Editor’s Note: A previously published article from Dr. Brown that is just as relevant today as it was then.
Stephen stood before the Sanhedrin. The appointed Jewish leadership confronted this anointed Jewish believer. They glared; he glowed. They were enraged; he was enraptured. Their faces were contorted with anger; his was like the countenance of an angel. “Men and brothers,” he said, “listen to me.”
He rehearsed the history of Israel, from Abraham to Moses to David, the faithfulness of God in spite of the unfaithfulness of the people. But Stephen was not there that day merely to recite the lessons of history. He was there to be a witness, and as a faithful witness he spoke. His words turned to piercing rebuke:
You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered Him — you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it (7:51-53).
Soon his body lay battered and bloody, a mangled, motionless mass. He had not backed down. He had not compromised. He had not omitted a word. He was a witness and a prophetic voice. And that day he became the Church’s first martyr — the first, but not the last. Hundreds of thousands have followed in his path. Being a witness for Jesus could cost you your life.
In the early Church, witnessing and martyrdom quickly became associated: The Greek word for “witness” is martus. Witnesses testify with their lives and often seal their words with their own blood. Have you done any “witnessing” lately?
It’s one thing to read the Word and be stirred by the examples of men like Stephen. But this was real life! He was probably a young man with a wife and children. His whole future lay before him. His family was dependent on him. There may have been a toddler waiting to greet him that day when he came home. But he never came home!
And then there was his ministry. He was a powerful preacher, anointed to heal the sick and perform miracles. Think of all the lives he could touch! Think of all the good he could do for the kingdom of God.
Why didn’t Stephen simply deny the false charges? “Men and brothers, the accusations are not true.” Why didn’t he politely dismiss their questions and calm their anger? Why did he continue to stand up and speak out? The answer challenges us all: He was not seeking to save his life; he was seeking to be a witness.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it (Matt 16:25).
This is the story of the true Church in every nation and in every age:
You did not renounce your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness, who was put to death in your city — where Satan lives (Rev 2:13b).
This is the gospel of martyrdom, the gospel of Jesus. It is the gospel that Paul preached and lived:
I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace (Acts 20:24).
That is why he could say:
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:20-21).
As Leonard Ravenhill observed, Paul didn’t mind if the cost of his obedience was prison,
for it were better that he should be “the prisoner of the Lord for a few years than that his fellow men should be the devil’s prisoners in hell forever (Why Revival Tarries, 118).
How different this is from the philosophy that rules in today’s luxury-soaked America. How different this is from the modern gospel of success! Jesus cut to the very core of the issue. When Peter told the Lord in no uncertain terms that He was not to go the way of suffering, rejection, and death (“Never, Lord!” he said.” This shall never happen to you!”), Jesus identified Peter’s words as satanic.
Get behind Me, Satan! [Jesus said to Peter.] You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. (Matt 16:23)
What was at the root of this satanically inspired theology? What fueled Peter’s opposition to the cross? It was a different set of values, a different perspective, a different viewpoint, a different understanding: “you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Now we’re getting down to the basics!
One “gospel” is interested in the things of this world, the things of men. The other gospel is interested in eternal things, the things of God. One message cultivates preservation of self; the other cultivates denial of self. One says, “Add to your life!” The other says, “Lose your life!” One message encourages self-satisfaction, the other encourages self-denial. One message tells carnally minded people “what their itching ears want to ear” (2 Tim 4:3); the other message tells the truth.
Whether or not we have much in this world is not the central issue. (Most of us in America have an incredible abundance, dozens of times what we actually need to live.) What matters is our attitude towards our what we have. And we who have an abundance must guard our hearts. Riches are deceitful!
Jesus rebuked the church of Laodicea:,
You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful poor, blind and naked (Rev 3:17).
But Jesus commended the church of Smyrna:
I know your afflictions and your poverty — yet you are rich. . . . Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life (Rev 2:9-10).
We must see how tragically earthly the gospel of success really is. It still stands in the way of the cross. It still rebukes Jesus for promising suffering and death. In fact, it actually calls the path to Calvary “religious” — meaning traditional, unanointed, and fruitless.
It is no overstatement to say that there is no cross in the gospel of success. In its most extreme modern forms, it originates from the pit. (Remember, it was Satan whom Jesus rebuked for trying to keep Him from going to the cross.)
