On top of this we see segments of the church overtaken with a spirit in the world today of tolerance and "peace" at the expense of truth and reality. This has led to such aberrations as Chrislam and interfaith "dialogues" which attempt to reconcile the irreconcilable. There happens to be a huge dust up in the church over this regarding James White, a noted apologist for the Faith inviting a Muslim apologist into his church with an introduction o their being "kindred spirits."
What does Jesus have to say about all of this? What follows is an updated teaching I did on how a watered down Gospel leads to an inoculation from the true Gospel.
Jesus
stated, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And
you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John
8:31 -32). Often times
people discard the gospel because they say, "It doesn't work." Why
doesn’t this “gospel” work? Those who alter the gospel would say that it is out
of date, archaic, and needs to be modernized. They blame the lack of power in
the gospel on being an outmoded message.
Others sacrifice truth due to personal emotional connections. This happens when two people of opposite views sit down to "dialogue" in order to try to find a way that they can "coexist" (seen the bumper sticker?). What happens is the two or one of the parties takes a liking to the other and decides their differences can be overlooked for the sake of relationship or "friendship." This inevitably leads to compromise of one side. Unfortunately of late it has meant the compromise of Christianity. I believe this may be behind the actions of the James White situation. (Please see the balanced and Biblical response of Dr. Mike Spaulding at https://nortonsafe.search.ask.com/web?q=Mike+Spaulding+on+james+white&chn=1000&doi=2017-06-13&geo=US&guid=956019C8-DD86-49ED-A5A0-576619AD8144&locale=en_US&o=APN11912&p2=%5EEQ%5Eis10us%5E&prt=NS&ver=22.9.4.8&tpr=2&ts=1499283591992 ).
Jesus and His word are unchanging
(Matthew 24:35; Hebrews 13:8). The gospel of God’s word is still powerful (Romans
1:16 -17). And anyone for any reason who seeks to compromise the Gospel is under an anathema (cf. Galatians 1:6-9). If that is so,
why are people missing out on that power, on that life changing power? Why are they compromising? The
reason there is no freedom from sin is because the "gospel" being
presented is "really no gospel at all." What is the cause of such a
truth heist? The truth is robbed from the gospel because well intentioned
messengers filter the gospel for fear of offending listeners. The consequence
of such actions is an inoculation against the true gospel.
"The
Great Inoculation"
Medically,
inoculation is the injection of a controlled amount of microorganism or toxic
material into the body. This is done to allow the immune system of the body to
build up a resistance to the alien substance infecting the body. There is
another area where inoculation takes place. "The Great Inoculation"
is an inoculation in the spiritual realm. It is an inoculation against the
gospel and all that God calls holy.
This
inoculation takes place whenever God’s word is castrated by spurious paraphrase
renditions. This inoculation takes place when the gospel is given in dosages
judged to be inoffensive or non-threatening. Gospel inoculation takes place
when the gospel is watered down. The premise underlying this practice is that
the gospel is too offensive or too likely to "turn off" the
recipients if spoken directly. The concern and worry of the Gospel inoculators
is that "relationships" need to be established before the gospel is
shared.
This
brings us to some questions. What comes first, establishing a relationship
unassociated to Christ with the hope that in the future Christ can be injected
into the relationship? Or, first being associated with Christ which draws
people into redemptive relationships? It's a question of honesty. Will we speak
the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15 )?
Charlatans,
false teachers, politicians and shady lawyers may feel it is acceptable to
bend, and mutilate the truth, but God's ministers certainly should not! If you
detect an air of urgency in my words it is because we live in times perilously
close to the completion of the scriptural prophecies concerning the last days
(2 Timothy 3). Given global unrest, the rise of Islam (yes, "Islam" not "radical Islam" for truly Islam can be shown to be violent by nature in its pursuit of world domination) economic inflation and uncertainty,
ecological disruption and natural disasters, even the common person on the
street can see something is going on that we need to take notice of. Then we
have the relatively recent works like the DaVinci Code, and
the presentation of Gnostic gospels as alternatives to the true gospel which
are evidence of the wave of deception that serves as a one-two punch
combination that has many people reeling. Besides the propaganda and negative
reporting in the media, we still have the perennial problems of abortion,
crime, self-indulgence, the Middle East
"Peace" etc. And on top of all of this, people are losing faith in
the church because it is in the church where much of the deception, abuse, and
manipulation is taking place. It looks
at least as though we are in the twilight years of planet earth as we know it.
