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Any Other Gospel is Not the Gospel at All
T.M. Moore
BreakPoint
"As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:9)
I keep saying to myself that there has to be an explanation why so many millions of people claim to be born-again followers of Jesus Christ, attending nearly 250,000 churches—around 3,000 of those mega-churches—with a vibrant and growing Christian subculture of music, television, books and literature, education, Internet presence, and even their own Yellow Pages.
As I said, there has to be an explanation why, given all this, the morals and culture of America continue to decline away from the teaching of Scripture, the young are abandoning their Christian upbringing in growing numbers, and the public square continues devoid of any far-ranging, seriously taken Christian voice. There simply has to be an explanation for this.
And I think I have it. It harks back to a Chesterton comment back around the turn of the 20th century. It's not that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been tried and is simply found wanting. It's that the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the Gospel of the Kingdom—has not been tried.
The Gospel of the Kingdom
Jesus came preaching a particular message to the people of His generation. The gospel writers refer to it as "the Gospel of the Kingdom." The Good News that Jesus announced had as its focus an objective reality that the New Testament refers to as the Kingdom of God (Matthew 4:23; 9:35). What is that?
The Kingdom of God is the divine rule that Jesus came to bring into the affairs of men. It is an administration of righteousness, peace, and joy which we may enter by the Holy Spirit, through the new birth which comes by grace through faith (Romans 14:17; John 3:1-16). The Kingdom of God centers on Jesus, who is its King, and His call to follow Him in a life of self-denying service to the glory of God (Mark 10:42-45).
To enter this Kingdom is to be born again to a life set apart for God, characterized by obedience to the Law of God (1 John 2:1-6). God gives His Kingdom to those who truly love Him, who renounce the desires, doodads, and deeds of the world and the flesh, and who invest their strength in becoming rich in faith (James 2:5).
The Kingdom of God is not just a reality to be acknowledged and confessed; it is a realm of power, real spiritual power, in which, increasingly, all things are made new and every aspect of a person's life is reconciled to God, unto the praise of the glory of His grace (1 Corinthians 4:20; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
They who enter this Kingdom may be identified by their fervor in seeking to realize more of its presence and power (Matthew 6:33), their prayers for its coming on earth as in heaven (Matthew 6:10), their dutiful obedience to the holy and righteous and good Law of God (Ezekiel 36:26,27; Romans 7:12), and their faithfulness in living as witnesses to their risen and reigning Lord (Acts 1:8).
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LawrenceJCaldwell
12/17/2008 10:06 AM
Jesus also said of this Kingdom in Matthew 13 that it would be comprised of wheat and tares. The time will come when He will personally separate the two. Until then, we grow together, somewhat indistinguishable from one another.
The ultimate and necessary end of the tares is destruction along with all that was defiled by them. That includes the earth and heavens (II Peter 3:10-13). There is no other logical, scientific, or theological end of sin and its stains then that physically demanded by the second law of thermodynamics - any system left unto itself will ultimately tend toward chaos (decay/destruction).
Why do we see the things we see you ask? Because that is the natural order.
Your question should instead be limited to the supernatural order. That order will not and cannot prevail against what God has already ordained against the heavens, earth, and its general population of unbelievers. Our job is not to fix up the earth but to witness and make disciples.
The ultimate and necessary end of the tares is destruction along with all that was defiled by them. That includes the earth and heavens (II Peter 3:10-13). There is no other logical, scientific, or theological end of sin and its stains then that physically demanded by the second law of thermodynamics - any system left unto itself will ultimately tend toward chaos (decay/destruction).
Why do we see the things we see you ask? Because that is the natural order.
Your question should instead be limited to the supernatural order. That order will not and cannot prevail against what God has already ordained against the heavens, earth, and its general population of unbelievers. Our job is not to fix up the earth but to witness and make disciples.
Randal
11/18/2008 3:29 PM
Acts 2:42, Rom 16:17, Eph 4:14, 1Tim 1:3, 1Tim 4:16, 1Tim 6:3, 2Tim 3:16-17, 2Tim 4:2-4, Tit 1:9, Tit 2:1, Tit 2:7, Tit 2:10, Heb 6:1-2, 2John 1:10, Rev 2:4, Rev 2:15-16, Rev 2:24-25
Well Golly it looks like doctrine (teaching) is something, and is something critical enough to examine to see if it is in alignment with His Doctrine and teaching. If the people were astonished at His Doctrine at that time, might we also be astonished and even surprised at His Doctrine, and the way He sees things now? I guess maybe we better let the hairsplitting begin.
Well Golly it looks like doctrine (teaching) is something, and is something critical enough to examine to see if it is in alignment with His Doctrine and teaching. If the people were astonished at His Doctrine at that time, might we also be astonished and even surprised at His Doctrine, and the way He sees things now? I guess maybe we better let the hairsplitting begin.
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This is not the Gospel, nor is it how the Christian life is lived. Salvation is the restoration of the life of God made possible through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In a nutshell, God created Adam with His life indwelling Adam. Adam sinned and God removed His life. Therefore, all mankind is born spiritually dead to God. Before God could restore that life He had to deal with the sin that caused His life to leave. Jesus, the only man born with a life to give, took the penalty for that sin. Now, through Christ's resurrection, that life can be offered again as a free gift. Because of the cross that life will never leave. We now trust the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us, not the law.