Since time of God's creation and His gift to the world, may I wish all my readers and visitors God's richest blessing in 2012. Some of you will have already entered 2012, and the rest of us have to wait a short time longer to do so. But our God is the God of time and space, and He has His sovereign hands firmly at the controls, and whatever 2012 brings for us, we can be assured that He is the Master of time and history.
Put your trust in Him for your future and for the future. God bless you all.
Thanks and all reciprocated of course!
ReplyDeleteAs in 2011, so it must be for the New Year too - we must in grace, "speak the truth in love".
I reproduce the following reminder to us all:
"Loving Enough To Offend"
It has almost become a truism nowadays that whatever the secular world thinks is really neat is probably the opposite to what biblical Christianity is all about. If the world is really into something, it is likely the Christian faith should have nothing to do with it.
As C.S. Lewis once put it: “I have some definite views about the de-Christianizing of the church. I believe that there are many accommodating preachers, and too many practitioners in the church who are not believers. Jesus Christ did not say, ‘Go into all the world and tell the world that it is quite right.’ The Gospel is something completely different. In fact, it is directly opposed to the world.”
Many of the great believers have taken such a view. To be right with God most often means to be wrong with men. To seek to please God will often result in men being offended. Jesus and the disciples knew all about the offence of the gospel, and it is time we started knowing about it as well.
Today the world is above all else immersed in Political Correctness, and a new eleventh commandment has appeared: ‘Thou shalt not offend’. Whatever you do, make sure you don’t offend anyone. Be as placid, apathetic, innocuous and bland as you can be. Just make sure you don’t get anyone upset.
Such an attitude is supposed to represent tolerance, acceptance and openness. But all it really does is show us that we are a bunch of spineless wonders who would never rock the boat for any reason. As GK Chesterton rightly said, “Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.”
But this of course has nothing to do with biblical love. Love does not mean allowing anything to happen and not speaking out. Real love is not about winking at evil, overlooking sin, and countenancing that which displeases God. Biblical love is all about speaking the truth, even if it causes offence." (extracted from current comment on Bill Muehlenberg's website)
Your points are well made, Graham. My fellow-countryman, C. S. Lewis, is quite correct to say that the Gospel is not about telling the world it is OK; t is about challenging the entire philosophic edifice that the world erects and showing the world "a more excellent way."
ReplyDeleteHow often the church has forgotten this basic truth. Once she represents the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ as but the religious wing of the world, she has abandoned its life-transforming message.
Also, how apt is your quotation from G. K. Chesterton, that "tolerance is the virtue of the man without conviction." How often this has been pushed down our throats in this PC climate.
Your points are well-made and equally well-taken. May God bless you abundantly in your service of Him.