Of Empty Calories and Empty Gospels (John 1:12-13)

January 3, 1960, three years and forty-two days before I was born, A. W. Tozer preached a sermon entitled, “What does it mean to accept Christ?” You understand if your mind is capable of doing math that Tozer’s message was preached some fifty-two years ago and that I am only one year away from being fifty years old. I mention this not to show you my age but to show you that for more than half a century there have been men of God standing against the modern false gospel of easy-believism or passive “acceptance” of Christ. Tozer lamented that in his day the majority of evangelism in America was of the sort that perverted the gospel by minimizing what it means to receive Christ and believe in Christ.

In other words, even before 1960, a large portion of American evangelism had already degenerated into a wide-gate false gospel of easy-believism. This is the false notion that one can be saved by just “inviting Jesus” into his or her life without entering into Jesus’ death. The wide-gate is one of easy access and easy entry. The wide-gate has no denying of self, death to sin, or any difficult sayings. It’s easy; it’s acceptable; it’s appealing; but it’s deadly. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

So receiving Christ is not just “inviting Jesus into my life” or just “adding Jesus to my life”; receiving Jesus is far more than responding to a minimized, inoffensive, appealing gospel of “just accept Jesus.” Of utmost importance then is the right and biblical answer to the question, “What is it to receive Christ?”

The Gospel of John answers the question, “What is it to receive Christ.” Remember that John 1:1-18 is the prologue to the book. Here John is telling us what the rest of the book is going to be about. In John 1:12 we are introduced to the wonderful truth that among blind and bad humanity there are those who see the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” John 1:13 shows us why these believed and received – “who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Now we could stop right here in John 1:12-13 and say, “There you have it! All you have to do to be saved is receive Jesus and God will cause you to be born again.” And we would be dead wrong! Let me explain. This is the mistake of a minimized Gospel with no content. It’s like what is known in the health and nutrition world as “empty calories.” An empty calorie is a calorie without any content. An empty calorie is a calorie with absolutely no nutritional value. The sad part about empty calories is their deceptive nature. They cause the body to pack on dangerous and deadly fat while at the same time starving it of needed nutrition. This is why highly processed food (such as is common in the American diet) is so dangerous and deadly. It has been stripped of its nutritional value and substituted in the place of wholesome, healthy food.

To stop right here and ask people to receive Jesus would be to offer a highly processed Gospel empty of all its saving content with dangerous and deadly consequences. This deceitful mistake is made over and over in the evangelism of today. For instance, the peddlers of the wide-gate empty gospel will quote Acts 16:30-31 out of context to remove the Gospel’s content. “And after he brought them out, he said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Here is the problem. What Paul and Silas told the Philippian jailer about how to be saved was true – he was to believe in the Lord Jesus to be saved – but Acts 16:32 supplies some important information that preachers of easy-believism overlook – “And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.” Without understanding the content of the Gospel there is no saving belief in Christ.

Notice our text. John is not asking for a response to Christ in John 1:12-13. John has not yet explained the ministry of Jesus proving Him to be the fulfillment of the sacrificial system as the Lamb of God (John 1:29) who would die as a substitute and sacrifice for sinners (John 19:16-30), whose blood would be on the mercy seat (John 20:11-12), and who would be raised from the dead (John 20:15-20) so that a holy God could pardon sinners and remain just in the process.

It is only after John has fully explained the ministry of Jesus that he expects anyone can properly respond to Jesus and receive Him. Notice that it isn’t until John 20:31 that John calls for belief in Jesus – “But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

People are not saved through a gospel emptied of its content. God uses His Word to teach us about the ministry of Christ and our need for Him and everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Jesus (John 6:45). No one can come to Jesus unless he is drawn to Jesus by the Father through the word about Christ (John 6:44). Those who receive and believe are born of God by the Word of God (John 1:12-13; 1 Peter 1:3, 23).

To receive Christ is to receive the testimony of His sinless life. To receive Christ is to receive His death as a substitute and sacrifice for your crimes against God – it is to receive His death as your death. To receive Christ is to receive Him in His resurrection as your life; as your Lord, because of the demonstration of His great love for you. You love Him because He first loved you.

