Preaching The Gospel

What is the gospel of Jesus Christ? In the 16th chapter of the book of Mark, prior to ascending to the Father, Jesus Christ told His disciples this…

Mark 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

We are to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to every creature, but do we really know what the gospel is?  Paul, the Apostle, once said…

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.

Paul said that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It is the power of God, and yet the gospel, as it is currently taught in our day, seems almost powerless.  Why is that? Why do so many churches today have to build gymnasiums and have programs of all sorts to draw men into the church?  Why do so many pastors incorporate  business growth strategies as a means of growing their churches? What did Christ say in John 3 and John 12?

John 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up;

John 12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Has the gospel of Jesus Christ lost its power? I dare say, No it has not! If the gospel has not lost its power then what is being preached today is either not the gospel or it is a very watered down version. 

One may argue that we are living in the end times and we are experiencing the gleaning of the harvest. That may well be so, but does that account for the lack of power of the modern day gospel? 

I used to believe the reason the gospel didn't have much of an effect on people in the United States is because we have been so saturated with the gospel; everyone has heard it so much that they have become hardened to it. 

The problem is not that our country has  been bombarded with the gospel. The problem is that for many years, churches in our country have been spreading a weakened, watered down form of the gospel. Since the gospel apparently lacks the power to draw men unto salvation, then we have to have special programs and strategies to draw men unto Christ…at least that has been typical of American churches.

The problem in our churches is that we have not been preaching the same gospel that Christ and His disciples preached.

Lord willing, we will be looking in depth at the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some may think why do we need to look in depth at the gospel? We've been saved and we don't need to go back to the foundation, rather we need to build upon the foundation. Yes, we need to grow, but we must never get away from the gospel. How can we go into all the world and preach the gospel if we don't have an accurate understanding of what it is?

We must begin by understanding what the word "gospel" means. This may seem very basic, but we must have a solid understanding of  even the most base terms when it come to telling others of Christ. The word "gospel" is transliterated from the Greek word "euaggelion" (you-ang-ghel-ee-on) which means a good message.

The phrase "the gospel of Jesus Christ" in essence means "the good message of Jesus Christ." What has Jesus Christ done that is such good news? In a nutshell, the good news is this…

1 Timothy :15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

That does sound good, but why do sinners need to be saved? What is sin? What did Jesus Christ come to save sinners from? Again, this seems so basic, but can we explain this to the understanding of men? 

The English word "sin" is transliterated from the Greek word "hamartano" (ham-ar-tan-o) which means to miss the mark and so not to share in the prize; to offend; to trespass.

The idea is that of an archery contest. Whoever hits the bullseye with their arrow wins the prize. To sin means we have shot our arrow and it has missed the bullseye therefore we did not win the prize.  The truth is every single arrow that has ever been shot (by all men) toward the mark has missed every single time.

The Word of God tells us that every single one of us has sinned. 

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Ecclesiastes 7:20  For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

The  problem is not showing men they are sinners. The problem is getting them to understand what sin is. In speaking about America, missionary Paul Washer said, "We live in a culture that drinks in iniquity and sin like water." Men have become so desensitized  to sin, they do not understand how exceeding sinful sin is. For a man to understand sin, he must first be shown God. He must understand the attributes of God. He has to know that God is Holy, that God is Just, that God is Love and that He is Wrath. A man cannot understand sin apart from understanding God's attributes. 

Men today see God as "the man upstairs" or as their "co-pilot,"  or as someone you tip your hat to. There is no fear of God before their eyes (Romans 3:18). Men have been told time and time again by well-meaning, but misguided Christians that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives, but do they understand the attribute of God's love?

Many Christians today, when preaching the gospel, paint a picture that God is a sentimental,  feeble old man begging men to come to Him and accept the His dear Son. Today, many do not accurately portrait God the Father and Jesus Christ as they really are. One cannot understand sin until he knows the attributes of God…until he sees Him as He is (Holy, All knowing, All powerful, Sovereign, Just, Merciful, Kind).

Even we, who have been saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, cannot fully understand our salvation until we better know God. The more we learn of God, the greater we will understand exactly what Christ did for us at Calvary. When that happens it will change your life. 

For the next several posts, I invite you to come along with me on what I like to call "Mission Impossible." I am going to be studying a few of the attributes or characteristics of God. I want to get a more accurate picture of who God is.  

As we study, we will need the help of the Holy Spirit to open our understanding. May our God reveal as much about Himself to us ,through His Word, as it pleases Him to. In studying the attributes of God, I feel as though I am standing on a diving board over looking a huge body of water. As far as the eye can see I am surrounded by water. I look down into the water below and it is crystal clear, so clear I can see for miles below the surface of the water, yet once I dive in, I can never measure its depth. 

