Listen To Most Current
Grace Notes Archive
December 2023 (1)
November 2023 (4)
October 2023 (4)
September 2023 (5)
August 2023 (4)
July 2023 (5)
June 2023 (4)
May 2023 (4)
April 2023 (5)
March 2023 (5)
February 2023 (4)
January 2023 (4)
December 2022 (5)
November 2022 (4)
October 2022 (5)
September 2022 (6)
August 2022 (4)
July 2022 (5)
June 2022 (4)
May 2022 (4)
April 2022 (7)
March 2022 (4)
February 2022 (4)
January 2022 (5)
December 2021 (5)
November 2021 (4)
October 2021 (5)
September 2021 (4)
August 2021 (4)
July 2021 (6)
June 2021 (4)
May 2021 (5)
April 2021 (4)
March 2021 (5)
February 2021 (4)
January 2021 (5)
December 2020 (4)
November 2020 (4)
October 2020 (5)
September 2020 (4)
August 2020 (5)
July 2020 (21)
June 2020 (29)
May 2020 (28)
April 2020 (31)
March 2020 (5)
February 2020 (4)
January 2020 (5)
December 2019 (5)
November 2019 (3)
October 2019 (5)
September 2019 (4)
August 2019 (5)
July 2019 (4)
June 2019 (5)
May 2019 (4)
April 2019 (4)
March 2019 (4)
February 2019 (6)
January 2019 (4)
December 2018 (4)
November 2018 (5)
October 2018 (4)
September 2018 (4)
August 2018 (4)
July 2018 (3)
June 2018 (4)
May 2018 (4)
April 2018 (4)
March 2018 (4)
February 2018 (5)
January 2018 (4)
December 2017 (4)
November 2017 (5)
October 2017 (4)
September 2017 (5)
August 2017 (4)
July 2017 (4)
June 2017 (5)
May 2017 (4)
April 2017 (5)
March 2017 (3)
February 2017 (4)
January 2017 (3)
December 2016 (5)
November 2016 (4)
October 2016 (4)
September 2016 (5)
August 2016 (3)
July 2016 (4)
June 2016 (5)
May 2016 (4)
April 2016 (5)
March 2016 (4)
February 2016 (4)
January 2016 (5)
December 2015 (4)
November 2015 (4)
October 2015 (3)
September 2015 (4)
August 2015 (5)
July 2015 (5)
June 2015 (4)
May 2015 (5)
April 2015 (2)
March 2015 (4)
February 2015 (4)
January 2015 (5)
December 2014 (4)
November 2014 (5)
October 2014 (4)
September 2014 (4)
August 2014 (4)
July 2014 (5)
June 2014 (4)
May 2014 (5)
April 2014 (4)
March 2014 (4)
February 2014 (4)
January 2014 (5)
December 2013 (4)
November 2013 (5)
October 2013 (4)
September 2013 (4)
August 2013 (5)
July 2013 (4)
June 2013 (3)
May 2013 (5)
April 2013 (4)
March 2013 (4)
February 2013 (5)
January 2013 (4)
December 2012 (4)
November 2012 (5)
October 2012 (4)
September 2012 (4)
August 2012 (5)
July 2012 (4)
June 2012 (4)
May 2012 (5)
April 2012 (4)
March 2012 (5)
February 2012 (4)
January 2012 (4)
December 2011 (5)
November 2011 (4)
October 2011 (4)
September 2011 (5)
August 2011 (4)
July 2011 (4)
June 2011 (5)
May 2011 (4)
April 2011 (5)
March 2011 (4)
February 2011 (4)
January 2011 (5)
December 2010 (4)
November 2010 (4)
October 2010 (4)
September 2010 (5)
August 2010 (4)
July 2010 (6)
June 2010 (4)
May 2010 (4)
April 2010 (4)
March 2010 (5)
February 2010 (4)
January 2010 (5)
December 2009 (5)
November 2009 (3)
October 2009 (6)
September 2009 (3)
August 2009 (5)
July 2009 (4)
June 2009 (4)
May 2009 (5)
April 2009 (4)
March 2009 (4)
February 2009 (4)
January 2009 (5)
December 2008 (4)
November 2008 (5)
October 2008 (4)
September 2008 (5)
August 2008 (4)
July 2008 (3)
June 2008 (4)
May 2008 (5)
April 2008 (4)
March 2008 (5)
February 2008 (1)
Grace Notes

