1. The Gospel of No More Than 5 Minutes.

There is this growing sense in the Christian world today that, more often than not, congregations are becoming more and more the “faith based”, “experiential”, “revivalist”, “practical and relational” type of Church congregation while being under the premise of reaching the lost and the efforts to fulfill the biblical mandate in preaching the Gospel.

As noble as the cause seems, and as sincere as the proponents of such congregational  movements are in reaching the lost and preaching the Gospel (Though I doubt what their understanding of the Gospel is), it seems that today, in efforts to fulfill “duties” as servants of the Lord, being consumed by desire, emotion, and “spiritual whatnot”, believing to be serving the Lord of the Word, preachers have completely thrown out the window the authority and supremacy in all Christian practice and living the Word of the Lord.

In a deeper sense, in the overwhelming desire to help our fellow man, in this age of humanistic charity and human-deism, churches today, consciously or unconsciously, have slowly, over the years reconciled the philosophy of humanism with Christian religion. Doing so, the motivation has gone from God-centered Christian preaching and living, to a subtle Man-centered preaching and living. This is evident if one would examine the drift of theological digression over the turn of the century. Orthodox Protestantism turning into a dumbed down version of Protestantism. Protestantism leading to Fundamentalism. Fundamentalism turning into a dumbed down version of itself, then the birth of Liberalism. And of course, the rise of the Evangelical Movement that would later give birth to more movements such as, the seeker-sensitive, post-modern, missional, church-growth and emergent/emerging church movements.

The priority of the Christian faith has radically shifted towards the humanistic desire to evangelize the world, to give poor sinners a chance to go to heaven and have a victorious life. Overwhelmed by that shift, man was given so much worth, worth that he so does not deserve.

The depravity of man and the need of a Savior has been changed into “God has created you in His image, and He loves you, and He created you that you may live a victorious life, fulfilling your life’s purpose”, giving willful disregard the fact that “Only the sick needs a Physician”, and deceive ourselves that they don’t really have to know that they are sick, Biblically speaking, “Dead in trespasses and sins.” D-E-A-D, dead.

I do not doubt even for a second, the genuine desire pastors and preachers have in reaching the lost. But it seems that they have been so much overtaken with their desire and drive that they have forgotten what it truly means to preach the Gospel. Michael Horton, said in one broadcast of the White Horse Inn (Assuming the Gospel),

“People think that preaching the Gospel is something you do to evangelize non-Christians. Preaching the Gospel is different from telling people they need to get saved, it is announcing and proclaiming what God has done to save them.”

How radically different is this motivation from our humanistic ideals? Has not God said? Has not God done?

We are so convinced that it is upon our hands that men be saved and we have so forgotten that “it is in the foolishness of the message preached that pleases God to save those who believe.” (1 Cor 1:21)

We are so convinced that it is upon our hands to reach the lost and devise methods and strategies to reach the unbelieving world that we have forgotten that all we are called to do is to “feed the sheep.”

We are not to cook up something new so that goats would be able to like the gospel. But it is the food that the Lord Christ Jesus has prepared that we are commanded to set forth to the people.

Thus, I am not surprised to why the message of the Gospel today has been so dumbed down into a couple spiritual steps and evangelical hoops. I am not surprised why the message of the Gospel has been handed over to “Disciplers”/”Evangelists” who don’t know what the Gospel is. I am not surprised why preachers today would go so far as to go through all the emotional drama and coercion just to make people make that “decision for Christ”, most of the time of which doesn’t last for more than 5 minutes. Then the preacher would pulpishly declare them to be saved and resign to the idea, “Well they’ll understand what the Gospel is eventually in their small groups.” All because of such overwhelming disregard for God, and an overwhelming regard for Man, while leaving men still wedded to their idols and sins.

How sad it is to see how low the evangelical world has become.

The message of the Gospel is that through the preaching of the holiness of God and the greatness of our sin, in spite of our rebellion and anarchy against Him who is infinitely holy and just, “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8) Repent and believe these things, and thou shalt be saved.

The Gospel to be handled so lowly and unimportant is such a detestable disservice to God. Fearful I am for those who claim to be preachers of the Word, handling the fates of the ever living, never dying soul in such a way, greater is their judgment on that great day.

To the Apostle Paul it was a message of first importance, one to be proclaimed and preached over and over again. Sadly, that message that Paul considered above all else, seemingly, is just a side dish in pulpits today to seal the deal in church attendance and membership.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Cor 15:1-4)