Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Pastor Brian Cook

Galatians 1:6-9 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

From this passage of Scripture it seems evident to me that the Apostle Paul felt rather strongly about anyone who would preach another message other than the one he preached and dare call it the true “gospel”. Even so, in the day in which we live we find the Christian Church literally inundated with all kinds of perverted “gospels” and it is not difficult at all for someone to find a so-called “gospel” to that fits their own personal preferences. Sadly, there are no shortages of slick preachers espousing a man-made “gospel” which the Apostle Paul would undoubtedly call “another gospel”; which is no gospel at all.

Without even taking into consideration the “gospels” of the many cults, there are currently the following prevailing “gospels” that are mistaken for the genuine article by many people:

·         The Prosperity/Word Faith “Gospel” sometimes called the Health and Wealth “Gospel”

When you turn on your TV this is the predominate “gospel” that you will see and hear. This “gospel” basically teaches that God wants to prosper you in every area of your life, primarily in your finances; God wants to make you rich! This “gospel” also teaches that by speaking Scripture in faith the believer will receive what they have confessed. “Believe and receive” is the mantra of this materialistic “gospel”. This “gospel” teaches that our words have creative power and that by speaking; our faith is released by our words. Will somebody give me a chapter and verse, please?

Just as this “gospel” teaches that you will prosper financially by “naming it and claiming it” you will also enjoy perfect health too, that is, providing you have enough faith. According to this “gospel” it only seems right that if God will make you wealthy by faith then He will also have to make you healthy by faith so you can enjoy your wealth. I have to wonder how this harmonizes with the Apostle Paul when he said “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Philippians 4:11-12). How do the two harmonize? It would have to say they do not.

·         The Seeker Sensitive “gospel”

This “gospel” is preached at the “church for people who hate church”. A “Seeker Sensitive” church is not a church where you will hear a “fiery” sermon, but more likely what you will hear is a “fluffy” sermon. They have taken the true Gospel and softened it so it will not be so offensive to our ears. These preachers are the “pillow prophets” (Ezek.13:18) of our generation. Theirs is a superficial “gospel” because they avoid going into the full depths of the Gospel.

When looking at many “Seeker Friendly” church’s Faith Statements it would seem that they do believe in an Orthodox Gospel, but the problem is that there are elements within the true Gospel that may not be so attractive to an average seeker’s sensitivities and the “Seeker Sensitive” church is specifically designed to cater to unbelievers who may be seeking a religious experience. Preaching on the sinfulness of man and the wages of his sin is sure to turn a visitor off so, unfortunately, you will be hard pressed to hear a complete gospel message in many “Seeker” churches.  More than likely, you will get man-centered, worldly wisdom with a little Scripture thrown in for good measure.

The Bible makes it clear that the Church is the Body of Christ and it is made up of believers in the Gospel. Jesus explained in Matthew 13 why the “Seeker” methodology is unbiblical. He said “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat”. The problem with the “Seeker Sensitive” church is that it gladly invites the tares to come in among the wheat.

Acts 2:42 says of the Church “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” When the Church comes together it is to worship God and this must include preaching the Gospel, teaching doctrine, fellowship with other Christians, taking of the Lord’s Supper together (which according to the Apostle is forbidden for the unbeliever; 1 Cor. 11:27-29) and prayer.  I can assure you that none of these things will ever excite an unregenerate person.

Church should be the one place where an unbeliever is sure to hear the truth about their spiritual condition and standing before God. If all the Church does is try and meet the unbeliever’s “felt needs”, they will never experience salvation because an unbeliever does not feel he needs it. The “Seeker” Church has the function and purpose of the Church completely backwards.

·         The Emergent “gospel”

There is a large movement of postmodern thinkers whose mission is to “deconstruct and reconstruct Christian beliefs”. What that simply means is this: They want to bring everything that the Church has ever thought or believed into question. Basically, the adherents of this movement have so blurred the vision of the Church and muddied the waters of Orthodox Theology and biblical exposition by their wholesale, relative slaughter of the all the understood and accepted definitions of sociological and theological terms. This insanity cannot lead them anywhere but to their inevitable acceptance all kinds of heresy, lasciviousness and universalism. This is not an “Emerging Church” but rather a “Re-emerging” of the same old, tired, liberalism of the past but with a hip, new, repackaged, beatnik look.

1 Corinthians 14:33 says “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”  Dr. John MacArthur was able to sort through all of the confusion of the Emergent movement and give this wonderful definition of the Emergent “gospel”.  He said, “They believe that we aren’t even supposed to understand precisely what the Bible means. And to me that’s the big issue, it is an attack on the clarity of Scripture. The bottom line, I think, in the movement is; it is the denial of the clarity of Scripture. It is a denial that we can know what the Bible really says.”

It seems to me that even though Emergents think that we cannot know for sure what the true Gospel is they do seem to know for sure that the Gospel that the Church has believed for 2000 years is not it.

When Jesus preached “Repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15) which one of these “gospels” might He have had in mind? The answer is none!!

There is only ONE true Gospel and it is defined by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.  “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures”.

Paul gives us the Gospel message in very concise terms. He said “Christ died for our sins”. Why did Christ have to die for the sins of mankind? The Bible teaches us that the “wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). We have all sinned against God, we have all broken the laws of God and we all justly deserve judgment for our crimes, but God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, Who lived a life in perfect obedience to the law just so He could trade places with the guilty.

1 Peter 3:18  says “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh”.

Paul also said that Christ “was buried, and that he rose again the third day”. Jesus Christ’s dead body was placed in a tomb and on the third day He was physically resurrected. His resurrection proclaims to all of Creation that the offering of His life as a sacrifice on the cross was fully acceptable to God as payment for our sin. When the High Priest of Israel went into the Temple’s Holy of Holies once a year to make an offering for the nation’s sin the fact that he reappeared alive proclaimed to everyone that the offering had been accepted. Jesus Christ has been offered once for all for all sin (Heb. 10:10) and God has accepted His sacrifice.

Paul also wrote in Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Those who preach the Gospel have something far greater than those other pretenders to the Gospel! There is power in the Gospel! What kind of power? Paul continues to explain why he is not ashamed of the Gospel in Romans 1:17-18.  “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness”.

Within the Gospel is the message of righteousness that God has provided for us. Isaiah 64:6 says that our righteousness “are as filthy rags”. But in the Gospel there is a righteousness that God will accept; the righteousness of Christ which is imputed to the believer by faith. This is the only righteousness that will allow any of us to be able to stand before God without being declared guilty of sin. This can only happen when we turn from our sin and trust in what Christ did for us on the cross.

This is the reason why we must reject all other “gospels” and preach the true Gospel:  The only alternative to the Gospel is to endure the wrath of God. That is why the Gospel is such good news! That is why Paul was not ashamed of it! The Gospel is not about gaining earthly wealth or about being poor, the Gospel cannot to be watered down for the sake of filling seats otherwise it is not the Gospel, the Gospel can be known and understood by all, the Gospel is that Christ came to die in the place of sinners and rose again so we can be reconciled to God.

Romans 10:9-11 says “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

I am ashamed of their “gospel”, but I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the “power of God unto salvation”.