Are We Wiser Than God - America's "Twisted and Partial" Gospel

March 11, 2011

I took a really weird journey today in my study time. I started out in the book of James, with just a simple read-through in mind, but as I got to the verse in chapter 2 where James discusses blessing someone with our mouths, but then not giving them those things which they are in need of, my mind was struck with another verse, found in the book of Romans chapter 14 which says, "do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God". (Romans 14:22) My thinking, as I started to read this, was simply that if -  I truly have faith that moves mountains, why not give my current physical possessions to them, and then let my great faith to re-supply myself with the needed possessions from God. To state that again, why not give away everything I have (if needed), to a needier or poor person who asks it of me, because after all, I can “name it and claim it” (I do believe in that), and believe God, and the Lord will re-supply me with that which I have lost. Though that thought is both convicting and profound, reading on in Romans chapter 14 and 15 brought me to another segue into the book of Acts.

In the book of Romans, chapter 15 starting in verse 24 and going on through to verse 28, Paul begins to talk about his proposed journey to Spain. He correlates the time of his thinking and speaking here, to his imminent journey to Jerusalem to deliver the gifts that he has acquired throughout all the churches of Asia to give to the poor saints in Jerusalem. A side note on this issue, is that in the year A.D. 46, there had been a famine in Jerusalem and Judea and the surrounding areas. Many so-called scholars, preachers, and those that spread as the truth - the stories that they've heard from others who somehow got them from others as well, say that as a result of the early church “selling all that they had and sharing it with one another,” that the church itself had brought itself into destitution and poverty. I have found no scriptural or historic documentation that the church - being led by the Holy Spirit, and sharing all things, and even the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, was somehow a catastrophic failure, and not the direct leadings of the Holy Spirit. All the region of Jerusalem went through a documented famine, and that is the only historic reason that I could find for there being poor believers and Jews in Jerusalem at this time.

Anyway, to move on, as I listened to Paul speak in Romans chapter 15, I realized that in his heart, he was fully committed, at the time of his writing this, to leaving Jerusalem and heading by way of Rome, directly to Spain. That led me to remember, that in the book of Acts, Paul said, "I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me." (Acts 20: 22, 23). How could Paul, who in the timeline of his journey to Jerusalem to deliver these gifts to the poor Saints there, make these two contrasting statements: one, that he feels led of the Spirit to go to Spain as soon as he delivers these gifts, and come by Rome on his way to Spain. And two, that on that same journey to deliver these gifts, he feels “bound in the Spirit”, and that he believes chains and imprisonments are awaiting him there. Again, as I read further, in verse 25, Paul says "indeed, now I know that you all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more". I think this conversation that Paul was having with the Ephesian Church Elders, was the moment where he truly began to realize that his plans for Spain, were going to be altered. Make no mistake, it is my personal belief, that when Paul says in first Timothy that he was delivered from the mouth of the lion, I think he was set completely free for a period of time, and there is a great possibility that during that time he did travel once again. That is not Scripture, that's just my opinion based on the Scriptures – both what they say, and what they clearly do not say.

Now finally, after all that, we get to the full purpose of my writing today. In Acts 20: 26 - 31, Paul, now realizing and “prophesying” that he will never see them in this life of the flesh again, begins to give them instructions and prophetic predictions about their future, after he has left them for Jerusalem. In verse 26 he says that, “he is innocent of the blood of all men "  - because- (verse 27) "I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God". Paul says that he is innocent and completely clean before the Lord, for one reason only, he has given them the entire load -  from the Scriptures of their responsibilities, rights, and privileges as Christians. As the Old Testament Scriptures state, he has been a “watchman on the walls” of the people to whom he has been commissioned. I do not believe that there are many Christian leaders today who can boldly say what Paul has said, "I have told you everything that you need to know, that I was commissioned to tell you; I kept back nothing!”

In verse 29, Paul says I know this – the wolves are coming. But he starts out verse 30 with the word "also". The word “also” separates the "wolves" from the people in verse 30. Verse 30 says, "from among yourselves men will rise up speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves." There are three important things in this verse: number one, the people that do this damage to the body of Christ, are people from among yourselves – were Christian believers. Number two, the phrase "perverse things" is the Greek word “DIASTREPHO" which means to twist or distort. And number three, Paul states their purpose is –“to draw away disciples after themselves". To state it another way, parties will rise up inside the body of Christ, that twist the truth just enough to draw away numbers of people unto themselves – thus creating a party or faction within the body of Christ - or the church universal.

All this, when coupled with verse 20 of Acts chapter 20, which states, "how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house" and again verse 27, "for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God", makes for an indictment against much of what is going on in mainstream Christianity circles in America today.

