Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost- Getting The Gospel Right

“Now I make known unto you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand;

By which also you are saved, if you hold fast after what manner I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures:

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures:” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

An American representative for General Motors in Shanghai asked a Priest in China if he had much competition, in his missionary work, from those who taught Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism . The Christian answered by asking the motor dealer a question, "Do you, when you try to sell a Cadillac or a Buick, have much competition with the Chinese merchant who sells wheelbarrows?"

No other religion compares to the true Gospel of Christ when it comes to being saved from Hell and Sin.

Take for example the Jews, Muslims and Christians. All three share a common history and origin yet there are hostilities and no real hope for peace. And although the Bible and Koran share many things in common as some of the same people are mentioned in these holy books and revered by both faiths (Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus to name a few), but what is said about these people does not always agree. For example what each faith says about Jesus is radically different. In particular, Muslims believe Jesus to be a prophet but not God incarnate. Whereas Christians believe that Jesus is not only a prophet but the Son of the Living God. Muslims do not believe in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead whereas these are the very fundamental truths of the Gospel.

The gospel has been defined by many people in many ways. But what does Saint Paul say about the gospel?

A. THE CONTENT OF THE GOSPEL

St. Paul says in our Epistle reading for today; “that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures: And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day.” (I Corinthians 15:3-4)

B. THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation....For the justice of God is revealed therein, from faith unto faith, as it is written: The just man liveth by faith” (Romans 1:16-17).

C. THE PERVERSION OF THE GOSPEL

“I wonder that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ, unto another gospel. Which is not another, only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema.” (Galatians 1:6-8).

It is on this last point concerning another gospel, concerning a perverted gospel particularly on the false gospel called the Social Gospel that I would like to focus on in theses last few minutes.

When Jesus began His public ministry, He quoted from Isaiah 61:1 which says, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me: he hath sent me to preach to the meek, to heal the contrite of heart, and to preach a release to the captives, and deliverance to them that are prisoners” This is why our Lord came, to deal with the hearts of mankind “that are far from Him.” (Isaiah 29:13) by giving His only begotten Son and sending Him into the world so that they may have life everlasting and so that their souls shall not perish but be saved from eternal hell (John 3:16-17) and to “seek and save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus Christ was anointed by God to bring the gospel to those in need, to those mired in sin, and to those snared by the devil. His mission was to free those held captive by the devil to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26). Yes, He healed the sick and made the lame to walk and the blind to see. But these were done to authenticate that He was indeed the Son of God. His purpose, however, was not to heal every sickness on the earth and rid to the world of disease, poverty, and hunger. Rather, it was to go to the cross to redeem man from a cursed and fallen nature in a cursed and fallen world so that, in the life to come, they could be blessed in all ways imaginable.

The curse had to be broken so that all the world could be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3), and Christ had to become a curse for us so that we might be saved (Galatians 3:13). He didn’t become a curse for our sin so that we could be wealthy, perfectly healthy, and well fed. Surely, God cares about these things, and ministering to physical and material needs is an important and valid part of the Christians religion. Saint James himself says that; “Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation: and to keep one's self unspotted from this world.” However, it is not our primary and Great Commission. It is not the gospel that Paul talks about in our Epistles reading for today. Paul said, “that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures: And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day.” (I Corinthians 15:3-4).

The central mission and purpose of Christ was not to cure the world’s social ills. Christ commanded His Church in Matthew 28:19-20, “Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” Our primary mission is to be about making disciples and teaching them all that Christ has commanded.

Romans 10:15 says, “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things! ”

Is Paul referring to good news of a social gospel that meets physical needs and compromises or ignores the ultimate and eternally important spiritual needs? May it never be that we give someone a cold cup of water “in Jesus name” and fail to preach the gospel to them when we have the opportunity. We are sent to preach, and good social works open up those opportunities . Yet they are not to be our ultimate agenda.

Our ultimate calling and mission must be to preach the Word, for it is the gospel that “For it is the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).

If we shrink away in shame at this gospel and at the call to proclaim a message of repentance and an exclusive way to heaven through faith in Christ and baptism for the forgiveness of sin, we have failed our Savior. We will have missed the purpose and entire foundation for the Church. The social gospel is not God’s plan but the devil’s.

If the social gospel was our purpose, then the greatest human achievements would be eradicating disease, eliminating poverty, and bringing the world together under some kind of system of unification. If these were our intended ends, then it would make complete sense to partner with anybody and everybody, regardless of religion and beliefs. But to cure the world of social ills and to yet leave it in sin is not our purpose. Furthermore, we as Christians have an inside track on what can really solve the world’s problems. A regeneration of the heart by repentance of sin, faith in Christ, and sacramental baptism is the world’s only hope. For example, AIDS, though many innocents suffer from this, is not the fundamental problem. The sin of Homosexuality, fornication, adultery and other sexual immorality is. So I ask, “What possible kind of solution is there to solving the AIDS crisis when we miss the fundamental problem of sin?” We can have all the influence and resources in the world at our disposal, but if we disregard sin, holiness, and being born again in Christ, what can we possibly truly accomplish? The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to “convince the world of sin, and of justice, and of judgment. ” (John 16:8). How sad is it when God’s people Who are indwelt by God’s Spirit (if said persons are truly reborn) don’t speak out against sin, don’t tell the world that judgment is coming, and don’t stand for the justice of God? The issue is sin, the call is repentance, and the means is the grace of God given through faith in Christ and baptism for the remission of sins. This is what the world needs, and this is its only hope.

In Luke 12 Christ told a story of a rich man who stored up all of his possessions so as to enjoy this life only to have his life required of him that very night. Christ said, “So is that man that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God. ” (v. 21). The only question that matters is whether or not we are rich toward God. What good is it if we gain the whole world and lose our souls? What good is it if we solve the world’s social ills (if such was even possible without Christ) and let people die in their sins? Continuing in verse 22-23 of Luke 12, Jesus says, “Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat; nor for your body, what you shall put on. The life is more than the meat, and the body is more than the raiment.” God cares about food and clothing, but He cares far more that we deal with sin, that we repent, and that we submit to His rule in our lives (Romans 10:9-10). In other words, Jesus didn’t preach a social gospel.

He didn’t hesitate to confront the woman at the well regarding her adulterous lifestyle. He knew that unless she dealt with her sin, she would go to hell. He didn’t try to find what they agreed upon and launch a crusade for some secondary cause. Rather, He dealt with the reality and seriousness of sin so that He and she would have a common faith. The world hates this exclusive view of the Christian gospel, but the Church must grasp onto it firmly, “contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3). Unless, concerning holding up the truth of the gospel, “the House of God, the Church of the living God” gets back to the basics of making sin and the cross the preeminent issue, as "the pillar and ground of the truth" she will crumble, and the deepest need of those suffering in the world will go unmet. ( I Timothy 3:15)

“Now I make known unto you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; By which also you are saved, if you hold fast after what manner I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures:

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures:” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost....Amen