“But the first step is always coming to Christ in faith.”
Is it?
“He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins...” - Luke 3, concerning John the Baptist
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!” - Jesus, Mark 1
“Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And with many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!” - Peter, Acts 2
The “Good News” isn’t that God thinks you are good and He wants to help you be a better you. The Bad News is:
“Therefore, any one of you who judges is without excuse. For when you judge another, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things. We know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is based on the truth. Do you really think—anyone of you who judges those who do such things yet do the same—that you will escape God’s judgment?” - Paul, Romans 2
I’m not suggesting that every sermon needs to be hellfire and brimstone. But it is utterly impossible to preach the Word if one skips something modern man HATES to hear:
“For we know the One who has said, Vengeance belongs to Me, I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge His people. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!”
How can ANYONE claim to preach the Gospel if they ignore the blood of Christ? And WHY was the blood of Christ shed? To help a good man become better? Because Jesus wants to be your new best friend? How can anyone preach on the death and resurrection of Jesus without mentioning WHY he went to the cross?
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved...For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom, because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” - Paul to the Corinthians (1 Cor 1)
I quoted Martin Luther because he obviously had seen, 500 years ago, the Comfortable Christianity I see in many ‘seeker churches’:
“It follows that if we preach the forgiveness of sins without repentance that the people imagine that they have already obtained the forgiveness of sins, becoming thereby secure and without compunction of conscience. This would be a greater error and sin than all the errors hitherto prevailing. Surely we need to be concerned lest...the last state becomes worse than the first...”
Our calling is NOT to make people feel good as they walk along the Broad Way whose end is Death. Our calling is NOT to offer an air-conditioned bus ride along the broad road. Without repentance, and something to repent FROM, all we do is speed them to hell!
“I’m worried about what do you know about Jesus and how can I tell you more about him.”
It is impossible to talk about the real Jesus without mentioning the Cross. It is impossible to talk about the real Jesus without mentioning the Blood. How can He be called the Lamb of God, if the seekers never hear what happens to the Lamb at Passover? And WHY would God do such a thing? The Cross makes no sense at all without the Day of Judgment. No one can “preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles” without saying WHY Jesus was crucified!
Without repentance, we just hurry them to Hell. And God WILL judge US if we do!
“He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins...” - Luke 3, concerning John the Baptist" “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!” - Jesus, Mark 1
Yes, but this is Christ and the preparation of Christ by John the Baptist to the Jewish nation as Messiah. They were under the covenants and Law - and not keeping them. The message to them is different. And as you know, they rejected Christ as Messiah.
“Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And with many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!” - Peter, Acts 2
Again, a message to Jews .
The “Good News” isn’t that God thinks you are good and He wants to help you be a better you.
And here, I do not attend the church, so I am limited to what I read in the article...
It seems you are generalizing from one statement that was not about the Good News to apply it to the Gospel message.
I’m not suggesting that every sermon needs to be hellfire and brimstone. But it is utterly impossible to preach the Word if one skips something modern man HATES to hear:
And we agree on this.
Our calling is NOT to make people feel good as they walk along the Broad Way whose end is Death.
Again, I believe you are generalizing from a statement that didn't apply to your concern.
May I ask if you have non-believers as neighbors? Do you preach repentance to them every time you see them in the back yard?
I've learned that with no relationship, people do not "hear" my words of testimony most of the time. Yes, I've shared the gospel in public settings with complete strangers and a handful of all those indicated they wanted to trust Christ. I do not know if they actually did.
When someone enters into some kind of trust, they are open to the rest of the message.
That isn't to be construed as not teaching the whole counsel of God.
I quoted Martin Luther because he obviously had seen, 500 years ago, the Comfortable Christianity I see in many ‘seeker churches’:
Blessed Saint Luther saw merit-based, works oriented messages and church corruption, instead of the gospel of grace and the payment of sin through the sacrifice of Christ.
“I’m worried about what do you know about Jesus and how can I tell you more about him.”True statement that expresses a heartfelt concern. Rarely seen in many churches.
It is impossible to talk about the real Jesus without mentioning the Cross. It is impossible to talk about the real Jesus without mentioning the Blood. How can He be called the Lamb of God, if the seekers never hear what happens to the Lamb at Passover? And WHY would God do such a thing? The Cross makes no sense at all without the Day of Judgment. No one can “preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles” without saying WHY Jesus was crucified!
We agree on these points. They do not, however, happen in the first minute.