The mission of amusement
fails to effect the end desired.
An evil resides in the
professed camp of the Lord so gross in its impudence that the most
shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years it has
developed at an abnormal rate evil for evil. It has worked like leaven until
the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than
hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment
for the people, with a view to winning them. From speaking out as the
Puritans did, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked
at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her
borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.
My first contention is
that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the
Scriptures as a function of the Church. If it is a Christian work why did
not Christ speak of it? "Go ye into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature." That is
clear enough. So it would have been if He has added, "and provide amusement
for those who do not relish the gospel." No such words, however, are to be
found. It did not seem to occur to Him. Then again, "He
gave some apostles, some prophets, some pastors and teachers, for the work
of the ministry." Where do entertainers come in? The Holy
Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they
amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.
Again, providing amusement
is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all His
apostles. What was the attitude of the Church to the world? "Ye
are the salt," not sugar candy-something the world will spit
out, not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance, "Let
the dead bury their dead." He was in awful earnestness!
Had Christ introduced more
of the bright and pleasant elements into His mission, He would have been
more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His
teaching. I do not hear Him say, "Run after these people, Peter, and tell
them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and
attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the
people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick, Peter, we must
get the people somehow!" Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them,
but never sought to amuse them. In vain will the Epistles be searched to
find any trace of the gospel amusement. Their message is, "Come out, keep
out, keep clean out!" Anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its
absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other
weapon. After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the Church had a
prayer meeting, but they did not pray, "Lord grant Thy servants that by a
wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people
how happy we are." If they ceased not for preaching Christ, they had not
time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went
everywhere preaching the gospel. They "turned
the world upside down." That is the difference! Lord, clear
the Church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her and bring
us back to apostolic methods.
Lastly, the mission of
amusement fails to affect the end desired. It works havoc among young
converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the Church
met them halfway, speak and testify. Let the heavy-laden who found peace
through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic
entertainment has been God's link in the chain of their conversion, stand
up! There are none to answer. The mission of amusement produces no converts.
The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined
with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from
the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it
sets men on fire.
