No Gospel At All

by

John D. McArthur, Jr.

In Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, the young hero, Henry, is not a coward. He wants to serve his country and fight the rebel forces during the American Civil War. In fact, he is obsessed with the idea of going to war and returning a hero.

But when Henry finally got in a battle, things got a little mixed up. There was screaming, and smoke, and noise, and he was just not sure what he was doing or who he was fighting. When he saw soldiers running in the opposite direction of the battle, he threw down his weapon and blindly ran away with them.

In our Christian life there is a lot of confusion as well. So many different churches teaching us so many different things. Even within the local congregation there is that constant tension between grace and works.

In Galatians 1:6 and 7 we read, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ."

The whole book of Galatians is a very blunt and powerful attack against the Judiazers. Simply put, the Judiazers were people who taught that in order for a Gentile to become a Christian, he had to first become a Jew.

Now there is nothing wrong with the teachings of Judaism. In fact, Jesus was born and raised in a culture and place steeped in that tradition. The Old Testament law is full of good morals and values that we would do well as a nation to follow today. The Christian lifestyle is based on an understanding of the Ten Commandments. But Judaism, and following the law, is not the gospel.

It is popular today to say all churches are teaching the same gospel. But are they? Look closely and you will see nothing but confusion.

Does a person become a Christian by faith only or by baptism? And is baptism by sprinkling, pouring or immersion? Do we baptize babies, children or adults? Is it essential or is it optional?

Do we celebrate communion weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly? Is the Bible the written word of God or is it a guideline for good living? Is the congregation governed by elders, deacons, a board, a synod, or the pastor? Is regular worship attendance essential, required, expected, hoped for, or a nice idea?

No wonder the unchurched person avoids church like the plague.

Why did Paul become so upset with the Judiazers of his day? They were still teaching Jesus was the Christ. Apparently they still taught baptism by immersion. And they were welcoming Gentiles into fellowship. But the Judiazers were adding the tradition of Judaism to the gospel.

In church today, we like our tradition. There is comfort in not having to read the bulletin to know what will happen next. There is peace in singing that old hymn 1,000 times. And we feel like we have really been to church when we enter the same old familiar building.

The trouble is: none of those things are the gospel. A few years ago, Christ in Youth reported an alarming statistic from its study of Christian Church/Church of Christ young people. Of those who had been active in Sunday school and youth groups through their junior high and high school years, 75 percent did not even attend church on Sunday morning their first year away from home.

Charles McNeeley wrote, "Is it possible that we have given in to an entertainment orientation for our young people and have so downplayed worship of God that we have fostered a shallow faith and short-term commitment? Perhaps we need to rethink all our programs for children and youth with the larger purpose of the church in mind."

Galatians 1:8 and 9 continues, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!"

When Harvey Bream, Sr. use to preach from these verses he would say, "Paul certainly writes loud."

The freedom we have in Christ must be tempered with law and boundaries. In our daily lives, we are not free to take someone else's property. We are not free to show up to work whenever we feel like it. And we are not free to do anything that is dangerous or harmful to ourselves or others.

It works the same way in Christianity. Love, forgiveness and grace without judgment, condemnation and restriction is worthless. How much do we really love someone if we let them stand on a busy interstate highway? How much do we really care about young people if we do not let them know sex before marriage is wrong? And how much grace are we really showing if we allow people to do whatever they want no matter how much they might hurt themselves?

We do not like these two verses because our society teaches that no one has the right to tell us anything. The results of no one having the right to tell us anything can be seen in public schools. The administrators of my local middle school have become so afraid of children bringing weapons to class they no longer allow the kids to wear backpacks. Even though it is downplayed, there are several teenage girls at the high school right across the street from the church I serve that have had not one but several abortions.

It may sound simplistic but the reason is people are not taught absolutes much anymore. Situation ethics rule. However, there is a black and white; a right and wrong. And Paul could not be any clearer than he is in verses 8 and 9.

It is time for the church to stop playing games. It is time for the church to stop trying to be relevant, modern or culturally sensitive to the unchurched and start being the proclaimer of the one true gospel.

Finally, consider Galatians 1:10, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."

When we come to worship, who are we trying to please? When we share the gospel what are we doing? Jesus condemned the hypocrite in Matthew 6 who did his acts of righteousness before men to be seen by man and who loved to pray on the street corners to be seen and heard by others. Jesus said, that person has received his reward in full.

When our main goal in church is to offer programs that are attractive or provide entertainment that is enjoyable, we receive our reward in full as well. There may be big crowds. There may be a good response. And there may be widespread recognition and honor for our work. But the question we need to answer is this: Are we doing those things to win the approval of men or of God?

Look through the Bible and you will be hard pressed to find the twentieth century church. Buildings are not important. Numbers are not important. The size of the offering is not important. Even the type and style of preacher is not important.

What is consistently important in the Bible's description of the church and Christians is faithfulness. It doesn't matter if your preacher is the best thing that ever happened to your church or a thorn in the flesh. It doesn't matter if the building is packed every week or if it is so empty you have to shout for your nearest neighbor to hear you. It doesn't matter if you are a success at work or if your family is perfect. The only thing that matters is who are you trying to please?

We have a lot of freedom to spread the gospel in a lot of different ways. And it would be wrong for us to hide our heads under a bushel and ignore or avoid the latest techniques and methods of evangelism and church growth. But we need to remember they are not the gospel. Whatever program we use should always be considered in light of whether it is pleasing to God.

We claim in the Churches of Christ and Christian Churches to be Christians only. We claim to follow the Bible as our only guide. We claim to want to restore the church of the first century. Do we really mean that?

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