In this paper we will examine the
first aspect of the Reformation Redux.
It is fitting to examine the Gospel at the onset because this teaching
was pivotal to the life of Jesus Christ.
One cannot speak of Jesus and not talk about the thing that consumed his
life. Jesus spoke for 3.5 years on this
subject, and in one instance speaking of the gospel he said “I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43b). So why should we focus on this particular
subject and why do we need reformation? The
truth of this message has been lost through the ages, and has been replaced
with another true but misplaced concept. This new distortion diverts the body
of Christ from the true meaning of the life of Jesus.
I must state from the onset that
Satan is the author of confusion, and Jesus calls him the father of lies. This means that he is the source of any kind
of lie that exists today. When we
examine a lie we only view it from the aspect of information that is untrue,
but this is only half true. When you
have the replacement of something true by something that is equally true but
out of place you have indeed encountered a lie.
For example let‘s say I invite you over for ice cold milk and warm
brownies. You are so taken by the flavor
of the brownies you ask me for the recipe.
Unknown to you the recipe has been cherished by my family for
generations and was always considered a prized secret. But because I do not want to refuse you I
write you a recipe that is altered from the secret original. Now will this altered recipe make you
brownies? Yes it would and probably some
very good ones. But is it the recipe that
you had requested? No. This then is in effect a lie, because I
passed something off as genuine when it was an alteration of the truth even
though it potentially makes a delicious brownie. This is the type of error that exits today in
regards to our teachings about the gospel.
Initially you may say well how much
harm can there be if one truth is replaced by another truth. The danger comes about when we examine Jesus’
words in regards to Satan:
He was a murderer
from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth
in him. Whenever he
speaks a lie; he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar and the father [source]
of lies. (John 8:44b)
If we have something that is not
true, or a truth that is misplaced then we have a lie. And if we have a lie then the source (father)
of that lie is the devil. This is the
problem, because the devil’s purpose is not to aid God’s people with revelation
but to confuse and distort the word of God with heresies and doctrines of
demons. A perfect example of this can be
seen in the temptation of Jesus. The
devil came to Jesus with a proposition from the word of God. On its face it seems plausible, but look
closely and consider the lie shining through his distorted logic:
Then the
devil took him into the holy city; and had him stand on the pinnacle of the
temple, and said to him, “If you are the son of god throw yourself down; for it
is written ‘He will give his angels
charge concerning you’, and ‘On their hands they will bear you up lest you
strike your foot against a stone.’” (Matthew 4: 5, 6)
Is this a promise of God? Why yes, it is found in Psalms 91:11. Did the devil quote it accurately? Yes again, this is exactly the way that it
was written by the Psalmist. Then what
was the problem? We have a promise given
to the righteous by God, why did not Jesus take the opportunity to receive the
benefit of this promise. This would have
been an excellent way to showcase his faith in God. So why didn’t he? It is because a closer examination of this
verse shows that while it is rendered correctly it does not concur with the
devils request. The promise is that God
would perform this word if the righteous were to fall or trip.
Satan’s request was for Jesus to JUMP! So
in this passage the word jump was transposed for the word fall or stumble. This is the way of the devil; his devices are
crafty and devious.
The previous example is a perfect
illustration to what happened with the gospel that Jesus preached. Through time its true meaning was replaced,
not by a lie but with another truth. The
trouble is that the true gospel has now become lost to the body of Christ, and
as such we are found wanting in our understanding of the message of Jesus, and we
are at a loss for the benefits that he came to bring through our understanding
of his words. Through this replacement
the devil has doomed to confusion and frustration billions of Christians
through the ages. Our understanding of
the Gospel is very important because our obedience to God is directly tied to
how we handle his word. One cannot hope
to be obedient, no matter how sincere, if we follow an erroneous
instruction. We can grasp the importance
then of obedience to the truth by his final statement in Matthew:
Teach them to observe all that I commanded
you… (Matthew 28:20)
If we lose sight of just what
indeed he has commanded us we can never truly be in compliance with this
scripture.
