When this issue of CHRISTIANITY TODAY reaches the mailbox I will be in Dortmund, Germany, watching the Billy Graham television crusade that will reach into the major cities of Europe. With church attendance at an all-time low, this crusade is strategically important; the direction Europe will take for the next decade may hang in the balance.
No one can remain unmoved by the inroads made into the Church by men and movements that are far to the left of the Scriptures and that account in large measure for the plight of the Church today. I have in mind particularly humanism, syncretism, and universalism, to which we will address ourselves in a future essay. The worldwide decline in church attendance, the increasing missionary retrenchment, the loss of income at a time when money has never been so available, and the decay of morality are the consequences of theological erosion. The dictum of Scripture that as we sow so shall we reap continues to operate inexorably in history.
We thank God for evidences of the Spirit’s working in various ways around the world, and we fervently hope this will widen into a fullblown awakening that will change the course of history. But we cannot believe this will occur until there’s a great deal more preaching on sin, judgment, and the need for genuine repentance.
