Revolution in World Missions

Chapter 10, God is Withholding Judgment Beware of boasters. They're usually covering up something. One of the great boasts of many Western evangelical Christians is their devotion to the scriptures. It is hard to find a church that does not, at one time or another, brag about being Bible-believing. When I first came here, I made the mistake of taking that description at face value. But I have come to see that many evangelical Christians do not really believe the Word of God, especially when it talks about hell and judgment. Instead, they selectively accept only the portions that allow them to continue living in their current lifestyles. It is painful to think about hell and judgment. I understand why preachers do not like to talk about it, but I don't either. It is so much easier to preach that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, or to focus on the many delightful aspects of possibility thinking and the Word of faith that brings health, wealth, and happiness. The grace and love of God are pleasant subjects, and no one more beautifully demonstrated them than our Lord Jesus. Yet in His earthly ministry, He made more references to hell and judgment than He did to heaven. Jesus lived with the reality of hell, and He died on Calvary because He knew it was real and coming to everyone who doesn't turn to God in this life. Believers are willing to accept the concept of heaven, but they look the other way when they come to the passages in the Bible about hell. Very few seem to believe that those who die without Christ are going to a place where they will be tormented forever and ever in a bottomless pit, where the fire is not quenched and they are separated from God and His love for all eternity without any chance of return. If we knew the horrors of the potential judgment that hangs over us, if we really believed in what was coming, how differently we would live. Why aren't Christians living in obedience to God? Because of their unbelief. Why did Eve fall into sin? Because she did not truly believe in the judgment, that death really would come if she ate what God forbade. This is the same reason many continue in lives of sin and disobedience. The Great Depression and recent recessions are only a slap on the wrist compared to the poverty that lies ahead, let alone the bombs, disease, and natural calamities. But God is withholding judgment now to give us time to repent. Unfortunately for millions in the two-thirds world, it will be too late unless we can reach them before they slip off the edge into eternal darkness. For years I have struggled with making this a reality in our meetings. Finally, I found a way. I asked my listeners to hold their wrists and find their pulse. Then I explained that every beat they feel represents the death of someone in Asia who has died and gone to eternal hell without ever hearing the good news of Jesus Christ even once. What if one of those beats represented your own I ask. Your own father, your spouse, your child, you, yourself. The millions of Asians who are dying and going to hell are people for whom Christ died. We say we believe it, but what are we doing to act on that faith? Without works, faith is dead. No one should go to hell today without hearing about the Lord Jesus. To me this is an atrocity, much worse than the death camps of Hitler's Germany or Stalin's Russia. As horrible as the 1.3 million abortions are in the United States each year, the eternal loss of multiplied millions of additional souls every year is the greatest preventable tragedy of our times. If only a small percentage of the 80 million people who claim to be born-again Christians in this country were to sponsor a native missionary, we could have literally hundreds of thousands of evangelists reaching the lost villages of Asia. When we look at the unfinished Great Commission and compare it to our personal lifestyles or to the activity calendars of our churches and organizations, how can we explain our disobedience? We must see great repentance from the sin of our unbelief in God's judgment. C.T. Studd, the famous British athlete and founder of Worldwide Evangelization Crusade, was one who gave up all his achievements in this life for Christ's sake. He was challenged to his commitment by an article written by an atheist. That article, in part, said, If I firmly believed, as millions say they do, that the knowledge and practice of religion in this life influences destiny in another, then religion would mean to me everything. I would cast away earthly enjoyments as dross, earthly cares as follies, and earthly thoughts and feelings as vanity. Religion would be my first waking thought and my last image before sleep sank me into unconsciousness. I should labor in its cause alone. I would take thought for the morrow of eternity alone. I would esteem one soul gained for heaven worth a life of suffering. Earthly consequences would never stay my hand or seal my lips. Earth, its joy and its griefs, would occupy no moment of my thoughts. I would strive to look upon eternity alone and on the immortal souls around me, soon to be everlastingly happy or everlastingly miserable. I would go forth to the world and preach to it in season and out of season, and my text would be, What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Another