Please, Please Read This

NOTE...I wrote this in July of 2006. It is more vital today than it was then...

Nancy Leigh DeMoss is a fantastic author and speaker. I met her briefly years ago when Del Fehsenfeld (now with the Lord) did a staff retreat for Kansas City Youth For Christ. 

Her book Brokenness is great, but I want to provide some quotes from her Surrender - The Heart God Controls. Published by Moody in 2003, this small-sized book of only 175 pages is loaded with important...I'd say vital insights.

In an age where "decisions" are considered "vital" by most (as in "How many decisions for Christ at your meetings, Jack?"), prayerfully and seriously consider the following:

"The person who has never acknowledged Christ's right to rule over his life has no basis for assurance of salvation. He may claim to be a Christian; he may have walked an aisle or prayed the sinner's prayer; he may know how to speak 'Christianese'; he may be heavily involved in Christian activities; but if he thinks he can have a relationship with God by retaining control over his life and somehow trying to fit Jesus in with everything else, he is deceived and still at war with God.

"Sadly, for the past 150 years or more, evangelicalism has developed a theology that offers assurance of salvation to almost anyone who prays a prayer or 'makes a decision for Christ,' even though he may still be clinging to his rights, holding on to his sin, and bent on running his own life. The Scripture does not recognize such a profession as genuine."

 DeMoss later shares insights from  Josef Tson, a Romanian pastor exiled from his native country in 1981. He returned to Romania a decade later, having observed and learned many things during his sojourn in America.

Tson writes of a change that he believes occurred in the 1950s and 1960s; which he identifies as a "shift from the call to full surrender, to the call tocommitment." 

He continues, "Christian surrender means that a person lifts his or her hands and says to God, 'Here I am; I surrender; You take over; I belong to You; You dispose of me!'

"But this is America, the country of the independent people! This is the place of 'Nobody should command me!...I belong only to myself!'

"A call to surrender, and even more, to full surrender, simply doesn't go well with such people. Therefore, the preachers who wanted 'results,' and wanted them in big numbers, felt (and gave in to ) the temptation to soften the demand, to reduce the cost, to make the message more 'palatable.' And they hit the word 'commitment.'

"You see, commitment means 'I engage myself to do something for you,' or, even lighter, 'I promise to do something for you,' but I remain myself and I may keep my promise or not. We can speak of weaker or stronger commitment, but be it as strong as possible, it is still my independent self that engages itself in a tentative promise."

Oddly, university professor Allan Bloom made a similar point in The Closing of the American Mind (1987) as he wrote, "Commitment is a word invented in our abstract modernity to signify the absence of any real motives in the soul for moral dedication. Commitment is gratuitous, motiveless, because the real passions are all low and selfish."

May I be bold enough to urge, beg, plead with you to re-read the above?  This is vital. I've said often that the most terrifying passage of scripture is Matthew 7.21-23. If you don't know that passage, and if that is the case are too lazy/busy to look it up; that's just confirmation of the state of the professing Body of Christ in America.

 All too often folks who would rail against anyone who lets some one tell them what to think won't put the effort into thinking themselves.

Messages that speak of God's  love, but don't spend much time discussing and defining sin; messages virtually void of repentance; "Every head bowed, every eye closed"...music softly playing...a tearful pleading by a (probably) sincere preacher...and the all-important "decision count" (a.k.a. "body count") have produced baptized pagans. Surely the Spirit of God blesses some of these efforts in spite of the situation; but how many people who "think" they are saved will one day hear the horrific statement of Matthew 7.23?

Coke isn't Christ

This came across my twitterfeed today: "Coca-Cola was invented in 1896. In 117 years, the logo and product is now known by 94% of the world's population. In 2,000 years the Gospel is not."

I understand the point...sort of.

But the gospel can not be marketed as a soft drink...and Coke did not have the forces of Satan, the world, and the flesh against it.

Yet it appears the church -  broadbrush - awaits the "new" thing that will make evangelism easy...or at least easier.

But it is not, nor can it  be, "easy."

