Are We Preaching Another Gospel?

 This certainly is a provocative point of reflection, and it could spark some fairly interesting discussions or debates. From the start allow me to state clearly that I am not interested in splitting insignificant theological hairs. I also would like to say that this is a study for me that began in the fall of 2012, during my last missionary furlough. I was conducting a study on revivals in the Bible by investigating entire chapters and Scripture segments over the course of three months. I found that some of my conclusions about revival were valid while others where a bit skewed. Rest assured; this is not the first time the Bible has straightened me out! I also felt impressed of the Lord to study New Testament salvation messages. This was a great time of reinforcement in the Word and by the Spirit of God as well, but not entirely. I found myself grappling with a few nagging questions and they would not cease to prompt and push me to reexamine the gospel presentations we use today. After nearly twenty years of Christian vocational ministry even I can sense God challenging me to be honest with the Scriptures and the message we preach to the unsaved. This article is not only and examination of these same nagging questions, but also a sincere appeal for each of us to reexamine our gospel witnessing in the light of New Testament preaching and witnessing.

FIRST QUESTION
I know by now you are wondering what my questions were...right? Well, here is the first volley. Does the New Testament invite people to salvation—conversion—by offering them ‘heaven?’ Are there any examples of the Lord Jesus encouraging sinners to be saved in order to ‘go to heaven when they die?’ Did John the Baptist, the Apostle Peter, or the Apostle John employ this approach? It is true that heaven and hell are relevant topics to an informed decision that would lead to salvation. I personally talk a little about both eternal realities during my own gospel presentations. They are very compelling and persuasive tools with regards to strict argumentation strategies. Heaven and Hell are eternal realities! The problem arises when the message is perceived by the sinner as merely getting eternal spiritual insurance against going to Hell. As a result the sinner ‘believes on Christ,’ attends church for a little while, and eventually quits with the assurance that at least his eternity is fully insured. Many who have followed this pattern failed to realize that Christ calls us unto discipleship now…today…each day…for the rest of our lives (Matt. 11:28-30). In this passage the Lord Jesus issued a call to salvation and discipleship in the same breath. The Lord Jesus’ invitation is issued on the heels of a hell-fire message of judgment and eternal condemnation to the cities that had rejected His message and Person. Christ did not call sinners to repentance so they could go to Heaven, but so they could come to “Him” for salvation and follow Him as disciples (Matt. 11:20-30). Jesus’ message of repentance and faith was welded to a discipleship requirement for genuine converts! Could it be we have inadvertently precipitated or exacerbated the current trend of quitting when we started emphasizing heaven and hell as primary features in our gospel witnessing? Has this shift divorced the immediate requirement for discipleship from a salvation witness? I am thinking…we have unwittingly erased the emphasis on the immediate imperative to become a follower of Christ, and opted to emphasize ‘eternal salvation’ because discipleship is more immediately demanding. It is more demanding on the convert and on the church; such a message is also discouraging to the sinner contemplating faith in Christ. This is even more distressing because our culture does not value commitment! I am fearfully suggesting that many witnesses, churches, and evangelism programs have taken the path of least resistance and difficulty. Convenience wins the day, but have we diluted or even sacrificed the authentic message of hope?