Empty calories are having their harmful and deadly effects on the physical health and physical lives of millions of Americans. Empty gospels are having a more harmful and more deadly effect on billions of people in the world. What kind of Gospel have you consumed? What kind of Gospel will you share?

A Depraved Mind: Impropriety

We have already established that idolatry is the root cause for all the rotten fruit which is revealed in humanity. Because man turned from God to idolatry he went down instead of up; he devolved instead of evolved; and he is in the state of proceeding from bad to worse (2 Timothy 3:13). In his downward spiral into sin man has arrived at a defiled heart (impurity), degraded passions (immorality/homosexuality), and a depraved mind (impropriety). So we see that man’s heart, soul, and mind have been corrupted by idolatry. The very things that men are supposed to love the Lord his God with he uses for every purpose under the sun except for loving God.

In his fallen state man is worthless and useless – he is totally depraved. This is why we read, “All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:12). So you see that total depravity means that all of man, his heart, soul, and mind, is corrupted by sin and is not used properly by any man to worship God. The word depraved or reprobate is used to denote that which does not pass the test. It was used to speak of metals that were rejected by refiners because of impurities. The impure metals were discarded and therefore considered useless and worthless. This is the state of all men who have not been regenerated and cleansed and purified through the gospel.

In our last study, Devolving not Evolving, we stated all three categories of rotten fruit which comes from the bad root of idolatry. However, we did not go into any detail about the third and final root of idolatry.

The third fruit of the root of idolatry is a depraved mind (1:28-32) – impropriety. Just when you thought that you might be off the hook and that God missed you in his incriminating evidence He nailed you to the wall with indisputable evidence beyond any reasonable doubt that you too are a guilty sinner in need of the gospel. These verses deal primarily with interpersonal relationships between men. We clearly see the violation of “Love your neighbor as yourself” so that we see that idolatry (breaking the first half of God’s commandments) leads inevitably to breaking the second half of God’s commandments. Idolatry is the root which causes the fruit of our disobedience to God to grow.

The depraved mind has a predetermined and inevitable disposition to do those things which are not proper – the depraved mind is bent toward impropriety. The depraved mind does not dwell on whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, whatever is excellent, or whatever is worthy of praise, instead the depraved mind dwells on the exact opposites. The depraved mind fills itself with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil.

Let’s look at some of these negative and condemning improprieties that all men everywhere are guilty of in some form or fashion:
Unrighteousness – that which is not right
Wickedness – that which is ungodly, evil, or morally bad
Greed – desiring what others have, itching for more, covetous
Evil – ill will, malice, malignity, a desire to injure
Envy – to feel displeasure and ill will over another’s happiness, success, reputation, or possessions. Envy causes hatred toward another because he or she has something that you want or are something that you cannot be – it was for envy that the Jewish leaders delivered over Jesus to Pilate (Matthew 27:18).
Murder – Murder is just one step beyond envy although there are other reasons that men murder besides envy.
Strife – contention or wrangling
Deceit – this word in the Greek means “fish-bait” and came to mean to lure, to ensnare, to beguile, to deceive. When a man lies – about anything – he is deceiving. When a man holds back the truth by not speaking it when he should – he is deceiving.
Malice – a desire to inflict harm or suffering on another
Gossips – secret slanderers, whisperers, tattlers, idle talk about the private affairs of others.
Slanderers – backbiters using false and defamatory statements or reports in order to injure the character and influence of another.
Haters of God – hateful to God
Insolent – boldly rude or disrespectful; despiteful; insults others
Arrogant – proud or haughty; showing oneself above others, with overbearing air of superiority and treating others with contempt
Boastful – the one who speaks with excessive pride especially about himself concerning that which he does not really possess – one may even boast in his humility!
Inventors of evil – always looking for and finding new ways to sin
Disobedient to parents – are you surprised that this is an indication of a depraved mind?
Without understanding – without spiritual or moral understanding; spiritual stupidity
Untrustworthy – covenant breakers; without good faith; promise breakers
Unloving – without natural affection
Unmerciful – without mercy, cruel.

“And although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them” (1:32).

The heathen are under sin and therefore rightly under God’s wrath and they are without excuse. There is only one remedy – the gospel! Since God has given man over to depravity and depravity is a judgment of God on sinful man then we cannot legislate or mandate morality but must go with the gospel to sinners for it and it alone is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.

