But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his trickery, your minds will be led astray from sincere and pure devotion to Christ.For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, this you tolerate very well! —2 Corinthians 11:3-4 NASB
I recently watched the film “Left Behind” starring Nicolas Cage. Although I have also read the books, I find myself watching this film and other versions of it many times over and every time I am humbled by the story.
These films regarding the rapture of believers may be fiction, the truth is that the story portrayed in these films and books will one day happen. This sudden and unannounced event will take many people by surprise and will be particularly tragic for Christians who will be left behind.
Every time I watch the film, I always reflect on the type of Christianity we experience today, and the type of gospel preached in many of our churches. I am concerned that the gospel preached will leave many Christians unprepared for the unannounced sudden event of the Rapture that will sooner or later happen on planet Earth.
In today’s scripture, the Apostle Paul was chiding or telling off the Corinthians for their gullibility and lack of discernment in accepting the false teachings. The believers were freely and willingly tolerating the false teachers preaching another Jesus, introducing and dispensing a different spirit than the Holy Spirit, and proclaiming a different gospel.
The same problem is happening in many churches today, where the gospel is being “repackaged” to suit different audiences and groups of people. There are churches preaching a “different” gospel by devising and adopting all forms of strategies all in the name of winning souls to Christ. These strategies often come with a subtle distortion of the gospel which can be deceptive and misleading.
There is only one gospel and only one good news. This was the message the Apostle Paul gave to the church in Galatia when they were following the deceptive teachings of the false teachers. He said – “I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.” Galatians 1:6-7 (NLT)
The gospel is never about a place, religion, culture, or tradition. The gospel is about a person, the person of Jesus Christ. It is about a relationship with God through Jesus.
We will talk more about how the gospel is being repackaged in the next blog.
Stay blessed,
LaraLex
Hills and Valleys 