Category Archives: Evangelism

Is the contemporary Gospel "Another Gospel"? – Part 2

Posted by Dan C. on

This is a continuation of the series that began here.

THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL BEGINS AND ENDS WITH GOD.

Firstly, the Biblical gospel begins and ends with God, whereas the contemporary gospel begins and ends with man. Here, in abbreviated form, is how it runs. “People today are suffering from feelings of emptiness, loneliness and low self-esteem. However, the aching ‘God shaped vacuum’ within you can be filled, when you say sorry for your sins and commit your life to Jesus. God has a wonderful plan for your life and wants you to be personally fulfilled and have a real feeling of happiness and satisfaction. You matter to God – that’s why Jesus paid for your sins on the cross. He loves you and wants you to ask Him into your life today You cannot save yourself, that’s why you really need God in your life. You have tried everything else – so why not give Jesus a try too? All you have to do is ask Jesus to be your personal Saviour and you will be saved. Why not pray this prayer after me…

Writers like George Barna, Bill Hybels, Lee Strobel and Rick Warren, tell us that our churches will only be ‘seeker-friendly’ when we start addressing the needs of ’21st century unchurched Harry and Mary’ (the ‘me’ generation). Thus the contemporary message has moved away from the New Testament God-centred pattern, and tailored itself to appeal to the self-centred generation of secular relativists who dominate our society. By contrast, the Biblical gospel begins and ends with God. When Paul preached to the Gentiles in Lystra, he opened by saying, “We…preach unto you that you should turn from these vanities unto the living God, who made heaven… earth… sea and all things that are in them” (Acts 14:15). He began by laying a foundation of a ‘creator God’ who is sovereign, good and patient. Again, when preaching to the Gentile philosophers in Athens he stated, “…God, who made the world and everything in it.. since He is Lord of heaven and earth.. now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.” (Acts 17:22-31). This was always Paul’s approach when preaching to pagans. His message to Felix was the same. He told him about God’s righteousness, his own lack of self-control and judgment to come (Acts 24:25).

Since repentance is a change of mind towards God, how can a sinner repent until he has a true concept of God? Many 21st Century Westerners imagine that there are two Gods; the God of the Old Testament – harsh and unmerciful – and the God of the New Testament – loving and forgiving. Such is their fatal misconception. Or again, the average Westerner thinks that God, if He exists at all, is a most unfair God. He argues; “If there’s a God why is there all the suffering in the world?” How foolish are his thoughts. Until he truly understands the good and holy nature of the God against whom he has grievously rebelled, he will never be saved. Thus, unless the ‘true God’ is clearly preached, all that will be produced is a multitude of false converts, who have never so much as caught one glimpse of the holiness, goodness and sovereignty of their almighty creator, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Rom 11:36).

NEXT: THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL MAKES A PROPER USE OF THE LAW OF GOD.

Is the contemporary Gospel "Another Gospel"?

Posted by Dan C. on

This excerpt is the introduction to an interesting and relevant article by Michael J. Penfold I found at Banner of Truth.

Is the contemporary Gospel “Another Gospel”?

Central to every genuine spiritual revival, has been the public preaching of the gospel. Directly through this means (Titus 1:3) the Holy Spirit has awakened multitudes to a proper sense of the dreadfulness of their sin against heaven. They have been stripped of all self-righteousness, broken in repentance and have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who satisfied God’s demands against their sin at Calvary. Sadly, in the evangelical scene today, such true and lasting manifestations of the convicting and converting power of the Holy Spirit are now rarely seen. So where did it all go wrong?

During the 20th century, there were two major developments in relation to gospel preaching. Up until World War 2, practically all evangelical churches held two preaching services every Sunday; one aimed at edifying the church; the other at converting sinners. The first move was to jettison the gospel service (with its accompanying prayer meeting), in favour of another study teaching session for Christians. The indoor evangelistic service was not replaced with a ‘street meeting’. It was simply dropped. Secondly, there was a fundamental change in the content (not just the style) of the gospel message itself. Several major features of the historically tried and tested gospel sermon were abandoned. Thus, if you compare the sermons preached by Peter and Paul in the book of Acts, along with those preached during genuine revivals since that time (by men like Nettleton, Edwards, Wesley, Whitefield, McCheyne, North, Spurgeon, Torrey, Moody, Rea, Marshall, Laidlaw and Frank Knox) with the contemporary gospel, you will find a world of difference.

