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The Truth that all men should know in order
to be saved is the Gospel of Christ.
01E.1
Does it mean that we can listen to all
preachers who
claim to preach the Gospel of Christ?
In Galatians 1:6-9, Apostle Paul gave
this warning to the early Christians so
they will not be misled from the truth.
6. I marvel that you are turning
away so soon from Him who called you
in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
7. which is not another; but there
are some who trouble you and want to
pervert the gospel of Christ.
8. But even if we, or an angel
from heaven, preach any other gospel
to you than what we have preached to
you, let him be accursed.
9. As we have said before, so
now I say again, if anyone preaches
any other gospel to you than what
you have received, let him be
accursed. (NKJV)
No, Apostle Paul
warned that there is a different gospel—a
perverted gospel, that is being
preached by many people.
01E.2
What will
these preachers do to
pervert the Gospel of Christ?
Apostle Peter explains it in II Peter 2:1-3:
But there were also
false
prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.
They
will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign
Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.
Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into
disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you
with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging
over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (
NIV)
False Teachers
or Preachers will secretly introduce destructive heresies or deviations
to the Gospel of
Christ. These False Preachers will exploit
people with made up stories and many will follow their
shameful ways.
These may include personal opinions, man-made doctrines or man's religious
practices or traditions that are contrary to the truth written in the Bible
and therefore will result to a Different Gospel - a perverted gospel.
01E.3 How
dangerous are these False Preachers who
pervert the Gospel of
Christ?
In II Peter 3:16, this is written:
speaking of this as he does in all his letters.
There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. (RSV)
Apostle Peter considered
these False Preachers to be ignorant and unstable because they twist the scriptures
to their own destruction. as a result, they will surely lead their listeners to destruction—in the
lake of fire.
01E.4 How
can anyone
determine if a Preacher is teaching a
different gospel—a perverted gospel?
In
I Corinthians 4:6, Apostle Paul warns us
not to go beyond what is written.
"Now, brothers, I have applied
these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that
you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go
beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in
one man over against another. (NIV)
The same verse in
another version of the Bible:
Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your sake, so that you may learn from our example.
You must not go beyond what the Scriptures say. Don't be more proud of one person than another.
(SEB)
First -
If what you
are listening to and
studying is "not written" in the bible, it is surely a heresy and
a man-made
doctrine
or simply a man's religious
practices or
traditions without biblical
basis.
Second
-
If what you are listening to and
studying is "beyond what is
written or beyond what the
Scriptures say", it is
surely a deviation, a personal
opinion, a personal interpretation,
a personal idea, a made up story or
simply a speculation. Thus, it
will also result to a perverted gospel which is
different from the True Gospel of
Christ.
01E.5 Why
should anyone make sure that he should
only listen to or study the true
Gospel of Christ in order to come to the
knowledge of the truth?
In
the following verses, the answer is
given:
10. For do I now persuade men,
or God? Or do I seek to please men?
For if I still pleased men, I would
not be a servant of Christ.
11. But I make known to you,
brethren, that the gospel which was
preached by me is not according to
man.
12. For I neither received it from
man, nor was I taught it, but it
came through the revelation of Jesus
Christ. (Galatians
1:10-12, NKJV)
And in vain they worship Me,
teaching as doctrines the
commandments of men. (Matthew
15:9,
NKJV)
The same verse in another
version of the Bible:
Their worship is worthless, for
they teach their man-made laws
instead of those from God.''' (Matthew
15:9,
LVB)
Because, listening to and
eventually believing a
"different gospel"—a perverted
gospel made of man-made laws or
commandments—will render man's
services to God as "vain or
worthless".
Thus,
anyone who is interested to know the
truth should make sure that he
will only listen to and study
the "True Gospel of Christ"
as preached by Apostle Paul.
____________
Anyone
interested to know the truth about
salvation, should make sure that what he
is listening to and studying is the
"True Gospel of Christ", because there are
Different Gospels. These Preachers
of a "Different Gospel" have perverted
the Gospel of Christ by introducing
heresies and man-made laws and
commandments. thus, they lead their
listeners to destruction instead to
salvation.
Hence, anyone who want to
come to the knowledge of the truth about
salvation, should
always be cautious and alert. He
should make it a point to always double
check what is being taught to him:
This is
to ensure that what he is listening to and
studying is the
True Gospel of Christ,
otherwise, his efforts to know the truth
will be vain or worthless.
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