FROM THE TOP
LELAND ACKER chreporter@mediactr.com
During my most recent escapade to Colorado Springs, Colo., I had the opportunity to watch Daystar and TBN television with my in-laws. There were preachers preaching to massive congregations with beautiful facilities.

Some of these were good preachers. Some had their own issues. One gentleman was unintelligible. He kept preaching about "time." His sermon went something like this: "The Bible says we should redeem the time. There is a time for every purpose under Heaven. It is not for you to know the time or the seasons." Those were not his main points, he was just uttering those verses and sayings. It was like he was reading from Strong's concordance.

One trend I noticed was how more sermon topics were dealing with meeting your personal ambitions and realizing your dreams.

While most avoided asking viewers to sow seed offerings, most had the same message, "If you are faithful, God will richly bless you."

Has this become the central message of contemporary Christianity? "Be faithful and God will help you realize your dreams?"

If so, then contemporary Christianity is failing the general public. Self-actualization and personal fulfillment does not come from financial and social success, though it may seem like it.

King Solomon had all of that. He said he got to have anything and try anything he ever wanted. What did he write of his life?

"Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity," (Ecclesiastes 1:2).

So if our message is "use the Bible to accomplish your goals," then we are leading people down a dead-end road which will ultimately leave people unfulfilled. Even worse, this plan will not work for some. Hebrews 11:36-40 describes some of God's most faithful, people who had more faith (trusted God more) than anyone we know, but they were oppressed, afflicted and even killed. So much for "just have faith and everything will be okay."

No, the central message of Christianity is supposed to be the gospel that "I delivered unto you first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures," (I. Corinthians 15:3-4, italics added).

The central message of Christianity is how God wants to be reconciled with us though Jesus Christ our Lord. That relationship with God is far better than meeting any goal or ambition.