Climate Change
I've just discovered Francis Schaeffer. Well I've known about him for ages but never read any of his stuff despite the fact I've had three of his books on my shelves for years. I always thought he was a bit too intellectual for me. However I picked up a book called Death in the City the other day and it is challenging.
Schaeffer is writing in 1968, nearly 40 years ago about the spiritual climate in the Northern Europe of his day. He talks about the church needing reformation in terms of a return to the teachings of Scripture and revival in terms of a life brought into its proper relationship to the Holy Spirit. He states very forcibly that he believes Europe to be a post-Christian society, under judgement from God because we have trampled upon the truths of the Reformation. He goes on to say that like Jeremiah, it is from the perspective of judgement that we should preach.
Here are a few quotes:
"I believe that much of our evangelistic and personal work today is not clear simply because we are too anxious to get to the answer without having a man realise the cause of his sickness, which is true moral guilt (and not just psychological guilt feelings) in the presence of God. "
"With love we must face squarley the fact that our culture really is under the judgement of God. We must not heal the sickness lightly. We must emphasiaze the reality. We must proclaim the message with tears and give it with love."
"It is my experience that giving the realisitic message does not turn people off- if they feel real compassion in you."
"We are saying we want reformation and we want revival but still we are not preaching down into this generation, stating the negative things that are necessary. If there is to be a construction revolution in the orthodox, evangelical church, then like Jeremiah we must speak of judgement of individual men great and small of the church, the state and the culture for they have known the truth of God and have turned away from him and his propositional revelation. God exists, he is holy and we must know that there will be judgement. And like Jeremiah we must keep on so speaking regardless of the cost to ourselves."
Whether he was right 40 years ago is one debate. What is more urgent in my mind is this. Has the climate changed? Are Schaeffer's observations about what is wrong and what we should do right for today?
God bless
Carol
I've just discovered Francis Schaeffer. Well I've known about him for ages but never read any of his stuff despite the fact I've had three of his books on my shelves for years. I always thought he was a bit too intellectual for me. However I picked up a book called Death in the City the other day and it is challenging.
Schaeffer is writing in 1968, nearly 40 years ago about the spiritual climate in the Northern Europe of his day. He talks about the church needing reformation in terms of a return to the teachings of Scripture and revival in terms of a life brought into its proper relationship to the Holy Spirit. He states very forcibly that he believes Europe to be a post-Christian society, under judgement from God because we have trampled upon the truths of the Reformation. He goes on to say that like Jeremiah, it is from the perspective of judgement that we should preach.
Here are a few quotes:
"I believe that much of our evangelistic and personal work today is not clear simply because we are too anxious to get to the answer without having a man realise the cause of his sickness, which is true moral guilt (and not just psychological guilt feelings) in the presence of God. "
"With love we must face squarley the fact that our culture really is under the judgement of God. We must not heal the sickness lightly. We must emphasiaze the reality. We must proclaim the message with tears and give it with love."
"It is my experience that giving the realisitic message does not turn people off- if they feel real compassion in you."
"We are saying we want reformation and we want revival but still we are not preaching down into this generation, stating the negative things that are necessary. If there is to be a construction revolution in the orthodox, evangelical church, then like Jeremiah we must speak of judgement of individual men great and small of the church, the state and the culture for they have known the truth of God and have turned away from him and his propositional revelation. God exists, he is holy and we must know that there will be judgement. And like Jeremiah we must keep on so speaking regardless of the cost to ourselves."
Whether he was right 40 years ago is one debate. What is more urgent in my mind is this. Has the climate changed? Are Schaeffer's observations about what is wrong and what we should do right for today?
God bless
Carol
posted by Rehoboth at
1:23 AM
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