The gospel is often misunderstood these days. Simplifying it in a way that misleads people into thinking that life becomes easy after accepting Jesus Christ as Savior is a misinterpretation. In my efforts to explain the Gospel, I aim not to present what isn’t Gospel, but rather to convey what the Bible teaches.
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus began His ministry by proclaiming, “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.'” The emphasis in verse 15 highlights that “the time has come for God to rule our hearts (lives).” Repentance involves confessing and turning away from sins, feeling remorse and believing that Jesus died for us and rose again. After repentance and belief, our lives must be ruled by the Lord. This means that our thoughts, words and deeds must be aligned with His will. A transformed life is demanded as a result of our submission to Christ.
In the past, we used to sing “Great change since I was born,” with verses focusing on transformed thoughts, words and deeds. Nowadays, churches resonate with spirit-filled worship. Recently, a drummer in a church boasted that he controls the Holy Spirit, suggesting that the Spirit’s presence is determined by his drumming speed. Sadly, as one pastor confessed, their worship has become more drum-controlled than Spirit-controlled.
God expects all His people to allow Him to rule their lives. John 1:12 outlines the foundational truth about the sonship of the people of God – “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). This privilege of becoming the children of God is a state where we allow God to rule our lives, and we live in obedience to Him, leaving behind the sins that ensnare us. ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.’ (Hebrews 12:1).
Instead of following Jesus and living out His purpose in our lives, the devil offers many deceptive alternatives to mislead God’s people. One such deception is “hyper-grace,” which encourages living according to worldly desires and the flesh, under the guise of exaggerated grace, ultimately a deception of the devil. Hyper-grace, also known as the modern grace message, is a soteriological doctrine in Christianity that emphasizes divine grace and holds to eternal security. This perspective has gained popularity, especially within certain expressions of charismatic Christianity.
Another alternative to allowing God to rule our life is treating Him as the provider of all good things in the world, thus taking His promises out of context and neglecting the truth in order to pursue our own will and desires in life. Sadly, even the pastors and evangelists are swayed by this theology.
As days go by, we encounter various unbiblical teachings that distract us from true fellowship with God, who gives us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control as the fruit of the Spirit. A careful study of the word of God reminds us that the kingdom of God is not just eating and drinking. As Romans 14:17 states, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”. We should understand that our joy, love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control stem from being children of God.