William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, was asked in 1901 what the biggest dangers were for the church in the century that lay ahead. Here was his answer, "Religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God and heaven without hell."
It's now been 110 years since Booth made that statement, and the most pressing concern I have about the church of today is the propensity to preach forgiveness without repentance, and salvation without regeneration. I am though encouraged by some of the younger preachers of today such as Matt Chandler, Kevin DeYoung and Kyle Idleman who are bold in addressing this same concern. I'm not a young preacher anymore, but my desire is to exhibit this same boldness. Amen.
