[Biblemat] S) MEN HAVE PERVERTED THE GOSPEL!

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study from my files.
Use to the glory of God.

MEN HAVE PERVERTED THE GOSPEL!

       In writing to the churches of Galatia, the apostle Paul said, "I
marvel that ye are so quickly removing from Him that called thee
in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; which is not anoth-
er gospel only there are some that trouble you, and would per-
vert the gospel of Christ" (Gal. 1:6,7).  Isn't it strange that some
would hear the gospel of Jesus Christ in its pristine purity, and
then pervert it?  Yet it had happened (even during the days of
the apostles, JWS).

       The word "pervert" is defined this way:  "To turn from its
right purpose, use, or meaning.  To alter for the worse.  To turn
away, avert, divert."  It's synonyms are:  "Corrupt, distort, falsify,
garble, misquote, misrepresent, misstate, stretch, twist."  This
may show you the sordid behavior of one who would pervert the gospel of 
Christ.  The gospel is turned from its right purpose
its proper use and its true meaning.  It is no longer uncorrupted
as God gave it in the first century.  And it will no longer accomp-
lish that purpose which God intended that it should (if given to
people in a perverted form, JWS).  (And if accepted and practic-
ed in its perverted form, JWS). 

The Evils Of A Perverted Gospel: -- Notice an example of perver-
sion.  Water is a God-given power for quenching thirst.  But you
can add a saline solution to water, without even changing its
appearance, adn it will no longer quench the thirst, but will make
one even more thirsty.  Bread is referred to as "the staff of life."
Yet if you add a little arsenic to that bread, it will destroy life.  Now, in 
the spiritual realm, we are to "hunger and thirst after
righteousness" (Matt. 5:6).  But if God's Word has been diluted
and perverted, it will eternally condemn us.  Therefore, the Word
of God must be accepted in its original purity -- uncorrupted.

       Multitudes follow men today who pervert the gospel of Christ, and they 
will staunchly defend these spiritual perverts,
even when shown by the inspired Scriptures that they do not
serve the Christ.  Many feel that a pious demeanor and a sepulc-
hral  tone makes it impossible for damnable error to be fostered.
But our attitude should be that expressed in Isa. 8:20, "To the
law and to the testimony!  If they speak not according to this
Word, surely there is no light in them."  The preaching of each
doctrine must be weighed in exactly this manner!  (We should
examine the teaching of each and everyone to determine if the
teaching is according to the Word of God (Acts 17:11). JWS).

The Subject Of The Gospel Is Perverted: -- The apostle Paul decl-
ared, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:16).  This is a flat declaration of
the gospel and its power.  But even this was soon perverted, as
Paul warned the elders of Ephesus: "I know that after my depart-
ing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the
flock; and from among your own selves shall men arise, speak-
ing perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them" (Acts
20:29,30).

       Those false teachers would be speaking a perverted gospel
to "draw away the disciples after them."  Again the apostle wrote
"Some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing
spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men
that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot
iron" (1 Tim. 4:1,2).  Yet this was to emanate from religious lead-
ers.  To warn against this perversion of the gospel, Paul told
Timothy, "For the time will come when they will not endure the
sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselv-
es teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away thier ears
from the truth, and turn aside unto fables" (2 Tim. 4:3,4).  We now live in 
such a time.  The gospel is warped, twisted, wrested
and perverted by men who claim to preach it, but who actually
don't even believe it.

The Subject Of Faith Is Perverted: -- All too often you hear the
expression, "But my faith is this -- ", and there follows a fanciful
idea or opinion that is foreign to the Scriptures.  Yet we are told,
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of
God" (Rom. 10:17).  If it is not in the Word of God, it is not scriptu-
ral faith.  It is when each one formulates his "own faith" that the
worth of the Bible is entirely discounted.  Just recently one was
declaring his belief in God, yet was strongly arguing, "God is
dead."  He began with scriptural faith, and then perverted it to 
his own selfish end, striving to make himself a god.

       Modernists extol their faith, but at the very same time pervert
it to suit their fancy.  They claim to believe in Jesus Christ, but
deny that He was the "only begotten Son of God" according to
the record God gives us.  Rather, they confess Him to be a great
teacher adn moral leader, but deny His deity.  They reject the 
virgin birth, discount His miracles, scoff at His vicarious death
for us, and ridicule the thought of a bodily resurrection.  Yet they
profess faith in Christ!  It is a faith perverted to their own egotisti-
cal reasoning, with all saving power drained from the gospel they preach.

       Sectarians profess faith in Christ, but they then pervert that
faith to their own desires.  They extol the Bible as the Word of
God, but then dilute it with their "Book of Mormon," "Key to the
Scriptures," "Pendleton's Manual," "Articles of Faith," "Discipli-
ne," "Augsbury Confession" "Catechism" or other church creed-
books.  The simplicity and purity of the faith is thus destroyed.
The Lord Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4).
We cannot add to, or take from, that Word without perverting
and corrupting it (Deut. 4:2; Prov. 30:6; Rev. 22:18).  A simple,
trusting faith accepts ALL God has said, and will not fashion a
creed on what God has NOT said.  it is perversion to acknowlid-
ge Jesus as Christ and Lord, and then minimize His authority
by refusal to accept His Word and obey His commandments.

