Monster cookies. I love them for their crunchiness and texture. Some time ago one of my son’s wife made some of them for us. But the problem was, she left out an ingredient. They looked delicious. But when my wife took a bite of one, she noticed that it didn’t taste good. Since I lost most of my taste and smell many years ago, she offered them to me to eat. I couldn’t tell the difference, so I ate them.
Mistakes. Perhaps you’ve tried to make some things from scratch but forgot to add an ingredient or you may have used the wrong size measuring cup. Maybe you set the temperature wrong or left them in the oven too long or took them out too soon. Have you ever done this? I did this once when I used to sell cookware while I was in college. In spite of my mistake, the customer bought the product.
Misleading Others. When it comes to the most important decision in life that will determine one’s eternal destiny in heaven or in hell, we must make sure that we are not misleading people by leaving out any of the essential “ingredients” of the Gospel or asking people to trust in the wrong Jesus as the cults do. Let’s consider the essential elements of the Gospel and which Jesus has the ability to save us from eternal condemnation?
Gospel. The Gospel that leads to our salvation is clearly presented in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. Christ died [once and for all – Hebrews 10:10, on a cross, not a stake – Philippians 2:8] for our [everyone’s – 1 John 2:2; 1 Timothy 4:10] sins [all of them – past, present, and future sins]; He was buried for three days and three nights (See Matthew 12:40), and then He rose again [bodily] on the third day (as it had been predicted so He wouldn’t experience decay as Lazarus did – Psalm 16:10; See John 11:39). He was seen with a real, resurrected, glorified body on 10 different occasions by over 500 witnesses over a 40 day period of time before ascending back to heaven with a promise to return (Acts 1:1-11; See John 14:1-3). His resurrected, glorified body could appear and disappear instantly, and even eat food (Luke 24:33-43). The resurrected bodies of Christians will be like His (1 John 3:2; See Daniel 12:1-3).
Which Jesus Saves? Before He went to the cross, Jesus said that many false Christs would come in His name and deceive a lot of people (Matthew 24:5). They have been around for a long time and many people have been deceived by false teachers (2 Peter 2:1 ff). Which Jesus can save us from eternal condemnation in the lake of fire? “The Wafer Jesus” who didn’t finish the work of salvation and whose mother is a “Co-Redemptrix” (R.C.C.)? “The Elevated Jesus” who is the spirit brother of Lucifer (L.D.S.)? “The Modernist Jesus” who wasn’t born of the virgin, Mary? “The Universalist Jesus” who won’t send anyone to hell? “The Firstborn Creation” of Jehovah who is not fully God (J.W.)? “The Self Esteem Jesus” who never calls men sinners? “The Prosperity Jesus” who promises health, wealth, and happiness to their contributors? “The Revolutionary Jesus” of the socialists/communists? “The Muslim Jesus” who isn’t the God-man. Or perhaps some other Jesus?
Believing In Vain. It’s not enough to know and agree with the facts of the Gospel as many people do today. You must transfer your faith and trust from yourself and your good works over to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ alone to be saved (Acts 4:12; 16:31). We are not saved by our good works (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5) or by our faith plus our good works as an added measure for extra “insurance.” We are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in the Christ of the Scriptures alone. We are not to add unbiblical requirements as conditions for salvation.
Missing Ingredient. Sadly, when invitations for salvation are given today, the “bodily resurrection of Christ” is often left out (See 1 Corinthians 15; Luke 24:33-43). The Apostle Paul suffered extreme persecution at the hands of religious Jews and others because he insisted that the bodily resurrection of Christ be a part of the Gospel message (2 Timothy 2:8-10; See Romans 1:16, 17). So did the early disciples (Acts 4:2 ff).
Don’t assume that unbelievers know the proper facts of the Gospel and believe them. Many people in some parts of the world have never even heard the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12) or know anything about the true and living God. If you leave out the bodily resurrection of Christ in your Gospel presentation, you haven’t given a lost person the hope (confident expectation based on God’s promises) that he/she needs to be saved.
No Annihilation/Reincarnation. Christ’s resurrection guarantees the bodily resurrection of everyone who dies – believers and unbelievers (1 Corinthians 15:20-24). True believers will spend eternity with God, but all unbelievers will spend eternity in the lake of fire with the devil and his angels/demons (Matthew 25:41, 46; John 16:11; Revelation 21:8). The Scriptures do NOT teach the annihilation of the wicked dead as some of the cults do or reincarnation as some religions teach.
Crown. The “Crown of Rejoicing” awaits true Christians who are involved in leading lost people to Christ and who share the Gospel clearly with them (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20). Once this has been done, God the Holy Spirit can do His part of convicting (thoroughly convincing) unsaved people of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-11; See 6:37, 44).
Action Steps. If you are not a true Christian, why not trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone to be your personal Savior? Do it now! When you do this you can have assurance of your salvation from God’s Word (1 John 5:13), and from God the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16). If you are a true Christian, God wants you to glorify Him (1 Corinthians 10:31) by growing spiritually yourself and helping new believers grow (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18), by serving God and others with “agape” love (1 Peter 4:10; Galatians 5:13; 6:10), and by leading lost people to Christ (Acts 1:8; Mark 16:15). Are you doing these things? Are you trying to win people to Christ but failing to share the clear and complete Gospel with them? If so, make the necessary changes in your presentation and leave the results with God. He alone can save.
Help. We’re here to assist those who are teachable and willing to change (2 Timothy 2:2, 15; 3:16, 17). If you have questions and/or comments, we can be reached through our website: www.kelseypeach.com. If this article has been helpful to you, we’d like to hear from you. Please SHARE it with others too.
For more information, consider these articles:
Which Jesus Saves? https://kelseypeach.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/which-jesus-saves/
Dr. Ron Shea, Clear Gospel: (Consider some confusing/false conditions for salvation)
http://www.cleargospel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/English/English-Display-Pkg-2014.pdf
Dr. Manfred Kober: Do We Really Know The Gospel? (24 word presentation)
https://faith.edu/faith-news/do-we-really-know-the-gospel/
Professor David Spurbeck: The Gospel Checker
http://bartimaeus.us/pub_dom/monographs.html
Dr. Andy Woods, Lordship Salvation: https://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2011/03/what-is-wrong-with-lordship-salvation.html
Dr. G. Michael Cocorus, Repentance: The Most Misunderstood Word
https://kelseypeach.wordpress.com/2019/02/28/repentance-the-most-misunderstood-word-in-the-bible/
“Bad News – Good News” https://kelseypeach.wordpress.com/2019/04/24/the-bad-news-the-good-news/
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