The Inactive False Gospel
This article was revised on June 3, 2008, to better explain the points being made. A special thanks goes to Revivalfire for the detailed comment he posted that got me to re-hash what was written. God bless!
Last week I talked about the Popular False Gospel, which has to do with a one-sided, man-centered gospel that appeals to our flesh. Today I want to bring attention to what I call the "Inactive False Gospel." This is the flipside of the "popular" version. It's also one-sided--only presenting the truth about God.
Like the popular gospel, this version is 100% true but is really only 50% of the whole truth. In addition to the truth about God, it usually involves the truth of our eternity in heaven...so there's a little bit of a benefit to man. It sometimes involves the idea of being "born again" or being made into a "new creation," which is better by far--but God Jesus didn't merely save us for the sake of some nebulous transformation--He came that we might have LIFE, and that more abundantly! Another aspect that is often left out is the reality of God hearing our prayers and answering them (some people teach that prayer is merely God's way of changing us until we submit to what He was going to do anyway). But this form of false gospel always neglects the present-day empowerment of believers through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
First we'll deal with heaven as a future hope. It is true that by receiving Christ as Lord, we also receive an eternal home in heaven. The full Gospel, however, is "The Gospel of the Kingdom." The Kingdom of Heaven is a PRESENT reality! Jesus said that the Kingdom is AT HAND! Paul said that we are NOW seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)! If all we have is a future hope, then life is nothing but a waiting room. But Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy Kingdom, COME! Thy will, BE DONE! here ON EARTH just as it is in Heaven!" We can be a part of God's supernatural activity here and now!
Second, I talked about how "born again" or "new creation" teaching is a lot better, but is still often missing the mark. As Revivalfire pointed out in the comments section, a true understanding of these terms reveals that they are defined by the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. There's no error there. The problem is that once we are raised up with Christ as new creations, what do we do with it? Do we just live like nice people and stop doing bad things? Check out what the Apostle Pauls says in the following scriptures.
First, we'll see that we have died with Christ, which results in our resurrection with Him:
But we have a tendency to stop here. The fact is, Jesus didn't JUST die and raise again so that we could be free from sin through the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. He ALSO ascended into heaven so that we might be made partners there as well:Romans 6:5-13--If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness (NIV).
So many people miss this third aspect of the Good News! It's the part that brings us into citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven.Ephesians 2:4-7--But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
See, it's one thing to have the Holy Spirit living within you, bringing new life, and empowering you to live as a new creation. But this in itself is not what it is to be seated with Christ in the heavenly realms here and now!
In the spiritual realm, we get to be right next to our Father in Heaven. It's a place of intimacy with Him. It's a place of power and authority. It's a place where we can see our circumstances from heaven's perspective and face trials with joy. A partial gospel leaves you earthly-minded, but the complete Gospel brings you into the fullness of partnership with Christ!
Think about it: Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him. Jesus is no longer hanging on the cross, so he's not just talking about dying to self. And Jesus is no longer standing outside the tomb or walking the earth, so there must be something more. Jesus IS, however, presently seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father; AND WE GET TO BE PARTNERS WITH HIM THERE! Isn't that GOOD NEWS?!
The third thing I mentioned in the beginning of this article was regarding our theology on prayer. This, as Revivalfire pointed out, is not really a part of the Gospel--it's just a teaching perspective. However, I believe it is directly related to everything I just shared about being partners with Christ in His ascension. If we are partners with Christ, seated at the right hand of God, then we have a place of intimate relationship with our Father. Read through the Old and New Testaments and you will find many instances of God reasoning with man or inviting us to do so. "Come, let us reason together." One prime example is in Exodus 32 where God was about to bring a plague on His people to destroy them and then start all over again with Moses. But Moses reasoned with God and pleaded for another way. The Bible says in verse 14 that God relented...or, in some translations, God repented!
The Almighty, Holy, Omnipotent God has invited us into a place of intimate relationship and partnership with Him. Jesus set the example: "I only do what I see my Father doing." But Jesus also prayed some very clear things, asking His Father to do things that we could speculate for ages whether or not they would have happened apart from Christ's prayers. The issue is not whether or not God already intended to do these things--it's that apart from man's participation, He would not have. If Moses had not fought for the Israelites in prayer, God would have been bound to His word that He would destroy them with a plague. Perhaps He really wanted to do what Moses was asking, and perhaps He was testing Moses. But the fact still remains that God would not threaten one thing and then do another apart from someone stepping into the picture and speaking to Him as a friend. That friendship is something Christ made possible for us all--and it is definitely part of the Gospel!
The defining factor of an "Inactive False Gospel" is an absence of this ascended life. That means you don't see God's supernatural authority and works of power being demonstrated through His people. This happens when people don't realize what it is to truly be made partners with Jesus Christ. It's a false gospel. It's empty! It's powerless! It's inactive!
Most interesting to me, though, is that this can happen regardless of one's stance on the baptism in the Holy Spirit or spiritual gifts. As I mentioned in my first article on false gospels, it is entirely possible to preach the full Gospel but only practice it in part. It's not uncommon for a preacher to declare all the wonders of "the priesthood of believers" and the gifts of the Holy Spirit while the congregation sits powerless in the pews.