Romans 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

As in any study of God, we will never come close to fully understanding God. I do hope that this study will heighten our awareness of who He is  and will help us to better know Him. In doing so, we will be better able to preach the gospel to every creature, as we have been commissioned to do.

In this study we seek to be like Moses who said to God in Exodus 33:18 , "I beseech thee, shew me thy glory."

We are going to look at just a few of His attributes and better acquaint ourselves with them. It would take a million lifetimes to really grasp these truths of God's attributes, and even then we wouldn't even have begun to touch the hem of His garment. 

The reason I am studying about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Attributes of God is because I have 4 children at home and one on the way. As their father, I am responsible before God to use the Word of God to show them their sin and show them that their sin is against a Holy God. I must give them the true gospel and not the watered down version so prevalent in our day. To properly do that, I must show them through Scripture who God is…what His attributes are. Only then will they understand the exceeding sinfulness of their sin. 

After we have looked at the attributes of God, we will take an in-depth look  at the gospel and compare it with what is being preached in most churches today. You may be shocked to see the difference. I was. 

I would like to close with a quote from A.W. Pink who had this to say concerning the attributes of God…

"So few today are accustomed to meditate upon the personal perfections of God. Comparatively few of those who occasionally read the Bible are aware of the awe-inspiring and worship-provoking grandeur of the Divine character. That God is great in wisdom, wondrous in power, yet full of mercy, is assumed by many to be almost common knowledge; but, to entertain anything approaching an adequate conception of His being, His nature, His attributes, as these are revealed in Holy Scripture, is something which very, very few people in these degenerate times have attained unto." ~A.W. Pink

May God be pleased, through the course of this study, to open the eyes of our understanding that we may see Him as He is. May we have a more accurate understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and be ready, willing, and able to share it with whosoever the Lord brings across our path.

Our Inalienable Rights

Recently my family and I were invited to a friend's home where other families were also gathered in a time of fellowship.

 Immediately the ladies all separated to the kitchen where they enjoyed conversing over what I don't know. I could tell by the buzzing coming from there they were having a good time. 

The children all played together outside on this beautiful Texas winter day. The temperature was probably around 63 degrees. They were running and laughing and playing. 

I found myself gathered with the men. The conversation weaved its way through many topics, it seemed, but tended to stay focused on the current state of our nation. I was surrounded by some who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as well as some who do not. 

The strongest topic of conversation centered on what our current government is attempting to do concerning our Second Amendment right to bear arms. I sat quietly and listened to all that was said. Like a sponge, I took it all in, yet said nothing. It was a quiet evening for me in that I didn't say much. I wanted to process what I heard before speaking...so here I am at 3am writing.

The first thing I have to qualify is this...many of these men are men of God. They have spent years studying the Word of God and are knowledgable in it. So when I use Proverbs 29:11 keep that in mind.  I was not sitting in the presence of fools. With that being said...

Proverbs 29:11  A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.

I am not saying that these men were fools and uttering all that was on their minds. What I am saying is I wanted to be wise and keep my mouth shut until I had time to think about what all was said and how I should answer. Had I just opened my mouth and began to speak on the subject it would have been foolish. Its funny how the mind works and it is several hours after a conversation I think to myself... "I wish I had said this or that." So it comes to me at 3am what I should have said.

My friends were gathered, conversing over our Second Amendment rights. I heard more than once that it was our God given, not government given, right to protect our property and families and our government cannot take that away. This was in response to our current administration's attempt to take away American's guns. Legislation is being submitted that will lead to this very event taking place. The whole thought is, if they take this right away, what will stop them from taking all our rights away and making us slaves?

I heard it said in the course of the conversation that the right to bear arms for the purpose of defending our property is an inalienable right given to us by God.  I thought to myself, "where in scripture does God give us the right to go to arms to defend our property?"

As soon as I thought it, as if they could read my mind, they spoke of the 10 Commandments...Thou Shalt Not Steal. They said that stealing is taking something that belongs to someone else and if someone else owns it, then God gave them the right to own it and defend it...at least that is what I remember them saying.

I have wondered what the conversations of households around our country was like just prior to the American Revolution in the late 1700s, or prior to the Civil War in the 1860s. After my visit I think I know.

I don't see how you can extract our God given right to defend our family and property from, "Thou shalt not steal," but the Lord did bring to mind two occasions where the Lord allowed His people to use weapons to defend themselves and their property.

