Yesterday, at a particular market in Abuja, I heard a woman with a megaphone preached and said that Jesus told her to tell ladies using weavon, attachment, rubbing pancakes, boys with dreadlocks that they are going to hell if they continue.
I wished I could call her aside and explain the Gospel to her like Priscilla and Aquila explained the way of the Lord to Apollos privately in their home.
You see, preaching about such things is not what the Gospel is. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. In other words, it is the power of God that produces salvation.
Meaning, anytime the Gospel is preached accurately, it is supposed to bring about salvation. It is not a message of condemnation or hell. It is not a message on witchcraft, family altar, marketplace sermons, etc.
In simplicity, the Gospel is the message of grace through faith. Why? Our faith is of the Gospel. The Gospel is the source of faith in Christ.
The word "Gospel" in simple term is good news. What is the good news about, or why is it good news?
1 John 2:2 says that Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
The people of the world are actually not aware that Jesus already took responsibility for their sins and that all they need to do is to confess him with their mouth and believe in their heart that he is Yeshua HaMashiach.
Hence, this is what Jesus instructed us to go and preach as the Gospel. In other words, go and tell them this good news that there is no longer condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 10:13 says that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
The big question is Romans 10:14, which says,
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"
This is the reason CHRIST sent us with the message of the Gospel to tell them. He did not send us to condemn them, preach against them, or call them out.
John 3:17 says that God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
This is the Gospel. If so many Christians understand the Gospel, more atheists would have been saved. Unfortunately, Christians are even the ones complicating the message.
Some are preaching against trousers to ladies, some are giving conditions for salvation, i.e. "Stop having boyfriend, stealing, etc.
Where do you expect someone who's under the dominion of sin and Satan to have the power to break the siege and live righteously before being accepted in the beloved? It's not possible.
So many Christians have just turned these things upside down! It is only the Gospel that can grant them such power. They need to receive it first.
Don't tell them to change first. Let them hear the Gospel and let the Gospel change them. This is how it is done. Ephesians 5:26 talks about the washing by the cleansing of God’s word.
As people hear the word, their mind is renewed.
John 1:1 says that in the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word (Logos) was with God, and the Word (Logos) was God.
The scripture calls the Word Logos. The word Logos is where the word logic is derived. Logic is a method of how human thought evolves step-by-step.
So, God's word comes with a special kind of thinking. It renews the mind from the old ways of thinking.
Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind."
As people hear God's word, they are changed. Our job is to present the Gospel and as the people hears it, the Gospel has the capacity to change them when it is presented accurately.
Thanks for your time. Cheers