It is reported that in the so-called western world more and more people are failing to become Christians. No doubt there is a range of reasons for this. Some will be personal, and others more to do with the nature of the society we live in. It cannot be truly said that people are less religious. There are religions that are growing in numbers. Also, many people do not realize that they are putting blind faith in what they think are scientific answers, even though what they believe is highly improbable, impossible to verify, and requires more faith than trusting in what the Bible says. For a more detailed review of that aspect you could read “I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist”, by Dr Norman Geisler and Dr Frank Turek. But in this post, the issue is different.
Why are fewer people responding to “the Gospel”, the good news that Jesus, God’s Son, has been punished once-for-all by God for all our wrongdoing, so that God is now acting justly and in love when He offers to free us from the punishment we deserve – if we accept that Jesus has instead suffered for us. That is the start of the good news. And alongside the relief it brings is the assurance of God’s related promise that if we accept His offer of being saved from punishment, we shall also receive spiritual life that extends forever beyond the grave. So the good news continues. And all of the injustices we face here on earth, the eternal God will deal with when everyone appears for judgment. All that is good news (for those who are pardoned), but extremely scary for those who refuse God’s offer of freedom from punishment, and must therefore face the existing forever penalty they deserve from a righteous God whose love has been spurned. So why aren’t people believing the good news? The simple point we are making here is that they haven’t realized they need to.
It used to be commonly known that Christians believed Jesus Christ is going to return to Earth in glory. Not only so, it was understood there is no event that must occur before He does so; it could happen at any moment. And when He returns the first thing He will do is remove all true Christians from Earth, and take them to be forever with Himself. Everybody else will be left behind. And there is another paradigm shift. When that happens, the offer of a free pardon from God will have been tragically missed, and the unthankful remaining population of Earth will begin to experience awful conditions as God’s enemy, Satan, is allowed to show his violent nature as he influences those who rule here. It will make any of today’s scary movies seem like fairy tales.
These previously well-understood facts have in the past caused many, many people to take a serious interest in the Gospel. They did not want to be left behind, which is a very sensible concern. Driven by that concern, they looked into the Bible truth of the Gospel, and they had good reason to put their faith in Jesus, their Saviour. Jesus Himself illustrated the urgency of mankind’s need by picturing the circumstances of a break-in. If we knew the thief was going to attempt it, we’d make sure we were ready! Christians today are surrounded by millions who are in danger of being left behind when Jesus returns. If they knew it, and researched it properly, would they not joyfully join the ranks of those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour? Then concerns about the future would be replaced with confidence. What a contrast with the false gospel people are expected to believe, when they are told to trust in themselves, and that their lives are merely accidents, and that there is no way unfairness here on Earth can ever be corrected. No wonder the incidence of self-harm and suicide is growing at faster rates where that is what people are told to believe. Fake news indeed! What people need to know are Bible facts, and not least that Jesus is returning – soon!
Just contact us if you would like Bible references supporting the above post.