Consider Genesis 14 when four kings of surrounding nations made war with the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah. In the process, Lot, the nephew of Abraham was captured and all that he had was taken spoil by the four kings. Notice what Abraham did. In verse 14, he armed his trained servants and the chased the four kings, caught up to them at night. Half of Abraham's men went one way and the other half went the other way. They attacked and destroyed the four kings and took back Lot and all his possessions as well as the possessions of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah.

We also have the account of the Jews in the book of Esther. The evil Haman had talked king Ahasuerus into signing a decree that all Jews throughout the kingdom be put to death. When queen Esther revealed to the king Haman's evil plan and the fact that she would have to be put to death because she was a Jew, the king immediately signed a new decree that allowed the Jews to arm themselves and fight for their lives which they did valiantly.

I do agree that God has allowed us the right to own property. I do see that we have been afforded the God-given right to protect it. I see in Genesis 14  and Esther 8 God that gave them the right to protect and defend their families.

What has taken me by surprise is the attitude with which many, even professing believers, have been railing on our government. And more than once I have heard the phrase, "from my cold, dead hands!" spoken in a most rebellious tone, concerning any attempt to take away their guns. People will quote Charlton Heston before they quote the Word of God.

Consider Romans 13 where Paul, under Holy Spirit inspiration, tells us we are to submit to the authority that God places over us, namely the government. If they decide to take our guns away are we free to rebel? In taking away our rights to own a gun, have they gone against the Scriptures or are they forcing us to violate the Scriptures?

Be very careful. The Bible says that rebellion is as witchcraft. My personal opinion is that because we are flesh, we tend to trust in the things of this earth and our own abilities when we should be only trusting God.

We tend to think that because we own a gun and we are efficiently trained in using it that no harm will come to our family. The question is not will they take away our rights to own guns...the question is are we trusting in a gun and in our abilities or are we trusting in the Lord our God?

Psalm 20:7   Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

Some trust in their weapons and some trust in their strength and ability to fight, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

The very next verse, Psalm 20:8, tells us that they who trust in anything other than the Lord are brought down and fallen, but those who trust in the Lord are risen and stand upright.

Proverbs 21:31 The horse is prepared against the day of battle; but safety is of the Lord.

Just as the salvation of our souls is of the Lord, so too is our safety. Should the government successfully take away our rights to own a gun, our safety is of the Lord.

Consider the earlier example of the Jews in the Persian Empire who found themselves facing certain death as a result of the decree signed by the king. In the Persian Empire, no doubt it was against the law for its citizens to own weapons. The king didn't want any uprisings or people under his control to form an army and come to overthrow the throne. The Jews had no recourse. They were going to be destroyed, yet God had a purpose for them...the Messiah must come through the Jews. God put it in the heart of the king, after being persuaded by queen Esther, to allow the Jews to assemble themselves together in various cities and arm themselves and defend themselves.

Consider our greatest example, the Lord Jesus Christ. He was and is 100% God and 100% man. Did He not have the same inalienable rights to life that we have? Did He not have the same God-given right to defend Himself that we have? Yet, when those who would crucify Him came for Him in the garden what did He do? His disciple, Peter, drew his sword and was prepared to use it...and tried to take a man's head off, missed and only took his ear off. What did our Lord say to him?

Matthew 26:52  Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Again, we know that God had a purpose for Christ, for He was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. He must be crucified.

People can argue all day long that it is God who has given us our inalienable rights and the right to bear arms is one such right. If it is God who gives us our rights, then is God not able to take away those same rights? Can He not use our government to do so? Will we rebel against that which God has ordained?

Romans 13:1-2
1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive unto themselves damnation.

We are to be subject to the government that God has placed over us, unless that government makes laws that would cause us to violate the Word of God. There is no government, but what God has ordained. That includes the Communistic governments as well as the Dictatorships we see around our world. If we resist their ordinances, we are resisting the ordinance of God and we will receive the consequence of disobeying the law. As a believer we will not lose our salvation, for that is impossible, but we will suffer the penalty of disobeying the law if we choose to do so.

Should they successfully be able to legally take away our right to bear arms, we are to give them our guns. Will God not protect His own?  By that I mean those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who gives us our rights? God does. Who can take away our rights? God can.

Consider Job. Who gave Job his riches?  God did. Who took away Job's riches? God did. One could argue it was the Sabeans or the Chaldeans. One could argue it was Satan. Ultimately God allowed it to happen. He is Sovereign. What did Job say when all he had, including his children and health were gone?

Job 1:21   And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Rather than complain about our rights being taken away and railing against our government, we should be looking to the One who is really in control of us and we should humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways.

2 Chronicles 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and  pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.