Over the past few decades, we have been slowly experiencing a cultural shift - a shift that has permeated every aspect of culture in America, and most of Western civilization. This shift, which I do not have time to explore further here, consists mainly of a change in how we define and identify truth. Absolutes are out, and "tolerance" is in (I am indebted to both Francis Shaeffer and Josh McDowell for these observations). Because we have redefined truth, significant changes have been foisted upon the moral landscape. We have replaced absolutes with relativism, replaced "sin" with "mental illness" or "addiction."
The effects of this new mindset on evangelism cannot be overestimated. The gospel message, same as it has been for the last two millenia, is that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised again on the third day (I Corinthians 15). In the current cultural climate, people predominatly believe they are basically good, and if not, then it is the result of some "mental illness." Therefore, to tell someone "Jesus died for your sins" means absolutely nothing. The Good news is not good news until one understands the bad news: apart from Christ's intervening work on the cross, we are sinners, and stand before God condemned for breaking His laws.
The solution seems simple: first help people understand they are sinners, help them see their need for a Savior, and then move on to the gospel message. But instead, it seems the majority of churches either tried other tactics to spread the gospel, or eventually went along with the cultural trend in one form or another, essentially preaching a gospel "which is really no gospel at all" (Gal 1). This is where we get the prosperity gospel, the "Jesus loves you just the way you are, so you don't have to change," "you can keep on sinning and its okay, because Jesus will forgive you (cheap grace)," and other forms of the Gospel that completely miss the point. This is why the church is dying - all we have offered, with this way of thinking, is another feel-good, spiritualized worldview. From this vantage point, how is Christianity any different from Buddhism, Hinduism, New Age, etc? When looked at closely, this form of Christianity ISN'T any different!
So what is the church to do? Because while it is true that we can't give people the true Gospel if we water it down, it is equally true that if people don't understand they are sinners, then they see no need for a savior, making the Gospel wholly irrelevant and useless to them.
First, we must bring back and reemphasize the holiness of God as well as His love and mercy. God is loving and merciful, yes, but we would do well to remember He is just and holy - justice cannot stand for sin, holiness cannot allow sin in its presence. God hates sin, and because He is holy He must punish sin - if He didn't, He would cease to be good. We must understand: God is holy; we are not. We deserve nothing from God but what we have rightfully earned: condemnation. We have broken His laws; the penalty must be paid, and the penalty is death. ("Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.")
Once we understand that on our own this is where we stand, how much more wonderful is it to learn that this Almighty God, who is holy and just, is also full of mercy and love! Yes, someone had to die for sin, and Someone did. Praise be to God - who sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, God incarnate, to bear the blame for my sin, for your sin, for the sin of the whole world! (John 2, Romans 5). Jesus came and took the punishment for sin so that, accepting this free gift of love, we can stand before God, clean and holy, dressed in Christ's righteousness. He set us free from sin! Yes, Jesus will accept you just the way you are, but he loves you far too much to leave you that way (I am indebted to Max Lucado for this insight). The reason He died to take away your sin was not merely to give you lisence to live any way you want, but to free you from sin so you can be conformed to His image. To obey His commands is to pursue holiness, a righteous life overflowing with thanfulness for His indescribable gift of love.
Yes, beloved, we as Christians must stay true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for only Jesus can save mankind from eternal condemnation. Only Jesus is the remedy for sin. We must call sin sin, stand up for absolute truth, and be ready, once people understand the bad news, to share the good news. We must not let the Gospel get lost in all our attempts at "relevance," for the Gospel is what sets Christianity apart - every other religion is about what you must do to please God, and Christianity is about what Jesus has already done to take away sin and present you holy before God. Every other religion is about working for salvation, in Christianity, works are what overflows from a life of thankfulness and devotion and a passion to tell others about that same gift. As Casting Crowns wrote, "What this world needs is for us to stop hiding behind our 'relevance,' blending in so well that people can't see the difference - because its the difference that sets the world free!"
You can keep your "relevance," you can keep your formulas; you can keep your cultural trends. Just give me Jesus - He alone is what stands between me and the righteous wrath of a holy God - my mediator, my savior, my redeemer and friend.
"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." I Corinthians 15:3-4
