|
The Modern Gospel Is Not The
True Gospel!
"Then if any man shall say unto
you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false
Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch
that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." [Matthew
24:23-24]
The one thing that, in all my years as a twice-born child
of God, leaps out at me as being something that could "almost" deceive the "very
elect" is the MODERN gospel. Of course you can add other things to that
list that are things that young believers don't always grasp easily such as
whether or not you can lose your salvation or whether or not "speaking in
tongues" is for today. Yet nothing is quite as deceptive as the MODERN
gospel. And what makes it so insidious is the fact that this MODERN gospel is so
prevalent and it does such a remarkable job of warping a person's perception of
who God is and what the true condition of fallen mankind is. The MODERN
gospel is not something completely brand new this year or this decade. It
has been around for a while but it is becoming more and more popular among
churches that call themselves evangelical and
Bible-believing.
|
The MODERN Gospel |
The TRUE Gospel |
|
Also known
as: Arminianism,
Free-willism |
Also known
as: Calvinism, The Doctrines Of Grace |
Denominations that preach it:
Almost every protestant denomination and
some churches within the denominations listed to the right. |
Denominations that preach it:
Reformed Baptists, Orthodox
Presbyterians, Sovereign Grace churches, some Southern Baptist churches and a few others. |
How to
identify it:
Preachers and teachers who believe the MODERN gospel
use alter calls and emotional pleas to persuade sinners to "accept
Christ". They use gospel tracts with some kind of salvation
formula such as "the Romans Road" or "the Four
Spiritual Laws". They instruct people to recite a sinner's
prayer and then proclaim that if that prayer (like a Christian mantra) is
recited (sincerely of course) then the person, by that act of their will,
has become saved and is ready for heaven. The modern gospel
preachers and teachers tell people indiscriminantly that God loves them
and has a wonderful plan for their life, as if they were God and as if
they know who God loves or whom God has chosen to be His people. They like to talk about how many people they led
to Christ. They tell people to bow their heads and close their eyes
so that sinners will not feel uncomfortable stepping forward in a church
to "accept Christ", as if their comfort is the issue and not the fact that
they may be one heartbeat away from eternity in hell. |
How to
identify it:
Preachers and teachers who believe the TRUE gospel do
NOT use alter calls or emotional pleas. They use the Word of God to
convict sinners of sin. They preach about God's law, His holiness,
His righteousness, His hatred for sin, His wrath towards sinners and the
eternal judgment of hell. They warn people to repent or perish. Only
then do they preach about God's grace and mercy. They preach that prior to
salvation, man is spiritually dead and incapable of turning to God in that
condition. They preach the Gospel because God has commanded them to,
not for results or numbers of converts. They know that if
people do not get saved by their preaching, God is still glorified,
because His opinion of the lostness of man is proven by man's rejection of
the truth and man's hatred of God's word concerning man's total depravity. |
What about people who say they are neither a Calvinist
nor an Arminian?
Some folks say they are not Arminians and not
Calvinists, they are "biblicists"... they just believe the Bible (not realizing
there are certain parts of the Bible they may not even know about and that they
wouldn't agree with if you showed them). These
people sometimes call themselves 3-point-5 or 4-point Calvinists because they
reject one or more points of Calvinism, such as the limited nature of Christ's
atonement or the total depravity of man.. Often they are still free-willers
even if they claim to believe in man's responsibility and God's sovereignty.
The truth is, you cannot reject ANY of the doctrines of God's grace (a.k.a. 5
points of Calvinism) and still have the TRUE
gospel. On the other hand, you may have an incomplete understanding of the gospel, but if you
are truly "in Christ" you will not find yourself fighting against or preaching
against those who preach and teach Calvinism.
Getting back to the verses in Matthew chapter 24 that we quoted
at the beginning... what then are the "great signs and wonders" of the MODERN
gospel? One thing is the amazing (and untrue) ability for lost sinners to
get themselves saved anytime they wish. Because if that were true, it
would mean that they have the power to regenerate themselves or that God is at
their mercy waiting for the rebellious, spiritually dead sinner to find some
good in himself and some power in and of himself to seek God, clearly
contradicting Romans 3:11 and Romans 8:7&8.
"There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh
after God." [Romans 3:11]
"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the
flesh cannot please God." [Romans 8:7-8]
Another great sign and wonder of this MODERN gospel is the
ability of preachers to get hundreds and even thousands of people to walk down
an aisle and "accept Christ", when all those folks are really doing is buying
"fire insurance" (a quick ticket to heaven and a easy way around hell), thinking that the act of their will to come forward and recite
a "sinner's prayer" is all that is needed to enter into the kingdom of God.
When in truth, it takes a supernatural act of God to enter His kingdom:
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born
again." [John 3:6-7]
No one gives birth to themselves. Hence no sinner can get
himself saved. His salvation is totally and completely dependent upon the
mercy of God.
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
[John 3:12-13]
And don't kid yourself into thinking that verse 12 above gives
you a leg to stand on regarding man's involvement in salvation. The ONLY
ones who will ever "receive him" (i.e. Christ) are those, who by the will of
God, have been brought to spiritual life by God the Holy Spirit.
"As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he
saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I
will have mercy, and I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him
that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."
[Romans 9:13-16]
While it is possible that some people who walk down an aisle or
respond to an "altar call" may really be truly converted, it is the fact
that they already are saved that makes them want to truly repent and sincerely
follow the Christ of the Bible in spirit and in truth. Sooner or later,
even with bad teaching and preaching, these folks will be able to discern the
difference between the MODERN gospel and the TRUE Gospel.
To those of you who
don't like this article, I refer you to Acts 9:5.
And to those who have been truly redeemed by the blood of the Lamb I refer you
to Revelation 5:9!
Ray Kane
FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE THE FOLLOWING:
Acts 9:5
- "And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou
persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."
Revelation 5:9 - "And
they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the
seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out
of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" |
