Let us be truly "seeker-sensitive"

Okay, here we go - the pastor must have truly lost his mind to make a post entitled "Let us be truly seeker-sensitive." Hear me out.

I was going through some of my notes from the Shepherd's Conference and was reminded of statement made by R.C. Sproul that said to the effect that the term "seeker-sensitive" can biblically only refer to Christians (as opposed to unbelievers) since only those who are quickened by the Spirit of God actually "seek."

The conclusion therefore is that a truly "seeker-sensitive" church ought not to appeal to what unbelievers think they want or need from the church, for the "natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Rather, the church ought to appeal to the real needs of believers in Christ, which is to "grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). This means we need churches and preachers to boldly and rightly preach, "the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27), not appealing to the wisdom of this world, but rather to the wisdom of God who expressly declared in 2 Timothy 4:2-4;

2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (NKJV)

The unbeliever cannot be rightly called a seeker. Romans 3:10-11 makes this clear:

There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. (NKJV)

And again, the words of our Lord Jesus confirm this same thing as we read in John 6:44;

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. (NKJV)

On the other hand, when God's people are truly hunger for God, they seek Him, primarily through His Word. This is seen in part in the book of Nehemiah and in Acts where we read;

Nehemiah 8:1

Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel. (NKJV)

Acts 17:11
Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. (NASU)

The people told Ezra to "bring the Book" and the Bereans "received the word with great eagerness" and were "examining the Scriptures daily." Here then are your true seekers - those who love the Word of God and want to intimately know the God of the Word, something that Scripture says comes only to those with the Spirit of God. Any other definition for "seeker-sensitive" is unbiblical and therefore theologically incorrect.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Ed