Just in case you still do not see
why it is so important to get this issue of the gospel correct consider what
Paul says will happen to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord:
And these will pay the penalty of eternal
destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His Power,
(1 Thessalonians 1:9)
I think the weight of the scripture
then warrants that we get the substance of the gospel right.
The Transposition
Transposition describes an event or
act where one thing is substituted for another. This I contend is what we have today in
regards to the gospel. To understand
this we must examine what we have today and we must come to see just what we
are indeed calling the gospel. Here are
a few questions to ponder:
- What is the definition of the term Gospel?
- What is the gospel message of the modern day church?
- What is the basis of the teaching of the gospel as
accepted today?
- Are there two gospels or just one?
- Is the Gospel we preach today the same that Jesus
preached?
We will work through these
questions in our quest for truth and as a result the sure purpose of God will
stand.
What is the definition of the term Gospel?
This simple term ‘gospel’ comes
from the Greek word that means ‘a good message’. It was a term that meant good news. When one heard news that was considered
auspicious and delightful this was called gospel. From the onset it is clear that this term can
have a variety of applications. If you
go to the doctor and he tells you that you have a clean bill of health the
information is considered gospel. If
your boss calls you into his office and tells you that you are being promoted,
that is considered gospel. What if a police
officer knocks on your door and tells you that your son has been in a traffic
mishap, but he is fine, that is considered gospel. By the way in all these instances, the
doctor, the boss and the police officer would be considered an evangelist which
is simply the herald (bringer) of good news!
I used these examples to demystify the term gospel. In Christendom we have a way of mystifying
certain terms in an effort to add substance to what we say, and oftentimes this
process clouds the truth. The way that
the word gospel is used today one would think that it had originated from Jesus
and should only be uttered in religious contexts. This is not so. Gospel simply means good news and the persons
who bring this good news are evangelists, and it was used in many contexts
throughout the ages.
What is the gospel message of the modern day church?
What then is our
modern-day answer to the question of what is the gospel that Jesus
preached? Ask any church leader or
learned Christian and you would get any one or combination of the following
explanations of what the gospel is:
- John
- John 3:3-7 - Jesus answered
and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born
again, he cannot see the
- 1 Corinthians 15:1-6 - 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: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After
that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the
greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
- Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost
and born of a virgin. He freely laid down his life and was crucified under
Pontius Pilate. He was buried and rose again on the third day.
- The New Testament
- The death burial and resurrection of
the Lord Jesus followed by his ascension
- The life (person) of Jesus
- We have been granted favor from God
through the forgiveness of sins
- That Jesus Christ is the Messiah
Is everything
that I have written here a statement of fact?
Yes indeed, all of these statements are bible-based. Is this the gospel
that Jesus preached? We shall see.
What is the basis of the teaching of the gospel as accepted today?
Can there be a
thread that wraps all of the teachings of the modern-day church on the gospel
together; one concept that connects them all?
Look at the aforementioned points and you can find it. Everything that we declare to be the gospel
emanates from this two-fold cord:
- The gospel is about Jesus
- It involves being born again
Together these
form the basis of what we deem to be the gospel. For most, the crux of the gospel could be
found in Jesus’ discourse with Nicodemus and in particular the statement of
Jesus ‘You must be born again’. This is
our foundation stone for our understanding of the gospel, and it has become the
go-to verse for every so-called evangelist of today. In the effort to obey Jesus’ command to preach
the gospel we proclaim this verse as the basis of our sermons and spew out this
phrase incessantly. Would it surprise
you that this particular phrase (born gain) is only mentioned once in the
entire canon of scripture? Would it further
interest you to know that it was only uttered in a private conversation with
Nicodemus and never to the crowds that Jesus preached to daily? Oh it gets even better!
Are there two gospels or just one?
