Oh beloved who know Christ, if you're preaching a gospel that is primarily man-centered, I beg you to repent. How has the gospel become all about mankind's need for joy, peace and comfort? That's not Biblical!!! Don’t get me wrong; all who are in Christ, through the working of the Holy Spirit, do partake of the fruits of spiritual life in Christ, which these things all are. But don't you see the problem with making that the gospel; with hanging that out as bait for the unregenerate? The core of who they are is self-seeking. Then you come along and tell them God can give them joy and peace. But if the God you proclaim to them is a God who exists to better their existence, rather than inform them He's a holy God who judges sin, and a Savior who calls them to repent and believe that they might be saved from His wrath, will they not be deceived and never repent of their wickedness, and then cling to an idol? You tell them "God has a wonderful plan for your life", and inside they think "perfect, because I also have a wonderful plan for my life, and maybe this God could help me accomplish it!" Those of you who listen to Paul Washer know the essence of the last sentence I got from a sermon of his. Such a person will never see their need for a Savior. They won't repent of their sin because they haven't been informed of the realities of their condition. When things get difficult as a "Christian", they will blaspheme God and rebel even more, because they were promised a God who provides them joy, rather than being drawn to see their need for a Savior because of their terrible lost condition. Their destiny of damnation never changed. They were a false convert. Such cases abound in churches today!
Christ did not die primarily to bring us comfort, peace and joy. Christ died to reconcile us to God! Mankind's deepest need is not joy, peace and comfort. Mankind's deepest need is forgiveness. Do you not know people who run to Christ for selfish reasons and yet never bow their knee to Him? Do you then encourage that by enticing their selfish nature to follow a God who will fill the void in their heart? The problem is we've made the gospel all about mankind. I'm sorry if you've been deceived in this, but MAN IS NOT THE VICTIM! God is!! God has been wronged. God has been sinned against. God has been traded for lesser substitutes. God has been disregarded. God has been blasphemed. God has been rejected. Just look at the life of Christ. If Jesus were to have preached the way most people do nowadays, He would've never been rejected as He was! Yes mankind suffers the repercussions of the fall and their own sins, but mankind is chiefly to be understood as in need of spiritual life, not emotional stability or fulfillment.
The fruits of new life are glorious, but these are not to be the draw in preaching the gospel. There are of course exceptions to this rule... people who have already been humbled by the hand of Christ, who do not need the Law of God to shut their mouth (Romans 3:19-20). BUT THESE ARE THE MINORITY. In such cases we say "grace to the humble, and Law to the proud". I mean seriously, whatever happened to telling men to count the cost, take up a cross (death to self), forsake everything else, and hate all else in comparison to Christ (Luke 14:26-33)? Are not these the words of Jesus, spoken to "large crowds", primarily unbelievers? And whatever happened to warning people about the wrath to come? We're so superficial! We're so trite! Awaken oh bride of Christ! Repent and return to the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Forsake this man-centered, self-preserving, humiliation and rejection-avoiding gospel, and cling to what is so plainly revealed in the Holy Scriptures!!
You are a steward of the Gospel of Christ... sober up, study to show yourself approved, hit your knees in desperation, reject man-made methodology and man-centered theology. Stop viewing man as the victim! By all means, don't go off the deep end and lose sight of the grace, compassion, and kindness that ought to walk hand in hand with truth. But then again strike the balance. Pray for balance. Because when you share the glories of Eternal, God-centered truth, with indifference, dryness, and no fire, you betray your lukewarm spirit! How can we not proclaim passionately, from the rooftops, with the gracious authority of Almighty God, this life-changing, Christ-exalting good news? We most certainly ought to brethren!
If you're unfamiliar with much that I am addressing, and would like further clarity on something, please email me at blood-bought@live.com. If you're interested in furthering your understanding of the gospel, please read the article I wrote entitled, "What is the Gospel". Also, I recommend you look up Paul Washer or Jeff Noblit and "the gospel" in a search engine, to hear some great Biblical preaching on the subject of the gospel. Thanks for your time and consideration. May the Lord bless these truths to your life, that through it He might be magnified!
Soli DEO Gloria
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Getting back to the foundation
"Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give to you" (John 6:26-27).
