Romans 11:36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things; to Him be glory forever! Amen.
Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Revelation 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
If the Lord Jesus Christ is not the complete and absolute focus of the “gospel” we preach, we are not preaching the true Gospel.
How can anyone truly appreciate the salvation God so freely offers unless they are aware of their condition and the precarious situation they are in? How can an unbeliever see that he or she is a lost sinner and under the wrath of God unless he or she is first presented with the demands of the Law of a Holy God? How can anyone repent when they in reality think they are “not so bad”; and accept what God offers just so they can “have a good life” – without feeling the need to abandon the “old sinful life”?
I read an interesting analogy of the two approaches used in Gospel preaching.
Suppose there is a passenger in a jetliner. An air hostess approaches him/her and offers a parachute with the statement that putting it on would make the flight more comfortable and enjoyable. The passenger takes the “bait” and to his/her dismay finds that the flight is not comfortable at all! He/she finds it difficult to sit comfortably. He/she finds that other passengers are looking at him/her as if he/she were mad. Some may even mock and laugh at him/her and give him/her cause for embarrassment. It doesn’t take long and he/she will discard the parachute and return to his/her “comfort zone”. What was the problem? The whole offer revolved around his/her comfort and not in the fact that the parachute was needed to escape what was coming. This in essence is what the “gospel of humanism” is offering; a comfortable, enjoyable, prosperous ride; which in the end turns out to be “not so comfortable”; it meant forsaking the things loved and enjoyed before. No wonder we have so many so-called “Christians” who have never left the world or been committed to the Lord.
Now suppose the air hostess has been informed by the captain that the plane has a problem and is heading for a “crash landing”. She thus offers the parachute to him or her with the revelation of what is coming. Of course the passenger gladly receives the parachute; because he or she knows they need it to escape the “judgment” (accident) that is imminent! The other passengers can mock and laugh all they want – he or she is not going to remove that parachute. This in essence is the preaching of the “true Gospel”. Declaring to people of the wrath to come; telling them they are under the judgment of God for their sins and rebellion. Telling them how they have affronted and offended Almighty God.
Once they are aware of their dire plight, it is then that the free offer of God’s salvation is presented. Those who will believe and are aware of their condition will gladly receive the offer of free pardon and will gladly “put on the parachute”.
Check out records of revivals of the past – preaching of righteousness was central to what happened. When people heard what made them to be sinners in the eyes of Deity and the ultimate penalty for those sins; conviction and dread filled their hearts and minds. They needed relief and then became a “seeker”; being convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit through the spoken Word of God. Then when the free offer of forgiveness and pardon was offered these “seekers” gladly yielded their lives to the Risen Lord and experienced the new birth.
I think much of our gospel preaching today yields “stillborns”; there has not been any real change in their lives. Paul said: “The law was our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ”; also that: “The goodness of God leads us to repentance.”
The Law condemns us; makes us see our sinful lost and hopeless state. Then the love and Grace of God makes us want to run to Him to escape the wrath to come. We seek reconciliation with our maker. Then we begin to experience and understand His incomparable love – and wish we had run to Him sooner!
God grant us the insight to see how watered down some gospel preaching has become, and return to the true gospel of the Grace of God.
Peter Crause
This is not copyrighted and may be freely used and distributed.
e-mail: crause.pd@shaw.ca