The gospel of success criticizes the message of the cross because it leads to “death.” But the true gospel must lead to death — death to the flesh, death to the will of man, death to this world’s priorities. Only through death can there be resurrection. Only through the cross can there be abundant life. In fact, if you want what some teachers call “the God kind of life” you’re going to have to experience “the Jesus kind of death.” Which path will you take?
The last generation taught what is often called “pie in the sky” theology — and this theology certainly had its problems! There were plenty of negative distortions in the message. But we have substituted something worse. We now have the theology of “have your cake and eat it too.” The first message starved its hearers, depriving them of the blessings of life in the Spirit in this world. The second message engorges them, robbing them of the light of eternity.
People of God, we are not to center our lives around eating and drinking, gaining and possessing, having more and being merry, because tomorrow we do not die. No. We live forever! How foolish that we conduct ourselves as if this world were our lasting home. We’re just passing through!
When Jacob was a frail old man he said to Pharaoh:
The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of pilgrimage of my fathers (Gen 47:9).
King David, in spite of the equivalent of billions of dollars of riches, could say at the end of his life:
We are aliens and strangers in Your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope (1 Chr 29:15).
Hebrews 11 commends Abraham — certainly a prosperous and influential man — because,
By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. . . . [All of them] admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own . . . a heavenly one (11:9-10, 13-14, 16).
How much more does the New Testament call us to live in the light of eternity!
Jesus told His disciples to rejoice when they were persecuted and rejected, “because great is your reward in heaven . . .” (Matt 5:12). He told them — and us! — to store up treasures in heaven (Matt 6:19-21), and Peter reminds us that we have a heavenly inheritance “that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Pet 1:4). That’s why we who suffer for Jesus now will be “overjoyed” when His glory will be revealed at His return (1 Pet 4:13). There is great joy now because there will be endless joy then!
You sympathized with those in prison [for the faith] and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions (Heb 10:34).
Consider the example of C. T. Studd. Raised in a wealthy, aristocratic home in England last century, he became a national celebrity as a sensational cricket player at Cambridge. (He could have become the “Michael Jordan” of his generation.) But through the preaching of D. L. Moody, he experienced a deep transformation and left everything to go to the mission field.
Was he wrong for abandoning a phenomenal sports career in England in order to preach the Word in China and Africa? Was he “religious” because he chose to forsake fame, fortune, and comfort to live sacrificically among the heathen? The decisions he made and the path he chose make one thing perfectly clear: He was not seeking to get ahead in this world. He was seeking to please the Lord. There is a difference!
On judgment day, and throughout eternity, men and women like C. T. Studd will be accounted wise. They will have our admiration and God’s commendation. Does anything stop us from following their lead? It will mean going against the grain!
Our country is saturated with a “save your life, improve your life” mentality — from health clubs to exercise videos, from savings plans to retirement funds, from insurance policies to computer programs guaranteed to put you “in control of your life.” Be successful! Live in greater security and ease! Enjoy the American dream! Jesus says, “Follow Me — even to the point of death.”
After His resurrection, He told Peter the kind of death by which he would glorify God (John 21:19). What a concept! Think of a discussion among the first eleven disciples: “Matthew, Bartholomew, Thomas, by what kind of death are you going to glorify Him?”
For these men, this would not have been idle talk: According to tradition, all the first apostles, with the exception of John, died a martyr’s death. (John was reportedly boiled in oil twice — and survived.) For them, the issue was not, “Will we be called to die for the glory of God?” But rather, “By what kind of death will we glorify Him?”
What about us? Is the call any different today? By what kind of death are we called to glorify God? Death to our reputation? Death to human opinion? Death to our careers? Death to our plans and goals? Or maybe the literal death of a martyr?
Savonarola, the prophetic priest in the fifteenth century Catholic Church understood the cost of fidelity to the Lord. When offered the red hat of a cardinal, he replied:
No hat will I have but that of a martyr, reddened with my own blood.
The fatal flaw of the modern, carnal prosperity message is that it encourages us to set our eyes on the things of this world. It makes it harder for us to leave all, lose self, and follow Jesus. It eliminates the call to take up our cross. (Remember, Jesus was not the only One called to carry the cross. Read Luke 9:23 several times out loud, and digest each word slowly: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”)
The gospel of success says, “Jesus died for you so you could prosper and succeed in this world.” (Of course, there is some truth to the prosperity message, but its emphasis is way off.) The biblical message says, “Live so as to lose your life for the Lord” — meaning go anywhere, do anything, make any sacrifice — as long as souls are saved, lives are changed, the kingdom is extended, and Jesus is exalted. As children of God, we now make our decisions based on entirely different priorities. We are already subjects of the heavenly kingdom. We have already died to this world!
