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The Forgiveness-only Gospel

10/30/2021

By far, the most used gospel would have to be the forgiveness-only gospel. This is good, for this gospel carries much of the truths about our sinfulness and need of forgiveness. However, this gospel misses an important aspect of salvation - Obedience.

In his book “The King Jesus Gospel,” Scott McKnight asks the questions, “How did the gospel culture become a salvation culture? How did the gospel become the plan of salvation?” He explains how the gospel stories of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John is a story of Jesus as the completion of the story of Israel. Jesus established a kingdom of which He is King. This story formed and framed the culture of the earliest Christians. However, due to its openness to Gentile (non-Jewish) believers, much of the Jewish history, customs and culture were overlooked and eventually left out of the gospel message. Through time, the lifestyle and cultural aspects of Israel with its kings and kingdoms, along with its historical meaning and fulfillment through Jesus had been forgotten. The gospel had been reduced to an evangelistic “plan of salvation”, while obedience and discipleship is something totally separate. We now call the gospel the “good news”, and rightly so. It’s the good news of how Jesus came to die for our sins. But that’s not all there is. What about His Kingship? What about living for His Kingdom? The focus has turned from a desire to be part of a world-changing culture and kingdom which lives out and conveys God’s truth, to a measly "get out of hell for free" pass.

We often use evangelistic tracts to convey a quick, easy and convenient gospel presentation. However, these evangelistic tracts only touch the surface of the gospel and quite often focus on the wrong point. One of the most well-known gospel tracts is “The Four Spiritual Laws.” See if you can find the flaw in its presentation…

Spiritual Law 1 – God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
Spiritual Law 2 – Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life.
Spiritual Law 3 – Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin. Through Him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life.
Spiritual Law 4 – We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives.

Were you able to see it? Each law states actual truth’s, but it’s presentation is very “me-centered”. Notice how each law talks about our life? It’s very humanistic in nature. It’s more about man and having a better life rather than God. It goes on to lead a person through a prayer to receive Jesus and eternal life. This presentation is almost as bad as the health and wealth presentation which lures and promises a better life.

The danger of this gospel is that we have reduced the salvation experience to a simple prayer. In an effort to “win the masses”, we have developed a quick and easy process for salvation... A "get out of hell for free" gimmick. A person can say a prayer then walk away with eternal life without any form of understanding, commitment or desire to change. We don’t see a prayer like this in the book of Acts. Nor did Jesus lead His disciples in a prayer of salvation. This gospel makes forgiveness and salvation the end goal while leaving discipleship as something optional. As it is, we have multitudes of people who have said a prayer but have never been discipled nor do they seek to know God, read His word daily or desire to grow in faith and obedience. Yet most of them believe they are saved from the dangers of hell. Salvation and discipleship are not separate events. You cannot just “get saved” and think that’s it. Salvation and discipleship are part of the same deal. Therefore, a “Forgiveness-only” Gospel is unscriptural.

The gospel you preach is the kind of disciple you will make.

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The Liberal Gospel

10/23/2021

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The opposite of the “Religious Right Gospel” we spoke about last week is the “Liberal Gospel.” If you haven’t noticed, there’s a little of each of these “other gospels” in every one of us and in every church. That’s scary. But please, read on…

The liberal gospel picks and chooses what to believe and when to believe it. The word liberal means, “open to new behavior or opinions and willing to disregard traditional values.” Liberal thought is nothing new. People have been picking and choosing what to believe and follow since the Garden of Eden. When God created man in His own image, He actually gave us the power to pick and choose and do what we want. That is the essence of liberty and freewill. However, liberal thinking is like a ship without a rudder, sailing on a sea of emotions being tossed and turned by every wave of teaching, eventually leaving a person shipwrecked in their faith.

In the book of Judges, we read: “After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them.” (Judges 2:10-12). We are living in a post-Christian country. The days of “IN GOD WE TRUST” are fading. A new generation is rising up. One that has no fear of God nor has seen all that the Lord has done. One that is “forsaking the God of our fathers” and is open to “following the various gods of the people around them.”

The danger of the liberal gospel is its progressive behavior. Liberal thinking along with discontentment and the unlimited spread of information at our fingertips, has developed what is called “Progressive Christianity.” In an effort to see Christianity progress in an age of doubt and disbelief in Jesus, God and the authority of the Bible, Progressive Christianity will help you “deconstruct” the traditional and fundamental teachings of our Christian doctrines that are irrelevant and “reconstruct” it with the more modern and relevant views of today. The virgin birth? Not important. Jesus is the only way? That’s too exclusive. The Resurrection? I doubt that happened. Jesus walking on water? That’s impossible! Jonah swallowed by a whale? Yeah right. Sin and its consequence? We’re all sinners. God is a loving God; I don’t think He will send anyone to hell. For the Progressive Christian and liberal thinker, it is encouraged to think “out of the box”.