Truth Suppressors: The Heathen are without Excuse

The apostle Paul, beginning in Romans 1:18 began to explain the reason that the gospel must be preached if men are to be saved. This is a courtroom scene where the charges are made and then the evidence to prove those charges is given. From Romans 1:18-3:20, both the Gentiles and the Jews are charged as being sinners and therefore this is a case against the whole world so that the whole world may become accountable to God (see Romans 3:19).

The truth of the guilt of the whole world is of utmost importance in establishing the truth of justification by faith and therefore the truth of the guilt of the individual is of utmost importance if he or she is to receive justification by faith. You see, the guilt of the whole world (which means every individual in it) creates a dilemma – how can a Holy God forgive sinners and still uphold His law? Put another way – how can a Holy God of pure and undefiled justice, which demands that the penalty for breaking the law be upheld, forgive sinners and still be just and not a liar?

There is only one answer that will properly resolve the dilemma of how a Holy God can forgive sinners and still remain just in the process – Penal Substitution. Penal Substitution simply means that the penalty for violating the law is paid by a willing and able substitute in order to pardon and forgive the guilty party. This is the heart of the gospel; this is the only way that a Holy God can forgive and remain true to Himself; and this is the reason that Jesus Christ is the only way for men to be saved.

As long as we believe that God can save and is saving some other way besides through the gospel of Jesus Christ then we do not have to be concerned about missions and evangelism. But as soon as we believe God’s truth that He cannot and will not save any other way then missions and evangelism of the genuine biblical sort are absolutely necessary.

Since it is true that God cannot and will not save any other way, the Holy Spirit made it plain that all men are guilty before God and that no one will be saved apart from hearing the gospel and believing the gospel. God wants us to know that the whole world is guilty before Him; that He cannot save apart from faith in Jesus Christ who paid the sinner’s penalty; and therefore we are under obligation to all men to eagerly preach to them the gospel (Romans 1:14-17).

Our text reveals that the heathen are without excuse; that they are guilty before God; and that they are in need of the gospel if God is going to forgive them.

First we see the charge that the heathen are under sin and that they are not truth seekers but are truth suppressors (Romans 1:18). This verse teaches us that not only do men love sin but that they also will not on their own turn from sin. Instead, this verse charges that they suppress the truth – they do not seek the truth, they do not want the truth, but they actually suppress or hold down the truth.

This charge is a serious charge – it indicates that men don’t love what God reveals about Himself and therefore they don’t love the true God. Do you see a problem in that? Well if they don’t love Him they won’t obey Him and neither will they glorify Him nor will they worship and serve Him. This is the essence of sin so therefore the charge that men suppress the truth is a charge that men are by nature and by choice sinners.

Next we begin to examine the evidence that the heathen are truth suppressors and not truth seekers (19-25). Here we see that although men come up with may different forms of religion, it is because they are suppressing truth and not seeking truth. They are fashioning a god of their own making to their own liking. Judging by appearance we would conclude that all the various religions of the world prove that men are seeking God and seeking truth. However the evidence actually points in the other direction – that men are suppressing truth – for if all men everywhere were seeking truth and receiving the truth that God is revealing then all religions everywhere would be based on the same truth. So to say that all the religions of the world prove that men are seeking God then the truth that God has revealed concerning this not only from nature but also from His Word would have to be suppressed (Romans 3:11).

God has given revelation of Himself to all men through two primary avenues:

The inner revelation of conscience (19) – the law of God and His moral code is written on the heart of all men everywhere (Romans 2:14-15).

The outer revelation of creation (20) – reveals the truth of God’s invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature.

With the combined witnesses of conscience and creation, every man is without excuse because every fact shall be established on the basis of two or more witnesses.

Suppressing the truth always leads to idolatry (21-25)

Why Preach the Gospel?

The context of Romans 1:18 begins in Romans 1:14 where the apostle Paul stated that he was “under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So for [his] part, [he was] eager to preach the gospel to [those also who were] in Rome” (Romans 1:14-15). Paul then went on to state the truth that he would preach to them nothing but the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified for it and it alone is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ reveals the righteousness of God and the righteousness that is from God on the basis of faith (Romans 1:16-17). The gospel of God which concerns His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:1-4), is the only remedy for sinners who are rightly under the wrath of God for their unrighteousness and ungodliness.

