the Good Question

Today, I stumbled upon Google™ Trends. Type in a search term and see how popular it is. Google even provides you with the option to see what cities search for a particular search term the most. Nifty.

But this isn't an advertisement. Oh no. If you've been reading this blog or its predecessor, you know me better than that. I began comparing results between various words to see what the world was up to on Google.com, and to see if I could learn anything interesting about people's search habits. And boy did I ever!

To my surprise, I very quickly discovered a connection between the top ten U.S. cities that search for the word "sex" and those that search for the word "heaven." Take a look:

Notice anything interesting? You got it. It seems that five of the top ten U.S. cities that search for "sex" are also among the top ten U.S. cities that search for "heaven." How's that for ironic? [UPDATE: As of June 26, 2007, the number has risen from five to six, namely: Meriden, CT; Elmhurst, IL; Kansas City, KS; Norfolk, VA; St Louis, MO; and Irvine, CA.]

...but I don't think it's that strange, really. Let me tell you why.

If it appears that the people of Meriden, Connecticut have a problem with pornography, it also appears that they know it very well. The people who know they have a problem are the people who are looking for a solution. You don't go looking for a doctor unless you are convinced you are sick (Mark 2:17). And you're not as likely to go looking for Heaven, unless you already know you have a problem with chasing sin.

Google has taught us a valuable lesson here. It's in that moment, in a dark room, when a man in Elmhurst, IL lusts after the image of some woman on the Internet that the conscience God gave him and the Holy Spirit God sends him will convict him of his sin. It's in that moment when he understands his inability to conquer his darker urges that he is most likely to seek after God. But no one is there is tell him of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And I have no plans to be in the dark room beside that man, but I could catch him on his break at work, and ask him, "Ted, have you ever looked at a woman with lust? Jesus said that whoever looks upon a woman with lust has committed adultery already with her in his heart. That's pretty serious. Isn't it? 'Thou shalt not commit adultery' is one of the Ten Commandments. You've broken God's Law. I have too. That makes us criminals against God. And He's a good Judge, who'll see that justice is done. But there is good news: Jesus stepped into the courtroom of Heaven and paid your penalty for you. He satisfied justice for you. And now the Judge is waiting for you to give up trying to defend yourself, to stop trying to bribe Him with your good works, to own up to your crimes, and to repent of your criminal life. Throw yourself upon the mercy of the Court, and He'll bring down His gavel saying, 'Case dismissed. You've been freed. Your fine has been paid for you. Now, go and sin no more.'"

We have a Biblical mandate to talk about sin as part of the Gospel message. But we can't just use the word "sin" and think we've covered our bases. We must define what sin is. We must address personal sins. This is what Jesus did with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well in John 4. This is what Jesus did with the rich, young ruler in Luke 18. This is the very purpose of the Law. The Law proves that we cannot be saved by the Law, because we cannot keep it. The Law convinces us that we fall short of the glory of God, because we cannot keep it. The Law is the dictionary that defines for us what sin is, that we might know our depravity and seek the mercy of God. Paul said, "I had not known sin, but by the law" (Romans 7:7), and "By the law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20). (And we know that no one can be saved without the knowledge of sin.) Sin is the sickness. Jesus is the Physician. And the Law is the test that proves to us the presence of the deadly thing pulsing through our veins.

The Good News of Jesus Christ makes no sense without the bad news (1 Corinthians 1:18), because it is the knowledge of the bad news that causes the goodness of the Good News to dawn upon us. "The Commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes" (Psalm 19:8). Let us remember that "the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ" (Galatians 3:24). We can use the word "sin" without actually addressing the issue of sin, because when most people hear the word "sin," they think "that's what humans do," which is their way of diminishing the feeling of guilt that their consciences and the Holy Spirit are giving them. In evangelism, we must address the issue of personal sins by the Law, and then address the issue of the personal Savior by the Gospel, because the Law heightens the conscience, stops the mouths of sinners from justifying themselves before God, and leaves the whole world guilty before God (Romans 3:19).

I'm not always going to be present in the moment a man is convicted of his sins because he's just finished sinning, but I can be present in the moment a man is convicted of his sins because we're talking about them. That's my responsibility, as a Christian.

So, my Christian brothers and sisters, let's stop watering down the Gospel. Let's stop leaving out the parts of the Message with which we are uncomfortable or with which we think others will be uncomfortable. The Truth is uncomfortable. It is offensive, convicting, and inconvenient. But it is still the Truth that sets people free—not the partial Truth, but the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth.

Labels: Commandments, evangelism, Grace, Jesus' Words, Law, Ninth Commandment