iniquity plaguing the Western church is worldliness. Once, on a 2,000-mile auto trip across the American West, I made it a point to listen to Christian radio all along the way. What I heard revealed much about the secret motivations that drive many Christians. Some of the broadcasts would have been hilarious if they weren't exploiting the gullible, hawking health, wealth, success, all in the name of Christianity. Some speakers offered holy oil and lucky charms to those who sent in money and requested them. Some speakers offered prayer cloths that had blessed believers with $70,000 to $100,000, new cars, houses, and health. One speaker said he would mail holy soap he had blessed. If used with his instructions, it would wash away bad luck, evil friends, and sickness. Again, he promised plenty of money and everything else the user wanted. Such con games bring a smile to our lips, but the same basic package is marketed with more sophistication at every level of this society. Christian magazines, TV shows, and church services often put the spotlight on famous athletes, beauty queens, businessmen, and politicians who make it in the world and have Jesus too. Today, Christian values are defined almost totally by success as it is promoted by Madison Avenue advertising. Even many Christian ministries gauge their effectiveness by the standards of Harvard MBAs. Jesus said the heart is where the treasures are kept. So what can we say about many evangelical Christians? Getting into debt for cars, homes, and furnishings that probably are not needed, and sacrificing family, church, and health for corporate promotions and career advancements? I believe all this is deception engineered by the God of this world to ensnare and destroy effective Christians and to keep them from sharing the gospel with those who need it. Do not love the world, says John in his first epistle, or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away in the lust of it. But he who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2 15-17 The typical media testimony goes something like this. I was sick and broke, a total failure. Then I met Jesus. Now everything is fine, my business is booming, and I am a great success. It sounds wonderful. Be a Christian and get a bigger house and a boat and a vacation in the Holy Land. But if that were really God's way, it would put some Christians living in communist countries and in the two-thirds world in a pretty bad light. Their testimonies often go something like this. I was happy. I had everything, prestige, recognition, a good job, and a happy wife and children. Then I gave my life to Jesus Christ. Now I am in prison, having lost my family, wealth, reputation, job, and health. Here I live, lonely, deserted by friends. I cannot see the face of my wife and dear children. My crime is that I love Jesus. What about the heroes of the faith down through the ages? The apostles laid down their lives for the Lord. Christian martyrs have written their names on every page of history. In the former Soviet Union, Ivan Moiseyev was tortured and killed within two years of meeting Jesus. In China, Watchman Ni spent 20 years in prison and finally died in bondage. When Sadhu Sundar Singh, born and raised in a rich Sikh's home in Punjab, became a Christian, his own family tried to poison him and banished him from their home. He lost his inheritance and walked away with one piece of clothing on his body. Yet, following his master, he made millions truly rich through faith in Christ. The native missionaries supported by Gospel for Asia often suffer for their commitment also. Coming from non-Christian backgrounds, they often are literally thrown out of their homes, lose their jobs, and are beaten and chased from their villages when they accept Christ. They faithfully serve Christ daily, suffering untold hardships, because Jesus promised His followers, in this world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16.33 What He promised were trials and tribulations, but we can face them because we know He already has won the battle. God does promise to meet our physical needs, and He does indeed bless His children materially. But He blesses us for a purpose, not so we can squander those resources on ourselves, but so we can be good stewards, using our resources wisely to win the lost to God's saving grace. The Scripture tells us, But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 1 John 3.17 As A.W. Tozer, noted Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor and author, once said, There is no doubt that the possessive clinging to things is one of the most harmful habits in life. Because it is so natural, it is rarely recognized for the evil that it is. But its outworking is tragic. This ancient curse will not go out painlessly. The tough old miser within us will not lie down and die obedient to our command. He must be torn out, torn out of our hearts like a plant from the soil. He must be extracted in blood and agony like a tooth from the jaw. He must be expelled from our souls, in violence, as Christ expelled the money changers from the temple. Many Western believers are the rich young rulers of our day. Jesus is saying to them, If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come follow me. Matthew 19.21