The gospel Part 7
Another Gospel – the drifting away.
The gospel is a unique journey in the sense that, the only one who ever travelled its full course and possesses full knowledge of the way, is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the way and He knows the way. When he ascended into heaven after his resurrection, He promised to send the Holy Spirit, who is the appointed custodian or legal guardian of his church.
The Holy Spirit acts in the interests of Christ to ensure that we are taught and guided in the way of truth. He keeps us grounded in the truth so we are not tossed about by every wind of false gospel. As we walk in the Spirit, he helps us to stay focused on Christ so we are not drawn away from the truth by our own lusts.
Exhorting the church, the writer of the book of Hebrews said, “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?” Hebrews 2:1-3 NLT
We need to listen very carefully and ‘test every spirit’ as the word says. “And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.” Acts of the Apostles 17:11 NLT
Listen eagerly, search the scriptures daily, and ask the Holy Spirit to show you if that which you heard aligns with the scriptures. We are also exhorted to check ourselves daily to see if we are still walking in the truth “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” 2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV
We have need of an enduring faith. There is great temptation on a long journey, for the travellers to distract themselves with various forms of entertainment in order to make the journey short or more enjoyable. Paul charges us to stay on track and continue in the truth which we have learned. “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4 NIV
Pray for those that the Lord has given as vessels to speak the Gospel to you, that God may give them the grace to preach only Christ and not “other thigs”. May God give you the grace to be humble, that when you notice something amiss in the Gospel preached to you; you may humbly and in the spirit of love bring it to the attention of the preacher. Notice how Priscilla and Aquila did this to Apollos and the whole church was edified. The Lord will continue to bless us as we walk in the spirit and practice the truth.