How Sharing the Gospel Has been Changed ...

Chapter Sixty-five:

In today's society we have the mindset that things need to keep changing in order to stay relevant and, sadly, this attitude has seeped into the Christian Church. And one of the main areas it is infiltrating our churches is in the area of Missions. Historically, the objective of missions work within the Church has been to send out its members with the goal of taking the good news of the Gospel to those who have never heard it and do not know Jesus Christ. The hope being that sharing the message of Christ as being the only way of salvation would bring unbelievers into the fold of Christianity. To this end many have labored.  However, times have changed.

The way the Gospel is being presented is rapidly changing.  Many believe it is a good change, a necessary change, all the while overlooking the fact that what they are presenting  does not line up with Scripture. And since the Bible is no longer believed by many to be the inerrant Word of God, I suppose this change should not be surprising. The Bible has become just a book of good principles by which we should live.

What we are experiencing is the belief of inclusion. The belief that all religions and belief systems should be accepted into Christianity without their need of renouncing their heresies or sin. What we are telling those we are trying to reach is that your current religious beliefs do not matter to God, so go ahead and continue being a Buddhist or a Muslim or even a New Ager. None of those beliefs will interfere with having Jesus in your life. 

Those doing missions, with the purpose of finding common ground so that we might experience spiritual unity and bring about a more peaceful world, are teaching people from other religions that they can keep their religious beliefs, that all they need to do is simply add Jesus into the equation. In fact, there are new labels that have come about as a result. For example, those who are Muslim and add Jesus into their religious beliefs are reached under the label of Christlam and are now called Messianic Muslims.  

 In some churches, the Qur’an is placed in the pews right next to the Bible under the guise and garb of loving your neighbor.  These Messianic Muslims are told they can continue to read the Qur'an, visit their mosques and say their daily prayers as long as they also accept Christ as their Savior.  It does not matter that the very premise of the Muslim faith goes against everything Christianity stands for.

 

The Church is teaching people they do not have to call attention to themselves by calling themselves  "Christian".  And the reasons for doing this, we are told, are good and necessary.  It will stop others from becoming offended.  It will stop the persecution that many used to face when they openly confessed Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It will open the way for others to now embrace Christianity as Christianity has often been seen as being narrow minded and intolerant. And one surely does not want to suffer the loss of finances, social status or broken family ties by converting. You can just remain as you are, with all your rituals and gods, just make sure you say you like Jesus. 

It does not matter that we are told in the Word that we have to be willing to walk away from everything, including our family if necessary, to be a follower of Christ.  Matthew 19:29 tells us, "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."  

This fast growing trend, where other religions are seen as being just as valid as Christianity, only results in the continued watering down of the Gospel. And a watered down Gospel message opens the door for other spiritual practices to come in. If one believes that one can be a Buddhist and a Christian, then who is to say that the ritualistic practices of Buddhism should be excluded from being allowed into the local Christian Church?  It is an extremely dangerous downward slippery slope that has been brought into the House of God. 

I am deeply troubled with this new way of doing missions and how the Gospel is, or should I say is not, being presented. To tell someone that they do not have to leave their old ways, their old lifestyle behind is totally contrary to Scripture. To tell someone that they can keep their pagan religion, that they can continue living as they always have and that they just have to add Jesus into the mix goes against the very purpose of Jesus dying on the Cross to atone for the sins of mankind. What they are being presented with is not the teachings of the Bible but what people have decided they need to hear. 

Are we now to believe that those who have preceded us, those who suffered persecution and gave up their lives for the sake of promoting the Gospel actually died unnecessarily? That they did not need to confess Jesus as the only way of salvation and did not need to renounce their pagan religions and practices? 

Philippians 3:8 says,  "What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ."  These are the words of the apostle Paul, who died for his faith.  He was telling us that we have to be willing to give up everything for the sake of having Christ in our lives.  He did not tell us we can just add Jesus into the mix.  

The narrow way has become a wide way that embraces any and all religions. Scripture sternly warns against this, that we cannot mix our beliefs. As John 14:6 tells us, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

Rewriting the End Times...

