To say that the gospel has been attacked, watered-down, confused, and compromised in our day would be a severe understatement. No other message is as greatly feared by the enemy of our souls as is the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He will do everything in his power to keep people from hearing it, understanding it, or believing it. I pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up a new generation of men who are divinely enabled to preach an uncompromising gospel in this sin-darkened end of the age.
Still, it seems rather presumptuous to entitle a booklet, The Gospel. After all, the gospel is the summation of the entire message of scripture! So much has been written--and could be written-- that it seems as if a small booklet could hardly do such a subject justice. Nevertheless I wrote with a burden to make the heart of the message as plain as I was enabled.
So much that passes for the gospel in our day never does bring divine light upon man’s true need, let alone confront it with the gospel ultimatum. Just acknowledge a few facts and pray a little prayer and that’s all it takes--they think. But the gulf between lost man and a holy God is much wider than that and it takes a lot more than a salvation “formula” to save people. It takes a divine miracle of grace.
I pray that if you have already experienced the miracle of the new birth that you will be blessed and gain a greater understanding of the gospel. But if you haven’t, I pray that your heart will be moved to seek God until He comes with a witness of peace.
May God bless you as you read...
This booklet also forms the last three chapters of Examine Yourselves.