A Christian mentor often reminds me not come to scripture with the attitude, "This is not talking about me," but instead constantly asking, "Is this passage, even though it may be describing an unbeliever, talking about me?" I realize far to often that I come to a passage and begin taking out the hammer and chisel of pious exegesis and sculpting a passage to fit perfectly within my lifestyle. I believe this attitude affects preachers and teachers which, in turn, shapes preaching and then ultimately has a callousing affect on the hearts of Church members. Finally, the attitude leaves people in the pews every week never challenged with the gospel. I am thankful for the attitude among preachers who say, "We need the gospel every day and thus, we need the gospel every Sunday in our Pulpit". This did not originate recently. Martyn Loyd-Jones told us this many years ago and he gives a stark warning to comfy church goers.
"The difficulty with the man who follows Christ for a wrong or false reason is that he not only deludes himself, but he also deludes the church. When you are confronted by one who says he does not believe in Christ, then you know exactly what to say and what to do with him. When a man presents himself as a religious person, the church tends to take him for granted. To question him would be considered an insult. The church assumes that because he acknowledges himself to be a religious man, therefore, he is a Christian. One of the most dangerous places for such a man to be in is the church of the living God.
I am not at all sure but that one explanation for the present state of the church is to be found at just that point: she has been far too ready to associate church membership with true discipleship, and to assume that all who join the church are really following Christ. I know the church may have a very good motive for doing so. She has felt it a very good thing for people to be within the home of the church so that she may protect them from the temptations of the world. Taking it for granted that these people are truly Christians. The church addresses to them messages that are not of much value to those lacking the essence of the faith.
Thus I say that the church can be a very dangerous place. Because these people are in the church it may be that they will never be directly addressed by some of the fundamental questions that all true Christians must be able to answer. There is a real danger of assuming that we are Christians for wrong reasons.
Following Christ means ostracism; it means giving up the things that you may value most in life. Make certain you know exactly what Christian discipleship means. As you read the Gospels you will find that our Lord is constantly careful to warn people of the possibility of going after him for the wrong reasons. Those who wrote the epistles reiterated the same message in their instructions to the early Christians".
-M. Loyd-Jones
These staggering words remind me of the "Many" referred to by Jesus in Matthew 7 and incite me to ask, "Am I one described in the many?" Then I can turn my gaze on the finished work of Christ, and find complete dependence outside of my self. We need the gospel every day, especially every Sunday.
Luke
