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The Absolute Gospel

The Gospel is Limited to God’s Written Word

Perhaps that sounds like a strange statement.

But we live in an age when everyone seems to know what the gospel is. Or at least they say that they do.

Leading to interpretations of what the gospel is being scattered all over the map. With new interpretations popping up all the time. New heresies, old heresies, and a bunch of mutations on the new and old combined.

Along with new teachers telling us all about how to have gospel-centered ministries. And how to transform your church into a gospel-centered one.

With very few of these “gospel-centered” ideas actually being Bible centered – let alone Christ centered.

Because their view of the gospel is based on or influenced by many things not related to the Bible.

From all this ministry talk, one might think that the gospel must be a very fluid thing. Something customizable, like clay formed by a potter. Something that can be conformed to suit or appeal to the culture or the times in which people live.

But it is not.

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Who or What Will Be Your Substitute Before God?

A man cannot stand before God on his own.

A man’s righteousness, even that of the best of men, is nothing but filthy rags before the perfectly holy God of all Creation.

So, men look for a substitute. Something or someone that will represent them before the Lord. Something, other than themselves, that they can rely upon and stand behind.

This is why the Substitutionary Atonement of Christ is so critical. Without the Lord standing in the place of a man, he has no hope whatsoever. 

Regardless of who that man is. 

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The Substitutionary Atonement of Christ

When I first trusted in Christ as my Savior, I had no doubt that He had died in my place.

I was fully persuaded that His death and suffering and blood had paid the Full Price for my sins.

I never entertained some theological charge that God was engaging in some kind of “child abuse” toward His Son! Never did I think such as thing!

And yet, there are men and women today, within the highest levels of Evangelical Christianity, that say this is the case. That God would never sacrifice His Son to pay for the sins of men.

And those same men and women are not rebuked for their heresy; but are heralded as great men of God by the mainstream Evangelical church.

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The Gospel is Not All Sweetness and Light

Mountain Treacherous Climbers

Not a long post here today.

I’ve been working on a front porch project for the last couple months. And now I’m finding myself trying to get it done before the snow flies.

Fall is in full swing here in Ohio. And some parts of the country are already getting hit with unseasonably early snow.

So, some of my other “To Be Continued … ” posts are taking me a lot longer to complete as I try to get this project finished.

But, in the meantime, I’m watching as so many critical and serious things are happening which are affecting our country and our world. Seriously dangerous things.

And I’m also seeing serious problems increasing in our churches. Especially relating to the way that the gospel is presented to the lost.

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“Partnerships” in Jesus’ Name: Conclusion – True Love

Terms and Conditions Checklist

Our compassion for the problems and suffering of others can tempt us to disobey the word of God.

It is very possible to think that helping others should take precedence over matters of spiritual truth. And that “love” is not bound by any “law”.

But is that really what the Bible says?

Are we truly showing the love of Christ to others if we disobey His word in order to do something in His name?

Or is this some other kind of love altogether?

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Preaching a “Jesus” That Can’t Save You: Conclusion – Failing to Build the Foundation

Construction Inside House Frame

There’s an old movie from the 1960s called, Fahrenheit 451. It’s based on the book by Ray Bradbury.

In the movie, the main character, Montag, is a “fireman” of the future whose job is to burn books. Because books are forbidden in that future society. 

In one scene, Montag is being interviewed for a promotion by the “fire chief”. The chief goes to the files and pulls out the fireman’s employment records.

Strangely, the records don’t consist of written files; instead, there are only photos. Photos on strips like you would get if you went to one of those photo booths at the mall. 

In that dystopian future, people have nothing to read. Words and truths have been set aside. And free, independent thought is outlawed as well.

What better way to control a society than to eliminate the written words that describe all the details of our lives?

Words which define Who we really are. 

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Preaching a “Jesus” That Can’t Save You

Seagull Locked SeaFood

A false choice is being sold to us. Or fed to us. Or whatever they are doing to us.

I’ve been hearing phrases like “the story of Jesus” and “the life of Jesus” and “the story of God” for a while now. They are used to describe the preaching of the gospel.

But not the kind of preaching you might think.

These phrases often used to describe a very selective Jesus. A very selective gospel based on a limited focus of who Jesus is and what He taught.

Such a gospel only gives the promise of hope. But it lacks the foundation and fullness to satisfy the soul seeking to know Christ.

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The Uncertain Evangelical Gospel: Part 2 – What Must We Believe to be Saved?

Cross Pray Purple silhouette

“Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Galatians 3:6)

The Salvation that Jesus Christ offers to men is based upon faith in His finished work. 

That faith is based upon very specific Truths about Jesus Christ.

These truths are found in very specific written words. Those words are inspired of God. They are inerrant, complete, accurate, and sufficient for a man to know the way of Eternal Life. 

When a man believes what God has said in His word, repents of his sins, and places His faith in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ, he is saved. He passes from death to life. 

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The Certainty of the Words of Truth

Crumbling Foundation

“That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee.” (Proverbs 22:18-24)

Everything around us is changing.

We are told, however, that the gospel doesn’t change. Because the foundational ideas or truths of the gospel do not change.

Truths are eternal; and they are founded upon specific words and specific phrases.

So, logically, we must also be able to trust that the words behind these truths have not changed. That the words also must be eternal.

Or, to say it another way, the words must be certain. They must be fixed, unchangeable, incorruptible. (I Peter 1:23; Isaiah 40:8)

But, for all practical purposes, that is not what many churches teach today. The modern Evangelical church and a growing number of Fundamental churches do not truly believe this.

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