Revise Text edition, by Barry Horner. You can purchase this book along with a companion guide called Themes and Issues in a bundle from Solid Ground Books. The picture below corresponds to this scene from Pilgrim's Progress and comes from SGB's "1891 Edition With 170 Illustrations". Posted by: Jim B.   Link: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.326   Be the first to post a comment about this article        Home  |   About  |  Videos   |  Calvinism