“If I see aright, the cross of popular evangelicalism is not the cross of the New Testament. It is, rather, a new bright ornament upon the bosom of a self-assured and carnal Christianity. The old cross slew men, the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it. ” ~A.W. Tozer

Charles Spurgeon spoke the truth when he said, “A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have the clowns entertaining the goats.”  No doubt, we are here, and have been for decades in this country.

This is the down-side of allowing hirelings to take the pulpits across this country (John 10:12).

Now, we are living out the fruit of their message (Galatians 6:7).

Let’s think on what the Gospel is for a moment.

While thinking through this most important question “What is the Gospel?”, I could speedily answer that question.

It is what Christ did in me by coming to show me who I am not (Acts 9:3-5).

Until a man becomes nothing, God can create nothing out of Him (Psalm 34:18; 51:17; Isaiah 66:2).

The Lord broke me into a thousand pieces (Exodus 20 to Christ; Galatians 3:24) to, in turn, proclaim His message while putting off the old man and putting on the new man in Christ (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Galatians 2: 20 tells us, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Also read John 3:30, Philippians 1:21, and Galatians 5:24, 6:14.

If I repented of my sins (Repentance towards God and faith in Christ; Acts 20:21), then I will now bring forth fruit unto repentance to His glory (Matthew 3:8, 5:16; 2 Corinthians 7:10-11). This is done by the Holy Ghost, who is given unto those who obey (Acts 5:32) to preach His Good News (Matthew 16:15).  We obey not to be saved, but because we are saved (Romans 6:17).

He saved me from my sins and now I live unto Him! (Matthew 1:21; 2 Corinthians 5:15)

He promises me that I would be reviled, persecuted and evil would be spoken of me (Matthew 5:10-12).

He promises that I will be hated for His name sake (Matthew 10:22), and I may even be killed for His purposes (Matthew 24:9).

The good news, my friends, is that my name is written in the Book of Life (Luke 10:20) and yet, I must endure this warfare by preaching His Gospel on this earth (2 Timothy 2:3) and seeking and saving that which is lost (Luke 19:10).

What is the Good News?

Ray Comfort comes to my aide.

At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus quoted Isaiah to describe the work He was called to do:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord”

Thus, the more you go after God, the deeper you will move into a world filled with hurting people.

In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus gives us a summation of who the gospel is for:

• The poor
• The brokenhearted
• The captives
• The blind
• The oppressed

A quick study will show that Jesus is not necessarily speaking of those who lack financial resources when he speaks of the poor. The word means “meek, humble, lowly” or the “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3).  These are the blessed ones to whom the kingdom of God belongs. The poor are those who know that they are destitute of righteousness. Bible commentator Matthew Henry said of this verse: “To whom He was to preach: to the poor; to those that were poor in the world; to those that were poor in spirit, to the meek and humble, and to those that were truly sorrowful for sin.”

When He speaks of the brokenhearted, He doesn’t mean those unhappy people whose hearts are aching because they have been jilted by a sweetheart, but those who, like Peter and Isaiah, are contrite and sorrowing for their sins.

Listen to the respected Bible commentator once again: “For He was sent to heal the brokenhearted, to give peace to those that were troubled and humbled for sins, and to bring them to rest who were weary and heavy laden, under the burden of guilt and corruption.”

The captives are those taken captive by the devil to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26).

The blind are those whom the god of this age has blinded to the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4).

The oppressed are those who are oppressed by the devil (Acts 16:38).

The gospel of grace is for the humble, not the proud.  God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). The Scriptures tell us, “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 16:5).  He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly (Luke 1:52).  God looks on the man who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and he who trembles at his word (Isaiah 66:2).  Only the sick need a physician, and only those who are convinced of the disease of sin will appreciate and appropriate the cure of the Gospel.

In conclusion:

“Avoid a sugared gospel as you would shun sugar of lead. Seek that gospel which rips up and tears and cuts and wounds and hacks and even kills, for that is the gospel that makes alive again. And when you have found it, give good heed to it. Let it enter into your inmost being. As the rain soaks into the ground, so pray the Lord to let his gospel soak into your soul.” -Charles Spurgeon