Of course, there are things in this present age that are important. Justice in our society is important. Compassionate action on behalf of the poor and hurting is important. Righteousness and integrity are important. Morality and family values are important. But only those whose lives are given over to a higher — and eternal — purpose can radically change things here. As C. S. Lewis said:
It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one.
Can we be honest with ourselves? A major reason why we don’t take a stand against godless laws is because we don’t want to risk our lives. We’re not willing to suffer the consequences.
A key reason why we don’t share our faith more clearly and — in love — more aggressively is because we don’t want to experience rejection. We don’t want to lose our friends, or our jobs, or our ease.
One major factor that keeps many of us from the mission field is that we’re too comfortable here and now. (Let’s face it: Here and now is where it’s at for most of us. There’s only one way you can prove me wrong: Live differently!)
It’s time for the old spirit of martyrdom to enter the church of America. (Much of the Church worldwide has no choice in the matter. Christianity for them is synonymous with suffering. Just ask the families of the Christian men in Sudan or Ethiopia who were crucified for their faith — in the last few months.) It’s time that we do God’s will, and God’s will alone.
I once heard Richard Wurmbrand ask why, when the Supreme Court passed the law removing public prayer from our schools, American Christians chose to comply. What would have happened if we simply refused to obey? The whole thing probably would have been turned around overnight. And if it wasn’t turned around? Then at least the church, through her biblical obedience, would have been turned around!
If only we would value obedience to the Lord more highly than we value self-preservation! If only the favor of God were more meaningful to us than the opinions of people! If only we would count suffering for Jesus to be a privilege! What could stop us then? This country boasts of fifty-seventy million born-again Christians. (Of course, that figure is preposterous.) But what if just one million true believers here (just twenty thousand from each state!) decided to obey God and stand up for what is right, regardless of the cost? Our nation would be absolutely shaken. Now is the time to awake!
In 1984, after hearing K. P. Yohannan of Gospel for Asia preach a challenging message, a Christian man named Samuel gave up his good job in South India and moved with his family to the region of Karnataka. There he began preaching to unreached Hindus, known for their hostility to the gospel. The Lord blessed the work, and even a Hindu priest was born again.
This was more than the extremists could take. They burst into a meeting one Sunday and severely beat Samuel with iron rods, breaking his hand, arm, leg, and collar bone. When his seven year old son ran up and cried out, “Please don’t kill our daddy!” they struck the boy on the spine, breaking his back. Then they left, warning Samuel that if he ever preached there again, they would kill him. The beating was so severe that Samuel and his son were hospitalized for several months.
After his release, Samuel attended a workers’ meeting with K. P. Yohannan. The first night, during a time of prayer, his arm was supernaturally healed of paralysis he was suffering as a result of his beating. The next night he testified of the things he had recently experienced for the Lord.
K. P. asked Samuel, “What are you going to do now?” With a peaceful determination, the young man replied:
I am going back. Even if I am killed, my blood will be the foundation for many more churches.
He returned and has continued to preach. His son is back in school and is also doing well. And Samuel has baptized many more converts — and has been beaten again.
Would we have gone back and preached? K. P. was honest enough to admit that his own reaction might have been different. First he would have come up with lots of good scriptures to justify not going back. And then he would have used his best argument:
I’m only forty-some years old! God wants me to use my brain for His kingdom. With all the investment He has made in my life since I was sixteen, would it be right for me to be killed by some fanatics next week? Don’t be stupid! I am going to leave this place so I will have another forty years of my life to invest in and build God’s kingdom (Living in the Light of Eternity, 159-60).
Samuel thought differently. He was not out to save his life, he was out to save sinners. With such resolve how could he be defeated? His life is not his own! In past centuries, missionaries endued with the same spirit sailed off to far away lands with their belongings packed in caskets. They were making a one way trip!
A few years ago, a young evangelist moved into an area in Asia famous for its violent resistance to Jesus. The radical religious opposition immediately came to his apartment, making their intentions clear: “We’ll kill you if you stay here and preach!” The evangelist only smiled. “I came to die,” he replied. Today his church has 200 members. That is the power of the gospel of martyrdom. That is true success.
Possibly Related Posts:
May the Lord restore this Gospel to the church in our nation!
Praise God for the message that fires up the spirit in a man or woman! There is too much self-preservation mentality polluting the True Church of Christ! We do not want to die to anything! We want to pervert the phrase that Jesus came to give us life more abundantly! We need to crucify our flesh daily in order to please our Master. North America has been living in a fantasy for so long, that we have lost the fire in our bellies for loving not our lives even unto death! Thanks Michael again for the searing word of truth!
