We live in an era where many people who claim to know God and follow scripture are actually wolves who plant seeds of doubt and look down on those who strive to obey the Bible’s mandate: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV).
For these people, the plain teaching of the gospel isn’t enough. They say things like “Yeah, yeah, we believe in the ‘Jesus saved me’ stuff, but what about this or that?” Trying to ‘add’ things to the gospel actually takes away from the power of the gospel.
Paul said, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:17-18).
We subtract from the power of the gospel when we try to add any new revelations or social agenda, anything that takes away from the simplicity of Jesus came to save sinners. He is fully God as the second person of the trinity. He became fully man 2,000 years ago and lived a perfect life. He humbled himself and walked among us so that we might know him. He died a brutal death and rose again because he is God.
That is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
That is what all of our lives are hitched to, those of us who truly follow him. The message of the gospel has always been the same. Even before Christ came to earth as a man, it was purposed in the trinity to send him to die for the sins of mankind. We see it in Genesis 3, immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, God foretold the coming Messiah.
We should take hope in the gospel’s enduring nature. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).
Joshua West serves as the Pastor's Network Director at World Challenge helping equip and empower pastors all over the world. Joshua’s desire is to raise up ministers who will correctly and boldly preach the word with passion and integrity. The point of all his work and writings is to preach the gospel, glorify God and to teach sound doctrine.