quote from Francis Schaeffer

I have been reading from an old classic book by Francis Schaeffer written about 35 years ago now entitled “The great Evangelical disaster” It’s[Ma1] even more relevant now than back then. I want to quote from it.

‘Here is the great evangelical disaster – the failure of the church to stand for truth as truth. There is only one word for this - namely accommodation: the church has accommodated to the world spirit of this age. First there has been accommodation on scripture so that many who call themselves Christians hold a weakened view of the Bible and no longer affirm the truth of all of the Bible teaches. As part of this many Christians are accepting the higher critical method’s in the study of the Bible

This accommodation has been costly first destroying the power of scripture to confront the spirit of this age in allowing the further slide of our western culture. It’s my firm belief that when we stand before Jesus Christ we will find that it has been the weakness and the accommodation of the church on the moral issues in our day that has been largely responsible for the loss of the Christian ethos which has taken place in our culture over the last 60 odd years. And let us understand to accommodate to the world spirit about us in our age is nothing less than the most gross form of worldliness. The church is worldly and not faithful to the living Christ.

Truth demands confrontation, loving confrontation but confrontation never the less. Holiness without love is not Gods kind of holiness and also what we may call love without holiness including when necessary confrontation is not Gods kind of love. God is holy God is love’

Strong words indeed.

[Ma1]