SECOND QUESTION
Another question that kept gnawing away on my conscience related to the general tone, emphasis, and feel of the average gospel presentation. What is driving our nuancing the gospel message or our prevailing emphasis today? In our overly politically correct culture, just about everything confrontational, corrective, biblical, just, or righteous has been labeled offensive. Some of our national political leaders cannot even bring themselves to call a terrorist a terrorist anymore! No one wants to be perceived as negative, bigoted, judgmental, intolerant, Elizabethan, or unwilling to afford the same freedoms to others that we cherish for ourselves. In my small opinion tolerance has been exalted as the supreme American value in our pluralistic culture. However, beloved, it is in this context Christians are being shut up, while others are being afforded every imaginable platform possible to speak up! Some strange stuff is coming out of the closet, while the Lord Jesus and Believers are being forced into it! This growing trend, I fear has impacted the way we share the gospel anymore. There is a palpable fear of being branded, misunderstood, or of what taking a stand for Christ will cost us. Such fears did not come from God (2 Tim. 1:7). We spend far more energy accentuating the positives, and down playing the negatives to avoid offenses. The perception is that the worst thing that could happen is to be branded as an unreasonable, fanatical, closed-minded bigot. As a result, our modern ‘gospel’ presentations have made a benefit of salvation the featured consideration. Again salvation messages, witnessing presentations, and gospel tracks are all about going to heaven. The actual gospel of Christ is mentioned in passing, but it is not the primary feature of our witnessing efforts anymore. While I am all for graceful speech, avoiding needless offenses, polite interactions, and courteous decorum, we still must speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). What about the true main arguments in a gospel presentation? What about the fact that sinners have offended the Most High God, and we desperately need to get right with Him through the death, burial and, resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:29-40)? What about repentance and entrance into a faith-relationship with this gracious God (Acts 20:20, 21)? What about expecting the gospel message, coupled with the Holy Spirit’s conviction, to drive sinners into a profound sense of guilt over sinfulness, bankruptcy, and utter desperation before a righteous God (Acts 2:36-37; 3:12-26; John 16:5-15)? What about Paul’s message, “We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:20, 21)? New Testament gospel preaching certainly did emphasize these truths coupled with a God-centered perspective. Their message was not heaven-centered, nor even predominately human-centered.

While we certainly believe genuine Believers will go to heaven and be with God for all eternity, there is no record in the New Testament (NT) of the Lord Jesus, the apostles, NT prophets, or anyone inviting sinners to be saved so they can ‘go to heaven.’ It appears the preachers and teachers in the New Testament did not proclaim salvation in this manner. They did not emphasize heaven to entice sinners, incentivize conversion, reduce the guilt impact, avoid cultural reproach, or simply to have a positive message. The evidence of the Word indicates there was very little or no priority to soften the gospel message to increase its appeal. This by no means implies that I endorse needless harshness, cruelty, insensitivity, or meanness while sharing the hope of Christ.

THIRD QUESTION
This brings me to my third spiritually distressing question. We asked, “Why are we emphasizing peripheral benefits while down-playing the crucial issue?” We have said this is to some degree the influence of our culture. But, why are we more impressed with the cultural dictates than with the biblical particulars? We describe ourselves as fundamental, Bible-Believing, Biblicists, and people of the Book. However, the evidence seems to say we are more attuned to the culture than perhaps we realize. No doubt someone will object and say, “Well, Paul was willing to become all things to all men that he might by all means save some” (see 1 Cor. 9:19-23). Yes, this is true; Paul’s strategy was to contextualize himself and his lifestyle to accommodate his gospel witnessing. He did this to be most effective and to avoid needless offenses as he moved from one cultural situation to the next. This is a healthy strategy and missionaries and cross-culture ministries wisely employ these techniques today. The important thing to realize is that the same message of the gospel was communicated. Sinners were called to repentance and faith in Christ. Paul accommodated himself to days, diets, and the local idiosyncrasies of the people he was addressing with the message of Christ. Please do not make the mistake of concluding Paul was altering matters of fundamental import to the gospel of Christ. No, he was a faithful steward of this message (1 Cor. 4:1). Never-the-less the questions remain: is it worth considering presently that political correctness has fundamentally influenced our gospel message? Are we really preaching ‘another gospel’ today? This is a serious question, and it is bursting at the seams with temporal and eternal ramifications. I am urging you to continue reading this article with tremendous concentration and prayer.

FOURTH QUESTION
Another question I have pondered is ‘did the Lord Jesus ever use heaven in His preaching and witnessing to sinners?’ I believe, like many of you, it is wise to turn to an absolute authority in moments of confusion. The Lord’s example is always and excellent choice. Accordingly, there is one instance when the Lord Jesus assures the thief on the cross of paradise (Luke 23:43). Paradise was the temporary region for faithful Old Testament saints prior to Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary. It is also referred to as “Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:23, 24). Presently, paradise is considered to be the same as heaven (2 Cor. 12:4) and deceased Believers do go to be with the Lord in Heaven (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil.1:23). There is no question about what transpired on Calvary that day regarding the thief’s conversion. This thief initially mocked the Lord Jesus along with the other, but he eventually realized who Christ is, repented, and placed his faith in Him. He asked the Lord to remember him, and Jesus assured him that they both would die that day and be in paradise. The important point that we must not miss here is that Christ was giving assurance to a converted man, and not inviting a sinner to be saved. This thief evidently had a change of heart, believed on Christ, and the Lord Jesus assured him of paradise.

