Are we really to believe that within 12 months of being saved,
under the sound preaching of the Holy Spirit empowered Biblical gospel,
95.2% of the 'converts' (over a quarter of a million people) had become
'backsliders'?
by Michael J. Penfold
Central to every genuine spiritual revival, has been the public preaching
of the gospel. Directly through this means (Titus 1:3) the Holy Spirit
has
awakened multitudes to a proper sense of the dreadfulness of their sin
against heaven. They have been stripped of all self-righteousness, broken
in repentance and have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who satisfied
God's demands against their sin at Calvary. Sadly, in the evangelical
scene
today, such true and lasting manifestations of the convicting and
converting power of the Holy Spirit are now rarely seen. So where did
it
all go wrong?
During the 20th century, there were two major developments in relation
to
gospel preaching. Up until World War 2, practically all evangelical
churches held two preaching services every Sunday; one aimed at edifying
the church; the other at converting sinners. The first move was to jettison
the gospel service (with its accompanying prayer meeting), in favour of
another study teaching session for Christians. The indoor evangelistic
service was not replaced with a 'street meeting'. It was simply dropped.
Secondly, there was a fundamental change in the content (not just the
style) of the gospel message itself. Several major features of the
historically tried and tested gospel sermon were abandoned. Thus, if you
compare the sermons preached by Peter and Paul in the book of Acts, along
with those preached during genuine revivals since that time (by men like
Nettleton, Edwards, Wesley, Whitefield, McCheyne, North, Spurgeon, Torrey,
Moody, Rea, Marshall, Laidlaw and Frank Knox) with the contemporary gospel,
you will find a world of difference.
All of this has serious consequences, because the contemporary gospel
produces altogether different results to the historic Biblical gospel.
For
example, in 1991, a major 'evangelical' denomination in the USA -
consisting of 11,000 churches - launched a huge push in evangelism. After
securing 294,000 'decisions for Christ' in 12 months (26.73 per church),
only 14,000 new members came 'into fellowship' (1.27 per church). Are
we
really to believe that within 12 months of being saved, under the sound
preaching of the Holy Spirit empowered Biblical gospel, 95.2% of the
'converts' (over a quarter of a million people) had become 'backsliders'?
And what of the general membership of contemporary 'evangelical' churches?
Where have all the serious Bible students gone? Where is the clear line
of
demarcation between today's Christians and the secular world - in language,
entertainment, music, dress, associations, ambition, interest and outlook?
These are symptoms of a root problem, namely the abandonment of public
gospel preaching and the alteration of the content of the Biblical gospel
message. But what is the true gospel? Let us examine four essential
elements which are missing from most of today's evangelical sermons, gospel
tracts and 'introduction to Christianity' courses.
1. THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL BEGINS AND ENDS WITH GOD.
Firstly, the Biblical gospel begins and ends with God, whereas the
contemporary gospel begins and ends with man. Here, in abbreviated form,
is
how it runs. "People today are suffering from feelings of emptiness,
loneliness and low self-esteem. However, the aching 'God shaped vacuum'
within you can be filled, when you say sorry for your sins and commit
your
life to Jesus. God has a wonderful plan for your life and wants you to
be
personally fulfilled and have a real feeling of happiness and satisfaction.
You matter to God - that's why Jesus paid for your sins on the cross.
He
loves you and wants you to ask Him into your life today You cannot save
yourself, that's why you really need God in your life. You have tried
everything else - so why not give Jesus a try too? All you have to do
is
ask Jesus to be your personal Saviour and you will be saved. Why not pray
this prayer after me...
Writers like George Barna, Bill Hybels, Lee Strobel and Rick Warren,
tell
us that our churches will only be 'seeker-friendly' when we start
addressing the needs of '21st century unchurched Harry and Mary' (the
'me'
generation). Thus the contemporary message has moved away from the New
Testament God-centred pattern, and tailored itself to appeal to the
self-centred generation of secular relativists who dominate our society.
By
contrast, the Biblical gospel begins and ends with God. When Paul preached
to the Gentiles in Lystra, he opened by saying, "We...preach unto
you that
you should turn from these vanities unto the living God, who made heaven...
earth... sea and all things that are in them" (Acts 14:15). He began
by
laying a foundation of a 'creator God' who is sovereign, good and patient.
Again, when preaching to the Gentile philosophers in Athens he stated,
"...God, who made the world and everything in it.. since He is Lord
of
heaven and earth.. now commands all men everywhere to repent, because
He
has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness
by
the Man whom He has ordained." (Acts 17:22-31). This was always Paul's
approach when preaching to pagans. His message to Felix was the same.
He
told him about God's righteousness, his own lack of self-control and
judgment to come (Acts 24:25).
Since repentance is a change of mind towards God, how can a sinner repent
until he has a true concept of God? Many 21st Century Westerners imagine
that there are two Gods; the God of the Old Testament - harsh and
unmerciful - and the God of the New Testament - loving and forgiving.
