Foundation Stones for Declaring God's Glory (1976)
Message from Urbana 76by John Alexander
InterVarsity's President Gives the Opening Address at Urbana 76
It is a pleasure extending my welcome to you for this Missionary Convention sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and I do so, on behalf of the InterVarsity Board of Trustees, on behalf of our staff, our Local Committee members and all of our student members across the nation.
There is a second - and rather personal - basis on which I welcome you. Urbana is my home town. And when I thumb through the Convention Handbook and come to the map, I can see in the upper right-hand corner the 1000 block on Stoughton Street, the location of my boyhood home, and Lincoln Grade School where I spent my early years.
Also, as an alumnus of the University of Illinois, I welcome you. Little did I realize in September of 1936 when I enrolled here as a freshman that the day would come when I would return to this, my alma mater, with thousands of fellow Christians to sing God's praises, to hear his Word expounded, to focus attention on reaching a needy world for the sake of Christ Jesus. It is a thrill for me to be here with you.
The theme of the Convention is "Declare His Glory among the Nations." The purpose is to help us all do a better job of declaring his glory. And if that purpose is to be fulfilled, we need to build the Convention on solid truth and solid response to that truth.
There is an analogy here with constructing a building. The principle holds that beneath substantial buildings there must be substantial foundations. May I propose this evening that we lay in place two major foundation stones upon which to construct our part of this Missionary Convention? The first stone can be labeled convictions, the second, confessions.
In laying the first foundation, let us direct attention to a portion of God's Word found in the New Testament in the letter to the Church at Ephesus (Eph.1:3-10). I have selected this portion because the paragraph deals with purpose - God's purpose. Notice what it says concerning God's purpose for the dimension of time, for the dimension of space, his purpose for people and his purpose for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us. For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
God is a long-range planner. He has a long-range purpose in mind. His purpose is an expression of his will. It is his will to bring all human history to a great climax in Jesus Christ. His purpose includes all of time - which includes all of the year 1976 - which includes these days in late December. It is a stirring thought to realize that the five days of this Convention do not repose in a time vacuum. They are part of God's plan.
His purpose includes all people. None of his creatures is outside the scope of his will. His plan includes not just this crowd of 17,000 people; it includes you as an individual and me as a person. If we have been following the Lord Jesus Christ in glad obedience, we are here at Urbana not primarily because we chose to come to Illinois but because the sovereign Lord of the universe willed that we be here. What then are some of the truths which we believe are serving as the foundation stones upon which this Convention is to be constructed?
First is the conviction that God is the great active agent in all that we do - in this Convention in particular. Second is the conviction that God's overriding purpose in his work is the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ: "That in all things he might be pre-eminent." Third, God's Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of people today, drawing them to Christ. Fourth, God speaks through Scripture revealing something of his character, his deeds and his ways, communicating to men, revealing enough information on which to respond. Our attitude toward the Bible is very important. The choice of what attitude to adopt is one of the most difficult and important decisions in life.
In my own case, I have wrestled with this problem for years and have chosen to believe that the Bible is the infallible revelation of the infallible God - which means that it is entirely trustworthy and reliable. How about errancy? Admittedly there are parts of the Bible which are problems. These I recognize. When I've done my best to find solutions, but without success, I stand silent before them, not knowing how to explain them.
But I refuse to pronounce a verdict of "error" for two reasons: First, I then would have to commence the process of sifting out biblical error from biblical truth. This is something even the Lord Jesus refused to suggest when he was on earth. Second, to what more reliable source would I turn for the criteria by which to distinguish biblical truth from biblical error? My belief in biblical inerrancy readily admits all the problems; but I refuse to set myself up as judge of Scripture and commence deciding which statements are biblical errors.
Fifth, as God gives people new life in Christ, he makes them one with all who believe. This group is called the church. We recognize that there are many definitions of church. But I want to underline the fact that we in InterVarsity believe wholeheartedly that the church is the body of Christ composed of all who have committed themselves to Jesus Christ. The church is God's own institution through which he has chosen to work in the world.
Sixth, God is building his church in all parts of the world and in all segments of society. This includes colleges, universities, nursing schools and technical schools. God has not bypassed the college world in spite of pessimism on the part of some Christians that his Spirit does not operate there. We also believe that God's Spirit is working through students and faculty at those schools. This is what we mean by the "indigenous witness." To be sure, an important ministry can be had by outsiders visiting the campus. But the main witness must be done by students and faculty who are inside that college, inside that university, inside that school.
Further, we believe that God has chosen you to be such a witness: you who are students, you who are faculty. We believe that you are at your particular school - this particular year - because the sovereign Lord of all space and of all time has chosen you to be there. Moreover, we believe that your vision of the witness to Christ extends beyond your campus to include other parts of society in your home land and to include other lands of the world not only here and now but also in the years ahead.
Finally, we believe that you desire help in being a witness, not only for the present, but also for the future. Thus, the fundamental purpose of this Convention is to provide you with such assistance. InterVarsity does not pretend to be the only agency raised up by God to help students. There are several other movements which glorify God on campus. But we believe the Lord has given InterVarsity a portion of that ministry. And this convention is one of the efforts to give college students some help in discerning God's will as members of Christ's worldwide body today, and as maturing participants in his body throughout all the tomorrows.
The second foundation I propose we lay beneath this Convention can be labeled confession. I believe it would be in order for the 17,000 of us in this the opening session of Urbana 76 to unite in a prayer of humble confession. In response to the foregoing statements of convictions concerning God and his purpose in Christ, let our opening response be that of repentant sinners who, in the presence of his wondrous holiness, are moved to confess our sin.
Now I realize this is difficult. We hear the words from Scripture in 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We nod our heads in agreement. But when it comes to the uncomfortable business of privately facing our own sin and our many sins, we turn away. It is more comfortable to apply this truth to the sins of other people.
We generally do not squirm when applying it corporately, but when the spotlight of a holy God's convicting power floods in upon us we prefer to display our proud peacock feathers and leave the confession to the other fellow. We agree that the United States should confess its sins (and indeed it should), but we find great difficulty in confessing our own. We agree that the church should confess its sins (and well it might), but let's leave the spotlight on the church - comfortably keeping it off us. If only certain mission boards would confess their sins - but don't ask me to confess mine. If only certain people would confess their terrible sin of race prejudice - but be careful not to embarrass me by asking me to confess the race prejudice in my heart.
And so it goes. On and on. Let me ask you this question: How can God's will be carried out in this Convention if you and I, as individuals, decide to go through these next five days as proud, self-righteous Pharisees, leaving it up to the other person to confess his sins while we refuse to confess ours.
For several months I have had a strong conviction that this opening message of Urbana 76 should close on the note of repentance and confession. Accordingly, I invite you now to join me in coming humbly before our heavenly Father to truly confess our sin. I know of no better way than to read a prayer of confession which has been offered by our forefathers for at least 400 years in scattered places around the world. I will read the prayer slowly so that each of us can focus mind and heart on the words. I invite you to respond silently, making confession in the privacy of your own heart.
Almighty and most merciful Father;
We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.
We have offended against thy holy laws.
We have left undone those things which we ought to have done.
We have done those things which we ought not to have done.
There is no health in us.But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us miserable offenders.
Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults,
Restore thou those who are penitent, according to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of thy holy Name.Amen.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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