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Guilty Silence

"And then he [Jesus] told them, 'You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone everywhere."¹

In his book, Seven Signs of the End Times, Mark Hitchcock shares the following: "I heard a story recently about two pastors standing near the side of a road holding up a sign that read, 'The end is near! Turn yourself around now before it's too late!'

"As the first driver sped by, he hollered, 'Leave us alone, you religious nuts!'

"From around the curve they heard screeching tires and a big crash. One pastor turned to the other and said, 'Maybe we should just put up a sign that says, Bridge Out Ahead.'"²

And as Hitchcock added, "It does appear to me, as I read the signs in our world today that the bridge is out." Because of this, it is imperative that we let people know that they need to turn around and receive Christ and God's forgiveness before it is too late.

Back in August 2011, the death of one of the leading Evangelical Christian leaders, John Stott, was announced. His passing was a sad loss.

About John Stott, Chuck Colson of BreakPoint wrote, "In 1967, at a time when most Evangelical [Christians] were content to remain safe behind the walls of their churches, ignoring the larger world around them, Stott wrote a book entitled, Our Guilty Silence.

"In it, Stott made the case that because the Gospel is 'Good News' we are under an obligation to share it with others. This sounds obvious, but in 1967 this kind of witness, and that kind of engagement with the larger society was the last thing many Christians wanted to do. They much preferred their comfortable worship and cultural isolation."³

And Jerry Beavan, early advance organizer of the Billy Graham Crusades, in his American News Commentary, quoted Joel C. Rosenberg, New York Times bestselling author, who said, "America is in trouble, morally, spiritually and financially. Yet no one seems to have any answers. The politicians seem clueless. The media certainly doesn't have any answers. Academia seems more out of touch than ever. Sadly, far too many

Church leaders are asleep, as well—or too timid, or drifting off course spiritually and theologically—just at the time they could and should be powerfully proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ as the only real hope of mankind. God hasn't failed us. We have failed God."⁴

Christian friends, if ever there was a time to reach friends, families, and people around the world and across the street with the saving gospel of Jesus Christ—the only hope for our sin-sick world—it is today. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer so eloquently stated it:  "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." May God deliver us from "our guilty silence."

To make it simple for you to act and be involved in reaching others for Christ please do the following:

1. Forward this issue of Daily Encounter to all your Christian friends.
2. Also, be sure to use some of the ACTS Business Witness Cards that are available for a small donation. See them at actscom.com/witness_cards.php. Especially see "Have a God Day" and "Thank You for Your Friendly Service" cards.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I am available for you to use. Please deliver me from the sin of 'guilty silence' and give me the courage to help reach friends, family, contacts, and others with the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please do your work through me and make me an attractive and effective witness for Jesus Christ. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Mark 16:15 (TLB)(NLT).
2. Mark Hitchcock, Seven Signs of the End Times, Multnomah Books, © 2002. P.100.
3. Chuck Colson, BreakPoint, http://tinyurl.com/4y6do6t.
4. American News Commentary, August 10, 2011.

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