The Whole Gospel not the Hole Gospel

Had a great week of anticipation this week.  At 180 we are delving into a 10 week study on the Holy Spirit.  I tell you, last night we studied the name and nature of The Holy Spirit.  I was blessed to see how God is stirring people up in their hearts for more of Him.

I am so excited to see God move in His power.  The timing for this word is right on I feel.  My prayers are for all of us to grow in our relationship with God through His Holy Spirit.  That is a sweet thing.

Was a bit disappointed this weekend as we were looking to baptize two teenage girls this Sunday in the ocean.  Last week I preached to them after the service was over.  They came up for prayer because they were moved in their heart to better understand God.  They "wanted" God, but did not know what that meant.  So I was so blessed to preach the "Whole Gospel" not the "Hole Gospel" to them.  What I mean is this....I fear the church is filled with people today who have been duped with the Hole Gospel.  The Gospel with a Hole in it.  This Gospel is the one that says, "God loves you", and "God wants to make your life better."  It treats Heaven as a fire insurance plan, so that one can go on living the way they are and that they can still receive the benefits of all that God has for His children.  Although these premises are partly true, and I say partly because there is a big missing piece in this presentation.  There is a Hole in this gospel.  The hole is that there is no need for repentance for sin.

I suggest that we ought to be a church on Sunday with our hands raised up high worshiping with all our hearts, sweating under our arms and shouting chants of praise.  Much like a Jesus Culture concert, or even Michael W. Smith or something of the like that.  You cannot "produce" that type of response to Christ unless you stir up emotional frenzy, but it is not authentic.  But a people who have been hell bound and recognize their need for forgiveness truly are willing to enter into an atmosphere of praise and worship that is full on submitted to Christ as the center of the show.  He is worthy of a hoop and holler!  Even more than that He is worthy of a life being laid down and sacrificed for His purposes and no longer our own.  And also, that type of worship spills out of worship services on Sunday to radical and totally submitted lives to Christ.

So how do we preach this "Whole Gospel" we have to preach the portion about our response to what God has done.  A simple altar call and leading someone in the prayer of salvation is not going to cut it.  As I led these girls to the cross last week, I needed to explain about sin.  I had to go to Adam and Eve.  I had to share about how they missed the mark.  Sin entered in the world and it literally through the relationship with God out of the window.  I explained how we have been born "INTO" sin because our world is now tainted and separated from God.  I explained about the nation Israel and how they need to have priests to shed blood from the animals to cover their sin.  I shared then that is why Jesus died.  It wasn't because He just wanted to go to the cross.  It was because He became the LAST SACRIFICE for their sins.  And I explained if they could be down with that, then they were not far from salvation and the benefits of God, including being snatched from eternal hellfire and torment to receiving the blessed assurance of a good conscience towards God and becoming citizens of Heaven and aliens of this world.  Not to mention receiving the seal of the Holy Spirit to guide and protect them in all truth! 

What I did next was the part that is often missing in the gospel....it is the "hole".  I asked them to acknowledge their sins and repent (turn from/stop) from them.  Going  back to the authentic worship example above...the church is riddled with unrepentant sinners who want to believe that their souls are saved, but I fear, if that was not the case, we would see a lot more freedom in the body of Christ as well as victory.  Instead the church is filled with depressed, anxious and fearful souls. Christ's gospel does not produce this type of follower.  I explained how we need to make inventory of our lives and then turn from every evil deed.  In Acts 19:19 we see how a new believer responds to sinful lifestyles, we read of those practicing sorcery responded to the preaching of the gospel immediately repented of their sins with ACTION:

"19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. "

WOW!  So what happened with those 2 girls?  They did not show up to the baptism.  My heart is grieved over that.  I know there is hope for them.  On one front I greatly respect them for not going through baptism as half hearted and unrepentant as scores of "believers" do.  But I must not fault them, but us as leaders for preaching an "incomplete gospel."  On the other hand, I am honestly saddened to the fact that these girls still stand in the desperate waters of separation from God.  Please pray for these two precious souls that they may be washed in the blood of the perfect blood of Christ.  And lets remember to "preach the WHOLE Gospel!"

Peace,- Stu