To the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness |
Paul made clear that the gospel of a crucified Christ was "to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness" (1Cor 1.23).
If your gospel does not cause the hackles of the self-righteous to rise and the lips of the worldly-wise to curl in a sneer then it is not the gospel of God, and will not prove the power of God to salvation.
If your gospel does not declare a freeness in God's grace that makes the self-righteous feel that you are giving wicked men a licence to sin then it is not the gospel of the Bible.
If your gospel does not call men to an obedience so complete and entire that you are despised as narrow and shrivelled (1 Peter 4.4) then it is not the gospel of the Bible.
If your gospel does not offer salvation to any wretched sinners who call upon the name of Jesus Christ, however great their sins, and however far and long they have wandered from the Lord, then it is not the gospel of the Bible.
If your gospel does not proclaim that those same sinners must rely entirely upon the saving and sanctifying grace of a sovereign Lord... then it is not the gospel of the Bible.
If your gospel does not entreat, demand, command, invite, and compel sinners to come in, then it is not the gospel of the Bible.
Do not pull back from preaching (fishing) for the souls of men, women and children today... for there is no greater enterprise! Who knows what God can do with our feeble efforts! |