Articles

2 Corinthians 11:1-6, 12-15

“Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it. 5 For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles. 6 Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things…

12 But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”

As we approach the Christmas season, the Gospel will be heard by billions of people all around the world. The Nativity Scene will be seen in malls, churches, street corners, postcards, and the like. Some radio stations will be playing both secular and Christian Christmas carols for the next month or so.

I have been surprised by how many doctrines have been attacked of late. Sadly, some of these attacks are coming from what should be trusted sources. This kind of thing is nothing new; the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel have been under attack from the very beginning, and no doctrine has been so attacked as that of the Gospel. In Jude, we are encouraged to ‘earnestly contend for the faith, and in the passage we are going to consider today, Paul tells us to be wary of those that would ‘be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.’

Somebody posted a short video – I am sure it is old – asking about our theology and the thief on the cross; his simple prayer, “Lord remember me when you come into your Kingdom,” was met with, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” No baptism, no Lord’s Supper, no church membership, just a simply trusting act of faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

We are told in Romans 4, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3). He was not circumcised at the time; that came after. But the simple, one-time act of believing God at His word was sufficient to declare him righteous (Romans 5:1, Romans 8:1). Simple faith in Jesus is still the only way.

Paul, in our text, warned the Corinthian church to be weary of those who came in and had better speech than Paul, maybe looked better, and presented themselves better, but their teaching corrupted the simplicity of the Gospel. Take a look at Genesis 3: The woman tells the serpent that they are not allowed to ‘eat of the tree nor touch it’ (Genesis 3:2). But that was not the truth; they were not allowed to eat of the tree as the commandment was given to Adam in Genesis 2: 15-17:

“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

By adding man’s rule to God’s rule actually made it easier to sin. Once she had touched the fruit, it was easier to eat it. This is the danger of adding to God’s clear and direct instructions. The Bible is the completed Word of God. In it is all we need to know to serve God faithfully and in holiness. But there are people who tell you they have a new word from God for you. A word that you cannot verify in the Scripture as it is not in the Bible. This is how deceit begins; this is how doctrines get corrupted.

Sadly, churches today are still looking for the chiseled jaw, tall, good-looking, and well-spoken brand for their church. But Jesus, we are told, was not good-looking as far as man was concerned, and it would seem from this passage that Paul did not fit the mold either. If we venture back to 1 Corinthians, we can see that even the seemingly vocal accomplishments of Apollos were enough to cause division. Not division over doctrine, but over style.

But we are called as the Lord’s churches today, as in the days of the church at Corinth, to keep the simplicity of the Gospel. Christ died once and for all. He did all the work. We, like the thief on the cross, come by faith and faith alone in what Jesus has done for us. We have stolen eternal life from a lot of people; we have cheated them of their security in Jesus when we add anything to what Christ has done. In Acts 8:34-38, we find this:

“So, the eunuch answered Philip and said, ‘I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?’ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?’ Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.”

The man made a simple statement of belief in who Jesus was and is, and that was all that was required. In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked, “What must I do to be saved?” And the answer came back in a simple and clear statement from Paul and Silas:

“So, they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Let us all be diligent both as children of God and members of conservative local churches to keep the simplicity of the Gospel; Jesus died to save sinners; He did all the work. Thank the Lord for His kindness and grace.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding

Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

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Starting with Isaiah 41:10; “Fear not, for I am with you; be ye not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (ESV – all emphasis is mine)

The idea of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit being with us always goes all the way back to the creation and is demonstrated throughout the Old Testament. It continues with our Lord and Savior Jesus coming to earth as a human to provide us the most perfect gift we could ever have – eternal life with Him forever. He lived a perfect, sinless life on this earth so that His blood sacrifice for us would be acceptable to the Father as payment for our sins.

When God makes a covenant, He never fails to honor it. Going to Genesis 28, His covenant with Jacob stands today, and it includes all people of all nations. Looking at verses 12-15,

“And he dreamed, and behold there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to Heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, ‘I am the Lord God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’”

After AD-70, the Jewish people were scattered around the world, and the nation of Israel became mostly desert. Samuel Clements, better known as Mark Twain, visited Israel in 1867 and called it a “hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land.” He made comments about the land being desolate and devoid of inhabitants. As of May 14, 1948, there hadn’t been much change, but on that day, Israel declared itself an independent sovereign nation after almost 2,000 years. The first nation to recognize that sovereignty was the United States under President Harry S. Truman. Most of their immediate neighbors responded by mounting a full-scale attack in an effort to wipe this tiny nation off the map. Needless to say, their efforts didn’t work.

