Meaninglessness: The Most Hated Sermon
Many American pastors have jumped onto the psychology band wagon. They open their mouths to add to the rhetoric of the self-help movement, which is the gospel of human development. Humanism is burgeoning in the American church. This message and movement are designed to set Christians free from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Under the guise of good Christian living, therapists with counseling degrees have persuaded their way into American church pulpits. Their message of human potential has now poisoned multiple generations of church goers. These charlatans tickle the ears of those who love the biblical message, “You, too, shall be as gods (Gen 3:5).” Few, if any in the Panglossian pews recognize the original preacher of that message…Satan.
Human potential Christianity begins with man-centered conversion. Preachers persuade people to use their mystical powers to enable Jesus to save them. They are told that they are one choice away from being together with Jesus, forever. Having made their sovereign choice to accept Jesus’ pleading offer, the humanism does not stop. Now, the “Christ follower” must become all he can be…like Jesus did. He, of course, is told that he must do this or that to get Jesus’ help. Just as justification depended on sinful man doing something, now sanctification can only happen if man acts, which then frees God to help him.
The glory of God is not the end goal objective for many church goers. Rather, self-development, to gain power will help the man-centered Christian to “change the world.” With so much of Christianity being out of alignment with the Bible, the question that does not go away is, “Is that pastor and that congregation even Christian?”
One of the sermon messages that can counter the gospel of human empowerment is a message of meaninglessness. A warning must be issued that a sermon with this content will be despised and rejected by people.
The Bible confronts sinful humanity with the futility of man’s existence. People come into the world with nothing, and they leave the world with nothing (1 Tim 6:7). Those with years of longevity are still faced with the truth that their lives are but a vapor (Jas 4:14). Time is fleeting and material gain can add as much grief as it can add comfort. Simply put, there is no salvation in the materialism of humanism.
People avoid the truth of their existence. They love the darkness (Jn 3:19). In the grand scheme of world history, who you are and what you do is entirely unknown or forgotten by people elsewhere and in future generations. All is vanity, yet people persist in chasing after the wind of fame and fortune. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and then lose his own soul? Jesus’ question is rhetorical (Mt 16:26; Mk 8:36).
Most people settle for less. They pursue comfort and health, and then, they, too, die and face the righteous judgment of God (2 Cor 5:10; Heb 9:27). People, of course, do not talk openly about the meaninglessness of their lives. Instead, everyone is made to feel as if their participation mattered. To say otherwise ensures the preacher will live in relative exile from the church.
The unbeliever is motivated to serve the ruler of this world, in order to gain what the devil promises. The age-old problem is that man’s adversary is the father of lies (Jn 8:44). He who poses as an angel of light has deceived the whole world (2 Cor 11:14; 1 Jn 5:19). As the god of this world, the prince of darkness blinds the minds of people from seeing the Gospel truth (2 Cor 4:4), as it is in Jesus Christ (Eph 4:21).
The enemy tells people they are good, while the Bible assures them, they are bad (Gen 6:5; Jer 17:9; Jn 3:18–19; Rom 3:10–12; Eph 2:1–3). The slave master of sinful men tells his subjects to work harder at doing good works, while the Bible assures them their works are filthy rags (Is 64:6). Lucifer tells people that heaven is theirs, while the Bible assures them that the population of eternal hell is more voluminous than heaven. The deception of the prince of demons is great.
If a Christian preacher were to tell the truth about the true state of humanity, which is a rare thing, he would argue for the total depravity of humanity (Rom 1:18–32; 2–3:20; 8:7). Natural men are the walking dead (1 Cor 2:14). They are ignorant until they are informed. When they are informed, they mock and scoff at the message, calling it “foolishness (1 Cor 1:18).”
The good and faithful preacher of the Gospel will join in the sufferings of Christ (Col 1:24), enduring persecution (Mt 5:10–12), while suffering for the sake of the elect (2 Tim 2:10). If the pastor has not said these things to a congregation and faced a fierce backlash, he has probably diluted his message. While Satan assures people, they can be like gods, the Christian preacher is constrained to tell people that their lives are meaningless without Jesus Christ (Jn 3:36; 1 Jn 5:11–13). The clear delineation between the unsaved and the saved, the unrighteous and the righteous, the damned and the delivered must be made as clear as possible.
Few preachers will simply tell people the truth about the futile state of humanity. If they do, some people will believe them, while most people will not believe. Those who hear the bad news of their lives lived in vanity and reject the preacher’s proclamation will change nothing by their unbelief. In addition, their hatred of this sermon message may be to the utmost. They will, however, be judged by the Word of God; and eternal hell will then assure them that their lives were indeed meaningless.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
March 9, 2021
