Apologetics Courses

Apologetics & Evangelism Free Course 1
Lesson 3 – Will the real Gospel please stand up?

In this modern era, many gospels have surfaced with the idea that we should somehow attract the unsaved with dead worms as bait, camouflaging the very hook that will try to keep them in church without any knowledge and understanding of their fallen nature, nor true repentance. Those who are hooked by these tactics, techniques and methods are seekers who come to church because of promises of prosperity, life enhancement, self esteem, instant fruits of the spirit and anything else which man can come up with that God may have to offer, never understanding the true meaning of the perfect work of Christ at Calvary.

It’s not unusual today to hear a long evangelistic sermon which concludes with an invitation for people to come forward and accept Christ without even mentioning that Christ was crucified, buried and rose on the third day. No mention as to “Why” He was sacrificed as The Perfect Lamb of God. All the consequences of our sinful nature have been intentionally omitted and all words which might have a tendency to offend a sinner are removed. It seems more of an invitation to join a social club, rather than joining an army which declares war on their own flesh, the world and the spiritual enemies of God.

The words sin, repentance, judgment, wrath, hell and lake of fire are no longer part of the evangelistic vocabulary, as if they have never existed or perhaps have disappeared from Scripture.

They are never shown or taught that Christianity involves being born again into a new life of giving, of sacrificing and involves the production of personal fruit in the fertile ground of understanding. The old person cannot try to be “Good”, it is the “New Creature” which is justified from sin and needs to be fed to maturity. Many are being sown on the stones and in the thorns and either do not last or do not produce.

Jesus says in Mat 13:23 But that sown on the good ground is this: he who hears the Word and understands; who also bears fruit and produces one truly a hundredfold; and one sixty; and one thirty.

These gospels are an example of another gospel, and should be recognized as such and should not be tolerated as a means to salvation. We must be careful and vigilant, so it does not creep into our local Church unnoticed.

The Bible says that John the Baptist preached repentance because Gods kingdom is at hand, Mat 3:1-2, and it’s not a casual coincidence that our Lord initiated His ministry with that very same demand in Mat 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent! For the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

We may be living in a time where the words of Paul are being fulfilled before our very eyes:

2Ti 4:1-4 Therefore I solemnly witness before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is going to judge the living and the dead according to His appearance and His kingdom, (2) preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. (3) For a time will be when they will not endure sound doctrine, but they will heap up teachers to themselves according to their own lusts, tickling the ear. (4) And they will turn away their ears from the truth and will be turned to myths.

Paul teaches us what the true Gospel is, and it bears no resemblance to what is being preached today:

1Co 15:1-4 And, brothers, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received, and in which you stand; (2) by which you also are being kept safe, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. (3) For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, (4) and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures;

He goes on to say what to expect if we ignore the doctrine of resurrection:

1Co 15:13-20 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. (14) And if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is worthless, and your faith is also worthless. (15) And we are also found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified of God that He raised Christ; whom He did not raise if the dead are not raised. (16) For if the dead are not raised, then Christ is not raised. (17) And if Christ is not raised, your faith is foolish; you are yet in your sins. (18) Then also those that fell asleep in Christ were lost. (19) If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. (20) But now Christ has risen from the dead, and has become the first fruit of those who slept.

Many of these modern gospels are doctrines of covetness and teach a person to focus on self; it is a form of idolatry. Gods word is perverted and used in disguise to compete with the material things of this world, with life enhancements and superficial self centered “feel good” teachings, they have again hidden the key of knowledge and while not entering themselves, they hinder those trying to enter, Luk 11:52. Real fishers of men do not need to use lies and deceit in order to guide a person to the salvation only found in Christ.

It is no surprise to see some wilt on account of the Word when the going gets rough and to fill the churches that preach life enhancement and prosperity, seeking to relieve the anxieties of this world, and come to God looking for the very deceit of riches of which He warns will choke the Word, making them unfruitful.

They come to be served by the King, but unwilling to serve Him. A church may be filled with seeds in stony places and in the thorns, but will they be able to stand on the day of the Lord? What does Jesus say?

Mat 13:20-22 But that which was sown on the stony places is this: he who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy. (21) But he has no root in himself, and is temporary. For when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the Word, he immediately stumbles. (22) And that sown into the thorns is this: he who hears the Word; and the anxiety of this world, and the deceit of riches, choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful.

Some believe that by showing a person their sinful nature by the use of the Law is to not use love,
some say I should be “nice” and not condemn sinners when I speak the word of God. I am not an Apologist in order to defend myself, but neither am I an Evangelist to remain silent. Can lack of love or compassion compel a person to care about saving the lost or defend the word of God? My question, to those who question my evangelistic efforts is “When was the last time you stood up for the Gospel or shared it with your family, neighbors, and co-workers?” How about a complete stranger? Humanity is already condemned and under wrath (Joh 3:18 & 36), my words are simple a warning to those without Christ, that their destiny is sealed.

Some claim that I have to use grace and preach love, I agree, and my usual answer is “Oh, but I do use grace, and I season my words with salt (Col 4:6), and I do use love, I use the Law of Love, the Ten Commandments, for love is the fulfillment of the Law (Rom 13:9-10). That’s the whole point, the Law shows man that he falls short and is found wanting or “Tekel” (Dan 5:27), he cannot know agape love if he can’t keep the Law, and by failing he can see that he does not love God or fellow mankind like Jesus says:

Mar 12:29-31 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; (30) and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." This is the first commandment. (31) And the second is like this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

In Mat 22:40 Jesus says that on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

If man could be justified by the Law, then Jesus died in vain (Gal 2:21), but since it is impossible for man to fulfill the Law, then neither can he achieve or understand the agape love of God, which is the source of His grace, nor can he appreciate, understand or even be grateful for the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, the greatest demonstration of Gods love in the history of mankind. We must proclaim the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), or sinners will come to God for the all the wrong reasons, looking for all kind of things promised by the modern evangelist’s, and not come looking for the forgiveness of sins which leads to repentance.

God is glorified in the salvation of fallen mankind through sacrifice and judgment, if man does not discover his sinful nature, he will have nothing to repent from, and will not understand the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ. How can the Holy Spirit convict the world in respect to sin, righteousness, and judgment (Joh 16:8), if the world does not have knowledge of its sinful nature? This is left up to us, it’s our commission, but nobody wants the job of being the messenger of bad news, because they fail to recognize that it is specifically this bad news, that makes the good news of Christ such good news.

Gods love, grace and mercy, go hand in hand with condemnation, judgment and wrath, they perfectly balance one another, and it is best for a sinner to have knowledge of this now, then to find out on the last day. The more sever the judgment, the greater the mercy, the more sin, the greater Gods grace abounds (Rom 5:20), and this is shown by the mirror of the Law, as it reflects mankind’s imperfections.

A better explanation about the reason for the covenant of the Law can be found in Theology 01- 106A1, Chapter 5, “The Mosaic Covenant”, under “Why the Covenant of the Law”, by Dr. Johnson C. Philip.

Apologetics & Evangelism Free Course 1
Lesson 3 – Will the real Gospel please stand up?