BackMenu Crimes Against the Gospel & the Consequences December 30, 2013 by Paul Washer Category: Gospel Tags: Gospel 0 comments One of the greatest crimes of this generation of Christians is its neglect of the Gospel, and it is from this neglect that all our other maladies spring forth. The lost world is not so much “Gospel hardened” as it is “Gospel ignorant” because many of those who proclaim the Gospel, are also ignorant of its most basic truths. Absent from too many pulpits are the essential themes which make up the very core of the Gospel - the justice of God, the radical depravity of man, the blood atonement, the nature of true conversion, and the biblical basis of assurance. In many cases, the Gospel message has been reduced to a few creedal statements, conversion has become a mere human decision, and assurance of salvation is pronounced over anyone who prays the sinner’s prayer. The result of this “Gospel reductionism” has been far-reaching. First, it further hardens the heart of the unconverted. Few modern-day “converts” ever make their way into the fellowship of the church, and those who do, often fall away, or are marked by habitual carnality. Untold millions walk our streets and sit in our pews unchanged by the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, and yet they are convinced of their salvation because one time in their life they raised their hand at an evangelistic campaign or repeated a prayer. This false sense of security creates a great barrier that often insulates such individuals from ever hearing the true Gospel. Secondly, such a Gospel deforms the church from a spiritual body of regenerated believers into a gathering of carnal men who profess to know God, but by their deeds deny Him.[1] When the true Gospel is preached, men are drawn to the church without the need of Gospel entertainment, special activities, or the promise of benefits beyond those offered by the Gospel. Those who come, do so because they desire Christ and are hungry for biblical truth, heartfelt worship, and opportunities for service. When something of a lesser Gospel is proclaimed, the church fills up with carnal men who share little interest in the things of God,[2] and the maintenance of such men is a heavy burden upon the church. The radical demands of the Gospel must be toned down to a convenient morality, and true devotion to Christ must give way to activities designed to meet the “felt needs” of its members. The church becomes “activity driven” rather than “Christ centered” and truth must be carefully filtered or repackaged so as not to offend the carnal majority. The great truths of Scripture and orthodox Christianity are laid aside, and pragmatism [i.e. whatever works to keep the church going and growing] becomes the rule of the day. Thirdly, such a Gospel reduces evangelism and missions to little more than a humanistic endeavor driven by clever marketing strategies based upon a careful study of the latest trends in culture. After years of witnessing the impotence of an unbiblical Gospel, many evangelicals seem convinced that the Gospel will not work and that man has somehow become too complex a being to be saved and transformed by such a simple and scandalous message. More emphasis is now given to understanding our fallen culture and its fads than to understanding and proclaiming the only message that has the power to save it. As a result, the Gospel is constantly being “repackaged” to fit what contemporary culture deems most relevant. We have forgotten that the true Gospel is always relevant to every culture because it is God’s eternal Word to every man. Fourthly, such a Gospel brings reproach to the Name of God. Through the proclamation of a lesser Gospel, the carnal and unconverted are brought into the fellowship of the Church, and through the almost total neglect of biblical church discipline, they are allowed to stay without correction or reproof. Thus, the purity and reputation of the church is soiled and the name of God is blasphemed among the unbelieving.[3] In the end, God is not glorified, the church is not edified, the unconverted church member is not saved, and the unbelieving world has little or no witness to it. It does not become us as ministers or laymen to stand so near and do nothing when “the glorious Gospel of our blessed God”[4] is replaced by a Gospel of lesser glory. As stewards of this trust, it is our duty to recover the one true Gospel and proclaim it boldly and clearly to all. We would do well to pay heed to the words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon who declared: “In these days I feel bound to go over and over again the elementary truths of the gospel. In peaceful times we may feel free to make excursions into interesting districts of truth which lie far a field; but now we must stay at home, and guard the hearts and homes of the church by defending the first principles of the faith. In this age, there have risen up in the church itself men who speak perverse things. There be many that trouble us with their philosophies and novel interpretations, whereby they deny the doctrines they profess to teach, and undermine the faith they are pledged to maintain. It is well that some of us, who know what we believe, and have no secret meanings for our words, should just put our foot down and maintain our standing, holding forth the word of life, and plainly declaring the foundation truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”[5] This is an exerpt from The Gospel Power and Message by Paul Washer available through Reformation Heritage Books or Amazon. [1] Titus 1:16 [2] I Corinthians 2:14 [3] Romans 2:24 [4] I Timothy 1:11 [5] The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol.32, p.385 Comments for this post have been disabled © 2014 HeartCry Missionary Society View full site Powered by Church Plant Media Now Playing Back pause 0:00 0:00
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 01:16:27 +0000
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