Years ago, an elderly minister, who had just finished giving his 50th Easter morning message, was asked by a young man in the congregation, which of the 50 Easter services had given him the greatest thrill? Promptly and with a broad smile, the pastor replied that it would have to be his first one. “Why the first?” inquired the youth. “Because” replied the pastor, “It was all so new and exciting…it was actually thrilling to share the good news of the resurrection for the first time.”
You know, he continued, “It is regrettably sad, but unfortunately true, that over the years of hearing the Easter story and of our salvation through Christ, that we begin to become complacent concerning the dread and horror of that first Good Friday, and the triumph of that first Easter morning.”
Complacency…this is something that every Christian needs to guard against, especially having been blessed to have been born in a country, where thousands have fought and died for our right to hear and to have the Holy Scriptures in our homes.
Yet the statistics regarding the Bible and the sheer number that are purchased yearly would seem to indicate that Americans are hardly complacent with nearly 100 million Bibles sold every year at a cost of about $425 million dollars. Furthermore, it is estimated that the average American home has at least four Bibles in it! Yet, since 1990, the number of households that claim to be Christian has declined more than 10% so that, today in our nation, only 69% of its people profess…at least in a superficial way…Christ as their Savior.
I think it’s apparent, that many of those Bibles Americans are buying, are simply sitting on bookshelves gathering dust or that those who are reading them, are not sharing their contents. My friends, there is the real and present danger, that our complacency with, and our taking the availability of the Word of God for granted, may very well result in our eventually ignoring it and this will then expose us to the lies of Satan and our world. Biblical ignorance is a void the devil will fill in a heartbeat.
Our complacency with regards to our reading and studying God’s Word is no joke. If you don’t know it, you can’t defend it or share it, and the Scriptures is the primary vehicle by which the Holy Spirit creates and sustains faith in Christ Jesus and the cross.
God’s Word should be a treasure to us because our lives…our eternal lives depend on it. If the Scriptures are read, and if its contents dwell within our hearts, its message of forgiveness and eternal life cannot but direct our thoughts and daily living. The Bible gives us values by which we live our lives…values that will indeed set us apart as followers of Jesus Christ and it has been said that the only Bible some unbelievers ever get to read, is the life of a Christian with whom they come into contact.
Therefore, it becomes vitally important for us to confess with our actions and with our mouths, that Jesus is Lord, and that he died to take the sins of the world away…everyone’s sins.
Please don’t become one of the growing percentage of Americans who have become complacent with the Bible, their church membership or their faith. You have been given a tremendous gift…don’t lose it.
Until next month….
Pastor Roloff