All of this has serious consequences, because the contemporary gospel produces altogether different results to the historic Biblical gospel. For example, in 1991, a major ‘evangelical’ denomination in the USA – consisting of 11,000 churches – launched a huge push in evangelism. After securing 294,000 ‘decisions for Christ’ in 12 months (26.73 per church), only 14,000 new members came ‘into fellowship’ (1.27 per church). Are we really to believe that within 12 months of being saved, under the sound preaching of the Holy Spirit empowered Biblical gospel, 95.2% of the ‘converts’ (over a quarter of a million people) had become ‘backsliders’? And what of the general membership of contemporary ‘evangelical’ churches? Where have all the serious Bible students gone? Where is the clear line of demarcation between today’s Christians and the secular world – in language, entertainment, music, dress, associations, ambition, interest and outlook? These are symptoms of a root problem, namely the abandonment of public gospel preaching and the alteration of the content of the Biblical gospel message. But what is the true gospel? Let us examine four essential elements which are missing from most of today’s evangelical sermons, gospel tracts and ‘introduction to Christianity’ courses.

Follow-on posts will present the following elements of the Biblical Gospel that the author proposes are largely missing from the contemporary gospel:

1. THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL BEGINS AND ENDS WITH GOD.

2. THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL MAKES A PROPER USE OF THE LAW OF GOD.

3. THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL SOUNDS A CLEAR NOTE OF REPENTANCE.

4. THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL PRESENTS A WHOLE CHRIST FOR THE WHOLE MAN.

Perspectives of Evangelism – Death and Judgment

Posted by Dan C. on

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,”

Hebrews 9:27

 Thanks to an email tip from one of my “battle buddies” early this morning, I began listening to a set of sermons delivered at the 2008 ‘Resolved’ conference. I have only listened to the first session (Rick Holland preached from the above text) and rest assured I will be listening to it several more times, with paper and pencil handy for copious notes.  My current thoughts are not specific to the sermon itself, but to the words of the above text in the context of several conversations I have listened to in ‘Christian’ Blogland, that perfectly reflect the current system of ‘respectful tolerance and dialogue’ that must be adhered to when discussing spiritual matters with those who reject God. ‘Respectful tolerance/dialogue’ means that believers are not allowed to say anything remotely confrontational like…well, the Gospel! The intent is, I suppose, to get them to a point of liking us so much that we can somehow subtlety ask them if they have ever considered the claims of Christ, sometime later as we stroll hand-in-hand down Sweetness Lane.

Here’s the issue…

In Hebrews 9:27, we have the first portion of a larger point made by the Apostle Paul concerning Christ’s dying once for the sins of many. The message of these few words, even outside of the context of Paul’s discourse, is crystal clear – you die and face the judgment of God. Both of the  ‘main camps’ of Protestant Christianity (Calvinists and Arminians), most heartily agree on this verse, regardless of their thoughts about matters of choice, free will, or predestination and maybe even share pancakes at the local IHOP while they discuss it! The question I have is for those who subscribe to the synergistic view of salvation, that is to say that man’s choice, made after hearing the Gospel, is the determining factor in his/her eternal destiny.

Here’s the question:

How is it that you can have an endless ‘respectful dialogue’ with an avowed atheist (or anyone you know to be an unbeliever), that fails to include the Gospel of Jesus Christ, when the person with whom you are conversing might face death the on the very day of your ‘respectful dialogue’, maybe moments after the conversation, or maybe during it! Hear me out. According to your view of salvation, it’s his/her decision to end up in Heaven or Hell. You have the chance to provide that person with the facts necessary for the ‘eternal’ decision. You fail. The death angel comes calling, it’s a done deal. The one with whom you had a nice little ‘sans Gospel’ philosophical chat will NEVER have another chance to make a ‘decision’, but will face The Lord of Glory, bow the knee, proclaim Him Lord, then march off to an ETERNITY IN HELL!

