The “Dominant Lie”

original posted 12/12/2-12 and reposted 8/31/2015

By Andrew Strom

Let me place this question before you: Is there one dominant,
over-riding LIE that the devil has sold the Western world in the
last forty years or so, that greatly hinders men and women
coming to Christ? I believe so.

Let’s think for a moment about the ‘strongholds’ and “dominant
lies” which the devil has established in this modern generation –
and which hinder people today from believing the gospel. A man
wrote to me one time and mentioned that we can’t preach “sin”
these days, because many young people hardly know what sin
is any more. The man is absolutely right. (And of course, this
totally strips the gospel of it’s historic power). But since when
has this been the case?

There can be no doubt that the watershed or “revolution” that
ushered in this worldview largely occurred in the late 1960s.
Here is what it amounted to (particularly amongst the youth)-
“Sin” as a concept was suddenly abolished. Moral absolutes were
thrown out. Everything became no longer black or white, but varying
shades of grey. “Be happy, feel free, do what you want, cast off the
shackles of outmoded morals and values. Be liberated. Do what you
feel…” etc. And so it still is today. A completely ‘non-judgemental’
(ie. no right or wrong) approach to everything. So long as you don’t
“hurt” anybody, you can do as you please. You can sleep with anyone
(of any sex), you can abort your babies, you can taste any pleasure,
you can believe in any ‘god’ (including yourself). As many commen-
tators have noted, today the worst sin you can be accused of is being
“judgmental”. (And then will come the storm: “How dare you apply
your value system to ME? How dare you call what I’m doing ‘wrong’?”)

Thus in many ways, ‘Sin’ has almost ceased to exist in people’s
thinking and beliefs. And if you wipe out the concept of ‘Sin’, then
you wipe out a massive part of the basic gospel itself. For the only
reason Jesus had to come was to DEAL WITH MEN’S SIN. If there
is no consciousness of sin, then the gospel ceases to make any
sense. Why do I need forgiveness? Why do I need to repent? Why
did Jesus die in the first place? The cross is made of NO EFFECT
without a consciousness of Sin.

This is why all the great Revivalists emphasised Sin, and the only
remedy – Jesus. If you feel you have little sin, then you will feel
little need of Jesus. And then the gospel can become neutralized.
The devil knows this. He has seen many Revivals and he knows
if he can stop people becoming convicted of their sin, then he can
stop them from responding to the gospel in significant numbers.
Why is there hardly any conviction of sin amongst today’s
generation? Because in the 1960’s the whole concept of it was
virtually abolished (and still is). It’s as simple as that.

Now, if we wish to see true Revival amongst today’s generation,
what do we need to do? REFUTE THIS DOMINANT LIE. We have
no option. We need to re-introduce and preach the concept of “sin”
again. No consciousness of sin – no true conversion. For what is
there to repent of? The gospel almost entirely loses it’s power
without this.

Ever since the late 1960s we can see the fruit of this “dominant
lie” in the complete mess that modern relationships have become.
Teenage sex, single mothers, abortions skyrocketing, absent
fathers, an epidemic of divorce, drugs, broken families, poverty, etc.
What were the results of throwing away all morality and restraint?
What were the results of ‘free love’ and “if it feels good, do it”? It
is all there for everyone to see. But the sad fact is, this lie is now
so dominant and so ingrained that it would take almost a literal
“revolution” again to topple it. It utterly dominates today’s
Christianity, as well as the world.

May there indeed come such a ‘revolution’, my friends. May the
“John-the-Baptist” preachers rise again! May conviction of sin
return, that people might run to Jesus – the only one who can
wash away their sins and truly make them clean.

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