What the Bible says about Preaching what Christ Preached
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Zephaniah 3:2 "She obeyed not the voice." This is what led to Jerusalem's downfall! The Voice of God was in the prophet He sent with a message to bring about repentance, and she did not obey it. The preacher or prophet gives sound to the Voice of God and His words. The people heard the sound, but they did not believe. So, their sin persisted. Christian preaching is the preaching of Christ. Do not misunderstand this. It is not "preaching about Christ" but "the preaching of Christ"—meaning preaching what Christ Himself preached. Obviously, some of what Christ preached was about Himself, but it included a great deal more than that. Only when we preach what Christ preached are we able to have the faith of Christ—the faith that saves—because Christ preached what He believed. What He believed was the message that He heard from the Father. John W. Ritenbaugh Unity (Part 4): The Voice of God Related Topics: Faith of Christ | Faith that Saves | God's Voice | Jerusalem's Demise | Jerusalem's Destruction | Preaching what Christ Preached | Repentance | Saving Faith | Voice of God

Galatians 1:6-7 The apostle Paul opens his epistle to the Galatian Christians with stern criticism. Written in the early AD 50s, this book describes a situation occurring in the church not even twenty years after Christ's death! In less than two decades, Jesus' message had been perverted to something that, to Paul, no longer announced "good tidings." The specifics of this Galatian perversion are not important in this context, but the principle that we can derive from it is: Any alteration, any shift of focus, from Jesus' original announcement changes the message from one of good to bad news. A change in the gospel changes its goal, which means believers will arrive some place other than the Kingdom of God! How vital it is that we follow the true gospel of God! The church of God has the same source of Christ's gospel as the rest of the "Christian" world, the Holy Bible. Why, then, is the gospel we preach so different from the Protestant and Catholic gospels? There could be many answers to this question, but every one boils down to one point, mentioned by Jesus in Mark 1:15: We "believe in the gospel" He preached. We believe time is short. We believe that Christ will establish the Kingdom of God soon. We believe that we should repent and do so as a way of life. We believe Christ's message by living it in faith. Other churches may say they also believe and live in faith. Do they? Jesus says in Matthew 7:16, "You will know them by their fruits." This is the easiest way to spot those who follow a false gospel: » Do they try to live by every word of God? » Do they tremble before God's Word? » Do they keep God's commandments (all of them)? » Do they repent of and strive to overcome their failings? » Do they show a steady growth in character? » Do they focus on the Kingdom of God? » Do they prioritize their lives with God first? » Do they focus their teaching on the message He proclaimed? » Do they exhibit genuine love for the brethren? Depending on our understanding and viewpoint, it is likely that no one person or group will pass or fail all of these questions. "For we all stumble in many things" (James 3:2). However, if we are to judge righteously in the matter of whom we choose to fellowship with, we ourselves need to have a thorough grasp of the true gospel. Richard T. Ritenbaugh The True Gospel (Part 1) Related Topics: Another Gospel | Avoiding False Apostles | Character Development | False Gospel | Focus on Return of Christ | Good News | Good News of the Kingdom of God | Gospel of the Kingdom of God | Kingdom of God both a Present and Future Reality | Overcoming | Preaching what Christ Preached | Repentance | True Gospel | Whole Counsel of God

 

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