Opportunity for mlrades

There is, today, a crisis of belief. It has become fashionable to question Christianity's relevance to the decade of the eighties, or at least to ask how it can accommodate to the times. Did Jesus Christ really mean what He said about faith and prayer and the reception of the Holy Spirit's power?

Technology not enough

Such questions of relevancy and effectiveness stab insistently into our consciousness today because in the technological and scientific spheres where men are in control things do work and promises are fulfilled. Men have walked on the moon and returned. Men live and work after complex spare-part surgery. Jet travel and satellite surveilance have caused the world to shrink, and the development of a space shuttle program may yet further diminish distance. By pressing a few buttons in our own homes we can talk almost instantly to most parts of the world. The result of all this technological skill is that most people will risk their lives on the abilities and productions of their scientific fellow men. But few will risk their lives on the truths behind the Incarnation and Resurrection as did the first Christians.

Yet man is still not really contented or satisfied. His questions are often more wistful than cynical. His quest may be veneered with casualness, but when we are able to peel off the veneer, we find his search is real enough and often desperate, too. Deep down, man needs a faith, and he knows it. In the midst of his bewildering technological jungle, he is seeking for clear guidance and safe paths. Surrounded by his accumulated comforts and serenaded by the stereophonic music of his favorite performers, he needs something that will do more than just stifle the stabbing questions about life and death.

Sometimes in despair he turns his back on all that technology can provide and seeks a god, even the God, through narcotics, hallucinatory drug trips, or other escape routes. But if he survives he finds himself back under the blazing heat of his self-made scientific suns, longing for protection, power, direction, and a faith commensurate with computerized living.

Genuine Christianity

In another age, what we know as New Testament Christianity proved to be just such a faith. Indeed, it is the evident contrast, between Christianity as we know it today and that which stands out in the New Testament record as the original and genuine article, that frustrates our attempts to answer those who question Christianity's relevance to the eighties. Was it simply that the first century was a credulous age? Did the power of superstition control society and so make Christianity's relevance easy? Were people different? Has time altered human nature and needs? Were the first-century proponents of Christianity just ahead of their time in promotional and public-relations techniques? Were the apostles simply slick salesmen or even con men? Was the whole thing a fantasy?

However one approaches those questions, he should remember that at its inception New Testament Christianity was immediately relevant. No one asked that question. What they did ask was for the secret behind its relevance. Notice carefully Acts 4:7-13. An amazing miracle had taken place the day before. The results were clearly evident to all—a crippled man who had endured his infirmity for more than forty years was now walking and leaping in the air, on healed limbs. No one asked whether the preaching of the healers and what they had done was true or relevant. The facts spoke for themselves. The concern was " 'By what power or by what name did you do this?'" (verse 7). * As people observed what had taken place the compelling challenge was simply expressed: What is the secret of your obvious dynamism? Who is the source of your undoubted authority?

The record of this remarkable event is in Acts 3:1-10. Note both the content and the contrasts. Peter and John are pursuing the religious life—they are coming to the Temple for prayer and worship. The beggar has been a cripple as long as he can remember. Always he must depend on others. He had heard about the Miracle Worker, Jesus of Nazareth, who often seemed to be in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Finally a few friends brought him to the city, but when they arrived they were greeted with the news that the Nazarene had been crucified! The cripple's disappointment was keen. Now he was irreparably doomed to be deposited daily at the Temple gate to continue begging. The gate was the Beautiful Gate, but he was certainly a less than beautiful sight.

As Peter and John approached, he sensed something different about them. They responded to his plea. He waited expectantly for the coveted coin. And then came the disappointment. No money was available; nothing material was to be offered. But what was this? " 'In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk*" (verse 6)! Faith broke through. Physical strengthening was followed by spiritual awakening, and the miracle of transformation took place. This previously lame, destitute individual became healthy and independent, with a new perspective on life. Now he could cope through the power of God. No wonder that his healing caused consternation to those religious ones who saw no such power in their own lives, and excitement among those who were searching for the genuine.

Lessons for today

There is in this New Testament incident a challenge to us as ministers of that same gospel some 2,000 years later. It is the challenge to demonstrate true Christianity. Today is the opportunity for miracles. What does the Holy Spirit teach us from this event?

1. Amid the round of religious duties and concerns there is the daily, stabbing need of lame humanity.

This is not a new need; men are born this way. All are sinners, and no merely human solution will meet their need. Fellow beings, less affected at least physically, are willing to toss them a coin, to urge welfare authorities to provide better facilities, to seek to.improve their lives in various small ways, but none of these provisions reaches the root of the problem. Lame, needy humanity must experience a spiritual miracle. Thus when Peter is challenged for an explanation, he affirms, " 'There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved'" (chap. 4:12).

We may move people into new environments, we may seek to rehabilitate them by varying methods, but the only cure for lame mankind is to accept the offer God has made through Jesus Christ.

2. Humanity seeks the solution to its problems in material things.

This is what the lame man asked for. This is the direction in which people look for security. Some recognize that their need goes beyond the material. But then they become discouraged and turn again to the "silver and gold." The teaching of Christianity's Founder epitomized the inadequacy of this approach. Jesus affirmed that " 'a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions'" (Luke 12:15). There is more to life than cents and dollars, houses and automobiles, furniture and color television, boats and vacation homes, educational success and sound insurance policies. The only solution for mankind's lameness is in the miracle that is performed by receiving Christ's power into the life.

3. Lame humanity is at the Beautiful Gate—outside the church.

This is the church's opportunity, the opportunity for miracles. Really there should not be "cripples" inside the church, for Christ makes whole. There may be those who have stumbled and broken a limb or who have in some way temporarily injured themselves, and to these we should minister. But our constant challenge is to the needy world. Outreach is not optional. The work of restoration is divinely decreed.

4. The agents to meet the needs of humanity are fellow humans who have been transformed.

God's plan is that those who have themselves experienced the transforming and revivifying power of grace in their own lives will share this experience with others in need. " 'I give you what I have' " (Acts 3:6), Peter said. The companionship of Christ in Peter's life proved to be sufficient. As a minister of the gospel, what do you have to give others? You and I must have something to offer, and we must know it works. As our understanding of values is transformed, so will we present this to those in need. "The gospel we present for the saving of souls must be the gospel by which our own souls are saved."—Ellen White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 469. Note that Peter took the one in need by the hand and helped him up. While God accomplishes the task by His Spirit, the human instrumentality has a part to play also. We cannot accomplish our mission by office appointments or phone-a-thons. You and I must be person ally involved in direct contact with needy souls.

The only cure for lame humanity is to receive Jesus Christ as Lord. Spiritual cripples will never be set on their feet by any other person or by any other means. There is no gospel of life except the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Genuine Christianity is as relevant to the eighties as it was to the first-century world of the apostles. Our task, then, as Seventh-day Adventist ministers, is to demonstrate in our lives and in our ministries that the opportunity for miracles still exists.