Don’t forget that Romans is the Holy Spirit inspired explanation of the Gospel. After establishing both the content and the intent of the Gospel which he preached, Paul went on to explain the gospel and why he preached it. From Romans 1:18 through Romans 3:20, the apostle established the truth that all men are sinners – the Gentile and the Jew. Because all men are sinners all men are rightly under God’s wrath and are in need of rescue from the wrath to come. So in the Holy Spirit inspired explanation of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle Paul began with the wrath of God against sinners.

Now let me ask you: doesn’t the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ reveal God’s wrath against sin? Doesn’t the crucifixion of the sinless Son of God for our sins demonstrate first and foremost God’s wrath against sinners? When we look at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ we should immediately comprehend and see God’s wrath against sin – He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf; He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him and by His scourging we are healed. This is called Penal Substitution and is the only way that a holy God can forgive sinners and still be holy and just.

The wrath of God is the starting place of the Gospel. Men must know the danger that they are in before they will seek a remedy. Just as men don’t seek out cancer treatments without knowing that they have cancer so men do not seek refuge in Jesus Christ without knowing that they are sinners who rightly deserve the wrath of God. Jesus said that it is not the well who need a physician but the sick and so men must know of their sin-sick condition and its inevitable outcome before they will seek help from the Savior. The fact of a man’s guilt must be established before he can be a recipient of God’s grace or else you no longer have grace but what is earned. Much of today’s evangelism is the offering of grace without guilt which is not really grace and then you end up with response without repentance and no one will live who doesn’t repent.

Beware of preachers who claim that they are not called to preach God’s wrath but are only called to preach God’s love. They are not preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ if the wrath of God and the love of God are not balanced in the proclamation. The apostle Paul mentioned the goodness of God which leads to repentance right in the middle of this section dealing with the wrath of God and he mentioned both side by side (Romans 2:4-5). Paul didn’t get to the Gospel being a demonstration of the love of God until Romans 5:8. So the starting point of the gospel is the wrath of God against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men establishing their guilt before God’s grace and love are offered. It is against the backdrop of the just wrath of God against sin that the brilliance and magnificence of the grace and love of God are magnified.

To avoid offering a magic-genie Christ or a utilitarian Christ we must accurately proclaim the Holy Spirit inspired gospel. Preaching only the grace and love of God apart from His wrath against sin is to misunderstand and misapply the purpose of the death of Christ which leaves people in their sins while giving them a false sense of assurance of salvation. When we are not balanced in our proclamation of the Gospel we will be in danger of either turning the grace of God into licentiousness by focusing primarily on God’s grace and love and thereby offering grace without guilt which leads people to believe that they can be saved from the wrath to come without actually being saved from their sins or we will be in danger of denying God’s grace by focusing primarily on the wrath of God and thereby leading men into legalism where they are motivated by fear of punishment and attempt to establish a righteousness of their own derived from keeping the law. Only proclaiming the whole gospel and keeping the truth balanced will help people to understand and properly apply the death of Christ on their behalf so that they are neither licentious nor legalistic but actually loyal to God because of His love for them as shown against the backdrop of His wrath.

While many may desire to downplay or deny the truth that God is a God of wrath it doesn’t nullify the truth that He is. Our text says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” So we see here that men suppress the truth about God, especially the truth about His wrath, even though God reveals and demonstrates His wrath from heaven. Most people like to believe that God is not and cannot be a God of wrath, especially when it concerns them. Just as in Jeremiah’s day so it is in our day when men believe and false prophets preach that God isn’t that way – “They have lied about the Lord and said, ‘Not He; misfortune will not come on us, and we will not see sword or famine.’ The prophets are as wind, and the word is not in them, thus it will be done to them’” (Jeremiah 5:12-13).

Let’s look at some major ways that God has revealed His wrath and the certainty of His wrath from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men:

One - God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment (2 Peter 2:4)
Two - God did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly (2 Peter 2:5)
Three - God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter (2 Peter 2:6) – “made them an example” means that God exposed them openly to public view the same as a corpse lying in state.
Four - God, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe (Jude 5).
Five - God did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all (Romans 8:32).

