Written by Mark Driskill:
Thursday March 17, 2011
Read Acts 10:34-43

“And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. to him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” vss. 42-43

Beware of the of the latest trend in “gospel” preaching. I would even venture to call it the designer gospel.  There is a trend among many preachers to give the world a gospel, which is no gospel at all.  It is a gospel that sounds good on the surface but if you look under the hood it really has nothing to offer hurting humanity.  The message is essentially this: “God is love and will not judge you for your sins. All paths ultimately lead to heaven and what you do about Jesus is irrelevant because God loves us way too much to send anybody to hell. All lifestyles are good (except for those mean evangelicals) so just chill and be nice.” They preach that it’s wrong to talk in terms of believers and unbelievers, lost and saved, etc.

We all agree that God is love and that he wants no one to perish.  We all agree that mistakes have been made in the church’s attempt to communicate the gospel.  But at the same time when you read the “gospel” that Jesus and his apostles preached, it bears no resemblance to the non-gospel, filled with ambiguity we hear today.  I try to imagine Peter preaching to those first Gentiles at Antioch.  What if he, at the invitation of Cornelius, had come there and preached what so many preach today?

Can you imagine the “god hungry” centurion with all his friends and family just waiting to hear good news if they had heard something like this? “Um well, friends, okay it’s like this, you see God is love and well, there’s this story about a man named Jesus who um, was killed because of his search for truth, and you see he taught us to love each other. It’s not unlike the stories you have heard about from your local religions, you see we’re all searching and it’s ok because God, however you experience him in your personal journey is well um just fine because in the end um God will fix it all.” I can imagine Cornelius saying to himself, “I sent my soldiers to Joppa for this? An angel came and spoke to me so I could hear some guy tell me a story I don’t really need to believe?”

Listen, it is time for our culture to stop trying to write our own gospel and instead sit down and read the one we have.  Yes, it says some disturbing things.  Yes, it makes some demands.  Yes, it has some pretty narrow things to say about what is true and not true.  But this gospel, despite the difficult questions it raises, has been changing lives for centuries.  It still works.  Repentance of sin and faith in Jesus remains the only lasting source of hope and eternal life.

Let the trend surfers try to make up a better story or a more palatable plan.  Ultimately all they offer us is empty sentiment.  How can telling me “I’m okay and nothing matters” set me free? Oh, I forgot I don’t need to be free because it’s all good. Um, then why do I still have this gaping hole in my soul?   Friends, there is a gospel that has more to offer than that.  Try all you want to make up another one.  In the end the crucified and risen one will win the day.  If you are looking for hope look to Him and settle for nothing less.  He will heal what is broken and set you free.

Mark Driskill and his wife Mary are homeschooling community ministers in Breathitt County Kentucky.  They have four children. They co pastor Emmanuel fellowship Church, serve as Camp Pastors at Bethel Mennonite Camp, and Mark Teaches at Oakdale Christian Academy.

Mark is web minister for Begotten by theWord , a ministry of Helping Hands Christian Resources.

Once a month he preaches on the local radio station through the “Lion of Judah” program. Mark also preaches in youth rallies and revivals upon request at no charge. Their vision is to see true spiritual awakening come to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and to the nation.

Contact information:
Email: driskill@hilbillymail.com
Facebook: Mark Driskill
Address: PO Box 1159 Jackson KY.