THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL
By Pastor
Max Solbrekken, D.D.
"But
I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtilty, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ." (2
Cor. 11:3)
Many
years ago in Greece there lived a very intelligent and wise old man
called Simonides. One
day a group of philosophy students came to this great teacher and
philosopher for some help. They wanted to know, ‘Who
or What is God’?
After
a few minutes meditation the grand old man asked the group of
students to return the next day, so he could think on the matter.
The following day the students came expecting an answer. They said,
"Most noble
Simonides tell us Who or What is God"!
He
scratched his beard and thought for a moment and said, "This
is a very deep subject. I need thirty days to study and think,
research and philosophize".
In one month's time the students returned only to be told by the
scholarly poet, that he needed more time. He still had no answer.
They were asked to come back in a year's time.
After
365 days the group of inquisitive, anxious students were ushered in
before the great man. "Most
noble Simonides", the
spokesman began, "We
have come to you for some words of wisdom and understanding. Would
you tell us Sir, What or Who is God? We are troubled and would like
an answer from you."
The
great philosopher stroked his beard and scratched his head as he sat
in deep thought. Then he rose to his feet and said, "Men
of Greece: For 365 days I have pondered and thought. I have
meditated and researched. I still have no answer - I do not know and
I cannot tell What or Who is God!"
The
early Hebrews believed that God was Holiness.
The Greeks believed He was Wisdom,
the Romans thought He was Power,
and the heathen advocate that God is Mystery.
The Scientists say God is Energy.
He is all these
and more. The New Testament tells us what He is: "God
is Love!" (1
John 4:8)
God
is Holiness and Wisdom. He is Power and Mystery, He is Energy and He
is greater than all these. He
is Love, and He loves us all! His
love is greater than the love of a mother for her child, a husband
for his wife - greater than human love. His love is heavenly and
pure. It is divine, eternal and past finding out, and it is
unconditional!
Don't forget it, my
friend; God loves us all. Let it sink deep into your heart –
God loves you!
THE
SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL!
St.
Paul was one of the most educated and learned men in Israel and the
founder of the Church among the Gentiles. He wrote more than half of
the New Testament. He had received so many visions and dreams that he
was given a thorn in the flesh, lest he be exalted above measure. (2
Cor.12: 1-9)
He
had been caught up to Heaven and witnessed things he was not allowed
to speak of publicly, and yet he said:
“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but LOSS for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for Whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and I count them but dung (garbage),
that I may win Christ.” (Phil.3:8)
The
great Apostle wrote:
“"But I
fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtilty, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ." (2
Cor. 11:3)
A
number of years ago, a West Indian Anglican Bishop condemned
Evangelists for presenting the Gospel and "Reading
the New Testament in simplistic terms, and third world countries are
being victims of this".
He singled out Oral
Roberts, Max Solbrekken and Billy Graham in
his attack.
Here
is a strange PARADOX. While St. Paul was concerned about people
getting away from the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ, a twentieth
century Church Leader is afraid that Evangelists are preaching it in
easy-to-understand terms!
The
reason large crowds came to hear Jesus Christ preach, was because He
was honest, sincere, truthful and had the power to back up His
message with signs, wonders and miracles. THERE
WAS ONE MORE FACT - HIS MESSAGE WAS SIMPLE AND PLAIN. (John
16:29)
Ever
since the beginning of time, some have tried to confuse the issue by
complicating it. We all know however, that the simpler the device,
the easier to construct and maintain. The simpler the instruction,
the easier to understand and follow and the simpler the message, the
easier to comprehend.
During
the Dark Middle Ages,
only certain theologians of the Roman
Catholic Church were
allowed to read the Bible, while the laity were kept in total
ignorance and darkness. The vernacular used in the liturgy was Latin
- and the people were told that they were too uneducated to read the
Bible for themselves.
Dr.
Martin Luther - an
Augustian monk - who hadn't seen a Bible until he was more than 20
years of age - got the opportunity to study it. The Word of God
changed his life and the gospel message he began to preach changed
the world!