To share Christ means to share life. To share life means to learn to die to self. To die to self is extremely difficult...and needs to be repeated as we experience mini and major resurrections. 

Yes, the Body spends too much time fighting against itself, entertaining itself, and promoting fractional facets of the faith rather than "that which is of first importance...the gospel."

But even unintended guilting will not motivate.

People expect us to talk about what is important to us.

Therefore I need to be thankful I have another day to ask myself...how important is the gospel to me? How concerned am I about...not so much the millions that have not heard...but the nextdoor neighbor who has not heard? The fellow student who has not heard? The coworker who has not heard?

Bottom line...the issue is not motivation; the issue is obedience.

O What A Savior!

While serving with Family Life in New York, I had the privilege of meeting and hanging with the Cathedral Quartet on a few occasions.

Frankly, their music was/is not my favorite.

In fact, the first time...years and years ago..I heard them was simply because I had to be there, per my superiors.

It was a venue in Elmira, NY...a union house, we couldn't touch anything.

There was a union guy whose job was to open and close the curtain. He had an aroma of booze on him, and the telltale signs of a serious drinking problem.

The Cathedrals did their sound check, and a little while later I went backstage to check on something. I rounded a corner and stopped...Ernie Haase...the guy who sings the following song...was seated next to the curtain-puller, with his arm around the guy's shoulders, sharing from a pocket New Testament. I prayed for them both and thought, "I don't give a rip what kind of music you sing, you be one good man."

I woke up this morning thinking of this song...and grabbed it and now I share it with you:

Silent Message Speaks Loudly

I really, really like this...except...if not thought through it can slide into the rather idiotic but oft-quoted, "Preach the gospel; if necessary use words." Words are the way the gospel is communicated; actions are the sanctified "bait" that creates a listening ear..."A talk talks, and a walk talks, but a walk talks louder than a talk talks."
But I do like the video, and applaud the pastor (who really did lose his voice) for creativity:

Make the Time

I know you are busy. But I urge you to make the time  to read this from Tim Challies
It is tremendously insightful, deeply convicting, and vitally important:

THE ENEMY NEXT DOOR

I grew up in a Christian culture in which very little evangelism took place. How little? The first believer’s baptism I ever witnessed was my wife (she was my girlfriend at the time) and that was when we were eighteen or nineteen. It was the first time our church had ever baptized an adult. And what’s more, it was the first time most of the people who attended that church had ever seen an adult get baptized.

A few years after my wife’s baptism we moved away from the town we had grown up in so we could be closer to my place of business. In the past decade we have been members of two different churches that place much greater emphasis on reaching the lost. We have seen many, many people come to faith, including several who are now close friends. We have seen lives altered dramatically and have seen more baptisms than we can count—baptisms in churches, rivers, pools, and a really big, ugly aluminum tank. We have shared in the joy of seeing people profess their faith by being baptized. It truly is one of the greatest joys of any church.
Over the years I’ve had to reflect on what made the churches I attended as a child and teenager so ineffective at evangelism. While there are several reasons I could provide, and they are of varying importance, there is one that I believe stands at the foundation of the rest: These churches often regarded the unbeliever as the enemy. Of course the church would never have articulated that belief, but it seemed to be deeply rooted.
This attitude manifested itself in many ways. One of the clearest ways was among the children of church members. They would rarely, if ever, be allowed or encouraged to play or even interact with the unsaved children in the neighborhood. I knew an “urban missionary” whose children were confined to their backyard and were forbidden from playing with the other children. The churched children were not allowed to play with other children lest they become corrupted by their worldliness.

My observation was that this approach failed and failed badly. First, the church was not faithful in its calling to take the gospel throughout the world. They preferred to exist in an enclave, safe from outside influences.

Second, and ironically, the children developed a fascination with the world. I believe this was, in large part, because access to the outside world had been denied to them and they had never seen the pain and heartbreak that are the inevitable results of forsaking God. The world can look awfully attractive until a person sees the results of giving himself over to it.

