What is The Gospel?
The Church in the West has departed from the Word of God and God's presence has departed from the Church. The reason we find ourselves in a spiritual mire is a theological one. We must believe rightly before we can live righteously. In the name of unity we have lowered the standard of truth in the Church so that more may be included in "fellowship". In the end you must ask, however, in and around what do we have biblical fellowship? When the Church drifts away from sound doctrine then idolatry and apostasy follows closely. Superficiality and nominalism in the church is down to the fact that the Church has not got its own house in order. And the reason it has not got its own house in order is because it does not believe rightly.
The importance of doctrinal precision and confession to what one believes has given way to a tolerance of many views for the sake of ecumenism. It comes down to the fear of man rather than the fear of God. We live in such a man-centered age. The need of the hour is humility, repentance and prayer as we are returned to God himself through the Gospel. But in order to do that we must understand the Gospel.
To define the Gospel carefully will bring conflict. But it is "The Gospel" that is the power of God for salvation, and let me assert that there is only one Gospel.
In recent times it has become increasingly obvious that professing Christians cannot explain the Gospel. People I ask, struggle to articulate the essentials of that to which they claim to hold fast. This casts serious doubts as to whether many are converted and further to that how then will we take the message of salvation to others in personal evangelism and missions if we don't know and live by the message? Paul says, that the Gospel is "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Ro.1:16). The word "believe" is in the present tense and in the Greek indicates ongoing action. So the Gospel is not just the power of God to create faith but the power of God to bring us to final salvation through a life of enduring faith. We need to live by the Gospel daily. We must return to God's word and the biblical Gospel for the sake of the church and God's name amongst the nations.
So what is the Gospel? I invite you to tell me.
The importance of doctrinal precision and confession to what one believes has given way to a tolerance of many views for the sake of ecumenism. It comes down to the fear of man rather than the fear of God. We live in such a man-centered age. The need of the hour is humility, repentance and prayer as we are returned to God himself through the Gospel. But in order to do that we must understand the Gospel.
To define the Gospel carefully will bring conflict. But it is "The Gospel" that is the power of God for salvation, and let me assert that there is only one Gospel.
In recent times it has become increasingly obvious that professing Christians cannot explain the Gospel. People I ask, struggle to articulate the essentials of that to which they claim to hold fast. This casts serious doubts as to whether many are converted and further to that how then will we take the message of salvation to others in personal evangelism and missions if we don't know and live by the message? Paul says, that the Gospel is "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Ro.1:16). The word "believe" is in the present tense and in the Greek indicates ongoing action. So the Gospel is not just the power of God to create faith but the power of God to bring us to final salvation through a life of enduring faith. We need to live by the Gospel daily. We must return to God's word and the biblical Gospel for the sake of the church and God's name amongst the nations.
So what is the Gospel? I invite you to tell me.