Contemporary culture wars deny the truth of the message of the cross. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (I Corinthians 1:1) They are ashamed of and shun the power of the gospel. But not so for the Christian. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)
All the religious longings that are not pursuing Christ are empty. They are anchored in evil. “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil: madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.” (Ecclesiastes 9:3) Gilbert K. Chesterton, (Illustrated London news on October 23, 1909) wrote concerning the evil of his day. “Men do not differ much about what things they will call evil; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable.”
Carl R. Trueman, (Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania, Touchstone, A Journal of Mere Christianity) wrote the following in answer to why the Christian life threatens modern progress. “There is a modern conflict between Christianity and the values of our contemporary culture and it can be understood in a number of ways. There is an obvious moral conflict between biblical sexual morality and that of our permissive and pornified age. There is a religious conflict between a faith in divine revelation and a world that denies the existence of anything transcendent or immaterial and those who think in utilitarian terms.” (A theory of morality that advocates actions that foster happiness or pleasure and opposes actions that cause unhappiness or harm). He goes on to share the importance of self-denial; a Christian doctrine. Jesus speaking to His disciples said, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will gain it” (Matthew 16:24-25)
Many in addiction of various sorts are looking for ways to escape suffering, a principle of Christian truth. Carl R. Trueman writes a profound explanation of the contemporary culture. “Numerous thinkers have characterized the present age in which personal satisfaction — understood as psychological contentment or well-being — is the central concern. Philip Reiff dubbed it the “Therapeutic Society,” but I’m shifting my language slightly, moving towards Leszek Kolakowski’s preferred term, the Analgesic Society.” (medications that relieve pain emotionally and physically) Both terms depict a society characterized by an increasing intolerance of suffering, on the grounds that suffering can fulfill no useful purpose.”
Consider how far God’s people in the Old Testament went with their futile religious longings. “Saying to a tree, you are my father. And to a stone, you gave birth to me. For they have turned their back to me, and not their face.” (Jeremiah 2:27) Believing in ”the God of your understanding” is still confessed today. Charles Spurgeon called this “the wagon of modern thought.”
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7) Consider further those who are naïve. “How long you naïve ones, will you love naiveté? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn at My rebuke. Surely, I will pour out My Spirit on you; I will make My words known to you.” (Proverbs 1:22-23)
We read in the scriptures. “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is the antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” (I John 2:22-23)
Have you lost your way in this life? Are you looking for a way out of your turmoil? Are you looking for truth? Jesus gives you the answer. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) God loves you. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Now is the day of salvation. Believe that Jesus is the Son of God who went to the cross to die for your sins. Confess that you are a sinner. Ask Him to save you from your sins. He will.
Where the grace blows,