How can you do that? How did I?

Monergism vs Synergism

Posted by Dan C. on

When is the human heart regernerated? What comes first, God’s decision (choice) or man’s decision? What ‘event’ initiates/initiated God’s plan of salvation?

“Monergism is the . . . doctrine that regeneration (the new birth) both precedes and elicits faith in Christ in those whom the Holy Spirit sovereignly determines to dispense His grace upon (John 1:13; 6:63-65; Acts 16:14b; 1 John 5:1). When preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, the gospel has the power to open blind eyes and unstop deaf ears. Those dead in sin, therefore, play no part in their own new birth and are just as passive as a new born physical baby in the regenerative act. Thus, man does not cooperate in his regeneration but rather, infallibly responds in faith as the Holy Spirit changes our hearts’ disposition. Faith is not something produced by our unregenerated human nature. The fallen sinner has no moral ability or inclination to believe prior to the new birth. Instead, the Holy Spirit must open one’s ears to the preaching of the gospel if one would hear. While there is no temporal sequence, regeneration gives rise to all other aspects of our salvation. They all happen simultaneously like the turning on of the light, which is the cause of faith, justification, sanctification, new affections, and the like.

Synergism (or synergistic regeneration) is the . . . doctrine which believes that faith precedes and gives rise to regeneration. Man cooperates with God in regeneration. Faith is produced by our unregenerated human nature. The fallen sinner has the ability and potential inclination to believe even prior to the new birth. While synergism believes grace plays a role in salvation yet he does not believe salvation is by grace alone – instead it is grace plus our response which makes us to be born again.”

Another way to ask the question might be “Whose faith is it, anyway?”

Any thoughts or opinions? Please provide supporting scripture.    

The above definitions were extracted from an article by John Hendryx that can be read here.

Progressive Theology

Posted by Dan C. on

“The idea of a progressive gospel seems to have fascinated many. To us that notion is a sort of cross-breed between nonsense and blasphemy. After the gospel has been found effectual in the eternal salvation of untold multitudes, it seems rather late in the day to alter it; and, since it is the revelation of the all-wise and unchanging God, it appears somewhat audacious to attempt its improvement. When we call up before our mind’s eye the gentlemen who have set themselves this presumptuous task, we feel half inclined to laugh; the case is so much like the proposal of moles to improve the light of the sun. Their gigantic intellects are to hatch out the meanings of the Infinite! We think we see them brooding over hidden truths to which they lend the aid of their superior genius to accomplish their development!” – C. H. Spurgeon from the April 1888 Sword and Trowel

For this old soldier, it is impossible to gaze across the landscape of today’s Christian church, and listen to what is nowadays called ‘gospel’, and NOT see what Spurgeon termed ‘progressive theology’. Call it ‘purpose driven’, ‘seeker friendly’, ’emerging’, or whatever suits your fancy, it boils down to a changing of the message of the Gospel. If there is a common thread that runs throughout these ‘new’ theologies, it is that they are all man-centered instead of God-focused.

What Does it Matter, Who Chooses Whom, as Long as We Get to Heaven?

Posted by Dan C. on

A close friend and fellow believer asked me the other day, concerning the salvation of sinners, “What does is matter who chooses whom, as long as we get there?” Being somewhat taken aback, I did not immediately reply and considered it something I really needed to think about instead of just offering what was on my mind at the moment (something I am really good at). We agree on many spiritual things, my friend and I, but seem to get stuck on the matter of who chooses whom for salvation, in what order, and why it should matter at all.

Looking back at our little conversation, hindsight being what it is, (always 20/20) I must admit that the question is a valid one! If God’s primary purpose for the awakening of spiritually dead, hopeless, lost sinners to new life in Christ is so that we would live with Him in heaven someday (and our best life now), why would God really care about who chose whom and when?  If, however, God has a different ‘first purpose’ in the salvation of men, we might need to reconsider things.

Consider the following, from Paul’s letter to believers in Ephesus:

“He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, TO THE END THAT we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, WITH A VIEW TO the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” – Ephesians 1:9-14 (NASB) (Emphasis mine.)

