The Gospel Is Not An Advertising Gimmick
“The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23)
“Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).
I know you have seen advertisements which claim they will give you a product for FREE. Then, when you responded, you found out in order to get the so called free gift you had to sign up to pay for more of the product in order to get what they claimed was free.
The modern day Protestant evangelical movement began in the early 18th Century. It continues to this day. I was a part of it for many years. I dropped out when I discovered that this movement had an eerie similarity to the offer of a free product from advertisers.
Think about it for a minute. How was the gospel of salvation presented to you? Was it presented as a free gift IF you believed, repented, invited, accepted, and received it? And were you told you were doing the right thing (justified) before God IF you joined the church by being baptized, regularly participated in the “Lord’s Supper” (communion) and supported the church by “tithing”, “praying”, “witnessing”, etc. etc.?
The GOSPEL is not an advertising gimmick to get you to join an institution of men. The Gospel is a declaration of the SALVATION of sinful mankind by the GRACE OF GOD. It is proclaimed to us in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus, the Son of God.
“Now I make known to you, brethren, THE GOSPEL which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also YOU ARE SAVED, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
Paul says it is “THE GOSPEL” by which “YOU ARE SAVED” and in which “YOU STAND”. It is true that he also emphasizes the gospel is what he and they “received”, but receiving it did not SAVE them, it simply allowed them and us to enjoy in this life the joy and peace "THE GOSPEL" gives.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with people believing, repenting, inviting, accepting and receiving the Gospel, UNLESS they are doing so in order to get saved.
The Salvation of the sinner is FREE, and so is JUSTIFICATION. One does not acquire them by responding to an “offer”. They are given "freely by His grace" to mankind as a result of the “redemption that is in Christ Jesus”.
"...because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the GRACE of God in truth." (Colossians 1:5-6)
“Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).
I know you have seen advertisements which claim they will give you a product for FREE. Then, when you responded, you found out in order to get the so called free gift you had to sign up to pay for more of the product in order to get what they claimed was free.
The modern day Protestant evangelical movement began in the early 18th Century. It continues to this day. I was a part of it for many years. I dropped out when I discovered that this movement had an eerie similarity to the offer of a free product from advertisers.
Think about it for a minute. How was the gospel of salvation presented to you? Was it presented as a free gift IF you believed, repented, invited, accepted, and received it? And were you told you were doing the right thing (justified) before God IF you joined the church by being baptized, regularly participated in the “Lord’s Supper” (communion) and supported the church by “tithing”, “praying”, “witnessing”, etc. etc.?
The GOSPEL is not an advertising gimmick to get you to join an institution of men. The Gospel is a declaration of the SALVATION of sinful mankind by the GRACE OF GOD. It is proclaimed to us in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus, the Son of God.
“Now I make known to you, brethren, THE GOSPEL which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also YOU ARE SAVED, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
Paul says it is “THE GOSPEL” by which “YOU ARE SAVED” and in which “YOU STAND”. It is true that he also emphasizes the gospel is what he and they “received”, but receiving it did not SAVE them, it simply allowed them and us to enjoy in this life the joy and peace "THE GOSPEL" gives.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with people believing, repenting, inviting, accepting and receiving the Gospel, UNLESS they are doing so in order to get saved.
The Salvation of the sinner is FREE, and so is JUSTIFICATION. One does not acquire them by responding to an “offer”. They are given "freely by His grace" to mankind as a result of the “redemption that is in Christ Jesus”.
They are yours as a free gift through the LOVE and GRACE of God so believe and ENJOY the gospel...
"...because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the GRACE of God in truth." (Colossians 1:5-6)