Now this describes society today. We are in a post-modern society. What matters today is, what I like. If we say to people, ‘This is the way to judgment, to having the devil reign in your life, to have him take away what shreds of character you have, and put you into eternal judgment. This, on the other hand, is the way to have forgiveness of sin and communion with God, and a new heart and a new life’; it doesn't matter how carefully we try to explain it, how appealingly we put it, what we hear is, ‘We will not walk therein.’ That is the reaction of the people. ‘It is not what we like. We like the other route.’
Even Christians, think like this sometimes; they are so affected by the present society. You say, ‘But that's wrong; the Scripture forbids it.’ They say, ‘Oh, but it’s what I like; it’s what I want.’ Are you a young person, and you have been deeply educated into post-modernity? Is that how you find yourself reacting? ‘But I like this; I like that’? That is the tragedy of the human heart. We behave unreasonably. We reject the goodness of God, and we go down the wrong route, and you can see it here in Jeremiah.
‘Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths.’ What wonderful passages these are for the preaching of the gospel, and even for personal witness! Mark you, you can see a problem in this for witness. In witness we have to be more careful. You can't say to your boss in the office, ‘You are a terrible sinner and you are going to hell. Let me tell you some of your sins. Let me convince you how wretched and needy you are.’ Of course, you can’t say that. That is one of the great things about preaching. The preacher is speaking to a crowd. He can say things that apply to this person here, and that person there, without them being personally affronted. Yes, they may be offended anyway, but we are preaching to everybody, and so there is no personal offence. So personal witness, certainly, has to be a little more clever about this, more careful, and more circumspect.