This may seem an
absurd question but bear with me. Is
there more than one gospel in the context of Christianity? Any sane, learned and devoted Christian would
say most definitely not. Why? I am glad you asked, well it is because of Paul’s
admonition found in Galatians 1:8
But even though we or an angel from heaven should preach to
you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
And in case you
did not hear him the first time he repeats it in the very next verse. Who do you think inspired Paul to write
this? In another place he declares that
all scripture is God-breathed or inspired.
Well then would Paul himself preach a gospel contrary to the one that he
received knowing this pronouncement? I
think not. So therefore we can confidently
conclude that the New Testament only declares one gospel.
It is
interesting to note that by the time of Paul’s writings Jesus had just been
dead and resurrected but a few decades, but Paul is here already having to
defend the purity of the gospel message in the early church. In fact he says that they had turned away
from the truth to a different gospel.
There was a distortion about, that turned the people away from the true
gospel to what they had now embraced.
Paul recognizes this as deadly, because the gospel was the central theme
of the life of Jesus and had to be preserved at all costs.
Is the Gospel we preach today the same that Jesus preached?
NO!!! The Gospel we preach today is not the gospel
preached by Jesus or his apostles. The
truth of the gospel has been transposed by another truth, and the substance of
the gospel has been sidelined.
What is the true gospel?
What is the gospel
that Jesus preached? Let us begin by
looking at what Jesus did not say was the gospel. Please note that Jesus is the author of the gospel
and whatever it (the gospel) may be, in order for us to understand it all
things must be interpreted through the words he said. If it seems that
there is a contradiction at times in the scriptures I assure you there are
none. In regards to the gospel Jesus
came with the message; so the clarity of it lies with Jesus, and his words
should be the lens we use to see what his followers meant when they spoke. Therefore we must let scripture interpret
scripture. That said consider these few points:
- Jesus preached the gospel to the crowds
for three years and never once did he talk to them of his death, burial
and resurrection. Yet he preached the gospel!
- Jesus, coming down to the time when he
was to be crucified, told his disciples
only of his impending death and warned them not to tell anyone
yet. Matthew 16:21 From that time
Jesus began to show His disciples
that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and
chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third
day; Mark 8: 31 And He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders
and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days
rise again. (Keep
in mind that before then he had already sent them out to preach the gospel!)
- The scriptures clearly said that when
he told them that he was to die and would be resurrected (a key tenet of
what the church claims as the gospel) they did not understand or believe
it. In fact Peter rebuked him.
Why? It was because this was
foreign to them they had not heard it before, yet Jesus preached to them everyday before that the gospel.
- When Jesus talked about the gospel it
was always in reference to the Gospel OF
the Kingdom.
- Paul at the end of Acts (28:31) clearly
states that he preached the
These are just a few of the
inconsistencies that exist if one is to take the teachings of the church as....
gospel (pun intended).
So what is the gospel as far as
Jesus is concerned? Jesus, whenever he
talked about the gospel he connected it to the phrase the kingdom of God
And Jesus
went about all Galilee , teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 4:23a)
And Jesus
went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching
the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 9:35a)
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew
24:14)
Now after
that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee , preaching
the gospel of the kingdom
of God 1:14 )
And
saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom
of God 1:15 )
So here we see that
the good news was about the kingdom
of God kingdom of God kingdom of God
Defining the Gospel of the Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God is a compilation of the
ideas, precepts and principles outlined and explicated by Jesus in the New
Testament; incorporated into the elements of an individual’s life resulting in
the shifting of their core belief system; impacting all areas of that person’s
attitudes, behaviors and relations toward their fellow man. Effectively creating a life submitted to God,
while providing a structure that ensures continuous prosperity in every aspect
of life.
Let us examine this
statement line by line to determine its veracity.
The Kingdom of God
Throughout his
teaching to us the phrase ‘the kingdom of God is like a…’ is repeatedly used to
introduce to us new ideas.
