The Lord Jesus commanded all who believe in Him to preach the Gospel to all nations and make disciples of all men so that they'd follow Him. Many Christians all around the world are excited to do that, and what a real wonderful thing that is.
Many Christians, however, either knowingly or unknowingly contradict the very message of freedom they are commanded to spread. When we do this, we find ourselves doing the very opposite of what we were commanded to do.
Fellow believers, we have to take a good hard look at ourselves to evaluate whether we are spreading the true Gospel of Christ or whether we are causing others to dislike or reject it. Do you know if you're fighting against the Gospel?
Here are a few ways we can contradict the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and how we can stop doing that.
1) By living a life of sin
Many Christians say Christ has saved them, without actually repenting and renouncing the very thing Christ saved them from: sin. If Christ saved us from sin, we shouldn't be living in it any longer.
The Bible tells us that in Christ, we are already dead to sin. We were buried with Him in baptism and we were raised with Him in His resurrection. Paul says a dead man is already freed from sin. If we are dead to sin, how could we live in it any longer? (see Romans 6)
We are struggle in many ways, but what counts is that we repent and produce fruit in keeping with repentance. We do this by denying ourselves and following Christ.
2) By looking like the world
I have seen and heard of teachings that say if you want to reach the world, you've got to adapt to the world. One such teaching says Daniel adopted Babylon's culture and way of life. However, this is misleading because Daniel never ever compromised his faith. In fact, he was thrown into the lion's den for praying three times a day. (see Daniel 6)
Even Daniel's friends were thrown into the fiery furnace because they didn't bow down to the king's statue like everybody did. (see Daniel 3)
God commands us in the Bible to strive for holiness. To be holy means to be "set apart" unto God. We are to rid ourselves of any fleshly and worldly ways of thinking, desiring, behaving and living. We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Think about the Lord Jesus. If He adopted the ways of man and rejected the ways of God so He can "reach out to the lost," we'd all be doomed.
3) By living a life disobedient to the word of God
I am saddened at the current turn of events in the churches. I've read and heard stories of people who went out of the church because many Christians live a life contrary to the word of God:
- Instead of loving fellow believers, they treat them wrong.
- Instead of treating fellow believers impartially, they judge them based on how they look.
- Instead of being a servant to others, they demand to be served.
- Instead of encouraging others, they put them down.
- Instead of urging others to love the Lord Jesus Christ, they demand to be honored and heard, even more than the word of God.
Such kinds of actions reveal a heart that isn't totally submitted to the Lord. These things tell disillusioned believers that the church is full of hypocrisy: a people who love God with their lips but not with their lives.
How could we expect to bring people to the Lord if we ourselves don't follow Him fully? How could we expect to preach the Gospel of Christ if we ourselves aren't changed by His love and holiness?
Do we truly love the Lord Jesus? Here's how we know that we do: when we do as He says.
"If you love Me, keep My commandments." (John 14:15)