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, SO THAT in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. – Ephesians 2:4-6 (NASB) (Emphasis mine.)

Here we have WHAT God has done on our behalf, and WHY He has done it – God’s first purpose in the salvation of men. I could have emphasized in these short passages, additional scripture to state the case, but I would ask you to consider for a moment the ‘purpose’ clauses, TO THE END THAT, WITH A VIEW TO, and SO THAT and the highlighted phrases that follow.  Consider the thought that the primary reasons God saves even a portion of fallen men is for the praise of his own glory and so men through the ages will see the demonstration of his power and riches of His grace!

Back to or question, “What does it matter who chooses whom, as long as it we get there?” You tell me. Hint – Think God’s sovereignty, honor and glory.

P.S.

Translations/versions consulted for the accuracy of the above ‘purpose’ clauses in the referenced scripture: NKJV NIV, NASB, NASB 1995 Update, NLT, ESV, NET Bible, and The Message. With the exception of The Message, all translations spoke in unison concerning our salvation being first and foremost for God’s own glory.  

That places our benefits, as bountiful as as they may be, both temporal and eternal, secondary, wouldn’t you think?

Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing – What IS the Gospel?

Posted by Dan C. on

In an earlier post here at The Battle Cry, it was stated that “God doesn’t need people to save anyone – you, me or anyone else. It’s our Great Privilege to take the good news to the world around us.” In fact, it’s this author’s opinion that sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Greatest Privilege our great God has bestowed upon His children. This is the first in a series of posts that will address the critical issue of presenting the right message.

What IS the Gospel?

In the first chapter of the book of Romans the Apostle Paul states:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” – Romans 1:18

Here Paul tells us that the power of the gospel is what is used by God to save anyone in the lost mass of humanity that would believe it. So what exactly was it that Paul was not ashamed of, that he declared to people everywhere he traveled and even to those who despised him, stoned him, arrested him, and cast him in to prison? Speaking to believers in the church he founded at Corinth, Paul has this to say:

“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.” – 1 Corinthians 15:1-5

Note that Paul is reminding those believers of what he had previously preached, what he had previously received (from Christ), and what was of first importance. Paul them presents two points; that Christ died for our sins, and that He was resurrected. He also pointed out that the death and resurrection of Christ were both according to the scriptures and validated by the historical facts of Christ’s burial (validated His death), and His having been seen by many of His followers (validated His resurrection).

This then is THE gospel; that Christ physically died for our sin, and was physically raised from the dead SO THAT those who would believe in Him would be saved!!

It is not difficult at all to remember Paul’s definition of the gospel, but if we are to share these simple truths we must first be able to what it means that “Christ died for our sins.”, for it is in the explanation of that statement that we so often miss the point. That is partly our fault for not having read, studied, and believed what is plainly written in the pages of scripture; but we are also fed a diet of watered-down scripture and postmodern teaching that either incorrectly defines, or omits entirely, what the Apostle Paul emphatically emphasized as being “of first importance”!

Approximately fifty years ago, A.W. Tozer had this to say:

“In many churches Christianity has been watered down until the solution is so weak that if it were poison it would not hurt anyone, and if it were medicine it would not cure anyone!”

If we are to be faithful to our calling to share the gospel, there are three things we need to understand and be able to explain solely from the standpoint of inspired Scripture, and not merely according to the opinions and viewpoints of popular preachers, speakers, authors, and evangelists. We must to be able to:

(1) properly define OUR sin,

(2) explain what it means that Christ died for OUR sin, and

(3) communicate what it means to believe that Christ died for OUR sin.

Those will be topics of posts to follow. . .

Works and Greater Works

Posted by Dan C. on

Below is an excerpt from a really good article by Bob DeWaay:

“Jesus made the following promise as He prepared his disciples for His departure: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father” (John 14:12). Before we discuss the meaning of “works” and “greater works” in this verse, we should consider the significance of works in the Gospel of John. The previous verse tells us the key purpose of works: “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; otherwise believe on account of the works themselves” (John 14:11). The works that Jesus performed were to lead us to faith in Him as being God incarnate. We are to believe that He is one in essence with the Father. Jesus states this elsewhere in John: “But the witness which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me” (John 5:36). The works bear witness to the person and mission of Christ. This must be kept in mind as we contemplate the “works and greater works” of John 14:12.

