05/11/2024
THE SUPPRESSED GOSPEL!
If you are a keen observer of the way the church has carried on over the years, you would notice that in many quarters, the gospel of Christ has been misconstrued for another moral code or a code of ethics. But the gospel is not morality.
To reduce the gospel of Christ to some character modification is to do injustice to the sacrifice made at Calvary.
Indeed, it is not only the material prosperity gospellers that have done violence to the gospel. Many 'holiness preachers' have contributed immensely to the suppression of the gospel.
While some among them may believe they are trying to get people right with God, they have inadvertently turned themselves to enemies of the cross of Christ .
Like the Pharisees of Jesus days, they have produced a lot of hypocrites who have a penchant for cleaning the outside of the cup while the inside remains unclean. But God's method of redemption is different and we have to deal with Him on His own terms, not ours. Jesus said "clean the inside of the cup and the outside will become clean too".
See, Jesus didn't come across to me as a moralist when he walked the streets of Jerusalem and Judea.
He hobnobbed with the well recognized and acclaimed sinners of his days.
He was in the house of a tax collector named Zaccheus, who was renowned for extortion among the people. I wonder how many of you could go to beer palor without having to look over your shoulders.
A woman who had "sin" written all over her once sat at his feet, kissed them, washed them with her tears and used her hair to clean them.
He even drank alcohol, unlike John the Baptist and some nazerenes in Bible days. The self righteous Pharisees of his days on Earth derided him by calling him a glutton and a wine biber.
This Jesus didn't quite cut the picture of a moralist.
For your information, the Pharisees of Jesus days were reputed to be above board in morals among the rest of the Jews.
Their reputation as sticklers for the law (both written and oral Torah), which set the moral compass for the Jews, went ahead of them. If you had lived in their days, your respect for them would have soared to the highest heavens
But it took Jesus to spot and reveal the hipocrisy in their lives and their need for a savior.
Jesus even used them as reference point when He told His listeners: "unless your righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees, you shall in no wise enter the kingdom of God" Mt. 5:20.
You might actually be wondering how your righteousness could exceed that of the Pharisees. Much like Jesus disciples who asked him "who then can be saved", after He had asked a rich upright ruler to go sell all he had, distribute to the poor, take up his cross and follow after him.
Jesus' response to their question is quite instructive to a keen enquirer even today.
He said "with men this is impossible but with God all things are possible " Mt. 19:26.
So Jesus was unambiguous that salvation is impossible with men. It is God's prerogative to save!
Friends, salvation is of the Lord. That is why He is called "Savior". It is not a title but what he came to do for mankind.
"You shall call his name Jesus, for He will save his people from their sins".
I have found out that many "holiness preachers" don't preach the gospel. They preach character modification and morals.
The truth is that you don't need the gospel of Christ to preach morals or character modification. You only need a set of rules or some moral codes and people who are passionate to enforce them.
There are many religions that preach good Morals, yet don't believe in Christ and His saving Grace.
If you are going to be sincere with yourself, you must have met or heard of morally upright people who despise Christ today.
But the Gospel is simple:
Mankind is damned, separated from God and no matter his righteous works and the religious rituals he engages in, he truly can't reach or please God. But God can only be reached by Himself so he came down in the form of man, Jesus, to redeem man.
In essence, Jesus took your place in unrighteousness and damnation. He paid the price, so you can take his place in righteousness (right standing with God).
And there's no other way, no other religion or religious activity that brings about salvation aside this.
There's no other name given among men by which we can be saved except the name of Jesus.
Salvation is a gift, free gift. So after you receive this gift of salvation, whenever God sees you, it is Christ that He sees, not you. You have become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. 2 Cor. 5;21.
Christ becomes the only reason you are qualified to be in right standing before God.
A bible narrative came to mind here. When Mephibosheth of the lineage of Saul the rejected King came before King David, he was down to nothing. As a matter of fact, he was living in the house and at the mercy of one of his grandfather's servants.
He described himself as a "dead dog". But David said no! Because of your father Jonathan, "I will show you kindness you don't deserve".
Mephibosheth was lame in both feet yet he eat at the same table with the king. Why?
Whenever David saw him, he didn't see the lame feet, he saw Jonathan his father! He remembered the covenant they had together.
Whenever David saw him, he didn't see the evil the house of Saul had done against God and himself over the years, he saw Jonathan, his bossom Friend who risked everything, including his throne for him (David).
Mephibosheth didn't qualify for royalty, but he became royalty, simply because of one man in the lineage of Saul called Jonathan.
In this vein, Jonathan's sacrifice was a shadow and a type of Christ. When Jesus said that all the scriptures testify of him, this also lends credence to it.
It is written concerning Jesus :
"Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. "
"For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
Romans 5:18-19 NKJV.
So if you received Christ Jesus, you have been made righteous.
"For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified".
Hebrews 10:14 NKJV
This is the Gospel that has been surpressed.
But This is the gospel that has the power to change you from inside out and bring about a transformation in you.
Jesus took your place, so you can take his place. The chastisement that guaranteed your peace with God was placed on upon Him.
If you answered an altar call after hearing a preacher tell stories of how God moved him from being a tenant in a room apartment to owning a city, you haven't heard the gospel. You have only been attracted by the carrots dangled in front of you.
If you answered an altar call after a preacher reeled out a myriad of moral depravities without touching on the exchange that took place at the Cross, you may need to hear the gospel again.
If you answered an altar call after someone told you the horror of hell fire, you haven't heard the gospel sir. You are only running haphazardly from hell fire.
The gospel is good news, heralding the love of God who is mighty to save, through Christ Jesus. It is not the horror of hell fire.
The Gospel that got the early apostles killed and severely persecuted by the religious folks of their days had nothing to do acquisition of material things.
The gospel that got them hated of all men was not another moral code. The Pharisees would do a better job at pushing moral codes.
But I allude to the gospel Paul referred to when he wrote "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation...
This is the gospel Paul and Silas preached when they were accused of turning the world upside down by their teachings of another king named Jesus" Acts 17,6,7.
This is the gospel that has been surpressed.
This is the gospel that many church goers haven't heard or received, yet they go out for evangelism.
This is the gospel many church leaders don't want to preach because they love political correctness and don't want to come across as preaching indulgence before religious folks.
But this is the gospel we need to shout at the rooftops and not in guarded whispers.
This is the only gospel that saves, the gospel of Christ!
This is the gospel that I received and the only gospel I know.
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek".
Romans 1:16 NKJV
It is a new day!
NINYO.