Rob Reid
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
What would the reaction be if this happened today to a Peyton Manning, or a Lebron James? Think of the headlines on ESPN! They wouldn’t know what to make of it.
I was thinking about this very circumstance this week when John Travolta’s son Jett died. What if this death were to cause Travolta to question his Christian Scientologist beliefs? What if he were to cry out to the LIVING G’D and ask for an answer? What if he were to give himself over to seeking the truth regarding the precepts of G’D rather than the doctrines of men, and in his search find YESHUA HAMASCIACH? What would the media do?
I don’t have an answer regarding the reaction of the media to John Travolta’s plausible search for truth in the midst of this heart rending loss. What I do know is that Scripture is correct in citing love for G’D is enmity with men, because I live this reality on a daily basis. The people I love most hate that I love G’D more. The choices I make, though far from perfect, are a constant reproach to my family; and they respond with hosility when they might do well to re-evaluate their reaction.
The world has deceived the hearts of men into believing that situational ethics are not only acceptable, but adoptable apart from upbringing, good judgment and reason. Men have become so fat, as to embrace the concepts of compromise and apathy. Believers have even begun to embrace the precepts of men without question, because of the comfort that this affords.
G’D IS beginning to set the demarcation lines in my view. They have always been set. But, the complacency of the Church has slipped into lethargy of late. I am embarrassed to think that nominal Christians and nominal Christian Shepherds have misused and abused the Name of our L’RD because standing fast is just “too much work”.
Nobody promised that following THE KING of Kings would be easy. In fact, YESHUA told us that foxes have dens, but the SON of Man has not a place to rest His head. How sad that “the Church”, (not those called out, but the world organization called ‘Church’) chooses to tickle itching ears and make life as a ‘Christian’ comfortable. G’D must hurt over the losses. HE needs prayer warriors and workers for His harvest. His needs His Truth proclaimed and His Will to be done. He needs us to rethink our positions and take up The Sword of the Spirit, for the battle rages and this battleground is littered with corpses. Victory is only gained when His people realize that only in being prepared to ‘die’ can we live for HIM. G’D IS G’D. We cannot compromise His Truth. Doing so is a travesty.
G’D Is Holy. The Church at large seems to forget this.
MAY HIS NAME BE EXALTED, despite the apathy and lethargy that moves to claim those who are lukewarm, halfhearted, and unwilling to sacrifice for HIS GLORY, for HIS PRAISE, for HIS KINGDOM’S SAKE. MAY the POWER of HIS RUACH HAKODESH SWEEP through the hearts of those who are hungry for Truth, Righteousness, Wisdom and Goodness. MAY THE LIGHT of G’D SHINE like a beacon, touching and attracting those who know not from whence cometh their help, but desire to find THE TRIUTH leading to THE GRACE of G’D. MAY our G’D BE MAGNIFIED until that day HE RETURNS, until HIS REIGN is acknowledged by every bowed knee, and every questioning soul. In YESHUA HAMASCIACH, may HIS BLESSINGS CONTINUE to pour out, based on the SHED BLOOD of our REDEEMER; and may HIS WILL BE DONE. Amen.
Dear Dr. Brown,
Thank you very much for your good message on the cost of discipleship (The Gospel of Martyrdom vs the Gospel of Success). I live most of the year in the Czech Republic and I’m horified with the “Christian” radio messages on money and health promising a gospel of prosperity. More and more all round the world we need to take up the cross and follow Yeshua.
thank you so much dear mike brown
i have lived in 3rd world country Nepal where the church was established under the power of holy ghost and the word of God ..where beleivers grew in the fear of God but now we see the thriving of prosperity and success gosple.
we need the word of God preached in the pulpits all around the world or else many people will die with out knowing what it really means to go after God and being poor in spirit, the message of holyness and righteousness must be preached with out the fear of men all aroudn so we may see the glory of God come down as never before.
i have not much to say am just blessed by this article
thanks again
As a Pastor in the UK I have become very discouraged by the apathy and self serving mentality of Christians. Your comments have really inspired me. This is the crux of the Gospel not how much can I get out of it or how many blessings can God give me. God bless you greatly for speaking the truth and presenting the true Gospel.