The greatest revelation of the wrath of God from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men was demonstrated at the crucifixion of the sinless Son of God in the place of ungodly and unrighteous men – “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18).

So why preach the gospel? Because the gospel of God which concerns His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:1-4), is the only remedy for sinners who are rightly under the wrath of God for their unrighteousness and ungodliness.

The Gospel: God's Power to Save

Being ashamed of the gospel and altering both its content and intent substitutes the impotence and wisdom of man for the power and wisdom of God for salvation. A gospel that is void of the content and intent of the gospel and therefore void of the offense of the cross is also void of the power of God for salvation.

Geoffrey Wilson wrote, “The unpopularity of a crucified Christ has prompted many to present a message which is more palatable to the unbeliever, but the removal of the offense of the cross always renders the message ineffective. An inoffensive gospel is also an inoperative gospel” (Romans; A Digest of Reformed Comment [Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 1976], p.24).

A distorted gospel which is void of the offense of the cross is no gospel at all and does not have the power to transform undeserving, disobedient rebels into loving, loyal and obedient children of God. All that a distorted gospel can do is cause men to have a form of godliness void of the power of God for actual transformation.

The Apostle Paul warned Pastor Timothy about the many unconverted preachers and unconverted church members of the last days who would have a form of godliness void of the power of God for actual transformation. These unconverted preachers and church members would be the victims of a distorted gospel – “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

These are people who do not love the truth and do not want the truth. They are willing to accept a gospel where God is man-centered and making much of them and their worth but are in fierce opposition to a gospel that witnesses to man’s wretchedness and therefore witnesses to God’s worth. Most people in our day deny the depravity of man and his inability to please God in their flesh.

Most people seem to want to view the cross of Christ as a witness to their worth rather than own up to the truth that the cross of Christ proves their sinfulness but magnifies God’s goodness. This leads to pride rather than humility and engenders self-love and self-worth and self-esteem rather than genuine love for God and hatred of their own sinful nature. We are not to use the gospel as a means to view our own splendor or self-worth but we are to use the gospel as a means to view God’s splendor and His worth.

There is no power in a distorted and misused gospel. Men only go deeper into sin and deeper into deception when the offense of the gospel is replaced with an inoffensive gospel. If men are going to be ashamed of a gospel they ought to be ashamed of an inoffensive gospel which is an inoperative gospel. But men should never be ashamed of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (1:16).

As we look at this portion of Scripture I want us to notice two aspects of the gospel that is God’s power for salvation – its exclusiveness and its inclusiveness.

Its exclusiveness – for it is the power of God for salvation.... The gospel of Jesus Christ and it alone is the power of God for salvation. There is no other way that God saves sinners. Sinners are either saved through the gospel of Jesus Christ or they are not saved at all. God is not saving people apart from faith in Jesus Christ and He will not save people apart from Jesus Christ.

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation….Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:9-10, 13-15, 17).

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

The gospel is God’s gospel and it is the only means through which God gives the power for us to be saved. The word “power” is from dunamis which we get our words dynamite and dynamic. The gospel carries with it the omnipotence of God, whose power alone is sufficient to save men from sin and give them eternal life. Therefore the gospel gives glory to God alone.

The gospel is also exclusive because it is the only way that God can forgive sinners while He Himself remains just – “so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). If anyone believes that God will save some other way other than through the gospel of His Son then he or she doesn’t understand the holiness and righteousness of God and that He will not violate His own justness.

Its inclusiveness – “to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” The gospel includes everyone who believes. The word “believe” carries the basic idea of trusting in, relying on, having faith in. When used in the New Testament of salvation it is usually in the continuous form, which could be translated “is believing and keeps on believing.” This type of believing is not a type of belief that resides in man and can be worked up or produced by man – this type of belief is a supernatural belief, produced by God as a gift from God.

The type of belief that is saving belief is “faith” that is generated by God in the heart of man through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ – “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ (literally the word about Christ)".

To the person who has been granted the gift of salvation which includes the gift of faith, the gospel becomes both the power of God and the wisdom of God. As the eyes of our hearts are enlightened we know and understand that this gospel is the only one that has the power of God for salvation and contains the wisdom of God for salvation. We see that the gospel is both exclusive – there is no other way – and we see that the gospel is inclusive – for all who believe by being enabled to believe through the word about Christ.

