We are living in an age of wonders. God is allowing men to accomplish great things; in fact, man is daily doing what, 50 years ago, some would have said God could not do, and if the Bible had mentioned these things, some men of those days would have scoffed the more.
Radio is one of the great wonders of this generation. Man can send his voice around the world; he can speak or sing in one place and have millions of people listen while sitting in their own homes, and yet have no wire connecting them.
And now: TELEVISION. By its means not only voices can be transmitted but animated pictures can be sent over the air and reproduced where men please.
Men who say (or at least act as though) God cannot see or hear them in their sins, can accurately reproduce their own deeds, either at once or hold them until some later date. And shall not God "bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing"? Eccl. 12:1414For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
The good done by radio has been extolled many times: it has carried messages of distress from ships at sea and thus saved many lives; it has warned people of floods and tornadoes and enabled many to escape death; it has disseminated forecasts of weather conditions and so saved tremendous crop damage; and even the gospel has gone out by its means. But there is another side to all this: the great enemy of man—Satan—has used the radio most extensively. He has adapted it to his nefarious schemes to lure unsaved people on to a Christless death and eternal damnation. It has been one of his most artful modes of lulling to sleep those who should be aroused about sin, death, and judgment to come. He, as the god and prince of this world, has equipped radio with such a variety of entertainment as to satisfy almost any temperament or disposition—yes, even to religion. Alas, alas, while some preach the gospel over it, it has dispensed much religious poison—from the false cults to rank modernism that denies the authority of the Word of God, the deity of Christ, and His atoning death,
In addition to luring the unsaved on to their doom, radio has robbed the beloved saints of God of much joy in Himself and occupation with Christ. It is obviously impossible to enjoy the world's radio entertainment and Christ at the same time; instead, it robs the soul and clutters the mind with the "leeks, onions, melons, and garlic" of Egypt, thus spoiling the spiritual appetite for the" manna"—Christ, the bread from heaven. And many dear saints have been ensnared in religious error of one kind and another through laxity in taking heed to what they hear.
And now: TELEVISION. The prince and the power of the air, who is also the god of this world, is now ready to sell people on installing television sets in their homes. It has long been said that the eye takes in more than the ear, so now men will be able to see as well as hear entertainment from the world. As the manufacture of television sets goes into mass production, and they are offered for sale in more and more places, a word of solemn warning needs to be sounded. Fellow Christian, is it not true that no conceivable interest of Christ or His kingdom can be served by a television set being in the home of a heavenly man? What would the Apostle Paul say, who pleads by the Holy Spirit—"set your affections [minds] on things above"?
Have we not all allowed much of the world and its influences to creep into our houses? Has not the world an insidious influence on our lives, to our shame? Has not Christ been robbed in the measure in which He has been displaced in our thoughts and affections? Surely television can do nothing but further delude the lost and rob the saints. For a Christian to have one in his home is to open his home to the world; it will bring the world's shows, games, prize fights, and numerous other things into the home. Christians, beware of the lure, for if allowed, it will bring into your home what you would not go to see. Things and places that your spiritual intelligence would shrink in horror from would then be available, at the turn of a switch, to you and your household—"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness." Matt. 6:3333But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33).