“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the world, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful” (Psalm 1:1).
“The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him…” I Corinthians 2:14
Around Easter or Christmastime polls, surveys, and magazine articles all indicate the world has given up on Jesus, on God, on Christians, on the church, or on preachers. But let not your heart be troubled, Christ-follower.
We may as well ask a blind man what he thinks of the sunrise I enjoyed this morning, a deaf person how they appreciated the symphony, or my unbelieving neighbor what he thought of my sermon last Sunday.
The world is lost. Never lose sight of that, follower of Jesus Christ. So, we should not be asking it for direction or seeking its counsel. When the disciples told Jesus the Pharisees were offended by Him, he said, “Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind.” (Matthew 15:12,14)
And yet, how often do we hear of people polling the neighborhood of a designated area to find out what people see as their greatest need, what they would like most from a church, or why they no longer go to church. Then, they build a church program around the results of their poll. What’s wrong with this picture?
They are called ‘lost’ for a reason. (See Luke 15.)
Here are ten questions the Church should not be asking of the world…
One. We don’t ask the world how to get to Heaven.
The world has plenty of answers, true. But any answer that does not involve the Lord Jesus Christ and His death-burial-resurrection is manmade and thus wrong, no matter how beautiful or philosophical. The world’s answers are based on feelings and convictions, something read or dreamed or heard, or what someone wished were true.
Jesus alone has the answer to this. Why? Among other things, “No one has been to Heaven except the One who came from Heaven, even the Son of Man” (John 3:13). He is the One and Only. And then, He is The Way to Heaven (John 14:6). The only way.
Two. We do not ask the world what it thinks of Jesus.