And
Martin Luther’s co-worker in the Reformation, Dr.
Carlstadt, had
attended the best Roman Catholic Seminaries and Universities,
graduating with a Doctor of Theology degree, without ever reading the
Bible! That is the fallacy of Religious Organizations which favour
tradition over the Bible and works over the Grace of God through
Jesus Christ our Lord!
Trying to gain
prominence and respect from the people, some clergymen in their
arrogance and pride like to "grand stand" by using words,
phraseology and terminology which the average person does not
understand. The result is that the preacher is left alone in the
pulpit with a few half-asleep parishioners, while the rest have
stayed at home.
Before
entering the full time ministry, I spent about ten years in the
business world. A manager of a large supermarket in Prince Rupert,
British Columbia once remarked, "Isn't
it strange, I can sit here and listen to you for hours as you talk
about Jesus and the Bible, and yet the longest hour of my entire week
is attending church Sunday morning and trying to stay awake from 11
AM to 12 noon. I understand what you are saying but my Pastor's
message goes over my head".
The
reason Oral Roberts, Billy Graham and Max Solbrekken are able to draw
large crowds and reach the multitudes, is because we preach the
simple message of Jesus - His death, resurrection, love, power and
present day ability to meet the needs of all who come to Him by
faith!
IN
THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED!
The Bible states: “In
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth
was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the deep. And the
Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let
there be light: and there was light.” (Gen.1:
1-3)
Herbert Spencer, a recognized scientist and highly acclaimed philosopher and
sociologist writes about, five
factors as the most general forms into which the manifestation of the
Unknowable (God) is re-divisible:
time, space,
matter, energy and force!
He
explains that to define the Unknowable or GOD, these five factors
must be in place: 1. Time, 2. Space, 3. Matter, 4. Energy, 5. Force.
In His great wisdom, Almighty God gives us the ANSWER in the first
three verses of His holy, infallible and inspired Word.
HERE
IT IS: Time:
beginning; Space: heaven; Matter: earth; Energy: Spirit; Force:
moved!
The
Evolutionary Theory has been proven untenable among genuine
scientists for quite some time. The ‘Ape
Doctrine’ took a
big hit in Israel in 1983: Evolution
Theory found wanting
at Local Trial!
The
Jerusalem Post on April 2, 1983 carried the following report:
“Evolution was on
trial in Jerusalem last week and found GUILTY of failing to meet the
standards of a scientific theory by the First Congress of Inquiries
into the Origin of Life and Evolution….But most, after rejecting
the theory of evolution on scientific grounds, failed to offer an
alternative theory to account for the origin and development of life.
“Instead,
they affirmed their belief in Divine Creation…The aims of the
Conference were to explain that it is INCORRECT to present the theory
of evolution as unchallengeable, and to show much of it as having
been refuted. The Education Ministry circularized all schools,
principals and supervisors to attend. The Congress was organized by
the Ben Gurion University of the Negev sponsored by Israeli’s
Minister of Education. It was held on Mount Scopus Campus of the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem.”
CHARACTER
KNOWN BY BELIEF IN GOD!
Many
of the great breakthroughs in Science have been made by Jewish
scientists so it is good to see that they have mostly kept their
brains free from the devil’s evolutionary lies;
that nothing added to nothing, multiplied by nothing and divided by
nothing, created everything!
What
is Science: Encyclopedia
Britannica states: In
its ‘broadest sense science is learning and knowledge’.
Oxford Dictionary says: “Science
is systematic and formulated learning.”
Another dictionary says: “Science
is knowledge gained and verified.”
In
short, science is knowledge that rests on proof. It is demonstrated
knowledge! Where do you suppose knowledge comes from? Naturally, all
knowledge and wisdom comes to us from our Creator, Almighty God. God
is Omniscient, with all Knowledge, Wisdom and Understanding!
NAZI
GERMANY’S Scientists stated: “Science
has demonstrated that the Nazis are the Master Race.”