I was raised in a Pentecostal church and spent most of my life thinking that the extent of the Holy Spirit's empowerment in my life was my ability to speak in tongues. I had come to believe a false gospel (not that this is what was being preached from the pulpit--it's just what I believed). The limitations of this false gospel kept me from discovering the rest of the gifts of the Holy Spirit until I was 17 years old!
There are far too many churches--whether they have correct doctrine about the Holy Spirit or not--that practice an inactive false gospel. Regardless of their teaching or beliefs, they do not function as the Body of Christ. As a church, they are devoid of genuine miracles. They do not experience the healing power of God (except perhaps through some special, visiting minister...or someone far away in a place like Lakeland, Florida, for example). They practice their natural talents but miss out on the supernatural gifts that can only be performed through them by God. It's a false Gospel!
Notice how I said "as a church." I'm not suggesting that you MUST work miracles and heal the sick in order to be living the true Gospel--that's not biblical. However, the Bible does indeed say that we are a body made up of many parts. It says that the Holy Spirit distributes to each one as He sees fit. Just because you've personally never healed anyone in Jesus' name doesn't make you any less of a Christian. However, if you're part of a church that never sees any of the spiritual gifts at work in your midst, then it's very likely that you have drifted into an inactive practice of the gospel. Something needs to change!
The full Gospel is an active Gospel. It is a "good news" that is carried out in the power of the Holy Spirit! It is demonstrated by Christians who have sought the Holy Spirit for His overflowing presence and taken steps of faith to reveal His power and love in the world today! It is a Gospel of miracles, healings, prophecies, hospitality, generocity, mercy, faith, discerning spirits, and the like! It is a Gospel just like what was demonstrated by Jesus Christ and His disciples in the New Testament! It is an active lifestyle of performing the "greater works" Jesus promised we would do (John 14:12)!
Remember: if you have died with Christ (by choosing to put your former, sinful way of life to death), then you have also been raised with Him through the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. And if you have been raised with Him, then you are NOW seated with Him in the heavenly realms! You have power and authority that flows from your intimacy with the Father. Don't miss this essential part of the Gospel!
The next "false gospel" I'll be addressing is what I call an "Incoherent False Gospel." It's probably not what you might think, though, so check back soon for the full explanation. Also, thank you, Revivalfire, for stirring me up to clarify these important points.
God bless!
--Art--
Labels: church, discernment, false gospel, gifts of the Spirit, gospel, healing, power, prophecy, supernatural, true gospel, truth
posted by Art Thomas | Tuesday, June 03, 2008
5 Comments:
Hi Art, the issue over the true and false gosple is certainly an essential issue of the hour. However I feel the need to bring some correction to this particular article.
You say, regarding this false gospel that
"It sometimes involves the idea of being "born again" or being made into a "new creation," which is getting a little closer to the full truth. Less common still is the occasional mention of God hearing our prayers and answering them (some people teach that prayer is merely God's way of changing us until we submit to what He was going to do anyway). But this form of false gospel always neglects the present-day empowerment of believers through the indwelling Holy Spirit."
This needs to be unpacked a bit more because it is not very clear who or what group/gospel you are speaking about?
However on the basis of what you are saying there are some strange points.
1) teaching on prayer is not 'the gospel' it is teaching on prayer
2)Any Gospel which speaks about 'born again' or 'the new creation' is speaking about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There is no 'new birth' or 'new creation' without the regeneration or indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
you define the false gospel in the following statement
"...That's the defining factor: an absence of God's supernatural works of power being demonstrated through His people. It's empty! It's powerless!"
Art, the presence or absence of what you describe here is not the gospel.
At the very best it is a form of ministry, but it is certainly not a form of ministry that everyone is called to. Charismatics for years have preached this message about the need for power, sadly they speak about it but very rarely demonstrate it. The apostles rarely spoke about it but often demonstrated it.
No where in the epistles is what you say linked with the gospel.
The gospel is
Who God is (His attributes)
Who we are (sinful rebels under his condemnation)
who Jesus is (Son of God, saviour, Lord)
What Jesus has done for us (Atonement, ressurection etc)
What we cannot do (save ourselves) and what we need to do (repent believe)
What happens when one becomes a Christian (regeneration, adoption, forgiveness, justification etc)
What is the cost of following Christ
What is the evidence of salvation
This is the core aspects of the gospel. What you discribe is misleading. At best it is the mark of some ministries particuarly the apostle and the evangelist. While all believers can experience the supernatural to varying degrees it is not the gospel.
The N.T emphasises doctrine and christlikeness. You will not find any exortations in the epistles regarding what you are saying.
Even if you hold the view that every believer can move in this realm it still doesnt change the fact that the presence of such action or the absence of it is not the gospel. It is a secondary issue and not a primary issue, even if you believe it isnt secondary it still is not the gospel.
Blessings
Hi Revivalfire,
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify my point. I see that I should have gone into a little better detail.
First of all, your bullet points on what the Gospel IS are awesome--great summary.
