Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - Aug. 4, 2009

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

When Relevance Becomes Dangerous

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
—John 14:6

I have been preaching for a fairly long time now and have seen a number of generations come and g the Boomers, the Busters, and Generations X, Y, and Z. And one thing that has not changed over the years is my emphasis on the teaching of the Bible and the preaching of the gospel. That can never change, and it never will. It must never change, because I know the gospel is “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16), and I have experienced the impact of it in my own life.

But the gospel is under attack like never before. While the church has always had its disagreements, this is a life-and-death debate. It is a debate among a growing number of people who call themselves evangelicals as to whether or not Jesus Christ really is the only way to salvation and whether all Scripture is indeed inspired by God.

There is a movement afoot known as The Emergent Church that is gaining momentum today. It is especially popular among people who have been raised in the evangelical church and who want to be real, who want something that is authentic, just as my generation did. But being real is not the most important thing; being right with God is the most important thing. And sometimes in the quest of being “real and authentic,” some of these people are buying into dangerous ideas.

Let’s get our priorities straight, and let’s get back to the message again. Otherwise, we will lose what little influence we have as the church today. I am all for being contemporary. I am all for being relevant. But at the same time, we must be truthful, we must be accurate, and most importantly, we must be biblical.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
to listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com, click here.

SPECIAL OFFER

Hope for Hurting Hearts
In times of tragedies and trials, certain things become evident:

This life will have its sorrows
God loves us
Jesus weeps in our times of pain
God can be glorified through human suffering

Hope for Hurting Hearts, Pastor Greg Laurie’s new book, examines these truths, revealing God’s love and care for us, and shows how we can find hope, even in the midst of the most unbearable pain and sorrow.

You can have your own copy of Hope for Hurting Hearts by Greg Laurie in appreciation for your gift to Harvest Ministries this month.