Chapter Sixty-four:

At the very end of the last book of the Bible, Scripture gives us a very stern warning.  Revelation 22: 18-19 says, "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book:  If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."  While this warning refers to the Book of Revelation, I believe the principle can be applied to whomever intentionally seeks to distort and change God's Word. And today there are many voices who are intentionally reinterpreting Scripture when it comes to the end times.

The end times are being rewritten and no longer match up with what Jesus Christ warned when He was asked about them by His disciples. Christ spoke often about His return and what the signs of the end times would be (Matthew 24: 3-14, Luke 21:7-28, and Mark 13: 24-29). Even the very angels foretold of Jesus' return to earth (Acts 1: 9-11).  Those who are reinterpreting Scripture are purposely ignoring  Proverbs 30:5-6 which warns, “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar."

Many of today's preachers and Christian authors are purposely overlooking and downplaying the fact that much of the Bible is dedicated to passages that foretell what the end times will be like prior to Jesus Christ's return (Hebrews 9:28, First Thessalonians 5:2, Matthew 16:27, and Second Peter 3:10).  They have decided that what Jesus said about the end times, and how they are going to come about, need to be modified and changed and that we do not need to take the Bible literally. We are being told that somehow we have gotten it all wrong. Simply put, as humans we now have the potential, the ability and a new commission to change how the world proceeds from here. 

The Great Commission given to us by Jesus (to go into the world and preach the gospel to all nations) has been changed into man's new commission of how he can change the world. We are being called to participate in this new Reformation, which will bring about a great spiritual awakening. We are being told we have the potential to stop the problems of this world.

And these changes will simply come about as a result of our coming together in order to bring change to our environment, in being more tolerant and working towards harmony and unity among all religions/peoples.  No longer is it popular to believe that change comes from within as a result of following Christ. No longer is it popular to point to the Cross and Jesus Christ as the only agents of change in one's life. Change will now come because mankind will work together to make good things happen.  The end times can be changed and it is to this end many are working.

What is being taught is that rather than the great falling away of which Scripture warns (First Timothy 4:1, Matthew 24:10, and Second Thessalonians 2:3) , there will instead be a great revival.  This will result in the utopia that many believe can happen.  And an added bonus of all this, we are told, will be Jesus' presence becoming more manifest in our lives.  However, this is totally contrary to Scripture as it tells us that when Jesus returns physically for the second time He will be returning to a world that is chaotic, reprobate and totally out of control, morally and spiritually.  The Word tells us that there will never be a time of lasting peace or harmony prior to the physical return of Christ.

No longer are we to think about the mansions in the sky that Jesus promised, but instead we are to focus on doing away with hunger, war, intolerance and disease as a way to bring about Heaven here on earth. Even though the Apostle Paul warned us not to entangle ourselves in "another" gospel (Romans 16:17, Titus 3:10), many are doing just that. I believe that this coming together under the pretense of creating  heaven here on earth is setting the stage for the one-world religion of which Scripture warns. This one-world religion will offer us peace and to many it will sound like a wonderful thing. We are paving the way for the one-world government in the guise of establishing  the Kingdom of God here on earth. We have been informed that we do not need to wait for Jesus to bring peace...we can do that just fine without Him. 

The world is trying to bring about its version of peace, and as it continues its move towards this goal, biblical Christians who stand their ground will be seen as roadblocks that need to be dealt with. Those of us who continue to stand up and say that Jesus Christ is the only way to receive salvation will need to be silenced or made an example of as it goes against the very grain of a one-world, all-inclusive religious system.  A false Christ is prophesied in Scripture and He is coming. Nothing man can do will stop that. He will hate all Bible-believing Christians.  Sadly many of our Christian leaders are already falling into step with this world system.  And, unfortunately, many believers are falling for this lie, hook, line and sinker. 

If only more Christians could understand that the premise behind these new ideas ultimately leads to the denial of the Cross and Jesus' atonement as being the only way to save mankind.  A. W. Tozer reminds us, "That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross."