The Heart of the Gospel

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Luke 9:46-48

 An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.⁴⁷ But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side ⁴⁸ and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

(ESV)

Proverbs 16:18 reminds us of the destructiveness of pride.  Knowing that the dysfunctional band of Disciples He was given would be the ones to carry on His ministry after his ascension, Jesus knew He must end any pride among His Disciples before it led to their destruction.  He used a child to symbolize that those who appear to be the least among the people of the world, like children, are actually the greatest. 

Just as it was with the Disciples who actually walked with Jesus, it is easy for those in ministry to become filled with pride about their ministries.  When this occurs, the true meaning or heart of the Gospel can become distorted.  When this occurs, many who may come to a saving knowledge of Jesus as their savior are turned off not wanting to be a part of what they see.  Some ways the Gospel message is distorted are,

1)      Hell fire and brimstone – Granted the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and since we have all sinned (Romans 3:23), we all face death or eternal damnation if we do not accept Jesus as our savior.  However, when a well-meaning minister presents the Gospel in such a manner, the heart of the gospel he is presenting is a gospel that is a fire escape to escape the fires of hell.  While this is true and may lead to people praying to accept Jesus as their savior, it represents a shallow presentation of the Gospel.  In addition, those presenting the Gospel in this manner usually teach that if we sin after accepting Christ, we must pray to be saved again or face eternal damnation in hell.  The problem with this teaching is that it goes against John 3:16 that says if we believe we have eternal life.  The truth is that some pride filled ministers use this as a means of maintaining control over their flock.

2)      Prosperity Gospel – Philippians 4:19 promises that God will meet all our needs according to God’s riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  While it is true that God, the creator of all we see has more than abundant resources to supply our needs, some ministers have used this passage to teach that if one receives Jesus as their Savior, they will receive anything they want, what many call the prosperity gospel.  Once again, this attractive presentation of the Gospel will bring many into the church but when these individuals do not receive that fancy car, home, or big bank account they were expecting, they fall by the wayside.  To mitigate this from occurring, those presenting the Gospel in this manner often tell these individuals that they lack faith and must believe more.  Once again, this ploy can be used by pride filled ministers as a means of maintaining control over the flock.

3)      The suffering martyr gospel – In John 16:33, Jesus reminds us that in this world we will have trouble.  Using this verse, some present the gospel by telling people they will have trouble and struggles when they accept Jesus as their savior and that the church is there to help them through the struggle.  While it is true Christians have struggles like others in the world, the degree to which someone struggles is not a way to judge whether someone has accepted Jesus as their savior.  Presentation of the Gospel in this manner is appealing to those already experiencing troubles and struggles in their lives but it ignores the words of Jesus in John 10:10 where He promised to give us abundant life.  Unfortunately, pride filled ministers can use this to maintain control over their flocks by keeping them dependent upon the church to supply their needs.

The true heart of the Gospel in my opinion is best expressed in 2 Corinthians 5:21. God, who could have left mankind to his on punishment after the fall of Adam instead had mercy on His fallen creation and in Genesis3:15 promised a savior to crush the deceiver Satan and redeem His fallen creation.  God then in the greatest act of love ever seen, sent His only Son Jesus to take on all the sins, past, present, and future, of mankind and die for them.  We can now, through the grace of God, have a right or righteous standing with God our creator and eternal life. 

The heart of the Gospel is a restored relationship with God our creator and not a fire escape, a way to achieve great wealth, or a means for some minister to take advantage of our suffering.  If you have not already done so, please take a moment to pray with me and enter into a restored relationship with your creator through belief in Jesus Christ as your savior,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

You now have a renewed relationship with your creator who loved you so much he gave His only Son to die for your sins.  I now encourage you to find a church teaching the Bible and develop a deeper relationship with God.  May God richly bless you.