The apostle Paul warned of these last days writing, "For the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own
desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves
teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned
aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
And
what of the psychologizing of the church? If gospel counsel from God’s word is
avoided by those who would be ministers, what is ultimately communicated is
that counsel does not have to be based on the Gospel and God’s word. If
scripture is avoided in counsel, then scripture is not seen as foundational or
even necessary as a means to healing life problems. Instead counsel can be
humanistic or based on another resource. Furthermore, the appearance of
lukewarmness is communicated as well as a lack of commitment to Christ and His
holy Word. The impression left is, "Maybe Jesus and His Word aren't the
'only way'." The so-called minister of Christ loses their identity and
their effectiveness as Christ's ambassador. The image of Christ is lost. Their
reason for being becomes vague. And there we have it, the germs of gospel
inoculation! Inoculated by a "gospel" that is really no gospel at all
(Galatians 1:6-7).
You see
the problem with the premise that we can water down the initial presentation of
the gospel in hopes of maybe later divulging the full gospel is that such a
transition often never takes place. What happens is because the truth has been
so minimized and the churches filled with “seekers” attracted by palatable
sweets, the fear of losing the crowds is so great that they settle for living
on the watered down milk toast, wishy washy non-gospel. Those introduced to the
church with an inoculating gospel become immune to the true gospel.
I would
ask those who defend this "gospel" inoculation to consider the
following observations.
First,
the nature of the gospel is that it is offensive. When the apostle Paul referred to the
gospel he often described it by way of the Greek word skandalon.
Skandalon is translated "stumbling block" and "offense" (1
Corinthians 1:23 ;
Galatians 5:11 ). We get our
English word "scandal" from this word. The apostle referred to Jesus
as, "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense [skandalon]" (1 Peter
2:8 NKJV). Because of this, we ought to expect some people to take offense at
the gospel, no matter how much we speak the truth in love.
Second,
to depend on mere human perspective to gauge the extent to which we share the
gospel is sinful. Such an
attitude comes perilously close to trying to usurp the throne of God. It
betrays a lack of trust in the work of the Holy Spirit. It is God who works on
the heart of humans and draws them to Himself (John 6:44 ; 14; 16). When a person attempts to take
over the role of God, the mission is doomed to failure (see Saul for example -
1 Samuel 15). Doomed to failure because the human perspective is limited to the
surface of people's reactions. God can plumb the depths of our being. We can
view the blank stare of a recipient as either thoughtful agreement with our
message or daydreaming disinterest. God is the Knower of the heart (kardiognostes
- Acts 1:24 ; 15:8). He has
no such confusion or will He make any such mistake.
Third,
to carve up the gospel and present it in an inoffensive way results in modeling
an air of non-urgency.
The gospel becomes a secondary life source of direction. The recipient is
tempted to wonder, "The gospel can't be that important if nobody wants to
talk about it." Suppose you are waiting for the train that arrives 6:55
a.m. and someone comes to you at 6:50 a.m. and asks, "Do you think I have
time to go grab a bite to eat and do some window-shopping before the train
comes in?" You answer in a way that you think will bring comfort and
peace, "Sure go ahead, enjoy yourself, you've got plenty of time."
How do you think that inquisitor is going to respond when he or she returns
half an hour later to find both you and the train are long since gone? Or maybe
they get back in time to see you and the train pulling away. How do you think
they will feel? How do you think you will feel? It's safe to say no one will be
happy. And you will have had exactly the opposite effect that you intended. The
apostle Paul wrote, "Now is the day of salvation" (2
Corinthians 6:2 NKJV). Each day is a gift from God and only He knows
each persons allotted amount (Proverbs 27:1). Jesus can return for His Church
at any time (Luke 21:36 ; 1
Thessalonians 5:2). What right has anyone to presume on the time a person has
to make a decision to accept Christ? To assume such responsibility is to tread
where angels fear to go.
Fourth,
the convert of a non-urgent and secondary gospel message would likely be doomed
to lukewarmness from the start. The strategy of inoffensiveness plays into the hands of those
who seek only an undisturbing amount of Jesus. The result is a generation of
those who talk-the-talk but overlook walking-the-walk of Christianity. Jesus
warned, ". . . Because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I
will vomit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:16 NKJV). The first words out of Jesus' mouth in
Mark's gospel involved a call to "repent" (Mark 1:15 ). The Greek word for "repent"
is metanoeite which literally means "to have a thorough change of
mind." Change is integral to gospel salvation. Without repentance, the
good news is out of the gospel.