Oh how wretched we are apart from the grace of God. Just like the crowd mentioned in that verse, all men would only seek Jesus for what He can do for us if it were not for God granting us repentance. Do you remember a time when you might have viewed your being saved by God as something you deserved, or earned, to a minute degree? Maybe you sensed within yourself an inclination towards God, but because of your chains to sin you were in need of God to set you completely free. You might remember thinking amongst those around you, also lost and condemned, that you seemed to at least want to acknowledge God.
DONT BE DECEIVED... any inclination you may have had WAS NOT one you conjured up, or naturally had. That line of thinking goes completely against the entirety of what Scripture has revealed about all people, universally, apart from the new birth. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened"..."there is none who seeks God...there is none who does good, not even one" (Romans 1:21, 3:11-12). My friend, if you possessed ANY true inclination towards God, it was birthed within you by God Himself. If He were to have left you to yourself, you would've forever remained a God-hater. "It is God who works in us both TO WILL and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).
Now, I said "true" inclination, because many have what may appear to be an inclination towards the one true God, yet what they actually have is an inclination towards a god they have fashioned in their own mind. Many of us know of such people. It's as if they forever "seek" God supposedly, but never actually bear abiding fruit, and more often than not, pursue their own will rather than God's will. Even Jesus said "many" such people would exist (Matthew 7:21). Also, people can pursue Jesus for selfish reasons, yet never see their own guilt and need for repentance, and perish, just as is recorded in the John passage I first quoted. Look also at the example of the rich young ruler. Who would argue that he SEEMED to sincerely be seeking life in Christ? But God knows the hearts of men! What he sought he did out of a heart which had no understanding of his own personal offensiveness to a holy and just God. Jesus gets to the root of this man's problem, and the young ruler chose to cling to his wealth rather than Christ.
It's so important for us to not manipulate people when we share the gospel. Jesus didn't. The apostles didn't. People are enemies of God, but most haven't the slightest clue of this truth. Most people assume they're genuinely good people deep down, and that they just lack a bit of commitment to God. They're deceived. But many Christians are also. How? Because we assume any person who shows any outward appearance of desire to know God, or who prays a sinner's prayer, or who attends church, must be saved or at least truly seeking God. FEW there are who not only enter through the narrow gate, but WHO WALK THE NARROW PATH (Matthew 7:13-14). "The evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person's life is a holy life" (Leonard Ravenhill). "pursue holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). "Examine yourself; test yourselves to see if you be in the faith" (2 Corinthians 13:5). Have you ever truly examined yourself? Have you ever exhorted another in this way? Isn't it Biblical though?
Let's stop this compromise when it comes to the Gospel and the Biblical evidence of true conversion. We can't disciple a person whose still God's enemy, just because they claim to be saved, or they prayed a prayer, or they walked forward at an altar call. A person who is not pursuing holiness is not pursuing God, nor are they by any means born again. How can I know this for sure? Just take a look at the book of 1 John, a book given so people might know if they have eternal life (1 John 5:19). I'll let you do your homework on this one! Jesus was very clear... it's not just the gate (His atonement) to heaven which is narrow, but the path is also. We enter through the narrow gate, and the evidence we have entered through that narrow gate and entered into eternal life is we're walking on the narrow path. For "He who began a good work in you WILL BE FAITHFUL TO COMPLETE IT" (Philippians 1:13). What's at stake when we say a person is just simply a "carnal Christian", is not their faithfulness to truly abide in Christ, it's God's faithfulness to discipline them as a Father for the purpose of their growth in holiness (Hebrews 12:6, 10-11). He's both the Author AND Perfector of our faith!
We do false converts no good when we just ignore the fact that they do not bear the marks of a truly born again, new creation in Christ. We who have the knowledge of these things ought to lovingly unveil for them the truth of what true conversion is. And when we share the gospel with the lost, we who have already been enlightened by the grace of God must unveil for them the love, holiness, and justice of God, their true condition before Him, and their need for faith AND repentance. There is no Biblical backing for the belief that Christ can be the Savior of one He is not also the Lord of. We are to proclaim to them, after they understand their wickedness, that they are commanded to believe in the "LORD" Jesus Christ. Telling them to ask Jesus into their hearts is also not Biblical. And spare them of EVER giving them a possible false assurance of salvation. That's the Holy Spirit's job (Romans 8:16)!
It's all about getting God the maximum amount of glory possible. God isn't glorified when we disregard the clear teachings of Scripture. Soli DEO Gloria!