Such
is their fatal misconception. Or again, the average Westerner thinks that
God, if He exists at all, is a most unfair God. He argues; "If there's
a
God why is there all the suffering in the world?" How foolish are
his
thoughts. Until he truly understands the good and holy nature of the God
against whom he has grievously rebelled, he will never be saved. Thus,
unless the 'true God' is clearly preached, all that will be produced is
a
multitude of false converts, who have never so much as caught one glimpse
of the holiness, goodness and sovereignty of their almighty creator, "For
of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory
for
ever. Amen" (Rom 11:36).
2. THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL MAKES A PROPER USE OF THE LAW OF GOD.
Secondly, the Biblical Gospel makes proper use of the law of God. A
sinner
must understand the gospel to be saved (Matt 13:15,19, 23, Acts 8:30-31,
Rom 3:11). But before a sinner can understand the mercy of a loving God,
he
must understand the requirements of a righteous God. Now, the law is not
the gospel and the gospel is not the law; but the gospel establishes the
law (Rom 3:31). That law which the Gentiles have in their hearts by nature
(Rom 2:15), Israel also had written on stone - and the purpose of this
law
is clearly stated by Paul: "by the law is the knowledge of sin"
(Rom 3:20).
Paul further states that he would never have known he was a guilty sinner
without the law (Rom 7:7). Since no one can be saved without repentance
(Luke 13:5) and no one can repent unless they know they are guilty, the
true Biblical gospel must make proper use of the law, the chief end of
which is to convince the whole world of its guilt (Rom 3:19).
The book of Romans contains the only systematic setting forth of the
gospel
in the whole Bible. Paul uses the word 'law' 38 times before he mentions
the word 'love'. From Romans 1:17-3:19, Paul sets forth the case against
the sinner. It is a sorry tale of condemnation, wrath and guilt. Finally,
in chapter 5:8, Paul states that God commends his love towards sinners.
Why
does Paul present the gospel in this order? Because the gospel will not
make any real sense to the sinner until he realizes he is guilty of
rebellion against the law of a holy God. If we start by telling the typical
Westerner "God loves you", he will puff out his chest and say
in his heart
"Why shouldn't He; I'm a good person?"
Preachers of the old school believed that a man would not grab a spiritual
lifebelt, until he was convinced he was drowning; nor submit to medical
treatment until was sure he had a disease - so they never set the remedy
of
the gospel before the sinner's mind until thoroughly convincing him of
his
sin. But the contemporary gospel knows better. It uses the carrot of
'benefits' instead of the stick of the law. It says, "If you come
to Jesus
you will be happy, fulfilled, be part of a loving family and spend eternity
in a golden mansion - if you would like to have all of this, just say
sorry
for your sins and ask Jesus into your heart to be your Saviour."
If only
this were an unfair caricature or a straw man -but it is not. This is
exactly how it is presented universally today in print and in the pulpit.
The net result is that sinners 'come to Christ' with a false motive. Then
when persecution and pressure come their way, they discover that they
were
not told the whole story. They are offended and quickly disillusioned.
However, they have now been vaccinated against true salvation. After all,
they tried Jesus and He failed.
As we seek to restore the true Biblical gospel we must remember that
the
issue is righteousness not happiness. True peace and joy are the fruits
of
salvation, but they are never to be presented in Biblical sermons as a
draw
card, to encourage sinners to 'make their decision for Christ'. We must
understand that simply quoting "All have sinned", followed by
a quick "But
the good news is..."1 will never awaken anyone. Sinners must be faced
with the fact that covetousness (the love of things) is idolatry (Col
3:5),
hate is murder (1 John 3:15) and lust is adultery (Matt 5:28). Driving
down
the motorway, there are a number of excuses one can think of to justify
going at 85 mph. ..until the law enters. When you see a Police car on
the
side of the road, your foot hits the brakes. By the law is the knowledge
of
sin. That is what will make a man, rushing headlong down the highway of
life to hell, sit up and listen. He simply must see his precarious position
or he will never repent.
Presented with a choice of either diamonds or a glass of water, who
would
not choose the diamonds? But take a man who has been lost for four days
in
the Sahara desert with nothing to drink and present him with the same
choice. He takes the water. What has changed? The inherent value of the
goods on offer? No. His perception of need. And so, let a man be utterly
convinced from scripture, by the Holy Spirit, that he is lost, guilty
and
helpless and he will cry out, "What must I do to be saved?"
The proper initial reaction to the gospel on the part of the sinner
is
conviction of sin (John 16:8, Acts 2:37). But what is conviction of sin?
It
is more than just the ordinary smiting of the conscience (Rom 2:15). It
is
more than mere fear of hell. Simply being scared of the consequences of
sin
is not true Holy Spirit conviction. Nor is conviction 'admitting you are
a
sinner'. Balaam, Pharoah, Judas and many others admitted "I have
sinned",
but went to hell. Nor is conviction a mere head knowledge of the doctrine
of the fall of Adam. Conviction is 'a proper sense of the dreadfulness
of
my sin against God'. Have you ever realized this? All sinners must echo
David's realization in Psalm 51:4 when he said "Against Thee, Thee
only,
have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight." Conviction of sin
is
vertical, not horizontal.
