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“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature; He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16: 15-16).  Jesus told us that we are to preach the gospel.  The gospel is the “good news” about Jesus the Christ.  God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we could have eternal life through him.  The gospel is the message about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The word of God has many positive messages, but when we are attempting to reach the lost, it is the gospel message that must be proclaimed.  A lot of churches today have incorrectly redefined the gospel, and they are proclaiming a false message to those who are still under the wrath of God. 

We live in an age where many ministries attempt to be “seeker friendly”.  Unfortunately many preachers are on a mission to not offend, and they present a perverse and watered down gospel in an attempt to bring people to Christ.  These feel-good ministers do not present Jesus as the only savior, the deliverer from the wrath of God. 
Their Jesus becomes a means of peace and a path to a better life.  So those who respond to their message do not seek to be forgiven of their sins and brought into intimate relationship with God, they “attempt” to come to our Lord as a means to obtain happiness and contentment in life.  There are two main reasons why a false gospel is being presented in many churches. 

Preachers are presenting a false gospel because of their ignorance of their role in leading people to Christ and also because of their desire not to be offensive.  “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).  Only the Holy Spirit can draw someone to salvation.  We, the body of Christ, present the gospel, but it is God Himself that leads people to eternal life.  Seeker friendly ministers take the responsibility of drawing the lost to God, so they attempt to present a message that does not infuriate and repel the sinner away from God.  But our responsibility is to present the gospel and allow God’s Holy Spirit to work through us.  The truth of the gospel will be offensive to most, but we must accept this fact and stay true to the commands of our Lord.  We preach the saving message of God, the gospel, but we are not responsible for how people react to it.

The Apostle Paul clearly presents the true gospel. “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4).  The true gospel portrays the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  The gospel message must also speak of Christ’s atoning work on the cross.  His blood was shed for the remission of sins, the gospel tells us that we are sinners in need of a Savior.  Any “gospel” that does not speak of mankind’s need of salvation is not a saving message.  When it comes to preaching the pure gospel, you cannot present the cure without discussing the disease. Coming to Christ as a means to feel good does not lead to salvation, it produces false conversions.  To come to our Lord, you must know and understand who he is.

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16: 13-17).  Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  He is not a self-help guru, an ascended master, or one of many paths to God.  The Jesus presented by the seeker friendly ministers is not the Jesus of the Bible.  He is a fabricated entity that is presented to people as a means of obtaining peace and happiness.  If you are saved and obeying God’s word, the Lord does indeed bring peace and happiness; however, he is first of all Savior and Lord.  A fake and fabricated Jesus cannot save anyone, and a gospel that does not tell people about their sin cannot bring salvation.