Therefore we are not ashamed of the gospel and we do not distort it – we proclaim it as it is and leave the results to God.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

These two verses are the Apostle Paul’s thesis of the book of Romans. Here Paul summarized the gospel of Jesus Christ before he proceeded to explain it through the rest of the book. The book of Romans is the Holy Spirit inspired exposition of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel (1:16a).

What is it about the gospel that would cause men to be ashamed of it? For one thing, to those who are perishing it is moronic. “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness…” (1 Corinthians 1:18). “Foolishness” is from the Greek word “moria” from which we get moron. The gospel is moronic and absolute nonsense to unbelievers who rely on their own reason and rationality. In the reasoning and wisdom of those who are perishing, most men really aren’t all that bad and there must be something that they can do in order to earn God’s favor. Therefore those who would dare proclaim the gospel as it is without adding to it or taking from it are considered fools by those who are perishing because the gospel proclaims man’s utter wretched estate and inability to save himself or aid in any way in his salvation. That message is despised, hated, and foolish to most men who think that there is at least some island of innate goodness somewhere in their being. This would cause some to be ashamed of the gospel because they value what others think of them and they do not want to be considered as morons.

Not only is the gospel foolishness to those who are perishing, the gospel is also offensive to both Jews and Gentiles that are perishing. To the Jews the gospel is a stumbling block and to the Gentiles the gospel is foolishness – “But we preach Christ crucified, to Jews and stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23).

The Jews had a hard time accepting a suffering and crucified Messiah. Also the Jews had a hard time accepting that the Gentiles didn’t have to observe Jewish customs. So those who were ashamed of the gospel but pretending to be preachers of the gospel preached circumcision as a necessary condition for Gentiles to be saved. But the apostle Paul wasn’t ashamed of the gospel and he refused to remove the offense of the gospel – “But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished” (Galatians 5:11). “Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ” (Galatians 6:12).

Tampering with the gospel in order to make it non-offensive so that all can embrace it distorts the gospel and then it isn’t the gospel at all. We must remember that those of whom Paul wrote about to the Galatians who were attempting to abolish the stumbling block of the cross by adding circumcision to the gospel were not genuine preachers of the gospel but false preachers who were ashamed of the real gospel. “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him [God] who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-8).

Many in our day “want to distort the gospel of Christ” so that they can remove the stumbling block and foolishness of the cross of Christ. This is in order that they can be liked and spoken well of by all men simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ or considered foolish by the world for preaching the gospel. However, God’s word says, “For since in the wisdom of the world the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21). You cannot preach what the world considers a foolish message and not be considered foolish yourself. So the only way around that dilemma is to alter the message so that it does not offend the masses.

Altering the message so that it does not offend the masses is easily spiritualized as “becoming all things to all men so that we may by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). However, altering the message so that it does not offend the masses is not spiritual and it is the equivalent of opening a wide gate that leads to destruction. No text of Scripture other than Matthew 7:1 has been more twisted and distorted than 1 Corinthians 9:22. The same apostle Paul who wrote Romans 1:16 is the same apostle Paul who wrote 1 Corinthians 9:22 and it is evident and plain that Paul never altered the message to remove its offense but he did do what was necessary to keep himself from being offensive. Paul had Timothy whose mother was a Jew circumcised so that Timothy would not be an offense to the Jews (Acts 16:1-3). Paul refused to have Titus who was a Greek circumcised so that Titus would not be an offense to the Greeks (Galatians 2:3-6). Paul never altered the message because he was not ashamed of the gospel.

Those who are ashamed of the gospel seek to remove the offense of the gospel so that they will not have to be ashamed of it anymore. The gospel is made non-offensive by altering its content and intent. No one is offended by a “smile, God loves you” type of gospel. No one is offended by a “God wants you to have your best life now” gospel. No one is offended by a “God has a wonderful purpose and plan for your life” gospel. No one is offended by a “you’re so valuable to God that He wants you to live with Him in heaven” gospel. No one is offended by a “God wants to make you healthy, wealthy, and prosperous” gospel. But men are offended by a “you’re so wicked that the only way God could save you was to crucify His only Son as a sinless substitute, have Him buried, and raise Him from the dead so that He could be both just and the justifier of whoever has faith in His Son” gospel.

