THE BALANCED MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL The gospel as a message of salvation should be preached to sinners to make them realize their sinful state,the consequences of their sins and the result if they fail to repent. However,we preach an unbalanced gospel when we emphasize on hell being the consequence of sinning without telling sinners Gods provision out of sin which is the way out of hell,...whoever believes in Him(Jesus) will not perish but have eternal lifeJohn 3:16. Consider the examples below : I remember as a young girl in my local church,I heard preachers talked about hell being the major consequence of sin,and because of the fear of not going to hell,I came out several times to confess Jesus as Lord but sooner or later,I would go back into sin. At that moment of hearing those sermons,I would be afraid and feel bad,that fear would drive me out for the altar calls,but I never got to know how to overcome sin,resist temptation and what to do whenever I sinned. This went on and on until I heard a sermon taggedChange:a profitable venture,it was a short sermon that explained a complete change experienced in Christ through salvation. I remember that day,I realized how much Gods love could transform me and save me from sin,and I came out to confess Jesus as Lord. That was the day I got saved. Another example was the day I saw a young boy of around 4years who was known to me in my neighborhood. His mother sent him to buy melon seeds and he was eating some out of it when I got to him. I walked closer to him,below was our conversation: ME: Ibrahim,do you know what you are doing is stealing? I will tell your mother. IBRAHIM: Aunty,please dont tell my mother,Im sorry. ME: Okay,I wont. But,do you know anyone that steal will go to hell? Do you want to go there? IBRAHIM: No,I dont want to go to hell. ME: If you dont want to go to hell,then dont steal again,okay? He said okay,thanked me and left. Few days later,Ibrahim did something wrong and I corrected him again,he replied me with a curse even though his mother was there. Since then,I withdrew from correcting him. Now,his parents are unbelievers,he knows that hell is a consequence of sin,but that knowledge has not made him change. This same thing I did in reminding Ibrahim of hell as the major consequence of every sin is what many of our parents did for us too believing that it would stop us from sinning,but we all know it didnt work. I hope to have kids that I would teach that all liars shall perish if they dont repent,but I would focus more on making them understand that each time they lie to me,they sin against God not me. So,if I dont see them or get to know the truth,God does. He should be the one they should be afraid of sinning against not me because the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom not fear of hell. The gospel is a message of love and redemption not of fear and condemnation. The knowledge of hell does not bring salvation,it only brings fear and condemnation but the knowledge of Gods love and its acceptance brings about salvation. Some Pentecostal churches are not helping in this aspect,they believe salvation is all about turning from hell and going to heaven. Some emphasize hell as if it is the only consequence of sin whereas it is one among many other consequences of sin. There are other consequences of sin one can face here on earth,although hell is the eternal consequence. Before anyone misunderstand me,Im not saying that hell shouldnt be mentioned at all when preaching to others but Im discouraging the emphasis on it as the only need for salvation. The two examples above are two out other experiences that made me realize that what sinners need most is knowing that God loves them no matter how great their sins are,and that He is able to grant them freedom and victory over sin- this is the way out of hell. Anyone who sins knows he/she sins,but not all sinners knows they can be forgiven,not all of them knows that the consequences of their sins can be pardoned,and not all of them know the benefits of being in fellowship with God. It will be so disappointing that some of us would have no message to preach when we meet people who believe there is no hell or atheist who believe there is no God. This is the reason we easily resort to argument which leads to disagreement most times. Thus,we ruin opportunities to declare the truth of the gospel. Concerning this,Charles Spurgeon wrote: Some people, when they use the word ‘salvation,’ understand nothing more by it than deliverance from hell and admittance into heaven. Now, that is not salvation: those two things are the effects of salvation. We are redeemed from hell because we are saved, and we enter heaven because we have been saved beforehand. Our everlasting state is the effect of salvation in this life. Salvation, it is true, includes all that, because salvation is the mother of it, and carries it within its bowels; but still it would be wrong for us to imagine that is the whole meaning of the word. Salvation begins with us as wandering sheep, it follows us through all our confused wanderings; it puts us on the shoulders of the shepherd; it carries us into the fold; it calls together the friends and the neighbours; it rejoices over us; it preserves us in that fold through life; and then at last it brings us to the green pastures of heaven, beside the still waters of bliss, where we lie down for ever, in the presence of the Chief Shepherd, never more to be disturbed. Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke also wrote: The gospel doesnt threaten sinners. It is glad news not sad news, yet Jesus talked more about hell than heaven- not as a threat but as a warning. An enemy is threatened but a friend is warned. When a fast moving car approaches a child,we would switch it from danger. It may be rough,but its true mercy. Thats what Jesus does! He saves from sins and disasters. My brethren,let us preach the gospel as a balanced message pointing sinners to all that has been made available to them in Christ,not just the earthly and eternal consequences of remaining in sin if they fail to repent. May we receive grace to utilize every opportunity we have to witness the gospel rightly. Amen.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 07:29:16 +0000