This kind of thinking is not coming from new believers. It is coming from the older generations who have grown up in church, who know the stories and the strong fundamental teachings of the Bible but may have been hurt by the church or seen the moral decline of their leaders, parents or someone they trusted. They may have been pushed and maybe even shunned by a legalistic gospel. They see the institutional church model as nothing more than a manipulative scheme for money and power. Or maybe they have never really experienced Jesus and the claims of the Bible because they were fed such a liberal gospel that left them flailing in disbelief. They doubt the authority and liability of the Bible, so they are left to figure out what seems right and wrong according to their own moral and emotional beliefs. Basically, they are rebelling against God and any type of fundamental teaching or thought. They want to call the shots. They want to say for themselves what is right and wrong. It’s back to Eden and the question that changed the world, “did God really say this?” Welcome to the liberal gospel and the new Progressive Christianity.

We must always remember, the gospel we teach has a direct impact on the kind of disciple we make.

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The Religious “Right” Gospel (Legalism)

10/16/2021

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This next gospel was not formed by our modern-day culture but has been around since the beginning of Christianity. 2000 years ago, Jesus was born into a Jewish religious system that included Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots. Each of these classes were of Jewish descent but each of them had their own spin on how to follow God. It’s very similar to what we’re talking about today with the different gospels being preached in our churches.

The Pharisees were the legalists, following the law “to the T”. The Sadducees were the liberals catering to Herod (Rome) in order to keep the peace and maintain a high social status while still trying to follow God. The Essenes were “separatists.” They simply lived out in the desert separating themselves from the evil that existed in the cities and society. The Zealots were the fighters. For them it was God and country. Seize the land, stand up and fight for what is rightfully ours. These four sects made up the Jewish religious system of Jesus’ day. Jesus’ teachings opposed them all. It’s ironic how we still have a little of each of these in our churches today.

The Religious “Right” gospel is made up of all the above. Those who cling to this gospel believe they are right and everyone else is wrong. They will judge others, argue and cause disunity in the church to push their belief and agenda all the while leaving a poor testimony for those who are lost and looking for truth. In their zeal for the Lord they do more damage than good. They disregard the second greatest command “to love others” in an effort to be obedient to the first. Yet most of these right-winged gospel gurus are liberal enough to maintain their prosperity and high social status while picking and choosing for themselves what laws to follow. Some will even separate themselves from the world in an effort to follow what they believe to be of God. This gospel promotes pride, hate, anger, envy, disunity. This gospel has no grace from beginning to end. It’s all about works, performance and self-righteousness. When Jesus says in Matthew chapters five through seven, “You’ve heard it said… But I tell you…” He was speaking about these legalistic practices and teachings that were more about do’s and don’ts rather than a personal relationship with God.

The danger of this gospel is its extreme push towards works and obedience while lacking love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. It promotes legalism and intolerance. It pushes people to follow God out of guilt and fear. Rather than seeing God as a loving Father we begin to see Him as an Olympic judge, rating our performance. We forget about His love and grace that saved us in the first place only to start following this gospel of works and self-righteousness (Paul talks about this in his epistle to the Galatians).

Have you been clinging to this gospel? Are you a member of the church of the religious right? Jesus is calling all who are weary and heavy burdened. His yoke is light. Find peace in the Lord today. Trust in His love and remember His promises. We are saved by grace through faith not of works so that no one can boast (Eph 2:8-9). “A new command I give you, love one another as I have loved you.” --JESUS

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The Consumer Gospel

10/9/2021

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Another gospel that has slipped into our U.S. churches is known as the “Consumer Gospel.” This gospel caters to the rapid paced lifestyle of the typical American and is the culprit behind the newly dubbed heading known as “Cultural Christianity.” In a culture that thrives on instant gratification, convenience and personal choices, the consumer gospel offers a smorgasbord for the Christian shopper and Church hopper. This gospel has adopted the Burger King motto… “Have it your way!”

Also known as the “feel good” gospel, this gospel promises all the benefits without having to give up anything on our part. Auditoriums designed with ambiance and comfort is the ideal get-away for the typical person on-the-go looking for a weekly God-fix. Church services offering quick soundbites of truth in the form of entertainment are nothing short of a costly production of performing professionals where nameless spectators fill auditoriums to watch the game then leave. There is no call for repentance or daily devotion to Christ, just an invitation to accept what Jesus did on the cross so you can have eternal life. No real follow up, no demands and no big push for discipleship.