Paul was “clear and innocent” of the blood of all men because he did not shrink back from preaching the entire Gospel. Paul did not give himself license to decide which parts of the gospel were essential, and which parts of the gospel were optional. He taught the full Gospel, the entire Gospel, as the only Gospel! The vast majority of Christian leadership in America today, appear to believe that they have the wisdom to determine what is essential and what is optional or nonessential. With this motive in mind, they teach what they believe to be essential gospel, purposely leaving out any controversial, or in their mind “nonessential parts” of the gospel. If they did this in sincere ignorance, and truly believed that the gospel that they preached was in fact the only gospel, and the full Gospel in its entirety, then I believe that they too, might be free from the blood of all men. But, I am personally aware of many, many leaders today, both personal friends, casual acquaintances, and world Christian leaders who have made a conscious decision to break up and “section” what they deem to be the essential gospel, from the rest of the “optional gospel”, and to preach only that. They say that they are doing this for the purpose of being able to reach the masses for Jesus Christ, and in part I believe that they believe that this is their heart motivation.

However, what they are doing was clearly stated by Paul, in Acts chapter 20:30; they have risen up within the body of Christ, they are preaching altered or twisted gospel – altered not for bad, but for good they say ( it must be weird to know more than God), and preaching this twisted gospel they are drawing large, even huge amounts of people after their preaching and “their” gospel. Even Jesus, in John 15:15 said, "no longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."

My fellow Christian leader, are you wiser than Jesus? If Jesus preached everything that the Father told him, and Paul told the Ephesians “everything that he knew, that could possibly help them in Christ”, how can we claim to be benefiting the kingdom and fellow believers, to be laying our lives down for the gospel, and spend most of our ministries telling “veiled” or half-truths, using the rationalization that we just want to see people “saved”. Apparently Jesus' idea of being “saved” and Paul's idea of being a Christian are somewhat different than the estimations in the minds of our leaders today.

My fellow leader, if you know the truth and are only telling part of the truth, then I hope for your sake that Jesus has a different standard for you, than the Father had for Jesus, and than Jesus had for Paul.

My friend, what is deemed as the "baptism in the Holy Spirit" or being filled with the spirit, in a way that causes you and other believers to, "speak with tongues, or prophesy" was considered by Paul and Jesus both, to be the essential gospel. The greatest portion of Jesus' comments and teaching in John chapters 14 - 17, (which all took place on the night before his death – a night when he shared the most important truths that the disciples had to know)  the greatest portion of those comments and teachings were about the coming of the Holy Spirit and his ministry to them, in them, and, through them. In acts 19, when Paul came to the Ephesians, his very first question to them  (he assumed they were believers already) – was, "did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

Paul goes on to say in many of his other letters that the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential to the plan of God, to the individual believer's personal success in living for God on this earth, and in the carrying out of the great commission. There is not time or space here to include all of the numerous references, but I will include at least one more; Galatians chapter 3: 13,14, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us for it is written curse it is everyone who hangs on a tree that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Paul says there, that the purpose of Christ dying for us and washing is in his blood, is that the “blessing of Abraham” might come upon us – and most fail to realize that the blessing of Abraham is stated plainly right there – “that we might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit through faith.” I believe that's about as essential as you can get!

In addition to this travesty inflicted upon the body of Christ by well-intentioned, but leaders teaching a “twisted” gospel, there is another truth here that I think we have failed to realize. As I talk to many of these leaders in private conversation, it either becomes apparent, or they outright confess, that they themselves are filled with the Holy Spirit and many of them confess that they speak with other tongues. How tragic! That they would receive the blessing that has transformed their lives, they would walk in this blessing, but that they would keep it private – supposedly for the sake of Christ and the ministry he has given them. The very thing that is set them free, set them on fire for God, and transformed their lives – they will not share with their flocks for the fear that they would lose the crowd!

If you say no sir, “I'm doing it to bring as many people into the kingdom of God as possible, and this would slow that process” - I say to you again, "are you wiser than God." Jesus saved us, for the express purpose of baptizing us in the Holy Spirit. Paul said don't you know – you are the temples of the Holy Spirit! To actually know the truth, but to disguise the truth, for the sake of attracting large numbers, who will then go to heaven but be only “partially equipped down here,” and to have the “premeditated forethought” to make that decision for God, within your own self is a dangerous thing indeed.

Truly the church today is in exactly the danger that Paul described in Acts chapter 20 verse 30. There are many shepherds within the body of Christ today who are building their own kingdoms in the name of Christ, because they have mixed their desire for pleasing the Lord with their desire for success in this life and among their peers to the point, where their own judgment is twisted – and yet proceeding on anyway, they justify this position as “better for the gospel overall” and therefore become a law unto themselves, elevating their wisdom above the plan of God.

My friends, teach all that you know! Do not hold back anything that's working for you, that the Scriptures clearly teach, that might set another believer free and on fire for God. Teach the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God!  Because God knows more than you – he did not commission you to decide what is the essential truth, and preach that – He commissioned you to declare it, not decide it!

NEXT TIME:  “We believe in the Holy Spirit, but you get all you get when you receive Jesus as Savior” OR “it’s not that important that I “speak in tongues anymore” – we have the Spirit, just not any of the major manifestations – we are “decent and in order”

Wow! Have Christians entered the “dark ages” again?  Even though we have the “Printing press” today?

Yours in Christ

Eric Price