Making the gospel relevant is nothing short of removing the offense of the gospel in an attempt to make it palatable to all men because of being ashamed of the gospel. This is done by offering the world what it wants – happiness instead of holiness, pleasure instead of purity, luxury instead of Lordship, comfort instead of character, and man’s glory instead of God’s glory. When this happens then both the content and the intent of the gospel has been changed and you now have another gospel which is non-offensive but which is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So in an attempt to make the gospel more palatable and less offensive to unbelievers, those who are ashamed of the gospel distort the gospel and change both its content and intent.
We have already seen that the content of the gospel is the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ dealing with His divinity and humanity (the incarnation) for the purpose of penal substitution “for Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18) and His resurrection for the purpose of our justification – “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:25). So the content of the gospel is the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ (His divinity and humanity) for the purpose of penal substitution (the just would pay the penalty of the unjust) so that we could be justified and brought to God through His resurrection (Romans 1:1-4).

We have also already seen that the intent of the gospel is the glory of God in the salvation of self-centered, self-ruled, and self-loving sinners which transforms them into God-centered, God-ruled, and God-loving saints (Romans 1:5). So the intent of the gospel is the glory of God in the transformation of undeserving, disobedient rebels into loving, loyal, and obedient children! The Gospel brings us to God as His children who love and adore Him and find the satisfaction of our souls in Him.

However, when men are ashamed of this gospel they begin to distort the content of the gospel, the incarnation and resurrection, and misapply the intent of the gospel. I’ll give two examples although there are numerous other examples:

Probably the most famous (should be infamous) for his misinterpretation of the incarnation and atonement would be Charles Finney. Concerning Christ and the atonement Finney said, “He can not plead as our Advocate that He has paid our debt, in such a sense that He can demand our discharge on the ground of justice. He has not paid our debt in such a sense that we do not still owe it. He has not atoned for our sins in such a sense that we might not still be justly punished for them. Indeed, such a thing is impossible and absurd. One being can not suffer for another in such a sense as to remove the guilt of that other. He may suffer for another's guilt in such a sense that it will be safe to forgive the sinner, for whom the suffering has been endured; but the suffering of the substitute can never, in the least degree, diminish the intrinsic guilt of the criminal. Our Advocate may urge that He has borne such suffering for us to honor the law that we had dishonored, that now it is safe to extend mercy to us; but He never can demand our discharge on the ground that we do not deserve to be punished. The fact of our intrinsic guilt remains, and must forever remain; and our forgiveness is just as much an act of sovereign mercy, as if Christ had never died for us” (Charles Finney, Christ Our Advocate, VI. What His plea in behalf of sinners is, Number 7). So according to Finney man could have been forgiven based on the mercy of God alone and apart from the incarnation – “Our forgiveness is just as much an act of sovereign mercy, as if Christ had never died for us.”

Another example of misinterpreting and trivializing the incarnation is seen in writings of many in the postmodern movements of our day, such as Ron Martoia in his book Morph. Seeking to justify being like the world to win the world (cultural relevance), the incarnation is grossly misinterpreted by Martoia as God’s desire to be culturally relevant. He says, “The quintessential example of genius intersection is, of course, the incarnation: God’s presence, voice, and message piercing and penetrating 1C culture. As we simply observe the potency of the incarnation, several things come to mind. God sent Jesus as a person. God could have sent the message packaged any number of ways. He didn’t choose a CD player to herald the good news, a Web page that automatically pops up every time someone logs on, or an MP3 download into our ear canal. The fact that he sent a person bespeaks God’s desire to be relevant, understandable, approachable, and relational (Ron Martoia, Morph, Group Publishing, 2003, pg. 17). Could God have redeemed any other way? According to Martoia, “God could have sent the message packaged any number of ways.” Did God send Jesus for the purpose of cultural relevance? According to Martoia, “The fact that he sent a person bespeaks God’s desire to be relevant, understandable, approachable, and relational.” But according to God’s Word God could not have redeemed any other way, “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendents of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:14-18). Penal substitution is the only way God can forgive and remain just. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore the incarnation was necessary for the realization of penal substitution and that is the primary biblical interpretation for the incarnation. If God could have redeemed any other way, surely He would have done it! But because there was no other way – what a demonstration of the love of God in penal substitution – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

A distorted gospel which is void of the offense of the cross is no gospel at all and does not have the power to transform undeserving, disobedient rebels into loving, loyal and obedient children of God. All that a distorted gospel can do is cause men to have a form of godliness void of the power of God for actual transformation.