The Soviet Union’s School teachers taught for seventy long years
that: “Science
has proven that there is no God.”
In 1972, Soviet Union’s Prime Minister Leonid Breshnev stated: “We
are no longer homo sapiens – modern man. We are homo –
sovieticus: A Super Race.”
From
1989 to
1995, I was privileged to minister a lot in the former Soviet Union
and since we drove thousands of miles, especially in the Ukraine, we
experienced what Communism had done to that country. Hitting the pot
holes and smelling public washrooms at a distance, I once remarked,
“The Russians
sent their space craft to the moon, but they can’t build a toilet.”
Infidel
Science in Canada, USA and world -wide teach that the theory of
evolution is the only viable, rational approach to the origin of all
things! How incredibly incredulous our pin-head evolutionary
scientists have become! Infidel science is a revolutionary philosophy
better known as ‘Foolosophy!”
No
wonder the Bible states: “The
fool (idiot,
insane person)
has said in his heart, there is no God.”
(Ps.14:1) The simple truth is that an idiot could say there is no
God, because he is an idiot and doesn’t know any better. A person
with a normal functioning brain wouldn’t make such a foolish
statement!
MALCOLM
MUGGRIDGE, former BBC Radio and TV Commentator and world famous
journalist, atheist and evolutionist was soundly converted to Jesus
Christ and turned the Academic and Journalistic World on its head.
Regarding the Evolutionary
Theory, he stated:
"I
myself am convinced that the theory of evolution, especially the
extent to which it's been applied will be one of the GREAT JOKES in
the history books in the future. Posterity will marvel that so very
flimsy and dubious an hypothesis could be accepted with the
incredible credulity that it has. I think I spoke to you before about
this age as one of the most credulous in history, and I would include
evolution as an example.
“I'm
very happy to say that I live near a place called Piltdown. I like to
drive there because it gives me a special glow. You probably know
that a SKULL was discovered there and no less than 500 doctoral
theses were written on the subject and then it was discovered that
the SKULL was a PRACTICAL JOKE by a worthy dentist in Hastings who'd
hurriedly put a few bones together, not even from the same animal,
and buried them and stirred up all this business. So I'm not a great
man for bones."
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD!
The Bible says: “For
God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son that
whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). Martin
Luther called that
verse, ‘A
Miniature Bible’. It
has been called, ‘The
Gospel in a Nutshell’
and ‘The Central
Verse of the Bible.” Multitudes
have found eternal life through reading the Holy Scriptures and John
3: 16 is the Gospel of Christ packed in a very concise and powerful
life-giving statement.
The
Devil constantly tries to pervert everything he can and he often does
so by infiltrating the theological field and especially the area of
Bible Translators. They have subtly done so with this verse through
translators who have taken it upon themselves to modernize the text
thereby undercutting the strength of God’s Word.
Dr.
Henry Morris, a great
Bible scholar and Creation scientist stated: “The Greek word for
“only begotten” is monogenes,
the very form of
which clearly denotes “only
generated.” As
monotheism
connotes only one God and monosyllable
means a word of only one syllable, so “mongenes”
means only one genesis or only one generated…or, more simply,
“only begotten.”
It does not mean “one”
or even “one and
only.”
"It
is worth noting that, although Christ is called the Son, or the Son
of God, frequently in the New Testament, He is never (in the Greek
original) called “the only” son of God.
“The
fact is, that to call Him the only Son of God would make the Bible
contradict itself, for He is not the only Son of God, and certainly
not the “one and
only” Son of
God. Angels
are several times called the sons of God (e.g. Job 38: 7), since they
had no fathers, being directly created by God. Likewise Adam
was called the son of God (Luke 3; 38), because he was directly
created. The same applies even to fallen
angels (Gen.6:2), and
even to Satan
(Job 1:6) because they also were created beings.
“The
term is also used in a spiritual sense, of course, for those who have
become new creations, in Christ Jesus by faith. (2 Cor. 5; 17; Eph.