To clarify what I am asking you to ponder, consider a common witnessing introductory line (ice breaker) I have often used, “If you were to die today, are you 100% sure you would go to heaven or would you doubt it?” Generally speaking this is a good opener for a witnessing episode. It has been very effective for me when attempting to get into a spiritual conversation with the aim of presenting the gospel of Christ. While I am not condemning this initial approach, I am questioning the heart of any evangelism presentation that largely concentrates on helping sinners go to heaven when they die. Not always, but sometimes this initial approach is accompanied by an anemic ‘pseudo-gospel’ sales talk. Then what follows is a three steps-to-heaven process including acknowledging four verses, and a repeat-after-me prayer. Upon ‘asking Jesus into one’s heart,’ the individual is announced saved by the ‘evangelist.’ Though I am confident God has used this approach in some situations, I struggle with it because there is not even one model of this method in the Scriptures. While we do not require everyone to be saved through the uses of exact identical methods (during street preaching, in a worship service, during soul winning, or through a home Bible study), we do insist on the correct message and emphasis. Salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ and His gospel alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Eph. 2:8, 9). Once the right conditions exist in the sinner’s soul (Holy Spirit’s conviction, repentant inner posture, and saving faith) he can indeed call on the Lord to be saved (Rom. 10:8-17). But recognizing this raises yet other important questions. Could it be that in our efforts to make evangelism easier for any Believer to participate, we have actually dumb down the gospel? Have we yearned so deeply for results and decisions through our evangelistic efforts that we have adapted the message to get results more readily? Are we, as good financial stewards, trying to justify or legitimize the cost of our current evangelism budget or outreach training program? Have we lost certain important evangelism emphasis in order to simplify how to reach people? I do not question necessarily the motives or sincerity of people who use these simple plans or easy strategies. I do; however, wonder if we perhaps need to rethink our strategy in light of biblical emphasis in the First Century. I also invite Believers to consider the fact that we minister to a Bible-illiterate population in the USA. People simply do not know the Bible, or spiritual realities like they did forty or fifty years ago. In addition, through the media there is far more religious and ‘spiritual’ confusion than ever before in America. These two realities should perhaps influence how we communicate the gospel to our generation in the future.

I can recall engaging in a number of conversations over the years that went this way: “How do we get new converts to grow?” “How is it people can claim to be saved, but will not join the church or attend consistently?” Obviously, these questions came from concerned, but slightly frustrated, pastors and Christian workers. While I do not want to over simplify this, I believe some ‘converts’ were never converted by God’s Spirit. Somebody picked the fruit while it was still green! These individuals are non-responsive to God, the Bible, growth, and church life because they are still dead in their trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:5). They are devoid of spiritual life; they are not born again people. One explanation may be they believed a watered-down version of the gospel, or they merely made a decision for Christ without the essential information. It is not hard for God to save a repentant sinner, but the sinner needs to know what God said in order to believe Him.

Yes, it is true that people respond differently and progress at varied rates. We all have dissimilar temperaments, we grow at different rates, and many other circumstances influence the pace of a Believer’s development. Certainly religious background, intellectual prowess, emotional maturity, and on the list goes…each playing a noteworthy role in spiritual formation. Having honestly acknowledged these many variables, there are lost folks who have merely made a profession of faith. There is zero reality to their claim of being saved. The Lord Jesus insisted upon this most definite situation in the Parable of the Four Soils (Matt. 13:1-23). He explained there will be unbelievers appealing for access to the kingdom of heaven using their religious resumes (Matt. 7:20-22). Sadly, to these the Lord Jesus will say, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt. 7:23). Those who receive by faith the gospel into good soil and actually bear fruit are authentic converts to Christ. Likewise, those who appealed to their performance as the basis of their acceptance before God will learn they never belong to Christ. They lived their entire ‘Christian’ lives deceived; they never placed their faith in Christ and His gospel. This is one of the saddest portions of the entire Bible. Endeavoring to ensure we do not deceive people is worthwhile.

