Not Getting It

I knew a guy who heard the gospel clearly and completely for 60 years from good sources with good intentions. It was presented in various ways and explained multiple times. It was offered in a variety of forms, all faithful to the truth. And I remember 58 years into this experience sitting down with him at a table and talking (again) about the gospel. So I was a bit stunned when he said halfway through the conversation, "Hey, wait a minute! If what you're saying is true, anyone can become a Christian! That can't be!" I remember thinking, "What? What just happened? What did he just hear that he never heard before? What about 'believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved' was unclear? How did he miss for all those years 'we are saved by faith apart from works'?"

He never got it. He rejected it again, but he never got it. So when someone recently asked me if a shared, unsaved acquaintance knew the gospel, I didn't know how to answer. You see, it appears to me that vast numbers of people hear the gospel without hearing it. I remember sharing it with someone and he told me, "I'm working on it." "Working on it"? What did that mean? Well, he meant that he was trying to be good enough. But how could he be trying to to be good enough when I had just told him that no one can be good enough and that we need a Savior? What was it that he didn't get?

We are, I think, a little bit confused. We think that if we present clearly the truth of the gospel, people will get it. They may accept or reject it, but they will get it. The Bible, on the other hand, disagrees. The Bible says that the "the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness" (1 Cor 1:18). Paul wrote that "a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Cor 2:14). Did you get that? He said "he cannot understand." Jesus, in fact, said, "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it" (Matt 7:14). Not who accept it. Who find it. So you'll find that the vast majority of nonbelievers and very likely a large number of believers are convinced that Christianity is a moral system by which we are to live, and that's not the point. Missed it entirely. Not getting it at all.

The Bible is clear. The largest number of people will reject Christ. They will be, instead, blinded by the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). So, does that mean we ought to give up? Jesus said in direct opposition to our popular ideas, "You do not believe because you are not of My sheep" (John 10:26). That is, while we normally hold that you are not of His sheep until you believe, Jesus said that the reason they don't believe was because they were not of His sheep. So, what? Quit? I mean, we don't know who is or is not "of His sheep". And clearly the gate is narrow and few will find it. So stop trying, right? No! God forbid! You see, we are the method God has chosen to share with our world the truth. It does not come back void (Isa 55:11). For some, to be sure, it will serve as the condemnation of their refusal. They heard it and turned away. For others we will get to be the instrument of God's work in those who are "of His sheep". In all cases we are not serving men, but God, and that is always the best course. Just don't be surprised when they are not getting it. And don't assume they have. Instead, "do not grow weary of doing good" (2 Thess 3:13). A word to the wise.