Then said he, unto what is the kingdom of God
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field
(Matthew 13:24 )
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his
servants. (Matthew 18:23)
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to
meet the bridegroom. (Matthew 25:1)
And he said, whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God 4:30 )
And again he said, whereunto
shall I liken the kingdom of God
These statements
show that through his teachings Jesus was introducing to us ideas about the kingdom of God
Precepts:
Precepts are
rules intended to determine actions and conduct. Jesus’ first command to us is repent. The word ‘repent’ means to change the way you
think. Why was Jesus so concerned about
how we think? Your thoughts determine
your actions. The book of James bears
this out when he talks about how we come to sin (See James 1:14 , 15).
So Jesus knew that sin begins in the mind of man (heart) and therefore
he brought rules and regulations that if we adopt would free us from the
wickedness that dominates the world.
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is
in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48 )
Ye have heard that it was said of them of old
time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the
judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without
a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his
brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou
fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. (Matthew 5:21, 22)
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by
them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the
Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for
it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by
Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. (Matthew 5:33-35)
These precepts or rules are
designed to help you to change the way you think.
Principles:
Principles are fundamental laws or
truths that can provide benefits to ones life.
So does the gospel of the kingdom speak of basic laws that provide
benefits to your life?
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed
down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete
withal it shall be measured to you again. (Luke 6:38)
And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it
out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy
members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is
profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy
whole body should be cast into hell. (Matthew 5:29,30)
Ask, and it shall be
given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you
(Matthew 7:7)
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of
mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which
built his house upon a rock (Matthew 7:24 )
These principles and more like them
provide a firm foundation upon which we can build our lives.
…incorporated into the elements
of an individual’s life resulting in the shifting of their core belief system;
impacting all areas of that person’s attitudes, behaviors and relations toward
their fellow man:
There was some confusion among the disciples
and the people to whom Jesus spoke the kingdom of God Rome kingdom of God kingdom
of God
And when he was demanded
of the Pharisees, when the kingdom
of God kingdom
of God kingdom of God
God’s design was not to set up a
physical government in the earth but to have people living all over the earth obeying
the gospel of the kingdom and essentially living the way he intended. Together they would constitute the presence
of the kingdom of
God
Effectively
creating a life submitted to God, while providing a structure that ensures
continuous prosperity in every aspect of life.
What then would
happen to such people who have been imbued with the gospel of the kingdom and
living thereby? The result would be a
change in the world! God wants to
connect with mankind. The conduct of
mankind was sinful. God needed to
correct man’s conduct so that he could once again find favor with God. Jesus came with a message that you can find
favor again with God by adopting the principles, precepts and ideas spoken by Jesus
in the New Testament. So now man has a
way to reconnect with God and commune and find favor with him. Wow, now that is good news! This I declare to you is the gospel that
Jesus preached.
Under this
definition the following scriptures finally make sense:
For the time is
come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us,
what shall the end be of them that obey
not the gospel of God?
(1Peter 4:17 )
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God,
and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory
of his power; (2 Thessalonians 1:8,9)
The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (Luke 4:18)
The gospel of
the kingdom of God
What then are the benefits of the gospel?
Understanding
the truth of the gospel is paramount because one cannot hope to gain the benefits
of a thing without understanding the thing.
- The Gospel is the power of God for
salvation: Paul says as much in
Romans 1:16. He continues, ‘For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from
faith to faith’. The gospel
reveals the righteousness of God as it declares what we must do to live in
his presence.
- It purifies us: In the body of his flesh through death, to present you
holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the
faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the
gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature
which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
(Colossians 1:22-23)
- It brings us immortality: But is now
made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath
abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through
the gospel (2
Timothy
- It is the basis of a better
covenant. This gospel is the basis
for which we can now experience a better covenant based on better
promises. Through the gospel,
therefore, we can live life and life more abundantly.
What about…?
“Ye must be born again”.
Does not one
have to be born again in order to receive salvation? The born again experience, while necessary to
the gospel, does not constitute the gospel.
Jesus himself tells us exactly what is the purpose of the born again
experience
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God
Did you see
that! Jesus distinctly separates the
gospel from the born again experience.
