The Sunday Morning Circus

by Forrest L. Keener

Romans 1:16; I Corinthians 2:2
Under The inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul declares in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

He also states in I Corinthians 2:2, "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."

Those are two wonderful remarks. One outlines the work of the gospel; and the other, the work and attitude of the messenger.

When we look at the evangelistic efforts of many churches today, however, we see a great gulf between what those two statements teach and the activities and results of today's so-called outreaches. The difference is apparent not only in the purpose of the preacher, but in the power of his proclamation. As a result, there is literally an eternity's difference in salvation and the modern "profession racket" in Christendom.

Super-outreaches. Every honest heart that is not gripped by the power of darkness has to be grieved with the sham of today's "evangelism". We hear reports of thousands of people becoming saved in city after city as a result of the outreaches sponsored by churches. Yet, most of those churches do not grow except temporarily in direct proportion to the increase in the value of what they give away, or the popularity of the clowns who entertain them.

In many a city so many people are said to have become "saved" as to change the very soul and personality of that city; yet the consumption of booze, the crime rate and the erosion of morality all continue to climb therein. Could it be that the great numbers of professions for Christ result from the techniques of men, not the power of the gospel, and that the great crowds that gather in many places are the result of recreation and not regeneration?

I am sure that this not only could be, but is the case.

Circus Attractions

I could not in many times this space title all the spiritual perversions running rampant in churches today in the name of evangelizing. But to name a few, let me just start with entertainers.

First of all, there are the "gospel singers". They range from hillbillies to hippies, all making loud noises. Then there are the dog and pony shows, the karate shows and the testimonies of ex-everything, from stripper to dope addict.

Another great attraction to the flesh are the contests. People compete in bringing visitors to church or in "winning souls". There are also preaching contests. Which pastor can persuade the largest number of people to answer the altar call.

Can you imagine something so sacred being put on display? Churches compete for attendance, the loser paying and the winner collecting something, just like down at ye ole pool hall or at the race track. Yet, these churches have found this approach to work marvelously, because it appeals to the flesh in at least two wayslust and emulation.

Lust. Any child can be enticed to "visit" or "witness" or "bring people to the church" if the potential reward is a new bicycle, a trip to the ski slopes or a wrist watch. In this, he needs not labor patiently in faith, trusting God to give the increase in due season and the reward at Christ's return. Rather, he can personally effect the increase on Sunday, and receive the reward of his efforts in a couple of weeks or months at the most. For the contestants with richer tastes, the "ante can be upped" to motorcycles and upward.

Emulation. The contest and prize thing also fires up people because emulation appeals to the natural man.

According to both Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and Webster's Dictionary, the word "emulation" means desire or ambition to equal or surpass another, or rivalryin short, competition. It is a word God uses in Galatians 5:19-21a, where we read:

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.
Emulation, according to this passage, is a work of the flesh that God categorizes with idolatry, witchcraft, adultery, murder, etc. Think of this the next time you start or enter a "Sunday School Contest."

Men's techniques

The problem is, church leaders have forgotten, or do no believe, that the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation, and not only so, but it is the only means by which God will save. They thus conclude that we preachers and teachers have the right, indeed the responsibility, to develop techniques to make the gospel more understandable, more acceptable and more attractive to the world. They have forgotten these words of John 6:63: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

This vain philosophy has given rise to all kinds of gospels other than the true one. Some of them are only vaguely similar to the real gospel; while some bear remarkable likenesses to what the Bible teaches. But they all have one thing in common: they are all imitations of the true gospel. Hence, they also produce the same resultsunbelievers are deceived into thinking that they have become born-again Christians.

It is tragic but true that many young men spend years and years in Bible schools and/or seminaries and come out unable to preach the gospel. They can do a good job preaching commitment, consecration, separation, dispensation, prophecy, history and speculations, but not the gospel of the Bible. Because of their eloquence and charisma, many of them build "great churches". The trouble is, as soon as these "mighty men of God" move on to greater ministries to do greater works, those churches just fall apart .

Imitation gospels

I describe the salvation message these people bring as imitation gospels because they somehow resemble the salvation message, and yet not be the real thing.

First, sin is dealt with only in respect to men's condemnation. In other words, where the gospel states that Christ died for our sinswhich truth is the seed-bed of the true gospelthis vital truth is just touched and man is hurried off to see what sin does to him. He is then taught that sin is to be dealt with, or has been dealt with, basically to prevent his condemnation. He is not shown by God's law the extreme sinfulness of sin or how serious it is to offend a Holy God. He is not shown the holy justice of God in condemning sinners, but is assured that God has done all He possibly can to let them off the hook and is now biting His nails until they do "their part".

The second great area of flaw in these false messages is what it is designed to do. The content of the true gospel is that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried and that He rose again for our justification (I Cor. 15:1-4). Herein are few words, but many truths. The intent of the gospel is to bring men to repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). These inseparable graces are imparted totally through grace, by the Holy Spirit through regeneration and are implemented only by the preaching of the gospel.

The false messenger, however, can settle for much less than this. He is looking for profession, commitment, decision, etc. and his message is geared to secure them. Since the intent of this message is different, the content and emphasis of the message is different. Even though to most people it seems essentially the same, it is as false as a three dollar bill.

The terrible result of this is, a great many people are doing their religious thing in their own particular flavor, which range from separated Christian activity to modernistic "Christian activity". All of them, however, are alike in this respect, they are a product of the flesh and is worthless in God's sight.

The Day After

Have you ever noticed that most people act a little insane around a circus, they ride crazy rides, spend their money foolishly and seem to float with the current of activity. But when the music stops, the lights go out and the tents are removed, we feel something like a combination of emptiness and contempt as we watch the debris blow across the grounds. We realize that nothing has really been done. No lives were really changed, no problems were solved and no broken hearts really mended. The crowd was just drawn aside from self for a little while and they must return to what they were, indeed to what they are.

So it is with religious circus acts. So long as the circus continues all is exciting, but let the noise subside and both the performer and the entertained are left empty and disappointed.

The True Gospel

Not so with the true gospel. When the gospel is preached without the circus, it will do nothing more and nothing less than what God ordains. Men, if they are among God's elect, will be truly saved, for that is God's purpose in the gospel. Few false professors will be enticed, for the gospel will repel them. Professions will be fewer, but after all, what good are they anyhow if they are not real? The gospel will result in salvation and the new birth; nothing else will.

Let us then become very sensitive to the accuracy of our message and leave the results strictly to God. Let us not be ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation. If a circus was needed to make it effective, God would have instructed us as to its use. Get out of the circus and into a church where the gospel is counted sufficient to do what God purposes. o

Rev. Forrest L. Keener is pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, 1902 Columbia, Lawton, Oklahoma 73501.
 

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