Third, the parents were prone to ignoring worldliness in their own children. I know that I saw more drugs, more drinking, more disrespect and more awful behavior in the Christian schools I attended than I did in the public schools. This isolation simply did not work. What I saw was that we do not need the world to teach us worldliness. Worldliness arises from within.

The attitude that was modeled by my parents was far different. They took the opposite approach and we, their children, were always encouraged to make friends with the children in the neighborhoods we lived in. We saw many children and parents come to faith in this way. Many others may not have become believers, but they received a clear presentation of the gospel so that they are now without excuse before God. And regardless of whether or not these people came to faith, we gained many good and valuable friendships.

Mom and dad did not do this because they regarded the folks in the neighborhood as a project, but out of a genuine love, concern and appreciation for these people. The person next door was not an enemy, but a person who was just as unsaved as my parents were not too many years before. The person next door was someone in desperate need of a Savior, and they intended to give everyone the opportunity to meet the Savior through them.

My parents were not afraid. They did not hide us away from the world. They allowed us to see sin and to see the effects of sin. They allowed sin’s mystique to be destroyed, they allowed us to see unbelievers acting like unbelievers. When we saw difficult things or shocking things they taught us that the wages of sin is death. We saw this, not in the abstract but in reality.

Sometimes worlds clashed. There were a couple of times when my sisters brought friends to church, friends who were unsaved but were showing interest in the gospel, only to have them mocked or scorned. One little girl was scolded and had her ear “flicked” by the woman in the pew behind her because she was not able to sit still throughout the service. A friend my sister brought to church was openly mocked by the children in the church because he had dyed-blond hair and an earing. He never returned, and as far as I know, never expressed any openness to the gospel after that time.

I truly believe, after many years of reflection, that the heart of the problem in these churches was in their attitude towards the unbeliever. The person next door was the enemy; he was a person to be feared for what he might do to the family, and the children in particular; he was someone to be regarded with distrust and suspicion rather than with love and sympathy.

The irony is that when we protect ourselves from this enemy, we are prone to take our eyes of the real enemy; we allow him to slip by, unnoticed. We are not waging war “against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). The real enemy is not next door. The real enemy is our own sinfulness and the worldliness that continues to try to manifest itself in our lives. The real enemy is spiritual, not physical. The real enemy, the most dangerous enemy, is within.

Fresh is Always Better than Packaged

"Prepackaged approaches to the gospel, though helpful to get us started being comfortable in sharing our faith, should not become our only means of sharing. The Bible is full of rich metaphors for the faith. We should appreciate the variety of such terms as we share the gospel. As long as we call a person to embrace the grace of God in faith and not to trust in his or her own deeds for salvation, we are preaching the gospel. We can speak of repenting when considering where we start from at conversion. We can speak of turning to describe the change of direction that comes from embracing God. We can speak of faith in Christ to highlight the object of our hope. We can speak of receiving him to emphasize the personal appropriation of faith that is more than mental assent. We can speak of coming to him to describe the act from Jesus' perspective. We can talk of confessing him as an expression of how faith verbalizes its presence. All these terms highlight the saving act of faith where people embrace Jesus with a trust that he will forgive them by his grace and bring them into a relationship with him."
- Darrell Bock

A Heroic Parable

Watch this brief video of a physical rescue...then parallel it with the Christian's mandate to share the gospel...the people on the platform are concerned, even frantic...but only one jumps into harms way to effect the rescue. Rather symbolic, huh?

Remember - It's Not Up To You!

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. --2 Corinthians 4:3-4

"The uncomprehending mind is unaffected by truth. The intellect of the hearer may grasp saving knowledge while yet the heart makes no moral response to it. A classic example of this is seen in the story of Benjamin Franklin and George Whitefield. In his autobiography Franklin recounts in some detail how he listened to the mighty preaching of the great evangelist. He even walked around the square where Whitefield stood to learn for himself how far that golden voice carried. Whitefield talked with Franklin personally about his need of Christ and promised to pray for him. Years later Franklin wrote rather sadly that the evangelist's prayers must not have done any good, for he was still unconverted....

