The Burden of the Gospel
The church for which Christ died seems to be settling for less, while the men who crucified him parties.
They nailed him, all of them, without remorse, to the cross. We should have been quick to put the sword to the neck of his executioners, but for the passionate words of a dying King “…if I be lifted from the earth, will draw all men unto me”. He was in agony, yet his eyes glittered with flames of passion for the gospel, like when we saw him heal the sick.
For more than 2,000 years we have been charged with preaching the gospel. Just like it was yesterday, his voice still fills our sleep “Go ye into the world and preach the gospel…” — that those who killed him were beneficiaries, not victims. Many stood at the cross gazing at the body of a lifeless messiah, he looked like everything in the old covenant. So close they were to the cross, one would think redemption would come first to them. Sadly, no record has it that the gospel started from them who stood at that cross with the “lifeless Christ”. More sadly today, many have lived well on the plains of the altar, and bear the cloak of the priest but are still far from the gospel.
…the fate of the gospel lies on the shoulders of those bearing it.
Charge with the Gospel
A story was told of a boy who walked up to a bystander, the day Christ was crucified, and asked, “Where are the men that followed him”? He had witnessed the whole event. The man turned and looked at the lad, “They are in the crowd”, he said reluctantly still bewildered by the happening. “How do I identify them sir?” the boy questioned further, eager to meet with the disciples. “You can’t find them, my boy, they look just like everyone else.”
Somehow, the fate of the gospel lies on the shoulders of those bearing it. It travels on the feet of faithful pilgrims Ephesians 6:15 and the blood of martyrs. Their lives were interrupted and shaped by the gospel. They patterned their lives to fit the gospel and not the gospel to fit their lives. Everyone with whom the gospel permeated shared a similar experience: there were inconveniences and sacrifices made. After they gave up everything to follow him, it was indisputable that they were with Jesus (Acts 4:13). The gospel is still as powerful and efficacious as it was with them who passed it down to us, but can we say the same of our sacrifice, and commitment?
The Gospel of Convenience
Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. (Mathew 25)
“Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded. “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.”Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22 But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. (I Samuel 15).
The passages above portray the deviation of those to whom God had entrusted an assignment. We wouldn’t have known the foolishness of the other 5 virgins if the bridegroom had not lingered. They were virgins just like the others, but convenience…
Saul spared the best of the sheep, contrary to the command to destroy all. Again convenience. It’s more profitable for us, with our whole hearts, to bear the yoke of the gospel than it’s to conveniently bear the responsibility of preaching the gospel.
Ten virgins bore their lamps and everyone must have celebrated them. It was a ‘wow!’ moment going to meet the bridegroom, but no one noticed that certain lamps, though polished and shiny, were low on oil. They were cheered but they weren’t cautioned. Those who took the pain to give caution were backlash with such words as “My body, my business!”.
Saul was a minister of a large congregation. He “conveniently obeyed” God and his congregation gave him no caution. He still had his congregation, who would rather give their money than surrender their soul, but he lost his fellowship with God.
It is sad how there are redefinitions of almost everything to sort our convenience. The gospel is God’s power unto salvation. People ought to come as they are but not remain who they are. God is not going to be swayed by words (definitions), culture, or inventions, his standards are already defined and whoever cares should follow them “inconveniently”.
The Gospel of Lust
We can’t give our lives to God and not give our substance, and it will always be convenient to give the latter.
The gospel of lust topples the scale and emphasizes possession, good living, money, and affluence. It’s shipped with such commodities highly in demand in this world. It fuels lust, one of the very corruption Christ came to save us from. Just like the waters of this world, this gospel does not satisfy (John 4:7-15). It keeps the people in perpetual need. The poor needy congregation always comes back to fill their bellies with inflated loaves (John 6:49, 59).
The gospel of lust is fully maturing. Traces of it are visible in our midst. It’s a barter system. “What do I get in return for what I give?”. Everyone, without realizing it, looks out for their interest. The question is why do the things you do for ‘God’? Why are you sweeping the church every morning? Why do you give so much money into the offering box? Is it not in exchange for good health, marital breakthrough, business connections, jobs, scholarship, or an “open door”? And how do you think God wouldn’t willingly give us these things when He gave us Christ while we were sinners? The gospel has been craftily twisted to emphasize things over the saviour. Congregations have been enslaved to the peddlers of this gospel. Jesus Christ showed us the formula in Matthew 6:33, seek first the kingdom…
The Power of the Gospel
These gospels will always fail to transform lives. The people who fill the dance floors of nightclubs on weekends are the same people occupying the benches of churches on Sunday. We can’t compare it to the about 3000 (three thousand) souls who believed on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41). The gospel does not have to be complicated, elaborate, and intellectual to save lives. Its simplicity is enough. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16).
Preachers in their effort to “help the gospel” have wielded various rusty swords forgetting …the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12.
Until we dismantle these trendy feel-good gospels, we’ll not experience the power of the true gospel.