Is This the Gospel?

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Is This the Gospel?

Is This the Gospel?

5 June 2012, 06:00

You know, I have seen so much in my 38 years. I have witnessed first-hand what false theology can do. Theology is the doctrine of God. It matters. How we view God determines how we treat one another and how we relate to the world around us.

I am thankful for being taught about Jesus when I was young. I prayed to receive Christ when I was 5 years old at our home in New Salem, Kansas. For 10 years, Satan would tell me every night that I wasn’t saved. I doubted my salvation. When I was 15, I told God that I would not ask Him for salvation again… I finally felt at peace. For the longest time, I have felt that I must’ve gotten saved that night because I finally “trusted.” Now, I am not so sure that is the case. When I read Scripture (and our trust in Scripture matters if we are believers), I see that I may very well have been saved all along. It has taken me 33 years to realize this.

Too often, we look at the human side of salvation as if that is what is the most important thing. The way I see it is that God drew me to Himself that night and I responded. Yeah, I was told of Hell, I knew that I didn’t want to go there, and I knew I needed Him. What I didn’t know was anything about the tenets of the Christian faith. I was ignorant of Redemption, Sanctification, Justification, Trinitarianism, Baptism, Communion, Ordinances, Sacraments, Church membership, Ecclesiology, or what my epistemology should be to name a few things…

So, the crux of the matter that has developed…is what really matters? I remember telling everyone that salvation was really hard. I would quote all the Scriptures about the narrow way and how not very many would make it. I knew the story of the Rich Young Ruler, the people who call out “Lord, Lord” on judgment day, etc. These Scriptures are valid and true. However, what is the Gospel? Is it not the GOOD NEWS? Jesus came to save us from our sins–to deliver us from captivity, and to change our citizenship from children of darkness to children of light! Christus Victor! Why is that not spoken more? Instead, we constantly are told of all the additions to the “good” news. I have heard this since I was a teenager: “If you are really saved, you will do all the things that good Christians do, and you will refrain from all the things that bad people do.” Now it’s not always phrased that way, but essentially that is the way it is paraphrased. Is this the Gospel? Making sure that people only like Church activities, hate movie theaters, casinos, bars, pool halls, and for all intents and purposes live a monastic life? I think not.

C.S Lewis wrote in his book, Mere Christianity:

"One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting every one else to give it up. That is not the Christian way. An individual Christian may see fit to give up all sorts of things for special reasons--marriage, or meat, or beer, or the cinema; but the moment he starts saying the things are bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning." p.76

I would think that this is in fact the way that a lot of us were raised, and the way we are raising our children. We must not only have the standard ourselves, we must also judge the salvation and worthiness of the other person based on whether they meet or exceed the outward appearance of it. Don’t misunderstand me–works are important. God has ordained us to walk in good works, but they are fruits of the Spirit. Empowerment by and thru the Holy Spirit generates works that matter for eternity. HE that begins the work in you will be faithful to complete it in you.

I have heard story after story and read heartbreaking accounts of those who were trapped in the Bill Gothard belief system, which my family was raised in. Everything was based on outward proofs of godliness, and Gothard even changed the orthodox definition of “Grace” from unmerited favor to “the desire and power to do God’s will.” What?!? Since the definition was changed, the epistemology of grace was transformed into outward proofs of spirituality. I remember the Character Sketches and the memory games, the wisdom booklets, the umbrella of authority, the evils of backbeat in music and how the emphasis on beats 2 and 4 were satanic and against God. Dating was a sin–courtship was glorified. Youth groups were despised, but spiritual robots were venerated. Beards were of the devil (unless you were Amish or Mennonite), and cutting your sideburns high was a sign that you had bought into the world’s ways.

A true sign of godliness was being serious. One time, my brother and I went to the Northwoods of Michigan for a seminar. During one of the breaks from the sessions, a group of guys (of which I was a part of) began a snowball fight. Little did we realize that we were being “foolish.” Bill Gothard proceeded to quote us Scripture verses from Proverbs about “fools” in a lecture that was to convict us of our sin. I sat there in disbelief. I could go on and on.

I would die for this next statement: Legalism kills. It kills the spirit and it makes the Bible and God a club. We are told in Scripture that the Word of God is a Sword. It is precise. It can divide and cause us to discern God’s will for our lives. It is not a club. The design of the Word of God is to give us direction, not beat our brains out so that we can’t stand to hear or read the Word of God. Those of you who have never experienced legalism are very blessed and fortunate souls. To the rest of us, we know how painful our story is.

It is a never-ending battle of realizing that God made us accepted in the Beloved. In Christ, you are more than a conqueror. You are a joint heir with Christ. You are loved unconditionally. As a believer, you are set in God’s family. No longer bastards (oops! did I say King James English?) but sons and daughters of the living God!