The inward operation of the Holy Spirit is necessary to saving faith. The gospel is light but only the Spirit can give sight. When seeking to bring the lost to Christ we must pray continually that they may receive the gift of seeing. And we must pit our prayer against that dark spirit who blinds the hearts of men." ( A W Tozer, Born After Midnight, pp. 62-63

"Lord, I'll do my part today to share the Gospel with anyone You'll bring my way. But Holy Spirit, I'll wait for You to open eyes and give sight. I'll leave the results with You. Amen.

Response of Some to Whom You Witness

The final (re)action of Lucy mirrors that which you may receive...perhaps literally, more than likely figuratively, from many to whom you brag on Jesus and His gospel...Guess what, do it anyway!

Many a Truth is Said in Jest #3

Oh, how sad and true this is...the mission statement of the Gospel of John is evangelism! (John 20)

Why Don't They Get Saved??????????

Here are some very significant (and timely, since I'm in the midst of a summer full of teen camp ministry) insights from J. C. Ryle:

"Would you know the reason why so many hear the Gospel year after year, and yet remain unmoved by it? Their minds seem like Bunyan's "slough of despond." Cartloads of good instruction are poured into them without producing any good effect. Their reason is convinced. Their head assents to the truth. Their conscience is sometimes pricked. Their feelings are sometimes roused. Why then do they stick fast? Why do they tarry? It is their hearts which are in fault! Some secret idol chains them down to the earth, and keeps them tied hand and foot, so that they cannot move. They need a new heart. Their picture is drawn faithfully by Ezekiel, "They sit before you as my people, and they hear your words—but they will not do them—for with their mouth they show much love—but their heart goes after their covetousness." (Ezek. 33:31.)"

A Question I Hate!

Perhaps after over three decades of ministry I should be used to it; but I'm not. I've always hated, after a meeting or series of meetings, having someone ask, "How many got saved?" (or the equally annoying, "How many decisions?")

So...I look like the Holy Spirit? Only He perceives hearts...only He convicts, draws, changes hearts.

But we do like the body counts, don't we?

I am not challenging or questioning the hearts of those who ask (or those who count, for that matter)...but I do wonder...does ANYONE really believe the "numbers" tell any kind of story?

And...even if they did...who brought the unsaved to the meeting? Who did the genuine convicting? Who keeps the count that counts?

The Word of God, inspired by God, has so many vague tallies (not counting Numbers, of course, which opens another can)...but in the New Testament the word "about" is used often...as in "about 5,000," "about 120," and in Acts, "about twelve."

Yo...even I can count to twelve. Methinks the Spirit of God could have had Luke write 13, 11, or 12...but, instead, He dictates "about."

Could there be a lesson there for us? Is it possible that lesson is to remind us to walk by faith, and not by sight? Could a secondary lesson be that only eternity reveals what really takes place in hearts? And could the prime directive be that individuals are more important than numbers?

I repented long ago of being a body counter. I read my early newsletters in shame..."I preached 13 times and there were 42 salvation decisions, 13 assurance, and 7 dedications" ad nauseum. As if the numbers indicate "successful" meetings, where if there were not "numbers" than the meeting was a failure.


But...can't we just be confident that His Word cast forth in faith will accomplish His will?


Call me simplistic...but that's where I'll park. (and, just a sidenote; my dislike of numbers is impacted by my service in Vietnam...where numbers were inflated, stretched, lied about, reckoned to be true indicators etc)

Shoot the Sacred Cow of "the prayer"

How I detest the question, "Have you prayed the prayer?" No, not the prayer of Jabez (is it not interesting how that "discovery" faded into oblivion?...and thank God it did!)...but when someone is inquiring as to whether or not someone else is a Christian. "Have you prayed the prayer?" 

Ignore the fact "the prayer" is not found in the Word, and is an invention of only a century-plus history...but as David Platt points out in "Radical," "We already have a fairly high view of our morality, so when we add a superstitious prayer, a subsequent dose of church attendance, and obedience to some of the Bible, we feel pretty sure that we will be all right in the end."

