What a Lack!

 

 

 

Listen to gospel radio

Or watch gospel television,

Very few of their broadcasts

Deal with sin.

 

Most of their presentations

Are to the converted directed

And the message of salvation

Is being neglected.

 

It’s not the salvation of souls

But the prosperity of man,

This is in direct contravention

Of God’s redemptive plan.

 

There is dire lack

When dealing with sin

And the audience wants to know

What’s in it for them.

 

I must ask this question

So please hear me well,

How does one respond to salvation

If we another message tell?

 

We are bombarded these days

On how to get rich,

Prosperity is the hot topic

It is the sales pitch.

 

Don’t take my word for it

Take some time, you must,

Scroll through the religious channels

And note what is the fuss.

 

It is about getting power

And about getting rich

Seldom about extricating a sinner

From sin’s overpowering ditch.

 

 

“It is even a sin to be poor,”

Some often say,

Poverty is a sinner walking

In the devil’s way.

 

Sickness too

Is another taboo,

No Christian should have it

That means me and you.

 

But the message of the church

Is left far behind,

It is severely diluted

Or at best, redefined.

 

The golden text of the Word

Is John 3:16

But today what we propagate

Is how to achieve our selfish dream.

 

“Look out for number one,

This is how you get wealth!

Come to Jesus now

To get both wealth and health.”

 

Nothing in there

About man’s deplorable state

And the need for the Saviour

With whom he can relate.

 

 

Nothing in there

About sin and its consequence

And the Christ who came down

And our need to repent.

 

Nothing in there

About God’s wonderful grace

And the sacrifice Jesus made,

No, not a trace.

 

It is about how we can prosper

And get ahead in life,

Nothing about how to resist the devil

In our everyday strife.

 

There is a great need

To emulate our Saviour and Lord,

To walk in his footsteps

And to propagate his word…

 

While keeping in our minds

St Luke chapter 4,

To preach to sin’s captives

Whether they be rich or poor.

 

Our gospel radio preachers

And televangelists too,

Need to revamp their programme

And adopt a different view.

 

And send a strong message

Across the airwaves,

How Jesus is still the only one

Through whom man can be saved.

 

 

To preach the bad news

About sin and about hell,

And then tell the Good News

About the one who makes sinners well.

 

For God so loved the World

That he sacrificially gave

His Son Christ Jesus and our Saviour

Through whom all can be saved.

 

Stewart Russell © February 2020