Let me place this question before
you: Is there one dominant, over-riding
LIE that the devil has sold the Western world in the last forty years or so,
that greatly hinders men and women coming to Christ? I believe so.
Let's think for a moment about the
'strongholds' and "dominant lies" which the devil has established in
this modern generation - and which hinder people today from believing the
gospel. A man wrote to me one time and mentioned that we can't preach
"sin" these days, because many young people hardly know what sin is
any more. The man is absolutely right. (And of course, this totally strips the
gospel of it's historic power). But since when has this been the case?
There can be no doubt that the watershed
or "revolution" that ushered in this worldview largely occurred in the
late 1960s. Here is what it amounted to (particularly among the youth)-"Sin"
as a concept was suddenly abolished. Moral absolutes were thrown out.
Everything became no longer black or white, but varying shades of grey.
"Be happy, feel free, do what you want, cast off the shackles of outmoded
morals and values. Be liberated. Do what you feel..." etc. And so it still
is today. A completely 'non-judgmental' (ie. no right or wrong) approach to everything.
So long as you don't "hurt" anybody, you can do as you please. You
can sleep with anyone (of any sex), you can abort your babies, you can taste
any pleasure, you can believe in any 'god' (including yourself). As many commentators
have noted, today the worst sin you can be accused of is being "judgmental".
(And then will come the storm: "How dare you apply your value system to
ME? How dare you call what I'm doing 'wrong'?")
Thus in many ways, 'Sin' has almost
ceased to exist in people's thinking and beliefs. And if you wipe out the
concept of 'Sin', then you wipe out a massive part of the basic gospel itself.
For the only reason Jesus had to come was to DEAL WITH MEN'S SIN. If there is
no consciousness of sin, then the gospel ceases to make any sense. Why do I
need forgiveness? Why do I need to repent? Why did Jesus die in the first
place? The cross is made of NO EFFECT without a consciousness of Sin.
This is why all the great
Revivalists emphasized Sin, and the only remedy - Jesus. If you feel you have little
sin, then you will feel little need of Jesus. And then the gospel can become
neutralized.
The devil knows this. He has seen
many Revivals and he knows if he can stop people becoming convicted of their
sin, then he can stop them from responding to the gospel in significant numbers.
Why is there hardly any conviction
of sin among today's generation? Because in the 1960's the whole concept of
it was virtually abolished (and still is). It's as simple as that.
Now, if we wish to see true Revival among today's generation, what do we need to do? REFUTE THIS DOMINANT LIE. We
have no option. We need to re-introduce and preach the concept of
"sin" again. No consciousness of sin - no true conversion. For what
is there to repent of? The gospel almost entirely loses it's power without
this.
Ever since the late 1960s we can see
the fruit of this "dominant lie" in the complete mess that modern
relationships have become.
Teenage sex, single mothers, abortions
skyrocketing, absent fathers, an epidemic of divorce, drugs, broken families,
poverty, etc.
What were the results of throwing
away all morality and restraint?
What were the results of 'free
love' and "if it feels good, do it"?
It is all there for everyone to
see. But the sad fact is, this lie is now so dominant and so ingrained that it
would take almost a literal "revolution" again to topple it. It
utterly dominates today's Christianity, as well as the world.
May there indeed come such a 'revolution',
my friends. May the "John-the-Baptist" preachers rise again! May
conviction of sin return, that people might run to Jesus - the only one who can
wash away their sins and truly make them clean.
-Andrew Strom
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