Second of all, what I'm suggesting here is NOT that "apart from miracles you're not a Christian." Rather, I'm saying that unless you are participating in the Body of Christ through a gift of the Holy Spirit, you are seriously missing out on the full weight of the Gospel. We weren't just saved out of the world; we were saved into the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
I did mainly focus on miracles, prophecy, and healings, so I can see how that was misleading. I'm glad you brought it to light.
I'm going to make a few adjustments to the article to bring some more clarity to the issue.
Thanks for helping me stay on target--I welcome it!
God bless,
--Art--
Changes made! Check out the new post.
Blessings,
--Art--
The mission of the Holy Spirit and the mission of Christ are one. The Good News is not just what is written by the four Evangelists of the New Testament. The Gospel continues to be revealed through Scripture and the Spirit-filled life of the Church. Since Christ, the Head is seated with the Father in heavenly places, so is His Body, the Church. Our life comes from Him and we carry on His mission in the power of the Holy Spirit. I give you this lengthy quote from a source that DOES present the entire Gospel:
The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church, which is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. This joint mission henceforth brings Christ's faithful to share in his communion with the Father in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit prepares men and goes out to them with his grace, in order to draw them to Christ. The Spirit manifests the risen Lord to them, recalls his word to them and opens their minds to the understanding of his Death and Resurrection. He makes present the mystery of Christ, supremely in the Eucharist, in order to reconcile them, to bring them into communion with God, that they may "bear much fruit." (Jn 15:8,16)
Thus the Church's mission is not an addition to that of Christ and the Holy Spirit, but is its sacrament: in her whole being and in all her members, the Church is sent to announce, bear witness, make present, and spread the mystery of the communion of the Holy Trinity:
"All of us who have received one and the same Spirit, that is, the Holy Spirit, are in a sense blended together with one another and with God. For if Christ, together with the Father's and his own Spirit, comes to dwell in each of us, though we are many, still the Spirit is one and undivided. He binds together the spirits of each and every one of us... and makes all appear as one in him. For just as the power of Christ's sacred flesh unites those in whom it dwells into one body, I think that in the same way the one and undivided Spirit of God, who dwells in all, leads all into spiritual unity." ~St. Cyril of Alexandria
Because the Holy Spirit is the anointing of Christ, it is Christ who, as the head of the Body, pours out the Spirit among his members to nourish, heal, and organize them in their mutual functions, to give them life, send them to bear witness, and associate them to his self-offering to the Father and to his intercession for the whole world. Through the Church's sacraments, Christ communicates his Holy and sanctifying Spirit to the members of his Body.
These "mighty works of God," offered to believers in the sacraments of the Church, bear their fruit in the new life in Christ, according to the Spirit.
"The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with sighs too deep for words."(Romans 8:26) The Holy Spirit, the artisan of God's works, is the master of prayer.
~Catechism of the Catholic Church #737-741
The Catechism of the Catholic Church presents an explanation of 2000 years of teaching from the Apostles until now. The Gospel of Jesus was preserved by the Holy Spirit in her care. The prejudices and new interpretations of Scpriture in the last 500 years make it difficult for the average Protestant to accept this. But those who read the Church Fathers, the Doctors of the Church, the Catechism, and prayed for the leading of the Holy Spirit have ended up in the Catholic Church.
If there is any confusion about what the "True Gospel" is, I recommend that you read the Catechism and compare it to any "Statement of Fundamental Truths" of any so-called "Full-Gospel" group. You'll see a complete picture that fulfills all the requirements that your articles mention, and some you don't even realize.
Hi Art,
God bless you in your humility and thanks for the comment on my blog regarding the book review.
You make the point in your comment
"Rather, I'm saying that unless you are participating in the Body of Christ through a gift of the Holy Spirit, you are seriously missing out on the full weight of the Gospel. We weren't just saved out of the world; we were saved into the Church, which is the Body of Christ."
This is a good point.
I probably would not refer to what you are teaching as a false gospel, however what I think you are saying is that 'the whole council of God' needs to be presented to believers. Half the council of God is not good, to this I agree.
I think part of the difference may be our cultural contexts. I know America is full of 'born again'Christians who seem to demonstrate nothing of the life of the Spirit even though they sit under sound gospel preaching.
The context in the U.K is slightly different the gospel is almost all but lost. Justification by faith, repentance, atonement, propitiation etc are all neglected concepts. The evangelical gospel is of a very very poor quality. Basicly its 'accept Jesus bcoz he wants to give yoy the best life'.
Part of my calling as an evangelist is to explain clearly the gospel and to not get it muddled up with other things.
However the response to the gospel is get baptised, added to a church and live a life led by the Spirit of God. Even though I believe in baptism of the Spirit, the truth is as soon as a person is born again they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and they are joined to Christs body. As it says in Romans 'if a mand does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to Christ'.
Galatians in particular takes great pains to show that the seal of the Spirit is the sign of God's acceptance. The Spirit is recieved through faith in Christ for justification. Ther is no two recievings of the Spirit. there is the recieving of the Spirit in new birth recieved through regeneration, repentance and faith and later (or at the same time) there is the filling of the Holy Spirit... an experience that needs to be renewed through daily surrender.
Blessings in Christ
John
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