The Pit and the Pendulum
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
“The failure of modern evangelicalism is the failure to understand the holiness of God.” – R.C. Sproul
“The Pit and the Pendulum” is a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe that was first published in 1842. It tells the fictional story of a prisoner being tortured during the Spanish Inquisition, a period that began under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1478 and lasted until 1834, when it was abolished by Queen Isabella II. Over the course of those 364 years, it is estimated that 150,000 people were prosecuted for violating orthodox Catholic doctrine and between 3,000 and 5,000 were executed for alleged heresy.
It’s no wonder why many unsaved people perceive Christianity to be harsh and hypocritical, unloving and unforgiving. It is also one of the reasons why, during more modern times, the “spiritual pendulum” has swung dramatically in the direction of grace. On the surface, that doesn’t sound like a bad thing. But dig a little deeper and you will see why an overemphasis on grace – and an underemphasis on holy living and scriptural truth – is both dangerous and unhealthy.
Today, many churches no longer preach about sin, the need for repentance, or the reality of hell as a place for unbelievers. Instead, they falsely claim that we are all God’s children and that a loving God would never cast anyone into the Lake of Fire.
The secret, my friend, is maintaining biblical purity while also exercising God’s grace. Simply put, God is equal parts holy and loving. His holiness demanded that sin be punished, and His love provided a sin-bearer named Jesus. At Calvary, God the Father poured out His wrath on God the Son so that you and I could be forgiven.
That is the balanced message that pastors and churches need to be preaching today.
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” Isaiah 6:1-5 (NIV)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