Today, Israel has truly been blessed by the Lord and has developed fertile soil for growing many types of produce; their wines are some of the finest in the world; and to top everything off, there have been oil and natural gas deposits discovered within their legal boundaries. They have formed a respected military force, and their ability to drive back the invaders has been truly God-inspired.

Richard Rogers (1902 – 1978) and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895 – 1960) wrote a song for their 1945 musical “Carousel” called “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” At the time, it was not meant to carry any religious message.

From 9/4/1966 through 8/31/2014, Jerry Lewis held telethons to raise funds for his “kids” who had Muscular Dystrophy. Over the course of those years, his efforts raised over two billion dollars for the M.D. Association. His efforts were meant to be inspirational for all his “kids” to know someone truly cared for them and there were people who loved them and wanted to do all that could be done to give them relief. He sang that song at the end of each telecast as a means to encourage “his kids” to never give up.

To date, many performers have recorded this song, and it has even been accepted as a gospel hymn. It reminds us that we are never alone if we have our Lord and Savior Jesus as our Shepherd and Redeemer. Here are the inspiring words to that song:

“When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of a storm, there’s a golden sky and the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind; walk on through the rain, though your dreams be tossed and blown. Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone; you’ll never walk alone.

Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone; you’ll never walk alone.”

For all true believers, we have the faith to know that our forever will be far greater than any words can possibly express. We just know that we will have a body that will never age, never experience pain or death, and we will have a mindset that will be immune from temptation to any form of evil ever again. We will live in a place prepared for us by our Jesus, as stated in John 14:1-3. This is available as a gift for receiving and accepting our Lord’s pure, sinless blood sacrifice that He willingly gave for us at Calvary (John 10:18).

On the other hand, all who were out of the will of the Father before the crucifixion, and all who will have refused Jesus from Calvary to the end of this earth’s age, will answer for every sin, great or small, that they will ever have committed in their lifetimes. They will attend an event known as the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. All souls at this judgment will be separated from the Heavenly Father forever in a lake of fire, as given in Matthew 25:41. It will be eternal torment without any form of relief.

Every single soul on this earth has the ability to choose Heaven or Hell. All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. This is found in Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, and Romans 10:13. The simple steps to Salvation are found in Romans 10:9-13, and as Ephesians 2:8-9 states, it is a gift from the Father and not something we can earn or buy.

With evil and abominations increasing daily, it is very possible there will be the sound of the Trumpet of God and a shout from an archangel very soon. Paul tells us about this in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. All of the Savior’s precious flock will be removed to keep us from the coming tribulation/wrath, as promised by the Father in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, and Revelation 3:10.

All who are left behind will face the worst 7-year period of time this earth has ever seen. With this said, the decision of which eternity you choose becomes very important. We do not know the day or hour the Rapture, as it’s commonly called, will take place. However, when God says it’s going to happen, it will happen.

Our Heavenly Father could be a totally different type of God and force His will on all of us. However, that would not be love, and our God is all about pure love. He wants no one to fail (2 Peter 3:9) but allows us the ability to make our own free-will choice. He is waiting for our call to have His Son be our eternal Shepherd, but eventually, as with all the biblical events, the time will come when it will be too late to decide.

Satan wants you to believe that all the things of this earth are what are most important. His famous lie of “Did God really say?” still draws souls to him. It may be easier to make a decision when you realize that everything on this earth is not permanent; only the love of God is forever.

Jesus will turn no one away who truly calls on Him to save them. Right now would not be too early to place that call. As stated, it’s completely up to you to make that decision. Just remember, what you choose is how you will spend forever.

Meanwhile, for those of us who have already chosen our Savior, we gladly say, “Maranatha!” which means Come, Lord Jesus!

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My articles can also be found at: Dennis Huebshman Featured Articles – Rapture Forums

The Simplicity of the Gospel :: By Sean Gooding

You Are Never Alone :: By Dennis Huebshman