Jensen noted that what happens in the West percolates throughout the rest of the world. The issues are threefold: a desperate need, an unclear gospel and a compromised church.

Jensen explained the church's desperate need could be summed up in one word, "Adam." "In Adam all die, by his sin he condemned the human race. This is a prelude to judgment because after death comes judgment. That is the clear testimony of Scripture. It is a universal testimony, we are heading for judgment and we must all face the judge. That is the great fact of human existence. The reality of judgment can lead to horrible eternal shipwreck and eternal exclusion from the presence of God which is hell."

A preacher who does not warn his children there is such a place as hell and judgment, a father who does not say these things to his children is failing, continued Jensen. He said the situation is serious, but the bad news must always be balanced with the good news of Jesus from whom forgiveness comes.

"As I look at the national state today it is not that the government that is failing, it is that in Adam all die, and that the Son of God gave himself for me. God is the most important reality in your life, never let us forget that."

UNCLEAR MESSAGE

Jensen stated that at the top of the list -- for lack of a clear message - are the bishops whom he described as "hopeless."

"I sat down with a group of them and they could not agree on the Christian message. They could not say that Jesus was the one and only mediator between God and man. They were like other 'prophets' who had an unclear gospel as to the means of its power. They did not take sin seriously. The cross was emptied of its power to save. Many of these bishops are Pelagian and semi-Pelagian in their views.

Jensen said an unclear gospel leaves people in darkness. They are not saved. They know more about politics than the faith.

UNCOMPROMISED CHURCH

"The culture in which we live has infiltrated the church. The world has been saying 'you can't say those things'. I am concerned about what the world says, but that is not the real judgment. In a compromised church we bring human reason shaped by the culture, but we live in to bear on the Word of God. The church has been compromised of its authority and in its confession of Christ crucified. It is also compromised as to its behavior."

Jensen continued that what we see is pride in sin. "What we see condemned in Scripture is being upheld in the church. Some are proud of that sin. It becomes their gospel. Some are so in love with peace that they will come to terms with sin. Some becomes censorious and takes political action against those who are orthodox.

"If you stand up for a persistent biblical gospel you will be cast out, you will be labeled an extremist, a fundamentalist and a fanatic. This is the way the Western churches have gone.

"In the many issues that face the church, there is, above all, a desperate need for the gospel. The gospel has become unclear for many and many live within compromised churches.

"The duty for believers is to stand firm in the gospel as 'one man' contending for the faith. There is a scriptural gospel and there is a fellowship in the gospel."

According to Jensen, this conference has made it 'clear that we are not alone, but it is lonely to be a witness for Christ, we are isolated and few in numbers and we are spoken ill of. Nevertheless we must stand firm.

"What is the Fellowship of Concerned Anglicans (FCA) but a worldwide movement centered on the Jerusalem Declaration. It is not a political movement but spiritual and ecclesiastical movement built around classic Anglicanism. It is a comprehensive Anglicanism with different streams. It is clear. It has boundaries. The FCA says yes and no. It is not what you deny, but what what you affirm. It says courage breeds courage. I am going to go out [of here] preaching and defending the gospel with these my brothers and sisters."

Archbishop Jensen gave this address to several hundred members of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in central London that included eight archbishops, numerous bishops, clergy and laity from around the world.

END