Does this make it insignificant, no, on the contrary this places the
born again experience as a precursor to understanding the gospel. What Jesus was saying was not that the born
again message was the gospel but that one must be born again in order to
understand the gospel. These are two distinct
concepts. The transposition made the doorway to the house the actual house! One cannot see the gospel if one is not born
again but the important thing is the gospel of the kingdom.
Jesus himself
You may ask well
what about Jesus; isn’t the teaching about Jesus and his life the same as the
gospel? In essence aren’t Jesus and the
gospel one and the same? Consider the
following:
They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in
even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till
evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God
And Paul dwelt two whole
years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, preaching
the kingdom of God
But when
they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God 8:12
These verses are
very important. It is essential to know
that the words that comprise these verses are not arbitrary, and as such each
are important to our understanding of the gospel. Notice the place of the word ‘and’
in these instances. The reason why Luke
described these scenes in this way was because he wanted to show clearly that
the gospel of the kingdom of God and the message of Jesus were two completely
different concepts. This is written in
such a way that it would have been possible for Paul to speak about the kingdom of God
The disciples’ teachings and preaching in the
book of Acts
Acts has many
occasions where the disciples after the day of Pentecost preached to the
people. Most of the sermons were about
Jesus. Can we use this as proof to say
that the gospel is indeed about the death, burial and resurrection of
Jesus? No we can not! In the book of Acts the disciples talked a
great deal about Jesus because their primary target throughout this book was
the Jews. What they were in effect
trying to do was prove to them that Jesus was indeed the Christ. This is an important fact to know because if
one does not come to this realization then the words of Christ i.e. the gospel
would have been just like any other leader’s words that go the way of
obscurity.
They also had to
prove Jesus was Christ because to the Jewish mind Christ was the one to bring
deliverance from their oppression in the world.
If the disciples could prove this then they could easily show that the words
of Jesus (the gospel of the kingdom) were indeed the way to escape their
oppression. They knew that the Messiah
would bring the promise of God through Jeremiah:
Behold, the days come,
saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and
with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their
fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land
of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them,
saith the LORD:
This new
covenant embodies the gospel and is the establishment of a New and Living way talked about in the epistles.
The book of Acts
also shows that the disciples had an understanding of what the gospel of the
kingdom was all about. Do you remember
their question to Jesus before his ascension?
So when they had come
together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it
at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel
They were
looking for this kingdom
of God
1 Corinthians 15
You may ask
doesn’t Paul explicitly say that the gospel is the death burial and
resurrection of Jesus Christ? Let us
examine the text to determine what Paul said:
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: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he
was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part
remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians
15:1-6)
There you say,
doesn’t this blow your theory out of the water?
Well what exactly did he say?
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.
Well that is all
in line with what I am saying the problem that most overlook is the very next
statement:
For I delivered
unto you first of all…
This statement
shows that he is not yet about to tell you what the gospel he preached was, but
what he is about to tell you is what he said before he spoke to them
the gospel. The verse that follows is
simply Paul taking many words to say what Jesus said in one sentence in John 3:3
First one must be born again then one can see the gospel. Paul does not introduce the gospel until
verse 24:
Then cometh the end, when he shall have
delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down
all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all
enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
He says ‘then
comes’ the end when he will deliver the kingdom to God. What kingdom? The gospel that had taken root
in his followers on earth who are now living out the things (ideas, precepts,
principles) he had said. This is the gospel!!!
It is incumbent
upon us to understand the true gospel of the kingdom of God
"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the
whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the
end will come. Matthew 24:14
Do you see this
statement? This is the lynchpin to the
return of Jesus to the earth. He is
giving specific instructions on what has to happen before he returns.
In other words he is saying that he will not return until THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM IS
PREACHED TO THE WHOLE WORLD. Do you
understand therefore the importance of the message we carry. Do you see the importance of getting it
right? He did not say that he is waiting
for us to go and tell the world about him.
He very specifically says that he wants the world to hear his message
on the gospel of the kingdom. That is
the message we need to carry, and that is the message that the world needs to
here.
No comments:
Post a Comment