Again, I will use the old maxims, “What you win people with is what you’ve won them to.” And, “The gospel you use is the kind of disciple you will have.”

Author, pastor, evangelist, Bill Hull, says it this way, “Since impatience is the besetting sin of America, the consumer gospel replaces the slow and difficult path of authentic spiritual maturity with methods and programs that give fast and easy results.”

The dangers of this gospel are its extreme cultural aspects, hence the name Cultural Christianity. The culture is steeping into the church. There’s a name for that, it’s called “Secularization.” This gospel feeds our self-desires and gives us options to following Christ. It tries to attract people by giving them what they want. After all, who wants to hear a message about giving up the things we love? Jesus and the church are here to simply satisfy all our needs with no strings attached. It offers comfort, hope and assurance without any call to die to self and serve others. Serving in church as well as discipleship is optional and for those who are serious and have the time.

There are myriads of church goers that have never turned from their ways to follow Jesus. They have never learned about growing deep in their relationship with Christ because from the get-go they have had their needs met by the church and have never been challenged to do anything other than show up on Sunday. These are the ones who call themselves “blessed” because they grew up going to church; live in the Bible belt; are good people. They call themselves blessed by God because they found a new job; they bought a new car; they had their nails done! Whenever things are going well, they call it a blessing from God, other than that God is never mentioned or acknowledged. These are those who will drink themselves to oblivion on Saturday night and show up for church on Sunday mornings out of habit. You won’t see any difference in their lives or evidence of Jesus in these people. They can talk the talk but can’t walk the walk. Their attire, speech and behavior are no different than a lost person. But whenever there is a crisis, they’re singing “Jesus take the wheel” in tears. Could these be the people who Jesus warns us about in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

What kind of gospel are you following? What kind of gospel are you sharing? The gospel we preach is the kind of disciple we make.

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THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL

10/2/2021

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The prosperity gospel is an ideology based on the promises that God grants health and wealth to those who have faith. It promises that the atonement of Jesus’ blood shed at the cross not only covers all our sins but also cures all the brokenness caused by the fall. This has created a “name it and claim it” shift to following Christ. As long as you have enough faith, you can pray a new reality into existence.

The prosperity gospel is the centerpiece of the fastest growing part of the worldwide church. This gospel is nothing more than a deceptive scheme by the enemy to justify idolatry. Power-hungry preachers prey on the sinful desires of humanity. The promise of health and wealth (which are two of the biggest idols we deal with) are quite alluring. What better way to attract people to come to your church than by offering more of these idols? Once you get past the obstacles of health and wealth, life is a breeze! As it is, millions fall prey to this sinister scheme. And while their congregants live in abject poverty giving their last dime “in faith”, these preachers live in mansions.

The worst part about the prosperity gospel is it becomes all about us and all about the blessings we can have through Christ. This gospel resembles a humanistic view placing the emphasis on humanity rather than revering our Sovereign God. It undermines God’s will and His desire to heal and bless in accordance with His providential plan. It’s no longer “God’s will be done” but rather “my will be done”. We get to call the shots and God is reduced to a puppet. YES, God heals. YES, God grants success. YES, God answers prayer and will give us whatever we need when we ask. But we must also remember that we live in a fallen world. In this life, no one lives forever; people will get sick and everyone dies. The healing and miracles that God grants are just a glimpse of what is to come. If everyone could be healed or had all the money they wanted, we would not need heaven or God.

The danger of this gospel is it does not lead to disciples who follow Jesus. Instead it feeds greed, power and pride. Jesus is no longer the focal point or the main need, the blessings are. As mentioned before, “What we win people with is what we’ve won them to.” When we promise health and wealth, where does repentance come in? Where does denying self and following Christ come into play? It doesn’t. As Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:10, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” Trying to win people with the promise of money is ludicrous! It’s not that money is bad. We all need money to survive. It’s the love of money that’s bad. When money becomes the focus in life, it becomes our God. Jesus said you cannot serve God and money. Yet our cultural Christianity has developed this idea that because we are well to do God is blessing us. Beware of that mentality for there are many wealthy atheists. Money and health are not the evidence of God’s blessings. Neither can we simply give God 10% (a tithe) of all our earnings while idolizing the remaining 90%. Remember what Jesus said to the rich young ruler? Sell all your possessions, give the money to the poor and follow me. NOTHING is to come between us and God. REPENT is the first word of the gospel.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s hard to make disciples who are attracted to God for the wrong reasons. And it’s impossible to become a follower of Christ through the prosperity gospel.

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The Forgiveness-only Gospel

The Liberal Gospel

The Religious “Right” Gospel (Legalism)

The Consumer Gospel

THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL

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