. . .The ones who do the works are believers in general: “he who believes in Me.” This promise is not restricted to a special class of elite Christians or latter day apostles. This is an important consideration. The purpose of the works is to lead people to faith in Christ. Many mistakenly think that their purpose is to validate the person doing them. We are called to go to a special meeting to hear a great “miracle worker” and find relief from various afflictions. Testimonies of those who have been healed are used to promote the healer. This is not at all the purpose of signs and works of God in the Bible. The contention being made by Christ and His apostles was that He was God Incarnate, the promised Jewish Messiah, and that only He could bring us to the Father (John 14:6). John was called the greatest prophet (Matthew 11:9-11) yet he did no miraculous works (John 10:41). John bore witness to Christ through his preaching and fulfilled God’s purposes. It was John the Baptist who said: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). The purpose of the works was not to make great the fame and fortune of the prophet, but to bear witness to the person and work of Christ. . . .

The entire article can be found at Critical Issues Commentary. It is an excellent, Scripture based treatment of miracles, signs and wonders and their purpose.

Three Classes of People

Posted by Dan C. on

In his book about the wonderful grace of God, Good News for Bad People, Roy Hession proposes that there are three classes of people:

1. “The bad who do not know they are bad. The great majority of us, whether we are in churches or out of them, do not regard ourselves as bad. Whatever our lifestyle or conduct, we have found some way to justify ourselves. . . . The fact that he may be religious only reinforces his good opinion of himself.”

2. “Bad people who are trying to be good. Sincere as their trying to be good may be, whatever direction their efforts may lie, it is vain for such [people to hope that it is going to improve their relationship with God at all, or that it will greatly change their personal experience.”

3. “The third class is composed of the group in whom the Holy Spirit has done a melting work, the bad humbly confessing to God that they are bad and not pleading any extenuating circumstances. As far as they are concerned, there is only one person at the bar before God and that is themselves. When they take that stand they immediately become candidates for the good news Jesus has for them and for the grace that is greater than all their sin. For them, Jesus is the end of their trying and the beginning of all their finding.”

Much of today’s evangelism, with all of the pop-psychology that is now part and parcel of it’s presentation either ignores the real problem of sin, or speaks of sin as if it’s some non-personal entity that merely separates us from God. Jesus died to remove the gulf or cloud between fallen man and God (expiation) rather than died in our place (propitiation).

I would offer the question – Which is it, expiation, propitiation, or are there elements of both to be found in scripture?

My Sins, My Sins, My Savior – Steve Camp

Posted by Dan C. on
My Sins My Sins, My Savior

My sins, my sins, my Saviour! They daily battle me,
Deaf and dumb Thy servant is, save only Christ to Thee;
In Thee is all forgiveness, fully free abundant grace,
I find my hope and refuge, in Thine unchanging face.

My sins, my sins, my Saviour! How great on Thee they fall;
Seen through Thy patient mercy, I ought forsake them all;
Their penalty’s forgiven; yet their power suffers me
Their shame and guilt and anguish, they laid, my Lord, on Thee.

My sins, my sins, my Saviour! What cost to Thee ensued
Thy heel bruised in temptation, no Devil could subdue
Thou wrestled in the garden; and prayed the Cup would pass
Thy sanguine sweat, Thou trembled yet, embraced His will at last.

My sins, my sins, my Saviour! Thou perfect Sacrifice
Drained wrath’s chalice to the dregs; Thy Father satisfied.
O Holy Lamb of Glory, High Priest, Lord God and King
We worship Thee with reverence, Thy matchless Name we sing.

My songs, my songs, my Saviour! No grandeur theme shall know
They’ll trumpet of Thy glory, to wretched man below;
Thy righteousness, Thy favor, stream from Thy throne above
Sustain the hearts my Saviour that Thou hast lavished with Thy love.

These are the lyrics to a song written a few years ago by Steve Camp, for an album titled Desiring God. They were posted by Steve online as part of one of his blog posts here. If you have never heard Steve Camp’s music, I encourage you to give him a listen.