James H. Cagle
Guest Columnist
“Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness” (Jeremiah 23:32 KJV).
“Her (Israel’s) prophets are light and treacherous persons” (Zephaniah 3:4 KJV).
There is a serious problem in Christendom today, and that is that most Christians don’t take God seriously. Those who present the gospel must be serious in how they treat the Word of God if they want those listening to take God’s Word seriously. E.M. Bounds (1835-1913) wrote, “The lack of soberness in the pew is generally traceable to lack of seriousness in the pulpit. Church-going people take their cue generally from the preacher, at least this is the case when the cue is one to which they are inclined. Frivolity is the world’s gospel. It preaches it all week.”
Some think that presenting the gospel in a humorous way will make it easier for others to accept. There are some presentations of the Truth that are nothing more than a laughing matter.
The prophets Jeremiah and Zephaniah both spoke against the false prophets that were “light” or frivolous, fickle, easy, were as froth, and full of levity, and treated the things of God as unimportant. Because of their lightness, they persuaded Israel not to take God’s call to repentance and God’s warning of judgment seriously. And because Israel did not repent, she experienced God’s judgment.
We preach a “lite” Gospel today. It is a cross-less Gospel. It makes light of sin, of cross-bearing and our obedience to God’s call to separation and holiness. The Gospel has been diluted to satisfy the palate of a worldly-minded Church. And that is why Christianity is so weak today, and the world does not take the church seriously.
Seriousness is a required antecedent to spirituality. And with spirituality comes power with God. No one becomes truly spiritual who is not first truly serious about the things of God. We must first take God and His Word seriously before we grow spiritually. God has nothing to say to a frivolous man. God only reveals Himself and His way to those who take Him seriously. The Holy Spirit shows nothing except to those of a sober and serious mind who are serious about learning. The Holy Spirit never flows through the channel of a laugh. According to the biblical record, Jesus never told a joke; He “wept.”
Religion is now all about making people laugh, smile, joke, and making them light-hearted and feel good about themselves. Religion has become the latest form of entertainment.
Genuine repentance is needed for a full recovery from our foolishness. If we don’t become serious with God on our own, persecution would serve to knock the foolishness out of us and make us real, and sincere, and serious with God again.