Inspiration and Insight

When God put it upon my heart to write for Him, I resisted. He persisted. Each day He would gently and firmly convey that He was calling me into a ministry of words to spread the gospel, glorify Him, bring affirmation to believers and proclaim biblical truth in a world that is increasingly straying away from Judeo Christian values and ethics. After wrestling with God for two weeks I finally relented and surrendered to the Lord. 

I didn’t know how to write or even where to begin but when I placed my fingers on the keyboard, the words began flowing as fast as I could type. This went on for fifteen to twenty minutes until I got up and walked away from my computer. The next day the same thing occurred and it continued to happen day after day.  After a week or so I read what was written and it flowed beautifully, was coherent and constituted a compelling apology of God’s objective morality as the template for society.  After six weeks my first book, Truth Cries Out was written and I immediately began writing a second one.

Now, a mere four years later, my fourth book (The Gospel Truth) is about to be published and I have found myself with followers from around the world calling me “man of God” and “pastor” even though I am simply a career farmer who is obedient to the Holy Spirit dwelling within. I can certainly identify with Simon and Andrew who became “fishers of men” and I now know personally that God doesn’t only call the qualified, He qualifies the called. I humbly present The Gospel Truth.

Religion vs Faith

It is crucial to avoid conflating Christian religion and Christian faith. As early as a couple of centuries after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the church fell victim to the whims of men who weaponized the emerging religion to gain power and wealth, initiating the divergence of faith and theology. The resulting chasm still exists today and has driven many people away from Christ as religion flexes its self appointed muscle in a pharisaical abuse of authority.

Where does a new believer turn to find truth? How does one gain the discernment to differentiate between the thousands of religious variations that live under the umbrella of Christianity?  In an age of misinformation and skepticism, the distortion of the gospel and the disparity in Christian doctrine between authentic Christian establishments and pseudo Christian organizations threatens the credibility of the faith through the pernicious erosion of the truth.  For the undiscerning observer, the Christian message proclaimed from many pulpits possesses an exorbitant risk of misdirection by those who would profit from their gullibility.

Today’s Christian narrative has morphed into a fluid and philosophical commentary centered around social injustices and motivational messages that rarely align with the gospel that Jesus preached. The incongruity between Christian denominations evident today detracts from the unity of the church and can be characterized as decapitating the body of Christ. If Christians don’t have the same mindset as Christ, they are not truly Christian.  True believers must fully subscribe to the precepts of the faith they profess, otherwise their profession of faith is feigned.

Scripture is the Template

In The Gospel Truth, I dissect prominent Christian (including pseudo) religious denominations, expose their internal theologies and scrutinize the details of their doctrine under the litmus test of scripture.  I exert what I refer to as legitimate discernment to differentiate between truth and almost truth and attempt to convey an intelligible recognition of the genuine vs the counterfeit in a detailed and comprehensive assessment of religious entities that occupy the periphery of Christendom.

Many churches today prioritize entertainment value over biblical exegetical clarity and portray Jesus as some cosmic life-coach. Christ Himself took issue with the religious leaders of His day and admonished them for their hypocrisy (Matthew 23) which failed to draw people closer to God (Matthew 15:8-9). Sadly, there is a great multitude of people who identify as Christian that are simply fooling themselves because they fail to see the need to repent, are not born again and only have a superficial commitment to Christ.

It is incumbent upon true believers to ensure that the risk of deception be mitigated through the sanctity of scripture, and that the truth of the gospel is proclaimed loudly and clearly to those seeking God. Christians must not fall prey to the sugar-coated sermons of carnal-minded preachers that only scratch the surface of who God is; they concentrate on trivial pursuits that avoid sin, and overemphasize grace and love at the expense of repentance.

Similarly, Christians ought to be wary of the pharisaical attitudes of doctrine advocating strict observance of religious laws and ceremony without regard to a spiritual relationship with Jesus. We must fully appreciate and have complete reverence for the Almighty, and equip ourselves with the full counsel of his Word so that we can stand strong, deeply rooted against the winds of the worldly who follow the broad road, and are destined for the wide gate. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 warns us, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

A Church Without Christ isn’t Christian

Any church that intellectually believes the gospel but does not practice the teachings of Christ cannot be of Christ. Similarly, a church that is not intimately intertwined with Christ through the Holy Spirit is simply a religious enterprise that is unable to empathize with Christ and ultimately unable to share in God’s cognizance regarding sin.  2 Peter 2:4-10, reminds us of God’s mindset when it comes to sin. “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgement; if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) – if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgement, while continuing their punishment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.”

In short, if what grieves the Holy Spirit does not grieve a church, the Holy Spirit is not in that church. Full stop. If the bride of Christ doesn’t share the values of Christ, what kind of relationship can she expect? How can a church that tolerates sin be compatible with God (who hates sin)? In Revelation 2:6, Jesus reprimands the church in Ephesus for losing the passion of when they first believed, then He adds, “But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” 

If our hearts don’t break because of the same things that break God’s heart, we cannot claim to love Him, and we are not faithfully betrothed to Christ. John addressed this in 1 John 1:6, saying, “If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.”  Additionally, James, the brother of Jesus wrote, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

A church that insists on obedience to the Old Covenant is equally in error as one that preaches grace without repentance. The Apostle Paul went to great lengths to explain this to the church at Galatia, and James added in James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”  Once again, we are reminded that Jesus was the only Person to ever keep the whole law and not fail at any detail. He not only remained sinless in His deeds, but in His mind and heart as well (remember the Sermon on the Mount). The holiness of Christ is unachievable for mankind, therefore salvation can only be obtained through faith in Christ (John 14:6).

Withstanding Scrutiny

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:10-17, “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved, even as one escaping through the flames.”

It is my mission to proclaim the truth of the gospel as it is revealed in scripture as the template and benchmark of the Christian faith. With a circumcised heart and the guidance of the Holy Spirit I offer these observations and compilations of the wisdom of others, which are grounded in scripture. If I were to remain silent, then it would be to the detriment of my faith, and I could not consider myself a defender of the gospel and an ambassador of Christ. Glory be to God!