The Subject Of Baptism Is Perverted: -- All religious groups who
claim to follow Christ teach and practice baptism.  (in some form
or fashion, JWS).  But there is as much perversion in this area as
found in any field.  The matter of infant baptism has from the first
been recognized as being without any Scriptural foundation.
This matter had forced a drastic change in Martin Luther's think-
ing in the beginning of the Reformation movement.  He had been
going on the basis that he would follow God's Word in every
detail.  But when he confronted the matter of infant baptism, his
prior training triumphed.  He than took the position that he would accept any 
practice which the Word of God did not speci-
fically condemn.  Of course, that would have prevented his every effort at 
reformation.  The Bible doesn't mention the sale of indulgences, but that was a 
practice that Luther originally
opposed that started the whole Reformation movement!  But from its 
innovation, no Scripture has been cited to substantiate
infant baptism.  Penitent believers were to be baptized -- not
those incapable of believing.  This is a perversion that is still in
existence.

       Baptism has been taught by many as being essential to 
church membership, but not essential to salvation.  This perverts the 
statement of the Lord Jesus, "He that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved" (Mk. 16:16) and Peter's sermon on
Pentecost, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ, unto the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:
38).  Saul was told, "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy
sins, calling on His name" (Acts 22:16), and Peter declares that
"baptism doth also now save us" (1 Pet. 3:21).

       The Scriptures plainly reveal that baptism brings us "into
Christ" (Rom. 6:3).  It is in baptism that we are united with Christ
"For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus.  For
as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ"
(Gal. 3:26,27).  We are saved by the blood of Christ, shed in His
death, and, "Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized
into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" (Rom. 6:3).  It
is by this baptism that we enter into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).  Any 
alteration of this doctrine destroys the very purpose
of the baptism of the gospel of Christ.

The Subject Of The Church Is Perverted: -- The true picture of
the church is obtained in looking to it as it is revealed on the 
pages of God's Word.  Jesus said, "I will build My church" (Matt. 
16:18).  He gave Himself for the church (Eph. 5:25), He purchas-
ed it with His own blood (Acts 20:28), He is the Savior of the
church (the body, Eph. 5:23) and He adds the saved to His church (Acts 2:47). 
 The church of Jesus Christ is unique and
complete.  There was and is no other existing by divine authori-
ty, nor shall there ever be!

       That church housed all the saved during the days of the
apostles, and for every subsequent age and time.  To be saved
is to be in that body of saved people, the church.  Paul exclaim-
ed, "Unto Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
unto all generations for ever and ever.  Amen." (Eph. 3:21).

       When false prophets declare salvation can be outside that 
church, or in any other, they have perverted the gospel of Christ
Every man-made church stands in open competition to that 
church which Jesus built, and He has prayed against all of them:  "Neither 
for these only do I pray, but for them also that
beleive on Me through their word; that they may all be one; even
as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they may be in Us:
that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me" (Jno. 17:20,
21).  When men plead, "Accept Christ, then join the church of
your choice," they pervert the gospel.  God never has, and never
will, give man a choice regarding churches in which he may be
saved.  This is a perverted and corrupt gospel that blights the
religious world with discord, disunity and factionism.

The Pure Worship Of God Is Perverted: -- The church fo the New
Testament had a very simple pattern of worship which God acce-
pted and blessed.  But that worship has also been perverted by
unholy men.  Of the first disciples we read, "They continued sted-
fastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking
of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42).  Still later, "And upon the
first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as 
he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come" (1 Cor. 16:2).  
Still later, "And upon the first day of the weekm when 
we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with
them" (Acts 20:7).  And again, "Let the Word of Christ dwell in
you richly; in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one anoth-
er with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts unto God" (Col. 3:16).  As long as men
accepted the full and complete authority of the Scriptures, we
had no discord regarding New Testament worship.

       First of all, there was no gradation of any priestly honor in
worship.  There were not clergy ranks to lord it over the laity.
There was no wearing of special robes, nor ecclesiastical honors.  They were 
all merely children of God, brethren, who had fellowship in common worship.  
The Lord's Supper was never used to elevate priests.  From the time of its 
institution, it
was spiritual and simple.  There were no instruments of music,
no prayer wheels, no candles -- although one is as scriptural as
the others.

       The oly way to overcome a perverted gospel is to reject those who 
pervert it.  You aid and abet the works of Satan when
you support and endorse false teachers (2 Jno. 9-11).  Follow the Lord Jesus 
Christ and serve Him only.  ---- Dillard Thurman
in Gospel Minutes, May 2, 1969, reprinted in Gospel Minutes, Vol.
57, No. 31, Aug. 1, 2008.   </HTML>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.biblematters.net/pipermail/biblemat/attachments/20080815/dd47b64a/attachment-0001.html