2: 10, etc.). In this
sense, we also are “sons
of God”. (e.g.
1 John 3:20) by special creation? By special creation, not
physically, but spiritually.
“But
it is never applied in this sense to Christ, for He is not a created
son of God (as
the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other cultists teach),
but the Only
Begotten Son of
God. He never had a beginning, for He was there in the beginning
(John 1; 1). In His prayer to the Father in the upper room, He spoke
of “the
glory I had with Thee before the world was.”
(John 17: 5).” See Micah 5: 2, 3; John 1: 18; John 10:30; Col.1:
15)
“Jesus
Christ did not become the only Son of God by Hi virgin birth, for He
is also the ‘eternally
begotten” Son
of the Father. He is eternally, in
His bosom”
“yet
always “going forth” to declare the Father – once as the
creating Word, occasionally in pre-incarnate theophanies, also
through the Holy Spirit conveying the written Word, which had been
“eternally
settled in heaven”
(Psalm 119: 89) down to man through divinely chosen prophets, then
ultimately appearing as the incarnate Word to live forever as the
God/man.”
GOD’S
LOVE IS APODICTIC!
The word apodictic
is from the Greek word apodikticos,
meaning
‘evident
beyond contradictions!
I discovered it
many years ago while studying the dictionary. Instantly I thought,
that word belongs only to God and the Bible; not to humans! The
Majesty, Power, Wisdom, Grace and Righteousness of God are evident
beyond contradictions. No-one
could dare to contradict God’s
Love; Calvary proved that!
God’s
love is so amazing and beyond comprehension and yet so personal,
accessible and real. Here are several more Scriptures that reveal the
love of Jesus Christ toward us: “For
God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not
see life; but the wrath of God abideth on Him.”
(John 3: 17, 36)
Here
is a Scripture that has blessed multitudes of people across the world
through radio, television and in our large crusades, and has brought
healing and deliverance to many: “He
that spared not His Son, but DELIVERED
Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also, freely give us all
things?” (Rom.8:
32)
This
reveals the length to which our Heavenly Father went to redeem a
lost, sinful and perishing world. He did not spare His own Son but
turned Him over to wicked men who blasphemed Him, spit in His face,
pulled out His beard, lashed Him with the razor-sharp Roman
cat-of-nine tails until His back looked like a plowed field, and
pounded spikes through His hands and feet to a cross at Jerusalem’s
garbage dump on Golgotha’s Hill.
The
hymn writer penned these most appropriate words:
He
came to earth the promise to fulfill
A
rugged cross He bore up Calvary’s Hill
And
for my sins He cried, Father forgive
Born
to die, that I might live.
Born
to die, a cruel cross to bear
Born
to die, that I His love may share
Between
two thieves, He bowed His head and cried
Tis
finished, I came to die
ALL
SINNERS GUILTY BEFORE GOD!
The Bible says: ‘All
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. For the wages of sin
is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ
my Lord.” (Rom.3: 23; 6:23). “For when we were yet without
strength (hopeless) in due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God
commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.
“Much
more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled
to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall
be saved by His life.”
(Rom. 5: 6-10)
The greatest message
anyone could hear is that Jesus Christ died for their sins so that
they could be forgiven,
liberated from bondage and servitude to the world, flesh and the
Devil, Hallelujah! The Bible states: “But if we walk in the
Light as He is in the Light, we have fellowship with another,
and the Blood of Jesus Christ, His Son
cleanseth us from all sins.” (1 John 1: 7)
Many years ago during the
California Gold Rush, a man lay dying in his little
shack. A kind
Christian lady came to be with him and was reading the Bible
She read John 3: 16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten
Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life.
Suddenly, he
quickened and speaking in a weak voice asked: “Is
that in the
Bible?”
She answered, “Yes,
it is in the Bible.”
He asked:
“To whom is He
speaking? Is He speaking to me?”
The lady responded: “Yes,
He is speaking
you.”
Again the dying man inquired: “Did
He say anything else?”