Fifth,
being inoffensive is often justified by those who say, "love does not
offend." But "love" is said to "rejoice in the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6). A heresy is a
half-truth. It's hardly an act of love to expect someone to make a decision of
eternal consequence based on half-truth. Jesus wants us to speak the truth in
love. That means loving people enough to risk offending them. True love
peaks the whole truth. There is self-denial, a cross and following involved
in coming to Christ (Luke 9:23 ).
Paul wrote, ". . . I bear in my body the marks of the Lord
Jesus" (Galatians 6:17
NKJV). Peter wrote, "It is written, 'Be holy for I am
holy'" (1 Peter 1:16
NKJV). Jesus said our top priority was to "love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind"
(Matthew 22:37 NKJV).
God takes a back seat to no one and no thing!
I once
heard a youth worker comment on another youth worker's interaction with some
youth during a bible study. Their comment was, "It was a pretty good
study, but too much Scripture is a real turnoff." That’s what is being
said in many church groups. Maybe this
preoccupation with what is and isn't a "turnoff" is the cause of
lukewarmness amongst many of the youth in churches today. Maybe people haven't
rejected the gospel or the church because maybe they haven't been exposed to
the real thing. Young people and all people need to be given a chance to accept
or refuse the gospel in its entirety. People ought to be permitted to make an
educated decision.
It is a disservice to
"lead" someone to Christ under the mistaken notion that it is a
comfortable thing to do and requires no tangible life changes. It is
counterproductive and only results in inoculating the recipients against the
gospel. Those who have slipped into the inoculative mode need to turn around
and trust in God to draw people to Himself. If you call yourself an ambassador
of Christ, then represent truthfully The King you claim to serve!
I think it's time we took to heart these inspired words of Paul who said, ". . . We should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ" (Ephesians 4:14-15 NKJV)
I think it's time we took to heart these inspired words of Paul who said, ". . . We should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ" (Ephesians 4:14-15 NKJV)
Maybe
you've been reading this and wondering "Where do I stand with the Lord and
His gospel? Am I saved?" If you are uncertain about where you stand with
God then the way to find assurance of your salvation in God's Word. The word of
God is clear about the gospel (literally "good news") of salvation.
This is what it says:
1.
All
people fall short of what God requires to get into heaven and are sinners
(Romans 3:21 -25). People are spiritually dead (Ephesians
2:1-3). Everyone has broken God's Law and even just one offense condemns
(Galatians 3:10 ; James 2:10 ). Jesus is God's standard to
get into heaven (John 16:8-11). Jesus said the destiny of the sinner is
separation from God (Matthew 25:32), everlasting fire (Matthew 25:41;
Revelation 19:20 ),
everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46), and an everlasting sad, lonely,
darkness (Matthew 8:12 ).
2.
God
Himself has made provision to reconcile us to Himself in Jesus Christ (2
Corinthians 5:18 -19). Only God incarnate could live the life
and pay the price for the sins of all people (Isaiah 53:4-6; John 14:6; Acts 4:12 ; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11).
3.
God's
salvation is a gift to be received on His terms, by faith (Ephesians 2:4-10). Jesus requires us to make a decision
about Him. To make no decision is to decide against Him (Matthew 12:30 ). He also requires us to
publicly confess our faith in Him (Matthew 10:32 -33). God forgives us when we repent (Acts 2:38 -39) and trust Him to forgive us
on the basis of the work Jesus has done (Titus 2:11 -14; 3:4-8). Salvation is free, but it wasn't cheap.
It cost Jesus His life. God loves us and knows we can't save ourselves. He has
done the work for us. He sent Jesus to die and pay the penalty for sin instead
of us. We need only accept it. An acronym for the faith that saves is Forsaking
All I Trust Him to forgive me of my sin. You have to ask God to save you and
your prayer could be as follows:
God
forgive me of my sin. I know that I've sinned against You, but I turn from my
sin right now and turn to You by faith. Jesus, come into my life. Be my
personal Lord and Savior. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Help me to be your
disciple. Thank You that You have forgiven me. Thank You that I'm now a child
of God. Thank You that I'm going to heaven. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
When you pray that prayer from
your heart, understand that the Bible states you are born again (John 3:1-21);
a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17 );
a child of God (1 John 3:1); you are forgiven (Colossians 2:13 ).
- When you become a Christian you are born again
into the Body of Christ which is called the Church (2 Corinthians
Don’t settle for half truths
or anything less than the whole truth of God in His word. The whole truth of
the whole gospel provides a way for you to enter into a powerful life changing
personal saving relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Don’t
settle for anything less! (I John 1:1-4).
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