In his famous "Letter from the Birmingham Jail,"
Martin Luther King, Jr. lamented the fact that Southern White pastors had failed to
join the Civil Rights Movement:
·
“In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted
upon the Negro, I have
watched white churches stand on the sideline and merely
mouth pious
irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst
of a mighty
struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice,
I have heard
so many ministers say, ‘Those are social issues with which
the gospel has no real concern.’”
Evidently, these Southern White churches were
Seeker-Sensitive Churches
(SSC). They refused to preach an unpopular message, one
which might turn
away the seeker and even the attender. They had forgotten the
first great commandment to love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, and minds
(Matthew 22:37) by abiding in His Word (John 15:7-14; 14:21-24).
However, these SSCs have now been joined by a wide range of
brethren. Their message might be different, but the principle of political correctness
remains the same - to not offend the prevailing culture, even if it means
ignoring wide swaths of the Gospel.
However, we cannot ignore any of the Gospel, lest we incur
the wrath of
God. Paul had been concerned about this very thing.
Therefore, he testified
of his faithfulness in this regard:
·
“Therefore I testify to you this day that I am
innocent of the blood of
all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole
counsel of God.”
(Acts 20:26-27)
This is the very error of the SSCs. Please understand. I am
not suggesting
that we should be sensitive to seekers. In fact, we must
be (1 Cor. 9).
However, we must not be "sensitive" to the extent
that we refuse to preach
the doctrines of the faith. The is not sensitivity but
deadening silence
about some of the very things that should be screamed out
from rooftops.
What doctrines are being left out? Many! Here is a partial
list:
·
Creationism: SSCs avoid this subject because
they are afraid of seeming
to be science-rejectors.
·
The children of the light vs. the children of
darkness (2 Cor. 6:14-16):
In the eyes of many, this distinction seems overly harsh, culturally
insensitive, and divisive. Professional Christians want to
be able to
embrace the cultural, and preaching such a radical
distinction between
saved and unsaved makes this difficult. It is also
potentially embarrassing.
·
The role of women in the church: In SSCs, you
will not find any
discussion about women in the pastorate.
·
Sexual sins: As social sexual standards have
changed, SSCs have gradually
ceased mentioning any form of sexual sin. This omission
tends to
communicate that sexual sins really don't matter.
·
Eternal Punishment, the Depravity of Man, and
Salvation through
Jesus alone: These teachings are so integral to the Gospel
that they are
only silenced as the SSCs approach an advanced stage of
apostasy.
·
The plight of the Christian refugees: The
silence of the SSCs in this
area is perhaps the most disturbing silence, especially
since the world is
supposed to know us by the love we have for our brethren
(John 13:35;
17:20-23; Galatians 6:10). Yet I have experienced hostility
from SSCs when
I have pointed out their dereliction in this area. SSCs
claim that we
shouldn't be showing favoritism.
The Gospel was never intended to make us friends of the
prevailing culture.
It's message will always offend.
What would Martin Luther King have said about our SSCs? I
suspect that he
would have seen them in the light of the Southern White
churches of the Jim
Crow days.
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