Timeless Truth

I hear much discussion these days concerning what "modern" Christianity should look like. Particularly for those who were raised in Bible believing churches, there is often a comparison between "the old" and "the new", usually with a great deal of enthusiasm for "the new". I also hear a lot of buzz about adapting the message to fit the audience or the particular culture. Certainly forms can vary, but there are key aspects that never change, no matter the era, no matter the location. The Bible wasn't intended to be written anew for every generation. It's a place to find God's timeless truth. Throughout thousands of years of human history, certain things remain constant.

1.  God's Word is the source of truth.  "...Your word is truth" (John 17:17)
For the issues it chooses to deal with, God's Word presents accurate truth. Truth is not found in surveys. Truth is not determined by majority rule. Truth is not found in the devices nor the wisdom nor the logic of men.

2.  Salvation is "a gift of God, not of works". (Ephesians 2:8)  Christ's work is completely sufficient. He is able to save to the utmost. There is nothing we could possibly add to His finished work. It is done. Grace, by definition, is unmerited favor.

3.  There is one gospel.
"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!" (Galatians 1:8)

4. "The gospel... is the power of God unto salvation".  (Romans 1:16)
It's not the music. It's not the rhetorical ability of the speaker, nor the length of his message. It's not the fashion choices of the preacher, nor his hip and up-to-date language. It's not the decoration of the sanctuary... nor the type of seating... nor the hymn / praise music ratio. It's the power of God in the gospel.

I came to Christ as a young adult. I can honestly tell you I was completely headed away from God. I might have told you I believed there WAS a God if push came to shove and no one else was listening, but I had no desire to know Him, learn from Him, love Him, obey Him. I was young. I was hip. I was bright. I was intricately bound up in my culture. I was utterly lost.

So how did I come to place trusting faith in the real God, the God who reveals Himself in Scripture?  Did I attend an "attractional" church? [Hardly!]  Did I hear an "attractional" message?  [Absolutely not! I heard I was a sinner separated from a holy God...and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. But God, in His love, HAD done something about it!]  Was I drawn by an "attractive" and "cool" crowd?  [If you've heard this story before, you're probably on the floor laughing by now!]

I simply heard Biblical truth. God providentially put me in the right place at the right time and He opened my understanding. Someone used God's Word to explain the gospel, God's good news, to me ... and suddenly I understood my position before a holy God and His precious provision for me. What happened to me was the very same thing that had happened to the believers in Colossae so many, many years before.. "...the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing--as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth." (Colossians 1:5-6)  It was true then. It's still true now.