We often sing the song, I Love to Tell the Story, written and composed by Catherine Hankey and William G. Fischer. This song is one of my favorites. The story of God's plan to save mankind is timeless. The Bible first introduces us to God's plan for saving mankind immediately following the earliest sins, first of Eve, and then of Adam. In Genesis 3:15, when God addressed the serpent in the Garden of Eden, He gave the first Messianic prophecy. The passage says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."

Indeed, the entire Old Testament is dedicated to conveying the message that Jesus would come and that God's plan for redeeming man would be established and accomplished. Perhaps the most famous of the Messianic prophecies is found in Isaiah 53, which has come to be known as the prophecy of the suffering Messiah. God's plan for man's redemption through the sacrifice of Christ is found throughout that chapter, particularly in verses 10-12, which say, "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for sin, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the righteous One, my Servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide Him a portion with the many, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors."

When the Lord Himself finally came to earth, those who believed in Him were tremendously excited. He was the One to whom the Old Testament pointed, and now He was here! Imagine Peter's excitement as he and the other apostles gathered around Jesus in the district of Caesarea Philippi and Jesus asked them who they thought He was. Peter could say, with absolute confidence and conviction, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

When the Roman soldiers crucified Jesus, the apostles' spirits were at an all-time low. During those days between His death and resurrection, their faith was tested as it had not been up to that point. Their despondency can be heard in Thomas's words found in John 20:25. "So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord.' But he said to them, 'Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe."

Thomas, who was not present when the Lord appeared to the other apostles after His resurrection, showed that he had sunk into dejection and hopelessness. He allowed his sorrow to overcome his faith, and I think it is probably safe to say that he was not the only apostle who was seriously struggling at that time. But Jesus arose! The apostles were more energized and convicted than they had been before; and they would, though it cost them their lives, preach His message in a single-minded effort to convert as many as possible. Their attitude is reflected in Paul's words found in Acts 20:24. "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

With zeal and determination probably not seen since those first-century years, the earliest disciples took to the world the message that the Lord gave up glory and honor, took on flesh, suffered and died for all mankind, and then rose again.

The plan that God developed for mankind's redemption was complete; justification was available to man. They believed and thus they spoke (2 Corinthians 4:13).

Fast-forward nearly two thousand years, and here we are. As man looks at things, this story is now an old, old story. We have difficulty comprehending what life would have been like just 200 years ago, much less two thousand. Thus, the words of the song are very appropriate. Yet, I sometimes wonder if, for some, instead of being that wonderful old, old story, it has instead become a story that has gotten old. Let's be honest brethren; the largest portion, by far, of the religious world is not satisfied with the plain Scripture message and its "antiquated," strict demands for obedience, and unpopular doctrine that man has no authority in religious matters. Long ago, the denominational world abandoned the plain gospel message; their very existence proves that.

But what about Christians? In 1 Corinthians 2: 1-2, the apostle Paul said something that is familiar to Bible students. "And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech and wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

Part of teaching "Jesus Christ and Him crucified" is teaching obedience to His commands. Another familiar passage that emphasizes this is 1 Thessalonians 1:6-8. "Since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus."

I realize that, according to popular opinion, the apostle Paul probably would not be welcome in our pulpits. I also believe that we have a tendency to emphasize the negativity in today's church to such an extent that we make it appear as though the church is just about to enter into wholesale apostasy or vanish altogether. Neither is imminent. That being said, it has been my personal experience, particularly with younger-generation Christians, that Paul's plain gospel message is no longer exactly what some want to hear.

Since the earliest days of the restoration, some have had an irresistible desire for the church to be considered "relevant" among the denominations. Today, Christians speak to their denominational friends and hear about all the wonderful programs in which they are involved and all of the fancy new buildings complete with state-of-the-art gymnasiums, kitchens, bookstores, barbershops, beauty salons, day care facilities, and many other modern conveniences. More and more, the younger, and some older, Christians feel that since the Lord's church lacks these modern conveniences, we have fallen behind the rest of the religious world and been relegated to a position of irrelevance. It is sad that many Christians find it more important to be relevant in the sight of men than of God. When the desire to please man becomes greater than the desire to please God, there can be only one end--straying from the truth. Paul's words in Galatians 1:10 mean today exactly what they did when he first penned them. "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."

Look inward, brethren. Has the plain gospel message become old to you? Has it become outdated, requiring supplemental activities, and perhaps even some rearranging, to make it interesting, to make it relevant? Or can you still look with joy and speak excitedly about that magnificent old, old story that never really grows old?