The so-called “gospel” being preached in our day falls far short of that “glorious gospel” (2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Tim. 1:11) of the New Testament. We are living in a time when preachers are telling sinners that they can be saved without repenting, without forsaking their idols, and without surrendering to the Lordship of Christ. The Bible doctrine of the sinfulness and depravity of man has been thrown to the winds. “Another gospel” and “another Jesus” has gained popularity, and “another spirit” is being received instead of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 11:4).
We need to unmask the “modern evangelism” of our day. To do so, let us look very candidly at what is popularly being preached and believed as “gospel truth.” A few of the favorite religious sayings of today will prove the great difference between the true gospel and the false one:
“Accept Christ as your personal Saviour”
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Tags: W.F. Bell
There is a certain breed of Calvinists, whom I do not envy, who are always jeering and sneering as much as ever they can at the full assurance of faith. I have seen their long faces. I have heard their whining periods, and read their dismal sentences in which they say something to this effect—”Groan in the Lord always, and again I say, groan! He that muourneth and weepeth, he that doubteth and feareth, he that distrusteth and dishonoureth his God, shall be saved.” That seems to be the sum and substance of their very ungospel-like gospel.
But why is it that they do this? I speak now honestly and fearlessly. It is because there is a pride within them—a conceit which is fed on rottenness, and sucks marrow and fatness out of putrid carcasses. And what, say you, is the object of their pride? Why, the pride of being able to boast of a deep experience—the pride of being a blacker, grosser and more detestable backslider than other people. “Whose glory is in their shame,” may well apply to them. A more dangerous, because a more deceitful pride than this is not to be found. It has all the elements of self-righteousness in it. I would sooner a man boast in his good works than boast in his good feelings, because you can deal with the man who boasts in his good works, you have plain texts of Scripture, and you convict him of being a legalist. But this other man boasts that he is no legalist, he can speak very sharply against legality, he knows the truth, and yet the truth is not in him, in its spirit, because still he is looking to his feelings and not looking to the finished work of Christ.
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Tags: C.H. Spurgeon, Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon
Our justification is the direct result of our believing the gospel; our knowledge of our own justification comes from believing God’s promise of justification to every one who believes these glad tidings. For there is not only the divine testimony, but there is the promise annexed to it, assuring eternal life to everyone who receives that testimony. There is first, then, a believed gospel, and then there is a believed promise. The latter is the “appropriation,” as it is called, which, after all, is nothing but the acceptance of the promise which is everywhere coupled with the gospel message. The believed gospel saves; but it is the believed promise that assures us of this salvation.
Yet, after all, faith is not our righteousness. It is accounted to us in order to righteousness (Rom 4:5, GREEK), but not as righteousness; for in that case it would be a work like any other doing of man, and as such would be incompatible with the righteousness of the Son of God; the “righteousness which is by faith.” Faith connects us with the righteousness, and is therefore totally distinct from it. To confound the one with the other is to subvert the whole gospel of the grace of God. Our act of faith must ever be a separate thing from that which we believe.
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Tags: Horatius Bonar
I don’t watch much television, and when I do I generally avoid the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). For many years TBN has been dominated by faith-healers, full-time fund-raisers, and self-proclaimed prophets spewing heresy. I wrote about the false gospel they proclaim and the phony miracles they pretend to do almost two decades ago in Charismatic Chaos (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992. See especially chapter 12). I had my fill of charismatic televangelism while researching that book, and I can hardly bear to watch it any more.
Recently, however, while recovering from knee-replacement surgery, I decided to sample some of the current fare on TBN. From a therapeutic point of view it seemed a good choice: something more excruciating than the pain in my leg might distract me from the physical suffering of post-surgical trauma. And I suppose on that basis the strategy was effective.
But it left me outraged and frustrated—and eager to challenge the misperceptions in the minds of millions of unbelievers who see these false teachers masquerading as ministers of Christ on TBN.
I’m outraged at the brazen way so many false teachers twist the message of Scripture in Jesus’ name. And I’m frustrated because I’m certain that if these charlatans were not receiving a large proportion of their financial support from sincere believers (and silent acquiescence from Christian leaders who surely know better), they would have no platform for their shenanigans. They would soon lose their core constituency and fade from the scene.
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Tags: John MacArthur
“He who stands firm to the end will be saved.” — Matthew 10:22
This particular text was originally addressed to the apostles when they were sent out to teach and preach in the name of the Lord Jesus. Perhaps magnificent visions floated before their minds, of honor and esteem among men. It was a great honor to be among the twelve first heralds of salvation to the sons of Adam. Was a restraint needed to their high hopes? Perhaps so. Lest they should enter upon their work without having counted its cost, Christ gives them a very complete description of the treatment which they might expect to receive, and reminds them that it was not the beginning of their ministry which would win them their reward, but rather “He who stands firm to the end will be saved.” It would be good if every young candidate to the gospel ministry would remember this, if merely to put our hand to the plow proved us to be called of God, how many would be considered called to the ministry; but sadly, too many look back and prove themselves unworthy of the kingdom. The command of Christ to believers, is a very necessary exhortation to every young minister: “Be faithful, even to the point of death.” (Rev 2:10). It is not to be faithful for a time, but to be “faithful, even to the point of death,” which will enable a man to say, “I have fought the good fight.” Oh, how many dangers surround the Christian minister! Just as the officers in an army are the chosen targets of the sharpshooters, so are the ministers of Christ. The king of Syria said to his servants, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel;” in the same way the Prince of Darkness makes his main attack upon the ministers of God.
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Tags: C.H. Spurgeon, Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon
Many love to walk in a very careless, unwise profession. So long as they can hold out in the performance of outward duties, they are very regardless of the greatest evangelical privileges,-of those things which are the marrow of divine promises,-all real endeavors of a vital communion with Christ. Such are spiritual peace, refreshing consolations, ineffable joys, and the blessed composure of assurance. Without some taste and experience of these things, profession is heartless, lifeless, useless; and religion itself a dead carcass without an animating soul.
The peace which some enjoy is a mere stupidity. They judge not these things to be real which are the substance of Christ’s present reward; and a renunciation whereof would deprive the church of its principal supportments and encouragements in all its sufferings.
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Tags: John Owen, Owen
I would like to begin by mentioning the impact that Patrick Johnstone’s book, Operation World has been having on me. Two facts have been seared into my mind as I have been praying through this book. They will lead into the theology for missions that I will try to develop this morning.
1. One fact is the tremendous unfinished task before the church of Christ. Depending on how you define an ethnic people, there are between 1,000 (Barrett, in World Christian Encyclopedia, p.19) and 17,000 (Ralph Winter, USCWM) unreached peoples on the earth. Johnstone himself suggests about 3,000 unreached peoples (Operation World, p. 32). In any of these cases it is still true that about half of the world’s 5.2 billion people live in those people groups where the church is either nonexistent or so small and weak as to need outside help in evangelizing its people. That means that about half of the world’s individuals are culturally cut off from the witness of the gospel. Thus the need for cross-cultural missionaries is still extraordinarily great. That is one fact made clear in this book. The missionary task is unfinished!
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Tags: John Piper, Piper
There is a certain breed of Calvinists, whom I do not envy, who are always jeering and sneering as much as ever they can at the full assurance of faith. I have seen their long faces. I have heard their whining periods, and read their dismal sentences in which they say something to this effect—”Groan in the Lord always, and again I say, groan! He that muourneth and weepeth, he that doubteth and feareth, he that distrusteth and dishonoureth his God, shall be saved.” That seems to be the sum and substance of their very ungospel-like gospel.