Oh how wretched we are apart from the grace of God. Just like the crowd mentioned in that verse, all men would only seek Jesus for what He can do for us if it were not for God granting us repentance. Do you remember a time when you might have viewed your being saved by God as something you deserved, or earned, to a minute degree? Maybe you sensed within yourself an inclination towards God, but because of your chains to sin you were in need of God to set you completely free. You might remember thinking amongst those around you, also lost and condemned, that you seemed to at least want to acknowledge God.
DONT BE DECEIVED... any inclination you may have had WAS NOT one you conjured up, or naturally had. That line of thinking goes completely against the entirety of what Scripture has revealed about all people, universally, apart from the new birth. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened"..."there is none who seeks God...there is none who does good, not even one" (Romans 1:21, 3:11-12). My friend, if you possessed ANY true inclination towards God, it was birthed within you by God Himself. If He were to have left you to yourself, you would've forever remained a God-hater. "It is God who works in us both TO WILL and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).
Now, I said "true" inclination, because many have what may appear to be an inclination towards the one true God, yet what they actually have is an inclination towards a god they have fashioned in their own mind. Many of us know of such people. It's as if they forever "seek" God supposedly, but never actually bear abiding fruit, and more often than not, pursue their own will rather than God's will. Even Jesus said "many" such people would exist (Matthew 7:21). Also, people can pursue Jesus for selfish reasons, yet never see their own guilt and need for repentance, and perish, just as is recorded in the John passage I first quoted. Look also at the example of the rich young ruler. Who would argue that he SEEMED to sincerely be seeking life in Christ? But God knows the hearts of men! What he sought he did out of a heart which had no understanding of his own personal offensiveness to a holy and just God. Jesus gets to the root of this man's problem, and the young ruler chose to cling to his wealth rather than Christ.
It's so important for us to not manipulate people when we share the gospel. Jesus didn't. The apostles didn't. People are enemies of God, but most haven't the slightest clue of this truth. Most people assume they're genuinely good people deep down, and that they just lack a bit of commitment to God. They're deceived. But many Christians are also. How? Because we assume any person who shows any outward appearance of desire to know God, or who prays a sinner's prayer, or who attends church, must be saved or at least truly seeking God. FEW there are who not only enter through the narrow gate, but WHO WALK THE NARROW PATH (Matthew 7:13-14). "The evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person's life is a holy life" (Leonard Ravenhill). "pursue holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). "Examine yourself; test yourselves to see if you be in the faith" (2 Corinthians 13:5). Have you ever truly examined yourself? Have you ever exhorted another in this way? Isn't it Biblical though?
Let's stop this compromise when it comes to the Gospel and the Biblical evidence of true conversion. We can't disciple a person whose still God's enemy, just because they claim to be saved, or they prayed a prayer, or they walked forward at an altar call. A person who is not pursuing holiness is not pursuing God, nor are they by any means born again. How can I know this for sure? Just take a look at the book of 1 John, a book given so people might know if they have eternal life (1 John 5:19). I'll let you do your homework on this one! Jesus was very clear... it's not just the gate (His atonement) to heaven which is narrow, but the path is also. We enter through the narrow gate, and the evidence we have entered through that narrow gate and entered into eternal life is we're walking on the narrow path. For "He who began a good work in you WILL BE FAITHFUL TO COMPLETE IT" (Philippians 1:13). What's at stake when we say a person is just simply a "carnal Christian", is not their faithfulness to truly abide in Christ, it's God's faithfulness to discipline them as a Father for the purpose of their growth in holiness (Hebrews 12:6, 10-11). He's both the Author AND Perfector of our faith!
We do false converts no good when we just ignore the fact that they do not bear the marks of a truly born again, new creation in Christ. We who have the knowledge of these things ought to lovingly unveil for them the truth of what true conversion is. And when we share the gospel with the lost, we who have already been enlightened by the grace of God must unveil for them the love, holiness, and justice of God, their true condition before Him, and their need for faith AND repentance. There is no Biblical backing for the belief that Christ can be the Savior of one He is not also the Lord of. We are to proclaim to them, after they understand their wickedness, that they are commanded to believe in the "LORD" Jesus Christ. Telling them to ask Jesus into their hearts is also not Biblical. And spare them of EVER giving them a possible false assurance of salvation. That's the Holy Spirit's job (Romans 8:16)!
It's all about getting God the maximum amount of glory possible. God isn't glorified when we disregard the clear teachings of Scripture. Soli DEO Gloria!
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