In our age, the message of Christ crucified has increased in offensiveness. Pastors often soften the message of the cross and the sheep are led to intellectual and spiritual slaughter. The rise of post-modern theology (a rejection of absolute truth) has swept the world and taken it by storm while progressive Christianity and prosperity preaching has led others to a different god than the One of the Bible. This post will cover the Gospel, include summaries of the American Gospel film ministry while the American Gospel films will compare Post-modernism and the Bible.
The Gospel
Below is an excerpt from my article, "The Fight to Preserve Freedom: Understanding Sin. The world needs to hear the Gospel. These are unprecedented times especially in the wake of the coronavirus where tomorrow is not promised.
“Since we have been united with him in death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know that we also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirement of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace” (Romans 6:5-14, NLT).
Understanding Freedom and Slavery
Understanding sin and slavery is the key to understanding freedom. When one realizes the depth of sin and being enslaved, freedom has a much deeper context. Paul portrays beautifully the clear path to not only salvation but what occurred on the cross spiritually. When Christ died, he spiritually crucified every sin for every person. Those who do not believe do not have eternal life. Christ is clear one must CHOOSE to submit to Him. Death and sin are what Pastor Voddie Baucham calls “co-regents.” One can’t reign without the aid of the other.
Those who have been converted into Christ’s family, they go from being under the law of death to the law of grace or life. Being enslaved to sin lies in being enslaved to the body. Likewise, being enslaved to the Spirit lies in being spiritually regenerated. So if you keep company with those that are Christian and yet do not make the choice yourself, that does not mean you are saved from the power of sin. It just merely means you are masking it more. It is spiritually impossible to please God apart from being spiritually regenerated.
The will is forever bent to sin apart from God. Pastor Voddie Bachum gives a demonstration of this relation in his sermon “Dead to Sin, Alive to God.”
“Is the cow free to eat meat? Yes. The cow is free to eat meat. However, the cow’s will, will not choose to eat meat. Why? Because it is contrary to his nature. Although it is there, he will not choose it as it is contrary to his nature.” (Pastor Voddie Bachum, Dead to Sin, Alive to God sermon January 2, 2011, on Voddie Bauchum Ministries).
The same can be said about those who are spiritually dead and spiritually regenerated. Those that are spiritually dead to Christ will choose sin repeatedly without seeing any offense to the sin. The Christian will choose life. Although sin is chosen instead of God more often even in the life of the Christian, the difference is that the Christian has Godly sorrow and hatred for his sin. The unregenerate heart does not. It loves to sin and be captive by it.
Below is the full article. Please feel free to share it or leave a comment.
See the similar articles below.
Radical Conversion
A Time for Everything
Delivered
The Myths Complex
American Gospel Films: Post-modernism and the Bible
Below is the link to the American Gospel Film's site where they have uploaded both their documentary trailers and the hour version of the American Gospel: Christ Alone (2018). Their 2019 film, "American Gospel: Christ Crucified" is also available on this site. It is currently accessible for purchase on Amazon Prime Video. I highly recommend them for two reasons:
They discuss the truths and myths of the Christian faith
The Gospel message is heard with sound teaching while comparing it to the lies of today's society
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Lending a Hand
The numbers of the victims of human trafficking and the stories behind the numbers are why Blissful Faith is partnering with nonprofit organizations to help fund rescues and recovery programs for those entrapped in bondage. Each number is a person. You can be the one to help make a difference by purchasing a shirt (coming soon to the blog in a few weeks) or by ordering a downloadable product currently in the store, in which proceeds will go to nonprofits that seek to give a voice to the voiceless. See more on human trafficking from my previous articles below:
The Price of Freedom
Knowing Freedom
Blissful Faith started as a lifestyle and branched into a blog to help others hear about Jesus Christ and how they too can develop a blissful faith through knowing God. This blog’s purpose is to be an evangelical outreach to further the kingdom of Christ. Furthering the kingdom means stretching outside of the comfort zone, comprehending and working towards meeting the needs of others. Putting faith to action keeps it from becoming stagnant.
Blissful Faith Merchandise
The Blissful Faith Merchandise store helps both this blog to grow and to meet the needs of others. About 8-10% of the proceeds will go to The Exodus Road and Agape International Missions to help combat human trafficking. The funds will help assist in rescue operations, providing shelter, and recovery programs to those in bondage.
Website for the video above: Destiny Rescue
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Agape International Missions website: https://agapewebsite.org
Donation link: https://agapewebsite.org/give-monthly/
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