Os Guinness speech

I attended a speech last night delivered by Os Guinness in Dallas. Guinness is a leading authority on Christian apologetics. He gave a talk on Serving God's Purposes in Our Generation. It was an outstanding speech and I wanted to recap and comment on some of his main points.

He introduced three great questions for our time that will shape the world in which we live:
1. Will Islam modernize peacefully?
2. Which faith will win out in China?
3. Will the West sever its roots with Christianity?

The Christian faith has been eroding in the West according to Guinness. He sees two disturbing trends:

1. A move from community to individualism

This idea resonates with me. I believe the New Testament calls believers to form smaller, deeper, intimate communities of faith. I applaud what is taking place in the home church movement for that reason. Some churches successfully accomplish this through an emphasis on small cell groups. This is where the lifeblood of the church is and has always been. There is too much emphasis in America on "superstar" Christian teachers. Life transformation will come when Christians walk in covenant love with each other. We are called to do life together and help those in need.

2. A move from belief in the authoritative Word of God to personal preference

JC Ryle is a hero of mine. He said, "We need to be loud where the Bible is loud and quiet where the Bible is quiet." So many divisions in churches are over personal preferences and not Scriptural authority. There are many areas that people enjoy to argue over: co-existence of the sovereignty of God and free will; infant versus adult baptism; theories for how Christ will return; what type of music should a church perform; forms of church government, etc...

I am not claiming that these areas are unimportant. But the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The Christian life should be a pursuit of Christ and growth in grace and holiness. It should be about communicating the story of the Bible: Creation, Fall, Redemption.

As a result of a lack of focus on the essentials of the Christian faith, Christians have been sucked into the lie of postmodernism: there is no standard of truth. What is true for me is true and what is true for you is true. No, no, no. Truth is truth whether I or anyone else believe it. Truth can only be determined by a Being who knows all things. We must choose to submit to that truth or rebel against it.

Guinness discussed the temptations that global elites- Americans and Europeans- face. One, a loss of reflection. We know too much and are moving too fast. But we are choking out time to think. We must make time to think. One of the reasons I do this blog weekly is to force myself to think. If we don't think, we become empty suits, robots, sucked in by the influences of talk radio and the media. We become unable to have an original thought.

The second temptation is a loss of responsibility. As we interact in a global world, we need to avoid the callousness of Cain. Cain in Genesis 4:9 responds to the Lord's question of where his brother Abel was after murdering him, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" The business executive is worried about what the next quarter's earnings are going to be. He loses sight of the supplier, customer and whether what he/she is doing is good for humanity. The politician cares about obtaining power and makes decisions towards that end; not serving the people. The lawyer starts viewing the world in terms of illegal and legal and not right and wrong.

The answer for Christians is to understand and practice stewardship. At the heart of this is Jonathan Edward's motto: "My goal is to do the maximum good to the maximum amount of people." Or as Christ simply put: "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself"- Mark 12:30-31.

Guinness concluded his talk with some requirements for evangelical integrity and personal integrity.

Evangelical integrity:
1. Re-affirmation of identity

The word evangelical has taken on some negative connotations. This is mostly due to association with the Religious Right. Evangelicals are not called to be Republicans or Democrats. We are called to be proclaimers of the Good News of Christ. William Wilberforce said, "I vote principle, not party." We should follow Wilberforce's example. Christians should be in the public square but avoid politization of faith.

2. Reformation of behavior

Guinness shared a disturbing story. At the National Prayer Breakfast, a hotel manager where most of the attendees stayed said that the spike in pornography ordered in hotel rooms was huge the week of the prayer breakfast. If this is true, it displays how problematic the disconnect between holiness and "Christianity" is for many people. Sin is not some cute little faux pas. It is treason against a Holy God. Fortunately, there is an answer for our predicament: the atonement of Christ. But to claim to be a Christian with no striving for holiness is to make a mockery and joke of the faith. Hebrews 12:14, "Without holiness no one will see the Lord."

Guiness concluded with requirements for personal integrity: calling, character and covenant. We are called by God to use the unique gifts and talents that He has entrusted to us to do specific good works that He has prepared in advance for us to do- Ephesians 2:10.

We are told to develop our character by making every effort to supplement our faith with goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love. For if we possess these qualities in increasing measure, we will be effective and productive- 2 Peter 1:5-8.

We are called into covenant with Christ. The God who called the nation of Israel into a covenant relationship with Him- Jeremiah 31:33-34- is calling us to know Him through the death, life and resurrection of Christ- 1 Peter 2:9-10.

Guinness says a time of testing is coming. We will have to choose our allegiance in a more definitive way. We might not see persecution in America like Christians in Islamic states experience. But who knows what the future holds. We would hope that our allegiance would be to Christ. As Thomas More who was beheaded by Henry VIII for refusing to sign an oath of allegiance to the king over God said, "I die the king's good servant. But God's first."

For God's Glory,

Ashley Hodge