Whatever Happened To The Gospel by Rev. Dan A. Thomas, Jr. | Black Gospel Music Clef

Whatever Happened To The Gospel
by Rev. Dan A. Thomas, Jr, Founder, D.R.E.A.M. Conference/ www.dreamconference2007.com

Warning: The question that I’m about to ask you could make you reach so far back into your memory that it could cause frustration and headaches coupled with aggravation simply because you may not be able to remember.

When was the last time you heard a complete sermon on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Easter, I would imagine. We’ve even heard it thrown in at Christmas or conveniently at the end of sermons (no matter the subject of the sermon mind you), but when was the last time you heard a complete sermon on the gospel?

Before we go any further and are accused of being hypercritical or judgmental let’s answer this one simple question, what is the gospel? I’ll answer that shortly, but let us first examine Paul’s writing to the Corinthian church as a basis for our discussion.

When the apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write his first letter to the Corinthian church, he was writing to address issues of sexual immorality, disunity, idolatry, misuse of the gifts of the Spirit, and a fleeting belief in the resurrection of believers from the dead. Sound familiar?

Paul knew that the Corinthian church was being intensely persecuted for their faith. They were being ostracized from their families, whipped and beaten, ridiculed, and even killed. They had an expectation that Jesus would return soon for his church, but their expectation was only met by more suffering and affliction. They were being tossed to and fro by every doctrine contrary to the teachings of the apostle Paul and they were angry that Christianity seemed to have brought misfortune into their lives. Death was all they felt they had to look forward to and they could see no further than that. So they stopped believing. They stopped believing that Jesus was coming back for them. They stopped believing that the Spirit of God would raise their spirits and bodies up from the dead. They even stopped believing that Jesus had been raised from the dead. The turmoil, persecution, and trial they were experiencing had driven them to the point of unbelief.

I’d like to make a side note on that point. Satan, our adversary doesn’t want your Dolce & Gabbana suit, he doesn’t desire your Donna Karan dress, or your bank account, or your Mercedes, or anything else tangible that you possess, what he wants is your faith in God. Your faith in God is what keeps him at bay; it’s your force field of protection against his fiery darts (See Ephesians 6). Anything you possess that can be accessed by touching, tasting, hearing, smelling, or seeing, he doesn’t want, but he will use those things to cause you to misappropriate your faith in God. Do you remember when Jesus entered the boat with his disciples and told them to go to the other side? When the storm arose and the disciples became afraid and awoke Jesus out of his rest, notice what he asked them, he said, “How is it that you have no faith?” In other words, I gave you faith to place in me and besides I’m on the boat with you in the storm, who or what did you place your faith in that has caused you to become so fearful? (Mark 4:37-41)

Material, temporary, transitory things mean nothing to Satan. They only mean something to him when they mean something to you. When you count the things that you possess as your treasure, those tangible things become the basis and foundation of your faith. It must be understood that when you place eternal value on temporary things you transfer your faith from an eternal God to the temporary things that you treasure. Once the enemy detects that you have transferred your faith from the eternal to the temporal that grants him access to take away those temporal things which have become the basis and foundation of your faith, and once those things are gone, so goes your faith with them.

It is critical then to understand Paul’s approach to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. He knows they are suffering. He knows they are vacillating between faith and unbelief, and no longer believe in the resurrection. So, what does Paul do? Does he send them packets on self-esteem and self-worth? Does he guide them through steps 1 through 7 on how to defeat depression? Does he instruct them on how to become a better person? Does he demonstrate his ability to persuade and influence them with his spiritual charm and depth in the Scriptures? No. He preached the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It’s interesting how the focus of ministry has shifted from Jesus Christ, the All-Sufficient One, to the self-promotion of ministry concepts, ideas, philosophies, and theories that are based on the failing, fading, ever-changing wisdom of mankind. We all see it. We all feel it. We all know it. However, many of us have been afraid to speak out because many of the places where it is purported have become centers of attention in the church world and we dare not place ourselves in opposition for fear of isolation.