Timely and acurate, is this message. A lot of wolves in sheeps clothing would loose thier fancy preaching jobs purporting a message such as this. I wonder upon thier conversion, would they preach this message free of charge. The corporate church in america is no less bankrupt than the american government as a corporation, funny thing is, niether entity is telling the people the truth, demonic commonalitys I dare say.
“If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.” — Leonard Ravenhill
Thnks Dr. Brown.
Just one thing, though. I have great trouble coming to terms with this Christian martyr thing because I immediately consider how for thousands of years the heathen island people (eg. Eskimos) had no gospel, I mean as far as I can tell, the Queen of Sheba is saved, yet I don’t see Christian martyrs dying to get a message to her. Now all of a sudden at this end of history we must expect people to die for the Gospel?? Just think how many millions and billions of island people and heathen have not even come remotely CLOSE to the Gospel yet I’m sure there is a way out for them ‘on judgement day’. I mean to say if Jesus really is the ONLY way then we are talking about 9/10’s of humanity in hell because in the grand scheme of things Jesus is only at the tip of the population ice-berg. This would mean that most of humanity are hell-bound! Now, considering that the Queen of Sheba (amongst others) are saved then what on earth would I want to rush off to China for and have my neck cut off for? My thinking says that what is good for 9/10’s of humanity (i.e no Gospel for them) is also good for the rest of humanity. This martyr thing just sounds too narrow for me. It’s like suddenly saying, “Okay everyone, from now onwards nobody can get to heaven unless you get your left leg chopped off!”. Now, this is no different to my having a problem with this martyr thing. At the tip of human history suddenly there must be a few of us counted as martyrs???!!! Sorry it just doesn’t wash! :-/
Amazambani,
It appears that you did not follow what I wrote here in this article at all. I would suggest you re-read it carefully, after which you should see that your post had virtually nothing to do with what I’ve written.
Just for my information, what are you own beliefs about Jesus and the Bible?
Ref to #11. Dr Brown.
Firstly, thnks I did re-read.
Secondly, I believe Jesus is Messiah.
Thirdly, I do believe that He is the Way and the only Way to the Father.
……but….now here is the big BUT….even if I tried to speak to, say, a hostile Muslim audience in truth my one eye would be on the 9/10’s of humanity who never heard of truth yet here I am a fool just waiting to get my head taken off by a bunch of hostile Mulsims when for the most of history there never was such a thing as a martyr. At the same time I am preaching truth to these Muslims I would be thinking…”Hey,…what if we have misunderstood what Jesus was saying”….or, …”Hey, what if Jesus died for everyone but they just don’t know it…why don’t I just save my neck because they will find out who Jesus is when they die anyway”.
You must please see where I am coming from. I have too many questions to freely just walk into the bear-trap of martyrdom. I would be lying to myself if I said, “Okay Amazambani, I am happy to die for Jesus!”. No, I simply cannot lie to myself and say that I understand. I am not suggesting that you are suggesting a martyr-only salvation by my cut-off-leg analogy, no. I am just very confused at why truth comes so late in the day and now those that dare to shout this truth from the roof get their heads chopped off. I can’t grasp this great hurdle.
I am not looking to get into a fierce debate with you. I have bounced these sort of questions off the elders in my church but they fail to satisfy me with their responses.
Rgds
Amazambani,
Thanks for sharing more about your beliefs.
Unfortunately, I still do not follow your post. Martyrdom is not something new to the faith; rather, the concept of living and dying for Jesus in the midst of persecution is found throughout the NT, and it has been found throughout church history. Nothing new here!
Most of us will not be killed for our faith, but all of us should consecrate our lives to the Lord by life or by death, knowing that as we follow Him as faithful witnesses, we will suffer persecution and opposition, at times severe. Either way, we follow Him and seek to make Him known.
This is just basic biblical discipleship. None of us goes blindly walking in what you refer to as “the bear-trap of martyrdom.” We simply seek to be faithful witnesses, with wisdom, compassion, and boldness, and then we let the chips fall where they may.
Perhaps you should actually re-read the entire NT slowly and prayerfully and see if your views line up with what is taught there.
(This may be my last post for some time here due to my normal time constraints, but that does not mean that I am not interested in your spiritual well-being. Perhaps some others will join in the discussion.)
