Sometimes I pray that God will re-ignite a passion in my heart for the simple truths of the gospel – the realities of sin, salvation, judgment, heaven, and hell. I still believe them and haven’t forgotten them, but I’m not gripped by the sheer urgency of the gospel as I ought to be.

Maybe your experience is similar to mine? When I first believed in Christ, it was like I had stumbled out into a burst of brilliant sunshine after walking for hours in a dark tunnel. In the light of God’s Word and Spirit I saw – maybe “felt” is better, since it was not mere understanding but deep conviction – truths I had never seen before, truths that were both awful and glorious.

The true nature of my sin, that it is wicked and damnable in God’s sight, was heavy on my heart. And the hopelessness of unbelievers was grievous to me. The sheer horror of the reality of hell made me shudder.

But I marveled at God’s grace to me. What ineffable love that he chose me – me! – for salvation! What wonder that Jesus Christ really and truly was God incarnate, and that he really and truly died on the cross – for me! What joy and freedom that my sins were forgiven!

Like a young man obsessed with thoughts of his bride-to-be, these gospel realities consumed me. I pondered them, read about them, talked to others about them.

But time passed and my initial zeal cooled off; I became even-keeled. I didn’t lose my love for Christ, but the sheer urgency of the gospel weighed less on my heart. When I light the charcoals in my Weber grill, after a healthy dousing of lighter fluid, at first they send up flames but later they smolder. In the same way the flames of my convert zeal died down to a calm smolder.

And then I got busy. Busy with work and school, busy with kids, busy in the ministry. I still believe in Christ as much as ever, but the pressing nature of gospel realities doesn’t burden me like I wish it would. The Bible says, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). But I say to myself, “Now is the day the Visa bill is due, now is the day I must write my sermon, now is the day I must get the oil changed in the Camry.” I don’t like it, but the ordinary demands of life feel more urgent to me than the gospel.

Is it just me, or do others feel the same way? I suspect many other believers also struggle not to lose sight of the urgency of the gospel. Here are a couple of reasons for this challenge:

We are wholly satisfied with life in this world. It’s hard to look above and beyond this life to the life to come, when we are filled with so many good things in this world. The Lord warned the Israelites about this problem before he led them into the Promised Land. Once they had eaten and were full, and grew wealthy and prospered, they would soon forget the Lord their God who delivered them from their bondage in Egypt (Deuteronomy 8:11-14). When we are prosperous and full, we tend to do the same: forget all that Christ has done for us. And we lose a sense of the urgency of the gospel.

Death is distant. At least it is for most of us, most of the time. I’ve been a pastor for ten years and in that time I’ve only conducted one memorial service! But when I read of great spiritual awakenings among people who become gripped with the truth of the gospel, it’s often in an environment enshrouded by the pall of death. I think of Corrie Ten Boom’s experience in Nazi concentration camps (The Hiding Place) and or Ernest Gordon’s time as a Japanese POW in Burma (To End All Wars). Both tell of amazing revivals in the most nightmarish of circumstances. When death is near and can strike at any moment, by God’s grace the truths of the gospel hit home with intense power.

Now I don’t want to suffer poverty and hunger, or the fear of sudden death, but I do want to have a heart aflame for Christ and burdened with the spiritual realities of the gospel. I pray that instead of the affairs of everyday life or trivial distractions taking up all my thoughts, I might be experience the deep conviction of the truths I believe. O Lord, may I grieve my sin, weep over the lost, rejoice in salvation, and hope in heaven.

Your life is so short. Have you given thought today to life beyond this life? “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Pastor Scott
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