 I am growing in my opinion that there is a need to lay a foundation by exposing sinners to several key biblical realities before we rush ahead to secure a ‘conversion decision.’ Matters like sin, repentance, faith, the gospel, new birth, and conversion really need to be revisited by us as witnesses. These truths also need to be rehearsed for the benefit of the sinner in many instances. I recall being in the company of a ‘Christian’ attempting to lead someone to Christ without ever clearly establishing who Christ is (John 1:6-14; 3:10-21; 20:31), or what the content of the gospel is (1 Cor. 15:1-6)! They assumed these things were already understood and that it was a waste of time to cover such material with the lost individual. While this may be true in several instances, it is potentially reckless to employ this strategy as a standard. Canned presentations are good for beginners, but seldom does one size fit all. We all need to expand our evangelism repertoire and grasp of the gospel. To further clarify, I am not advocating that we give sinners a seminary education in theology before they can be saved. I think our strategy must be liquid enough to assess more accurately where the sinner is in his grasp of truth; we must become capable of presenting Christ—his death, burial, and resurrection—to people who are genuinely repentant.

FIFTH QUESTION
The last question I will ponder here is this, ‘how is salvation portrayed in the Scriptures of the New Testament?’ More specifically, ‘what are some less familiar characterizations of spiritual conversion that have fallen out of use because they grate on our cultural sensibilities?’ I have observed that many times in the New Testament salvation is referred to as turning to the Lord. In fact, ‘turning to the Lord’ is used repeatedly, but ‘how to go to heaven’ is never used. I am stating the obvious here on purpose—salvation is portrayed as turning to God and embracing a relationship with Him. It is not merely making a decision to secure a ticket to go to heaven one day. In addition, I must strongly insist that the gospel can never be reduced to a mere repeat-after-me prayer. Consider the following passages as some examples of biblical descriptions of conversion.·                   

• Luke 1:16, And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
• Acts 9:35, And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord.
• Acts 14:15, And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
• Acts 15:19, Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
• 2 Corinthians 3:16, Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:9, For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;

 Clearly spiritual conversion is sometimes characterized as ‘turning to the Lord,’ or ‘turning to God.’ Certainly there are other terms like ‘born again,’ ‘saved,’ ‘believe,’ and ‘repent.’ Sometimes repentance is clearly taught or strongly implied when this language of ‘turning to God’ is employed. Repentance in simple terms is a change of mind and heart that results in a change of action. This is an apt definition that fits those instances referring to God and man. I think this evidence is significant and much more than merely splitting hairs. Notice the Apostle Paul’s language as he gives his conversion testimony and an insightful description of the nature of his ministry and message,

Acts 26:15-20, And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. 16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; 17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. 19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: 20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Several things are immediately notable in this text. There was a stark realization of the true identity of Jesus Christ, and a definite turning from sin, darkness, and Satan to forgiveness, light, and God! We also see the mention of a spiritual inheritance in verse eighteen. Finally, the Lord Jesus describes spiritual conversion as a command to “repent and turn to God” (v. 20); such a conversion should be accompanied by activities evidencing the genuine nature of repentance. This is how the Lord Jesus characterized a salvation conversion and Paul’s gospel ministry. Beloved, this should be extremely important to every witnessing Believer.

While this is an ongoing study for me, I admit that I am impressed with the fact that New Testament witnesses sought to turn sinners to God. In contrast, we today seek to show sinners how to go to heaven. I honestly believe this is far more than a matter of semantics. I am also growing in my opinion that the gospel message has been somewhat skewed or dumb down. This could be at least one explanation as to why Christianity seems far less influential in our country. Maybe…perhaps…New Testament Christianity made a greater impact on the First Century world because the message and/or emphasis were more accurately proclaimed. My observations are not conclusive, but this is worth pondering, researching, and reexamining the Scriptures to understand this issue more. If we discover a need to tweak our gospel presentation to embrace the biblical emphasis, then let us do so to be faithful to our Savior and His gospel. In addition, precious souls are hanging in the balance and need to be saved. Finally, God deserves the glory that should come from every human life; let us determine to reach them with the truth that they can glorify Him with us.