Paul reminded them of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 says,

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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.

When you study the first Corinthian letter you will notice that the overarching theme is unity. No matter what problems they are facing, Paul sees it all as division, and the solution is obviously unity. Paul does not waste any time. He doesn’t call his publisher to find out what is the latest trend in conflict management, but he turns their attention to the ultimate personification of unity, Jesus Christ. God himself. God is one God in three persons. He possesses perfect and harmonious unity, yet he is distinct in diversity, manifesting himself as three distinctive persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the three-cord strand that cannot be broken. In him (Jesus) dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9)

So, what is the gospel? Take a moment to glance at the verses again in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Paul says, “Moreover, brethren. In other words, besides everything I’ve said to you, I declare (emphasize, stress, highlight, accentuate, draw attention to, underline, underscore,) to you the gospel. Wait a minute Paul! Go back to telling us how to love, how to order the spiritual gifts, and how to come out of sexual immorality and idolatry. Give us steps and principles on how to become better people and how to make our lives better.

However, after teaching them on the individual importance of every part of the body of Christ, the order of spiritual gifts, and love, Paul saw the most important thing to be the gospel of Jesus Christ, his death, burial, and resurrection. It is as almost if he is saying, it is all that you will ever need to know, that he died for you, he was buried for you, and that he rose for you. If you believe that, if you hold fast to that, you can make it through anything. You can have consistent victory; you can overcome all things because He did.

What greater enemy, thief, or destroyer is there than death? There isn’t one! If Jesus defeated death, the greatest and last enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26), why can’t we get along in the church, why can’t we be delivered from strongholds and struggles, why can’t marriages be reconciled, and why can’t souls be saved by the thousands?

I’ll give you one good reason. We’re not satisfied with the simplicity of the gospel message. The story is too old for us now. It’s boring; it’s lackluster, and unexciting. Our world is so fast-paced, image conscious, and sensually-driven that we can’t connect with truth any longer. We like fantasies, fairy tales, imaginations, stories, philosophies, theories, and that with sugary icing on top.

We have to make sure we sensationalize, titillate, embellish, and dramatize the gospel in order for people to respond positively to it. This is not an attempt to judge or criticize style or culture that gives fuel to the various kinds of gospel presentations that we experience in our churches, utilizing whatever medium God leads us to use. God values and encourages diversity and variety. However, this is an attempt to stamp out the gross and deliberate diluting of the gospel or the ill-advised efforts to add to it.

Just preach it. Just sing it. Just teach it. Don’t add to it, don’t take away from it. Just trust that God has the power to speak through the simplicity of it. People don’t need our Master of Divinity, they don’t really need our homiletical precision or exegetical prowess, and they don’t need our oratorical expertise. They need the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Listen to Paul’s humble words concerning the gospel presentation in 1 Corinthians 2:1-8.

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory

The gospel has become the lost and silent message of the church, but it’s still the message that heals, delivers, and guarantees freedom and all we have to do tell it like it’s written.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is awesome, it’s amazing, and saves the souls of sinful men and women everywhere. It’s so powerful that Paul stated the following in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation…” Wow! Isn’t that reassuring? My present and eternal destiny has been totally rerouted because Jesus came, he died, he was buried, and he rose again on the third day.

I leave you with the words of a song popularized by Pastor Donnie McClurkin in speaking of Jesus Christ, “Living he loved me, dying he saved me, buried he carried my sins far away, rising he justified me, freed me forever, one day he’s coming back, glorious day!

These words touch the very core of our souls and remind us of the joy that we experienced when Christ came into our lives. It is natural, necessary, and mandatory that we share that experience with someone who has yet to meet Jesus. Whatever you do, however you do it, and whenever you do it, just do one thing, PREACH THE GOSPEL.

Author: Rev. Dan A. Thomas, Jr.

Founder, D.R.E.A.M. Conference/ www.dreamconference2007.com

dreamconference@yahoo.com