The gospel is the very message upon which all Christian belief is based. It is the message by which all are saved, and it is the power of God. It is central to Christianity, and without the gospel, it would be none but a dead religion, emptied of its power. In spite of this, the gospel is rarely preached in most churches, and when it is, it is often a perversion of the true message, having no power to save whatsoever. We have taken the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and we have departed from Scripture and filled it with our own worldly knowledge. The apostle Paul forewarned of this: “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17). As soon as we add to the gospel human wisdom and knowledge, we have emptied the cross of its power and no one will be saved. Such a message will only produce false converts, who want everything to do with a religious system but want nothing to do with God. We are warned in Scripture regarding this:
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:6-9)
We must make much of knowing the true message of the gospel, lest we preach a false one. For if we do, we will be held accountable. Preaching of the gospel is not something to be taken lightly. Much effort should be taken in studying and knowing the gospel. As Paul writes:
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)
It is very important, therefore, that we resolve to know nothing other than Christ and Him crucified. Anything we add to the gospel ends up taking away from the gospel. We must simply preach the gospel, not relying on any form of manipulation, nor any persuasion – only that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
Above all, we must understand what the gospel is. It is not an invitation to prosperity. It is not an opportunity to add an accessory to your life. It is not a call to your best life now. It is not an invitation to an easy life. The message of the gospel is an ultimatum: “Repent or perish!” For, if we do not preach on the impending danger and reality of hell, we have preached no gospel. If we only tell about God's love and forgiveness, and nothing about man's utter depravity, the unyielding justice of God and absolute need of a savior, we have not preached the gospel. If we fail to convict a man of his sins, the message of the cross is meaningless and we have no gospel. Do we entice men who are about to slide into hell with a promise of a good life? Nonsense! We make them aware of the imminent danger and, once made aware, lead them to the saving grace found only in Christ Jesus.
If we are to make much of knowing the gospel, then we must also make much of knowing the Law – and in so, using it to convict the sinner. Everyone will admit that they are a sinner, but most will consider themselves to be good people. We must make it clear to the sinner that he has violated the Law of Almighty God and stands before Him a guilty criminal – in no way a “good” person. We must make man aware of his depravity, and of the perfect, unyielding justice of a holy God. We must make use of the Law, for as Paul writes, “I would not have known what sin was except through the law” (Romans 7:7). If we merely state that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), we leave out a huge part of the truth. Sure, we all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. But worse, we all stand condemned before Him, having broken all of His Law, as the apostle James states, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). We stand as criminals before a just and holy God, and His furious wrath will be poured out upon the guilty.
Once the sinner is made clearly aware of the impending doom, the grace of God becomes greatly magnified. It suddenly becomes meaningful to the sinner. If we fail to convict a person under the Law, the grace of God will mean nothing to him. The best we can do is entice him into a false conversion – and when the promised hardships come, he will fall away. Worse, he may be secure in his false conversion until his death, at which point he will hear the dreaded words: “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23). The sobering reality is that many have come to this fate, and many more will. All because of the modern, contemporary American gospel, which is no gospel at all. Telling people “four spiritual laws”, “five things God wants you to know”, “God has a wonderful plan for you”, etc. will not produce repentance leading to salvation. Their trespass of the Law must be made clear, and that Christ is their only hope. We must make it clear, as in Isaiah 53, that Christ was found blameless before the Law, and yet suffered under God's wrath for the sake of those whom God had chosen.
While making much to know the gospel, we must also make much to preach it. Most pastors, however well-meaning, fail to preach the gospel as often as they should because they are under the presumption that their congregations have already heard it and have no need to hear it again, lest they tire of it. How wrong that is! We cannot preach the gospel enough! Though Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest pastors in church history, would preach on a great variety of topics, every one of his sermons was ultimately written around the gospel. Oh, if only we could have such preaching today! The gospel is the most profound, most beautiful, most powerful message that can be preached, and those who have genuinely been born again will never tire of hearing of it! Please, dear friend, take this to heart. Make much of studying the Bible to understand the gospel (though it can never be fully understood) and pray for the desire and opportunity to preach it. Witnessing to one person and seeing him or her truly saved is more powerful than seeing a hundred potentially false professions at an altar call. The reward of faithfulness is great. Christ has given us his Great Commission, to make disciples of the nations. Let us be faithful in that, that He may be glorified in each and every one of our lives.
