‘Mid-Acts’ preachers often say, “The Bible says what it means .... and it means what it says!” I even featured the phrase on the front cover of a book I wrote. Though now, I agree with the slogan, I disagree with my own book. The point is, THEN I believed the motto, but I was not listening to the VERSES .... instead I was allowing a man with a chart and a paradigm to tell me the meaning of my Bible. I trusted his study and accepted it. He was (and still is) guilty of inserting concepts into verses and drawing conclusions that are not in the scriptures. When I finally woke up to his antics, I began a renewed sense of reading the (KJV Bible) words .... and hearing what GOD said .... without imposing pre-conceived doctrines into them. To my surprise and horror, I have found that I had been injecting a spin, even though it was unintentional.
During an annual summer conference, a featured nightly preacher (who doesn’t even accept the title of the office of BISHOP that he holds) repeatedly talked about ‘defending the integrity of grace.’ He taught what he believed, without regard to what the Bible actually said.
Twice, Paul wrote about his defence of the gospel:
Phil 1:7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
Phil 1:17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
The GOSPEL is what is to be defended. God, through Paul, gave the gospel several names .... but it is all the SAME GOSPEL. He called it the gospel of the grace of God:
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
It is important to see that the gospel Paul preached (Gal 1:11) WAS WRITTEN in the scriptures of the prophets. In the epistle to the Romans, ‘the gospel’ was called by 4 names. ‘The gospel’ was called the gospel of GOD (also see Rom 15:16 and 1 Peter 4:17):
Rom 1:1-4 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
‘The gospel’ was called the gospel of His Son:
Rom 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
‘The gospel’ was called the gospel of Christ (also Rom 15:19 and 29):
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
‘The gospel’ was called the gospel of peace (also Eph 6:15):
Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
It is the GOSPEL we are to defend. When false brethren went in privily to spy out the liberty the churches of Galatia had in Christ, Paul put a stop to it (Gal 2:4-5). They were trying to pull them back under the old covenant law rather than enjoy their new testament grace:
Gal 1:6-7 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
We ought not PERVERT the gospel.
I hope you are careful to say what you mean .... and mean what you say.
This is David Dowell, saying, “Think about it!”