Current Articles | Categories | Search | Syndication

THE POWER TO ATTRACT IS ALSO THE POWER TO REPEL
by Philip Owen

            As scripturally sound and right as it is to seek to draw the lost to Jesus Christ for salvation, that directive is not a mandate to override all other considerations in order to accomplish that end.  Much of the modern church has become so enamored of gaining converts that it has compromised other essential requirements of God in its attempt to achieve this end.  What it often fails to realize is that human efforts that supplant the way of God as revealed in the Word of God will not achieve godly results.  The pews may swell with bodies for a time, but though the number of bodies may grow, the souls inside still will be shrunken and shriveled by sin.  God’s work must be done in God’s way or, regardless of how impressive momentarily, the ultimate result will be nothing but loss.  The point is this:  the power to attract is also the power to repel.  That is, when the gospel is preached in accord with the Word of God, it will attract those whom God has chosen, but it will also repel others.  That all (or most, or even many) do not come (when the Word of God is adhered to faithfully) should not be regarded as a failure of the church but as a fulfillment of the sovereign purposes of God. 

 

            Few would dispute that the inception of the church witnessed an unsurpassed period of genuine growth.  In its early days, increases were exponential.  What might be remarkable to the modern church is that this growth occurred, not because the message was tailored to the natural needs and desires of its auditors, but despite that.  It was a message that emphasized sin, its consequences, and the need for repentance lest judgment fall (see any of the early messages in Acts).  But the truth that draws some repels others.  And one of the purposes of a clear biblical message is to separate real believers from pretenders.  The message of the church must emphasize the heinous, prevalent, and inherent nature of sin and the dire consequences that lie ahead of its practitioners.  True saints will want to hear this message because they will want to avoid that which offends their Lord, robs them of personal victory and blessing, and destroys their fellowship with their Savior and God.  By the same token, those who are merely professors will find such preaching repugnant.

 

            The account of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts, chapter five, occasioned just such a response in the early church.  When this couple conspired to lie against the Holy Spirit and God judged them with immediate death, Luke records the fact that as a consequence “great fear came on all them that heard these things” (v. 5).  Much of the modern church would tell us that we should amend our ways to avoid such a response, but the Spirit-led early church knew otherwise.  Several verses later, we read that “by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.  And of the rest durst [“dared”] no man join himself to them” (vv. 12, 13).  As attractive and compelling as were those miracles, only those who understood the nature and consequences of sin remained “with one accord” in the church.  The merely curious or superficially religious had been forced by the work of God to recognize the existence of sin and the sober consequences of practicing it.  And they fled the church.

 

            Sin should never be sugar-coated or ignored by the church.  The message of the church should not make sinners comfortable in the midst of the congregation but compel them to deliverance from sin, and failing that, impel them to flee from its midst.  The true message of the church is never attractive to everyone.  On the contrary, it repels those who persist in sin.  A message that leaves unrepentant sinners feeling comfortable in the church is from the devil not from God.  And a preacher whose message is universally attractive is not preaching the Word of God.  Faithful ministers and concerned saints should avoid a belligerent, self-righteous, or offensive spirit, but the true message of the Word of God must not be compromised.  And those who preach and live it faithfully should expect those whom God has called to be attracted to the truth and those whom He has not to be repelled.  It has ever been thus—and should be.  The church is not called to win the world or mollify sinners; it is called to proclaim the whole counsel of God faithfully.  When the early church did so, “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47).  Our work is to be faithful to His truth; His work is to draw and add. 

Actions: E-mail | Permalink

Previous Page | Next Page