Can anyone seriously argue his point...perhaps excluding those who think repentance is not part of the gospel?

If what you just read makes you uncomfortable or even mad, the following will probably require a trip to the ER:

"The danger of spiritual deception is real. As a pastor, I shudder at the thought and lie awake at night when I consider the possibility that scores of people who sit before me on a Sunday morning might think they are saved when they are not.

"Scores of people who have positioned their lives on a religious road that makes grandiose promises at minimal cost. We have been told all that is required is a one-time decision, maybe even mere intellectual assent to Jesus, but after that we need not worry about His commands, His standards, or His glory. We have a ticket to heaven, and we can live however we want on earth. Our sin will be tolerated along the way. Much of modern evangelism today is built on leadin gpeople down this road, and crowds flock to it, but in the ened it is a road built on sinking sand, and it risks disillusioning millions of souls."

This is another great book; and for the second time in less than a week I give it the Hager Money-Back Guarantee. If you purchase it off the link below, read it, and don't think it was worth your money e-mail me and I'll send you a "refund" check. It is a significant book that I more-than-heartily recommend, especially if you tire of the typical "evangelistic" party line. The only other book that has the money-back guarantee is "MARKS OF THE MESSENGER"

 

My New Running Partner

Though I'm older than dirt; I want to get older. So I exercise fairly regularly. I ride a stationary (or stationery?) bike, ride bike, and jog...doing more of the latter these days...

We have had a new neighbor dog for a while...last week he began running with me, sort of....at a distance. The first day I stopped and tried to get him to come closer, he'd dash in and out quickly, obviously afraid I was going to clobber him.

The next day he got a bit closer, but when I'd reach out to pet him...zoom...he'd evaporate in a cloud of legs and tail.

Then I went to the Kairos weekend and was gone four days.

This morning I set out on my job and, sure enough, he joined me. Went about a mile, crossed our main road into the graveyard (only because I can't spell cemetary) and, at the top of the hill, I stopped, he dashed in, dashed out, paused, then slowly came in and let me pet him.

Now he is almost too close; as I continued the run sometimes he'd zoom in so quickly I had to hop (that visual is probably tough for you!) over him to avoid hitting the ground.

Got home and petted him and now can hardly get rid of the pooch.

Hmmm.

Maybe some spiritual application here? Trying to influence people with the gospel sometimes repels; they've been burned before by slash/burn/count/exit "evangelists," conned by certain televangelists and their wanna bes; carved up by someone's alleged list of dos-and-don'ts, and, boy, if you don't agree with me and do EXACTLY what I say you are history...etc etc etc.

When we try to reach out to these folks they dash away....but if we keep the faith, keep trying to show love and acceptance and non-condemnation (sorta kinda like Jesus, who we say we wanna be like), eventually walls crumble down (yeah, I'm reflecting back on the Kairos weekend) and let us "pet" them by introducing them to the One who would rather die than live without them.

Yeah, the doggie reminded me of the gospel, as opposed to most (but not all) packaged 'evangelism' tactics.

And for that I thank the Spirit of God.

GET THIS BOOK! (money back guarantee!)

I have just concluded one of the best books I've ever read.

I urge you to buy it. I ask you to buy it from Amazon by clicking on the link. As I subsist on missionary support if you ever start an Amazon purchase from this blog and buy anything I get a tiny percentage, and you get my gratitude!

But regarding this book...here is my personal money-back guarantee...if you buy it (off this link) and don't like it I commit to giving you your money back. If you can convince me that you genuinely can't afford it, I will buy it for you (email me at jack.hager@gmail.com and make your case)

I will be quoting from the book as time allows; but for now let me simply challenge you go get it, read it, apply it.

Here, then, is simply one brief snippet to whet your appetite:

"Success drives pragmatic evangelism. pragmatic evangelism never

asks the question, 'Who are we to be as an evangelist?'

Pragmatic evangelism only asks the question, 'What works?'