Quickly, she
answered: “Yes,
He did. He said, ‘To as many as received Him, He gives the
power to
receive eternal life.’” Quietly,
the dying man said, “I
receive Him. I
am satisfied.”
H He had found peace
with God and himself! Then, he closed his eyes and was gone. Angels
came down and carried his spirit away and brought him safely into the
arms of Jesus! What a glorious gospel. What a glorious message of
hope and life, we have through the blessed crucified, buried and
risen Lord Jesus Christ!
T THE
BLOOD OF CHRIST OUR ONLY HOPE!
The blood of Christ is
mankind’s only hope! For many years, the Christian church has
presented the claims of Jesus Christ to be able to save lost souls,
heal the sick and liberate the suffering and wounded, granting
eternal life on the basis of His shed blood, vicarious death and
glorious resurrection from the dead!
St. Paul wrote: “For
Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with the
wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none
effect. For the
preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; BUT UNTO
US which are saved it is the power of God.” (1
Cor.1: 17, 18)
“ We know that an
idol is nothing in the world, and that there
is none other God but One.
For though there be that
are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as
there be gods many, and lords many.)
BUT TO US
(believers) there
us BUT ONE GOD,
the Father,
of Whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by
Whom are all things, and we by Him.” (1 Cor. 8: 4-6)
“ Now it was not
written for His sake alone, that it was imputed to him; BUT
FOR US ALSO, to
whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus
our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences (sins) and
raised again for our justification.” (Rom.4: 23-25)
St. Paul didn’t
pull any punches. He cleared the decks and told it like it was and
still is! He stressed the fact that there are many false prophets
worshipping god of no value for they are only ‘make
believe gods’,
and if the pagan want to believe in them that is their own business
and to their folly, however, we are Christians, believers in Jesus
Christ our Lord, Saviour, Master and God!
We do not mix pagan
faiths with the Pure Gospel of Christ! We do not compromise the Word
of God to please anybody. There is only ONE GOD: God the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit! Amen.
PRESIDENT
RONALD REAGAN!
Shortly
after President Ronald Reagan was seriously wounded by a deranged
gunman, his pastor asked him, “Mr.
President, were you ready to die?”
He replied: “Oh
no, I have so much more work to do!”
His pastor continued: “Mr.
President, I meant were you ready to meet God?”
Ronald Reagan answered: “Oh,
Yes!” The
pastor probed: “Mr.
President, why would you say that?”
to which Ronald Reagan replied: “I
have a Saviour!"
My
question to you, friend is this: “Do
you have a Saviour?”
The Bible says: “I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
(Luke 5:32). He stated: “For
the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.”
(Luke 19: 10).
St.
Paul said: “This
is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (1
Tim.1:15). Our Lord invites: “Come
unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you
rest.” (Matt.
11: 28); “All
that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and Him that cometh unto
Me, I will in no wise cast out.”
(John 6: 37)
JESUS
LOVES ME THIS I KNOW!
In Billy
Graham: Personal Thoughts of a Public Man,
British TV commentator David Frost wrote: “I once asked Billy
Graham what his goal was when he took the pulpit. He replied: “First
of all, I want the content to be accurate. I want it to be biblical
and I want it to be simple. I study to be simple.” I
pressed him. “Can’t
a message be too simple?”
He
answered: “When Dr. Karl Barth, the great Swiss theologian,
the greatest theologian of his generation, was visiting America a
couple years ago, he was at one of our great seminaries, and a
student asked him the question, ‘Dr.
Barth, what is the greatest single thought that ever crossed your
mind?”
The
students thought some tremendous statement was coming forth and they
were all on the edge of their seats and he said, ‘Jesus
loves me; this I know for the Bible tells me so.’”
No
more beautiful words have ever spoken by men or angels than these: “I
know God loves me!” Praise God. Say
these precious words and believe them and you will see what a change
will be affected within your life. May God bless you, in Jesus’
name! Amen.
BY PNW STAFF JANUARY 31, 2017