Geoffrey Wilson wrote, “The unpopularity of a crucified Christ has prompted many to present a message which is more palatable to the unbeliever, but the removal of the offense of the cross always renders the message ineffective. An inoffensive gospel is also an inoperative gospel” (Romans; A Digest of Reformed Comment [Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 1976], p.24).

The Nature of Christ's Salvation Misrepresented by the Present-day "Evangelist."

The nature of Christ's salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day "evangelist." He announces a Savior from hell rather than a Savior from sin. And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness. The very first thing said of Him in the New Testament is, "Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people (not "from the wrath to come," but) from their sins." (Matt. 1:21) Christ is a Savior for those realizing something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, who feel the awful burden of it on their conscience, who loathe themselves for it, who long to be freed from its terrible dominion; and a Savior for no others. Were He to "save from hell" those still in love with sin, He would be a Minister of sin, condoning their wickedness and siding with them against God. What an unspeakably horrible and blasphemous thing with which to charge the Holy One! Arthur W. Pink

Methods Do Matter!

Since the primary goal of missions is the glory of God, missions have to be done according to God’s ways (methods) and God’s will (motives). Missions have to be from Him and through Him so that the glory goes to Him.

We are being told today that methods don’t matter as long as they produce results. Many are buying into and being taken captive by this philosophy. “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

If methods don’t matter then there would have been nothing wrong with Jesus yielding to the temptations of the devil to turn stones into bread, to jump from the pinnacle of the temple, or to bow down to Satan in order to receive the kingdoms of the world. Temptations are nothing short of the devil’s methods for accomplishing the will of God. A temptation is the offer of a method to arrive at God’s will your own way rather than God’s way – it is the method of leaning on your own understanding rather than trusting the Lord with all your heart; it is the method of quick results (shortcuts) and are unlawful. That is why Jesus is going to say to many who think they are saved and are not, “Depart from Me you workers of lawlessness/iniquity.”

We are told in 1 Corinthians 3:10 that each man must be careful how he builds. "How" would definitely be methodology. The Bible tells us that there are no shortcuts to doing the will of God. Anyone who takes a shortcut to doing God's will has succumbed to the temptations of the devil and sinned against God. Believing that methods don't matter as long as they are working is a deadly and deluding practice of judging by appearance and is nothing short of philosophical pragmatism.

Theology determines methodology. You’ll hear people who are held captive by philosophy and who differ in methodology from those who are captive by Christ and His glory say, “Our theology is the same but our methodology differs.” That is not true! The man who has a theology of missions knows that the primary goal of missions is the glory of God and he will not use unauthorized and unworthy methods (shortcuts) that rob God of His glory. On the other hand the man who has a philosophy of missions will use unauthorized and unworthy methods (shortcuts) in order to get “quick results” and thereby rob God of His glory.

This principle is clearly demonstrated in Acts 16:16-18. Paul and his companions were confronted with the temptation to allow a slave-girl with a spirit of divination help them get quick results. Allowing this popular slave-girl on the missionary team would have increased Paul's popularity, influence, and ability to get decisions. Paul wouldn't have to have such a hard ministry from now on - he could just become all things to all men the devil's way! But immediately there would have been no power because there would have been declaration with no illumination; there would have been head knowledge without heart knowledge; and there would have been professions of faith without possession of faith.


If methods don't matter then Paul could have used this girl that was energized by the devil! But he didn't because methods do matter!


Vance Havner once said, "They tell us now even in some evangelical circles that we ought to hobnob with Sodom and get chummy with Gomorrah in order to convert them. And the argument is not older than that the end justifies the means forgetting that the means determines the end. A few years of unworthy means and you've already spoiled the objective before you get to it. And these dear people are not turning the light on in Sodom, they're just getting used to the dark."


Listen to him say it here




Methods Do Matter: Audio