Amazambani,
You need to make sure that you (personally) are called to preach to those Muslims that you are mentioning! You are called to follow Jesus with everything you have, but there are many callings and many empowerments for many situations. We are not all called to do all things. As you say, “I do believe that He is the Way and the only Way to the Father”. God is supernatural, but we are not. God knows and does not stress about fulfilling His Word that all nations will hear the Gospel before the end comes. You are saying that 9/10 of people will be going to hell, and you may be right, but I would assure you that it will be because of their decisions, NOT because God failed to contact them about the truth about Jesus. You need to relax brother and let God be God and you be faithful to the calling that God has placed upon you, and your ministry. You stick with Jesus, and become an intimate lover of His ways above all ways, and God will extend your tent pegs and expand your calling! These things that you are concerned about, God is much more concerned about, but only He knows how to accomplish the goal PERFECTLY! “A man makes his plans, but God directs his steps”. Let Him lead you, without going ahead or dragging behind. He will set your pace and He will give the unction every moment as to what HE has required you Amazambani to do each day. The Bible tells us to cast our cares upon Him for He cares for us. It sounds to me that you are trying to lead the way, when that brother is God’s job. His peace and grace will sustain you and you will walk in His Holy Spirit and all of this will seem so small in comparison to His greatness and His power. Shalom!!
Rob Reid
@ Rob #14
Thnks Rob. I hear both you & Dr Brown and can understand what you are driving at. But I don’t think you two really get what I am on about. Perhaps I am finding it difficult to express myself.
Let me try this approach: This morning the clock next to my bed read 05:30. I pointed that out to my wife and asked her, “Can you be sure that the clock is telling us the truth of 05:30?”. She replied, “Yip, I am 100% certain that it is about 05:30”. I replied, “Would you take a bullet if you and the clock in fact prove wrong?”. She replied, “Yes”. I then sprang up to point out that she is a dead woman! Through the ages even the atomic clocks that give the world the ‘real’ time have slowed down. Nobody REALLY knows what the REAL time is. I then went on to say that similarly speaking I view the Gospel with the same eyes. Yes the Gospel is true…HOWEVER…not 100% true because then the Queen of Sheba, Jethro, Malchizadeck etc etc are not saved. Now, to boldly stand before a bunch of raging banchees and tell them that Jesus is the only way at the risk of being be-headed is just too risky for me as I don’t like the grey areas I find sorrounding this Gospel ‘truth’. How can I be honest with myself and take a bullet for Jesus when I see too many grey areas? So what I am saying is that I would not have done what, say, Stephen did and be so bold because I cannot bank on my confidence on what I know to be the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I might as well save my neck considering!…lol
Do you see what I am getting at?
Amaz,
When the Gospel is demonstrated with power then you can be sure that it is the absolute gospel. When you see the things happen that Jesus said would happen, ie the dead raised, the lepers cleansed, the lame walking, the blind seeing, the captives set free, then you can be sure that the Gospel which you question is in fact telling the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Jesus said not to believe Him if he didn’t do the works that demonstrated the power of God, Paul said that he came with both words and power so that the churches might know that he spoke to truth. If you received a gospel that did not demonstrate this same power, then you received half of the message and therefore it’s more a failure of the leadership that you’re under for not having presented to you the full message of God, and the obvious doubts you have now are understandable because you haven’t seen this. Test the word and let it be proven true in your life. Lay hands on those who are sick and watch them get well. However, if you did receive a full gospel and still doubt it’s authenticity then you would fall in line with those who who see but don’t believe and hear yet never understand, and you need to cultivate the field of your heart so that the seed of the Gospel might flourish when it’s sewn. God loves your honesty with yourself, you obviously desire truth, real authentic truth, and that’s an awesome thing. Keep pursuing that and you will most definitely find it in the Bible and in Christ.
Hi Dr Brown,
I thank you for the above article-it supported the thoughts I was having myself about some of the things coming from the pulpit, but I do have some questions.
Firstly, one of the things the prosperity teachers use to support their preaching is the Old Testament scriptures about the righteous being blessed and very wealthy because they followed the Lord. Ie, the patriachs, Job, verses in Proverbs and Psalms, etc. They also use scriptures in the NT ie give and it will be given to you…..may you prosper as your soul prospers…….those that lose things in this life for his sake will gain 100 times as much IN THIS LIFE and the next (I am paraphrasing all of these from memory cause I’m typing away from my bible to look them up accurately-so please forgive any errors). I know deep within that something about this prosperity gospel is wrong, but then how do we balance the scriptures pointing to enjoying prosperity and healing as well as dying to self, which is also in the scriptures of coarse. I’m confused by it all and I am usually ashamed to admit I don’t have the money to buy peoples books and resources because I come from churches that preach the prosperity gospel and so I kinda feel like I fail in my faith in God to provide because I and my family are poor…