Today, many “Christian” denominations prefer to advocate a message of grace, love, peace and inclusivity, and downplay more difficult theologies such as repentance of sin and eternal punishment. However, this is not biblical and is contrary to the teachings of Jesus, who was very vocal when the subject matter included hell, sin, repentance and holiness. If the whole gospel is not preached, is it because these denominations are ashamed of the dirty details of what Christ taught?
Jesus preached exclusivity as opposed to inclusivity. He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 16:6. He did not entice anyone to believe. He didn’t sugar coat the gospel. In fact, he made it difficult for his audiences to accept truth claims intended to weed out those who were faint of heart as is recorded in the sixth chapter of John, which drove many away. “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” John 6:66.
Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” Mathew 10:34-39. Those who have devoted their lives to Christ have experienced the mocking and ostracization that accompanies being born again. Church history is filled with the voices of martyrs so devoted to Jesus that they were labeled as heretics for not following the “religion” of the Church.
True believers who have been born of the Spirit, undergo changes that forever impact who they are. When we become born again, the Holy Spirit takes up residency within us and when we truly believe, we cannot help but surrender ourselves completely. The Holy Spirit will never lead you to sin against God and in fact, the exact opposite is true. The areas of your life that are contrary to God’s nature will be identified for you and you will be compelled to repent of those habits or practices as you lean into the Holy Spirit leading you, and he draws near to you.
You don’t have to change your life to become a Christian but becoming a Christian will change your life. While you are saved by grace, through faith, true faith will require change that only comes through repentance. As James wrote, “Faith without works is dead,” (James 2:14-26). Furthermore, “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” 1 John 3:6.
It is this relationship with the Holy Spirit that sets Christianity apart from all other world religions. As the Holy Spirit leads you to fulfill the spirit of God’s laws even though you are not subject to the authority of those laws, your life will personify what the Bible says is having God’s laws written on your hearts. When you freely uphold God’s laws not because you have to but because you want to, you are a new creation as the Bible teaches. When you love God more than you love the world and the values of the world, you strive to be more like him. You desire to be holy as he is holy. No worldly religion can do that. That is the power of God.
This is not salvation by works, since it is the Holy Spirit that does the heavy lifting. No person can bring about the kind of change that the Holy Spirit indwelling within you can accomplish. Drug addicts cleared of their addictions, alcoholics freed from the slavery to alcohol, criminals who suddenly turn their lives around or homosexuals being delivered from the chains of perversity, demonstrate the supernatural influence of God in us. To follow the narrow road rather than take the path of least resistance glorifies the Lord. This is evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit when we sincerely give our lives to Christ. This is the power of God.
Denominations that preach inclusivity, perform same sex marriages and ordain gay and lesbian pastors are not true Christian denominations. They are false teachers preaching false gospels. They lack the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the lack of change in the lives of their followers is evidence they lack the power of God and the power to save. They change the gospel to match their lifestyle rather than changing their lifestyles to match the gospel. The inconvenient truth is they love their sin more than they love God and will not leave it for him. Remember Christ’s words, “Whoever finds their life will lose it and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” Mathew 10:39.
The true gospel is the power of God. Paul, in his first letter to the church at Thessalonica wrote, “For we know, brothers, loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.” 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5a.
When I look back at my own life, I see that I am no longer the same man that I was before I surrendered myself completely to the Holy Spirit. I am different in mindset, different in action and different in stature. I am a new creation in Christ. My old ways have become foreign to me. My new life is love for God and his ways are now my ways. I am not ashamed of who I am and I am not about to deny my savior before men. Have I lost friends? Yes, I have. Have I lost family? Sadly, yes. Am I perfect? No. However, the Bible tells me that my faith is credited to me as righteousness in the same way that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.
Dr. David Jeremiah has said, “All religious pursuits are an attempt to answer the question, how can a man be righteous before God?” In other words, how can we please God or how can we be accepted by God? Religion is an attempt by man to be accepted by God based on merit or by being a good person. The gospel says that salvation is by grace, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:9). It is not of ourselves, however, grace is not the freedom to live how we want. It is not of ourselves because the Holy Spirit accomplishes what we cannot. It is Christ living within us that overcomes our sinful nature and precipitates repentance and holiness in our lives.
Jeremiah goes on to teach that the essence of Christianity can be summed up in the scripture from Romans 1:16-17 which reads, I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” If we are ashamed of parts of the gospel we are not worthy of the gospel. If we cannot preach the whole gospel we are not worthy of the gospel. The apostle Paul wrote, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!” Galatians 1:8.
There is a well known illustration that says that if you tune one hundred pianos to the same tuning fork, they will also be in tune with each other. If there is to be unity within the Christian Church, all believers must be dialed into Jesus and the gospel he preached. It is much more than simply saying you believe and then carrying on living as you always have (that is insincerity at the least and counterfeit faith at best). It is asking him to be the Lord of your life and forsaking all else in order to follow him. When that happens, he will guide you away from sin and towards holiness and you will experience profound change in your worldview as it aligns with his. This process can only be brought about by the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit within us and this is the mark of a true Christian.
John 10:27 records Jesus saying, “My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me.” Does this describe your relationship with Christ? Are you confident that Jesus will know you when you stand before him face to face? He used very plain language in his warning in Mathew 7:22-23, that reads, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” This is the inconvenient truth for many who identify as Christians but do not walk the walk.
The Bible says that when we put our faith in Jesus and surrender our lives to him we enter a relationship with him. It is an intimate relationship where he leads and we follow. A relationship that facilitates genuine fellowship with Jesus that cannot be duplicated or faked. And through this relationship, we are given the gift of eternal life where we can continue this relationship forever. That we can approach the throne of grace with confidence knowing we are seated along with Jesus in the heavenly realms, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed to us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6-7). That is a powerful statement. It demonstrates the power of God! That is the good news of the gospel!