We must return to the true Biblical gospel and preach that men are sinners
by nature and practice (Eph 2:1-2); that their very best endeavours are
like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) and that they are utterly helpless to save
themselves (Eph 2:8). As a sinner acknowledges that he is condemned,
unclean and guilty, he draws near to salvation, for "The LORD is
near to
those who have a broken heart; and saves such as have a contrite spirit"
(Psalm 34:18).
3. THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL SOUNDS A CLEAR NOTE OF REPENTANCE.
Thirdly, the Biblical Gospel sounds a clear note of repentance. Summarizing
3 years of ministry in Ephesus, Paul stated that he had preached
"repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts
20:21).
Summarizing his whole life, he stated that he had preached that men should
"repent and turn to God, and do works" answering to that repentance
(Acts
26:20). Nowhere in the Bible did any apostle or evangelist preach that,
"all you need to do is accept that Jesus died and rose again, ask
Him to be
your Saviour and you will go to heaven." Why? Because the Lord Jesus
had
commissioned them to preach three things: firstly, Christ died; secondly,
He rose again; and, thirdly, repentance for the remissible of sins (Luke
24:45). Would we be happy with a cross-less gospel or a resurrection-less
gospel? How then can we be content to preach a repentance-less gospel?
Contrary to contemporary thinking, salvation is not just mental assent
or a
mere nodding of the head to the death and resurrection of Christ. There
is
no saving faith without repentance. If you are a stranger to conviction,
you are a stranger to repentance and therefore a stranger to salvation,
for
no one ever truly believed without repenting and vice versa. The first
sentence the Lord Jesus uttered in His public ministry was, "Repent
and
believe the gospel " (Mark 1:15); and He continued to repeatedly
warn that
unless sinners repent they will perish. Jesus said "believe or perish"
(John 3:16) and "repent or perish" (Luke 13:3. See also 2 Pet
3:9). All
that will matter a million years from today is, did I repent and believe
the gospel?
Only one sentence in the Bible states that God loves the world (John
3:16).
A handful of other verses speak of God's love for undeserving sinners.
Yet
this precious and sublime truth is cheapened today, by its overemphasis
at
the expense of repentance, a subject which is mentioned 58 times in the
New
Testament alone. That is the reason why there is little or no true
convicting power and blessing in the preaching of the gospel today. The
Holy Spirit will not endue with power a message He has not authorized.
A
gospel without a clear note of repentance is another (false) gospel that
brings God's curse on those who preach it (Gal 1:6-10). Why would God
curse
a 'preacher of the gospel' (one who adds or takes away from the essence
of
the true message)? Because his repentance-less message is damning souls,
corrupting local churches and hindering revival.
But what is repentance? It is not penance or restitution (Judas paid
the
money back - he regretted, but never repented, Matt 27:3). It is not merely
tears, fear of judgment (Felix trembled) or sorrow for sin (godly sorrow
may lead to repentance, but is not the same as repentance, 2 Cor 7:10).
It
is not mere confession or admission of sin. The Greek word for repentance
is metanoia (from meta, 'after', and nous, 'mind'). It means a complete
change of mind - involving turning from sin to God, which resuIts in a
change of life. It is illustrated by David in Psalm 51 and the Prodigal
Son
in Luke 15. It is defined in the following text: "Let the wicked
for-sake
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto
the
LORD, and he will have mercy upon him" (Isaiah 55:7). Let us be sure
to
sound a clear note of repentance every time we preach the gospel.
4. THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL PRESENTS A WHOLE CHRIST FOR THE WHOLE MAN.
Fourthly, and finally, the Biblical Gospel presents a whole Christ for
the
whole man. The object of faith is not 'the fact of the atonement' but
the
person of Christ. Paul did not tell the jailor to just believe the 'facts
about Calvary'. He was told, "Believe on the LORD JESUS CHRIST"
- Master,
Saviour and promised anointed Messiah (Acts 16:31). But belief never simply
means mental assent. It is trust, reliance on and commitment to Christ
as
Lord and Saviour. This is not the 'cool buddy Saviour only Jesus' of the
contemporary gospel, who says "Come as you are and stay as you are".
How
solemn to see a large number who call Jesus Lord, shut out of the kingdom,
despite their many religious works (Matt 7:21).
'Evangelical' churches are full of people who do not exhibit the fruits
of
salvation, but who are not embarrassed to say they are Christians. But
if a
man says he has faith and has not works, can that faith save him (James
2:14)? God saves people so that they will do good works (Acts 26:20) and
live as His bond slaves (1 Thess 1:9). Therefore, any salvation experience
that does not turn a rebel sinner into a basically obedient servant is
spurious. "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.. every
tree
which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast in to the fire"
(Matt 3:8).
Liberal theologians have filled churches and preached a blood-less gospel
and a deity-less Christ. Now, evangelicals have filled churches with a
gospel that lacks a call to repentance. Which is worse? The net result
is
the same. Let us ensure that our sermons, our gospel tracts and the
missionary endeavours we support present every aspect of the true Biblical
gospel.
Available as a pamphlet from Penfold Book & Bible House Ltd.
www.penfoldbooks.com
Box 26, Bicester, Oxon, 0X26 4GL Phone: (01869) 249574
