The Drawing Card of the Gospel'
Religion
plays out the Gospel as a courtroom drama.
However when we present the Gospel in historical setting and context in which the crucifixion happened, and understand what it truly accomplished, our fears and inhibitions will dissipate because of God's burning love transforms, something that the fear-mongering of a burning hell can never do. Presenting the Gospel as a courtroom drama, where if man does not accept God's offer of salvation results in a burning hell is not the good news of the gospel. The Gospel was an act of the burning love of the Godhead.
We must realize that there is no division between the members of the Godhead. Christ is not saving us *from* His mean Father, but *with* His loving Father resulting in an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love overwhelming us! When people see love in action, instead of a courtroom debate where justice sentences people to a burning hell, as the motivation behind the the Gospel, their heart cannot remainhard, cold and disinterested. When people behold the Gospel and see that flaming demonstration of God’s burning love for them, their heart is supernaturally charged with a reciprocal love for God and for people.
Grace is the heart of the Gospel! There is nothing cold, hard or fear-mongering about it. It’s the declaration that the Godhead is pulsating with a passionate burning love and desire for the Community of Humanity! Out of this burning passion of love, Jesus moves towards us and wraps Himself in the sin that causes our broken life, and puts it to death through His own death! In so doing, He destroys the power of sin and grinds to powder our sense of segregation and isolation!
Such is the Gospel of Grace. Love itself came to rescue us, restore us and remind us of who we were. It was a raging passion of burning love, that brought Christ to us, not courtroom justice resulting in a burning hell for eternity. We must never fear-monger this Gospel, but let it be the burning love reality that it is!
Grace alone has the power to inflame the human heart with love for our loving Father and for people. This is the Good News Gospel.
The question asked those days, is it wrong to include the judgment and wrath of God in presenting the Gospel or should we only talk about love as the love preachers do today?
ReplyDeleteWell I take my answer from the grace preacher Paul in many of his grace messages.
The apostle Paul presents us with the drawing card of the Gospel.
He said in 1Cor.9:16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
In Acts 20:27 he said For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
The whole counsel of God includes His love , His judgments, and His wrath.
Is it a coincidence that Paul in his grace messages speaks of God`s wrath seventeen times in his letters. How many times will you hear the false grace teachers of our day mention God`s wrath except when they want to downplay it. Unlike the modern day grace teachers, the grace preacher Paul wanted to emphasize that our loving compassionate father, the God of all grace and comfort and mercy was also a God of wrath.
So this idea that we shouldn`t mention hell, God`s judgment or wrath in the good news is from the pit even though some good grace preachers may be preaching it.
Some grace preachers have come out with their own paraphrases so as to eliminate the wrath of God from the Scriptures. The problem is they impose their theology on the Word of God rather than building their theology from the Word.
What about Christ? Did he mix bad news with the Gospel? Was He always happy with Christians?
I won`t deal with what He said while on earth because some grace people wiggle out of that by saying certain things that he preached such as Sermon on Mount are not ment for us today because it is pre-cross.
But I will deal with post cross after He went to heaven and gave His reveletion from heaven.
Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. (Rev. 2:16)
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works(Rev2:22,23)
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.(Rev.3:16)