Is that not the most amazing thing you have ever heard?

All articles on this site reflect the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of other Recovering Grace contributors or the leadership of the site. Students who have survived Gothardism tend to end up at a wide variety of places on the spiritual and theological spectrum, thus the diversity of opinions expressed on this website reflects that. For our official statement of beliefs, click here.

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13 Comments

Is This the Gospel? | Recovering Grace | Christian Dailys June 5, 2012 Reply

[...] in a lecture that was to convict us of our sin. I sat there … … Read more: Is This the Gospel? | Recovering Grace ← Raising Hands in Worship Has Become [...]
Tammy June 5, 2012 Reply

I enjoyed reading your post. I love being reminded of my position with Christ and His love for me. I am His beloved and He is mine.

So sorry Bill Gothard took the fun out of your snowball fight. You weren't alone. I've heard others tell of the same thing while being at the OKC training center. I don't believe for one minute that God created us to always be serious and never laugh and have some good clean fun. And, I agree. Legalism kills. It robs us of our joy in Christ!
Dave Z June 5, 2012 Reply

Steve: Nice job. Your article reminds me that I am thankful I am saved by the work of Christ and not my own.
dreamer June 5, 2012 Reply

Your article makes me want to jump up and down and shout "Amen!" I completely agree that legalism kills. It nearly destroyed my church, and it damaged many deep, life-long friendships. My heart still grieves for my friends who are caught up in "seeking God's best" through their own works. We obtain the fruits of the spirit by first having the spirit in our lives, not the other way around! We don't practice those fruits in order to get more of the spirit!
- Shirley Chatham June 6, 2012 Reply
  
  AMEN!!!!
Shirley Chatham June 6, 2012 Reply

This article brings so much truth to the table! Reading through these articles is bringing such grace and freedom back into my life and our home. It's like a cool, fresh breeze, gently sweeping through the our hearts! Thank you for this article and thank you Recovering Grace for your ministry!
Anna June 6, 2012 Reply

awesome post, I especially love the C.S. Lewis quote!
Esbee July 8, 2012 Reply

I only recently found this site due to my being homebound from a second hip surgery and I have learned so much. Coincidentally I also started watching the reality tv shows about the Amish and the Hutterites, also very steeped in traditionalism and lots of man's rules being touted as God's rules. In one episode on the Hutterites, two women are shunned for letting their children go to high school and they admit they do not agree with all the Hutterite rules. My heart broke for the woman who was a widow (husband suicide) and stated that they are making man's rules to be God's rules. But the elders decided she should be shunned for daring to have a free thought or decision apart from them. Shunning consisted of having to stay home, eating by yourself, having your job taken from you and no socializing with the others, which was very hard on her. But you must submit or you cannot be part of the group....unfortunately, this statement rings true in so many other sects, cults and religious groups, proving that the devil has no new tricks, just uses the old ones over and over again.
- MatthewS July 8, 2012 Reply
  
  wow, I hope your hips are soon back in good order, good as new!
  
  Interesting about the Amish culture. We live in Amish country now (did not grow up here). I was intrigued in one of the shows, Devil's Playground I think, to hear one of their minister say that their culture fights the same battles as we do: drugs, alcoholism, etc. This may sound too strange, but we were watching the series about the meerkats (Meerkat Manor, I think?). There was a subplot where a female from one "family" mated with a male from another, and she was an outsider to both groups. I felt like it was a good image from the animal kingdom of what life can be like for a female who is an outsider in a male-dominate culture.
former attendee and parent February 8, 2014 Reply

I loved the author's sentence: I would die for this next statement: Legalism kills. It kills the spirit and it makes the Bible and God a club. (Club as in weapon vs. sword. Great insight!)
Well done, Steve!
Steve B February 27, 2014 Reply

Former attendee and parent.
Thanks for the nice comment. Legalism is a killer and I am always trying to remember the grace of God which sustains us. God's blessings!
Brian Jackson September 27, 2014 Reply

Your article is a breath of fresh air.

May sound strange, but I got to this page by googleing "Do Merecats practice Mere Christianity?" I'm weird like that.

I am reading Lewis' Classic for the first time and enjoying it as I did your tonic against legalism.
carmen May 27, 2016 Reply

I know this is an old post but I want to tahnk you for sharing. I also wanted to thank the person in the comments who mentioned being Accepted in the Beloved. I needed to be reminded of this. I was given it as a word a few years ago and I have drifted into sin in my life. This reminder of Accepted in the Beloved reminds me there is hope of redemption and that I can still be saved

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