Pragmatic evangelism is 'doing' evangelism in a way that elevates

success and method over anything else. 

It becomes the business of evangelism...

...and sadly, because success sells, 

it's often unquestioned in the Christian community."

Here is the link:  UPDATE: apparently some can not see the Amazon link which should follow this; but the title of the book is Marks of the Messenger: Knowing, Living and Speaking the Gospel

The Disaster of (typical) Youth "Ministry"

The front page headline on yesterday's USA Today read, "Young Adults Less Devoted to Faith" with the subtitle, "Survey shows steady drift from church life." These statistics mirror countless surveys over the last couple years and should not come as a shock; but they diagnose the reality that something is drastically wrong with typical ministry (which can, at best, only produce typical "Christians")...

As a three-decade-plus veteran of youth ministry I say, "duh." Anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear is not shocked by this article, but yet it also is patent evidence that much of what the church and parachurch groups do is simply not working.

If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results; maybe a lot of our programs and activities can be liked to insane asylum tactics?

Thom Rainer, president of Lifeway Christian Resources that conducted the survey, states that of those surveyed who called themselves Christians, "many are either mushy Christians or Christians in name only...most are just indifferent. The more precisely you try to measure their Christianity, the fewer you find committed to the faith."

Here's what we should find most disturbing in the study:

Even among those in the new survey who "believe they will go to heaven because they have accepted Jesus as savior":

• 65% did not mention faith, religion, or spirituality when asked what was "really important in life"
• 50% do not attend church at least weekly
• 36% rarely or never read the Bible. Only 17% read it daily.

Only 40% of professing Christians feel it is their duty to share their faith.

SO WHAT IS THE MAIN PROBLEM? 

Why are we losing youth? 

• In many (most?) cases because we never "had" them. They may have raised a hand, gone forward, prayed "the prayer" (that is not found anywhere in scripture), filled out a decision form...but the reality is Matthew 7.21-23
• Most of those who have genuinely been captured by the Spirit of God have been programmed to apathy, had their "felt" needs met without doctrine, been living from big event to big event, but have not been mentored, nurtured, challenged to live out their faith 24/7 rather than anticipating the next concert, missions trip, or camp.
• The Biblical illiteracy of the church as a whole is deepend (shallowed?) in them. (Amos 8.11)
• We have not lost most of this generation because we challenged them too little. We've lost them because we've not challenged (yes, even demanded) more!
• And we continue to produce baptized pagans because we wimp out and refuse to be fruit inspectors

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

Do what Jesus did! When trying to reach people of all ages with the gospel make it easier to say "no" than to say "yes." Can anyone really imagine Jesus turning to the crowd and saying "Every head bowed, every eye closed"? Why do we who want to see disciples rather than decisions all too often start them out in secret, "No one looking around..."

Please do not misunderstand or misquote me, I am not (totally) against the (very new to church history) invitation "system," nor am I questioning the hearts of any who are proponents, but any "witnessing", any "invitation" that does not stress lostness, repentance, surrender, and faith is not biblical and typically produce "decisions" that don't stand the test of time. (yes, God can still use these to His glory in spite of ourselves...but rarely)

And never should anyone be told...even hinted at...that "now you are a Christian." Or, in my mind, "based on what I heard you pray (or what you've said) you are now a child of God." That is the job of the Holy Spirit. The book of FIRST JOHN has a MISSION STATEMENT, but this mission statement is not that isolated verse, but "these things" are everything in First John that comes before...Let the Spirit of God, through  the written Word, give "assurance" of salvation in the living Word - The Lord Jesus Christ.

This is already too long...I invite you yell at me, agree with me, call me a works-righteousness dude, or whatever. But, for God's sake (literally) and for their sake, at least think about this ongoing disaster...

Urgent Word!

For me, the most terrifying of all Scripture is Matthew 7.21-23.

This three minute video featuring John Piper is worth watching...and sharing:

Know the Condition of Your Herds

Stephen Prothero writes an intriguing column that is printed in today's USA Today "On Religion" page. His topic is "millennials" and how they are "simplyk resisting the tried-and-true brands of American religion..."

But the focal point for those of us who work with today's youth (and those who care about them!) comes when he writes, "When I asked my 16-year-old daughter about all this, she told me that her friends don't want to be 'branded.' Nobody her age wants to be seen as forcing religious or political views on friends, and declaring yourself a 'Christian,' 'atheist,' 'Democrat,' or 'Republican' seems, well, pushy."

Simply because we old(er) folks don't think it is "pushy" does not change the reality from most students' views. Certainly no true apprentice of the Lord Jesus desires to "force" the faith on anyone, or to even come across as "pushy."

It is pretty easy to thunder to students "you need to capture your school/neighborhood for Christ." In my mind and from my experience the toughest place to live for Christ in this country is school (by the way, whether that school is "public" or "Christian"...in many cases the latter is tougher). We who care about students need to encourage and equip, but we also need to know that the school of today isn't like it was when "we were kids," because the school of today isn't like it was a couple years ago.

Five Distorted "Gospels"

This is important stuff from James MacDonald:
 
My oldest son, Luke, sent me a link the other day that quoted A.W. Tozer and James Kennedy (both wonderful Christian leaders in their day). Both men believed that many, if not most, professing believers they encountered around the country were not actually saved. They were deeply troubled by the distortions of the gospel that were the result of trying to get the gospel to more people. Well intentioned yes, but eternally dangerous for the souls of men and woman who had not heard the whole message. The article prompted me to look back in my file for something I remembered writing a while back. Here it is . . . What gospel have you heard and believed?



Five Distortions of the Gospel in Our Day

1) The Cake Mix Gospel: if we leave out key ingredients our souls will never “rise” to God. We don’t need the message reduced to some irreducible elements, we need the whole gospel. You don’t expect your car to run without all the parts. You don’t expect your body to function without all the organs working properly. You don’t expect a cake to taste right if it’s rushed and readied without the right ingredients. The gospel without repentance is not the gospel. Acts 18:26, “And he [Apollos] began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”

2) The Cultural Gospel: Skip the postmodern sales job and go for the heart where human need never changes. Understanding the ‘culture’ is much less important than knowing what the Bible says about every human heart separated from God. We don’t need slick sales people giving out the gospel. We need bold, Spirit-filled messengers with a deep heart of compassion for lost people. The gospel without authoritative/binding truth is not the gospel. Acts 17:30, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.”

3) The Cool Gospel: Jesus transcends fashion trends. Marketing Jesus is cheap and powerless. We don’t need to ’spin’ the message we need to say it. We need to stop shaping Jesus in some misguided effort to make Him appealing. Jesus doesn’t need to be like us; we need to be like Him. The gospel wrapped in stylistic packaging is not the gospel. Revelation 3:17 “Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.”

4) The Carnal Gospel: What Jesus can do for me: health, wealth, always happy, never hurting? Jesus solves those issues, but not the way we may think. He’ll change what you want a lot more than what you have. The selfish gospel that promises things Jesus doesn’t promise is a lie and is sentencing the lost who listen to a shocking surprise in eternity. The gospel of “me before Jesus” is not the gospel. Mark 8:35 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

5) The Careful Gospel: Let’s not upset anybody, just keep ‘em comfortable and coming back, There’s lots of time for folks to figure it out. The gospel of “get them to church, and in time everything will come together as long as we don’t offend them” is a dangerous gospel. Well intentioned is not enough. The gospel without urgency is not the gospel. 2 Corinthians 6:2, “Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION.”

Do you understand the implications of a distorted gospel? What horror to imagine many people thinking they are ready to meet God only to find out they never were because they believed a distorted gospel. Matthew 7 predicts just a scene of shocking surprise. Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.”

Linus the Evangelizer...Lucy the Evangelized

I have been quoted as saying there is often better theology in Peanuts' cartoons than most seminaries...and to that I plead "guilty."

But I absolutely love the following...and, at least to me, it is a tremendous portrayal of what we pray happens as we "brag on Jesus" and His gospel: