Expounding the More Perfect Way….Jesus Christ and Him Crucified Acts 18:24-28

Removed From Christ

OCTOBER 7

I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him Who called you into the Grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some who trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ (Gal. 1:6–7).

God, in His Love, has given man the Gospel and suited it to his needs. Satan, in opposition, degrades it to the level of man’s corrupt nature and proud will, and fashions it into a religion that suits man, as man, in the flesh.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ condemns man, as man, to death, and so puts an end to him and all his religion, and it reveals a “new man” born of the spirit and not of nature. The impotency of man to serve, please, and obey God was made manifest under the Law. Satan’s aim during the present day of Grace is to unite the religion of the flesh with that of the Spirit; and the impossibility and wickedness of that union are plainly set out in the Epistle to the Galatians.

Christ gave Himself up as a Sin Offering in order to take His People out of the world (Gal. 1:4). In His Cross, man, his religion, and the world are judged. Every effort of man, therefore, as a man and by natural birth, to make himself religiously acceptable to God is rebellion, which is the greatest sin of man. In fact, that effort is no more than the energy of the “evil world,” out of which Christ redeems.

Paul was the founder of the Churches in Galatia; however, after he left, called by the Lord to other fields of endeavor, certain false teachers had interjected themselves into these Churches to attack both the Doctrine and the person of the Apostle, and did so by introducing a gospel of “works.”

In the writing of this Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul offered no commendation at the opening of this Epistle, as he did others, but at once an abrupt exclamation of amazement. How could these converts to the Lord, in fact, Paul’s converts, so quickly turn to a perverted gospel? As we have stated, it is not Satan’s aim to deny the Gospel, for that he cannot do, so he tries to corrupt it.

Anything other than the Message of the Cross, pure and simple, is “another gospel,” which, in fact, is “not another,” at least that will help anyone. Anything other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified is a “perversion of the Gospel of Christ.” And, to be certain, a “perverted gospel” will not save, will not heal, will not deliver, and will not bring about any positive results whatsoever. In truth, it will push the person deeper into bondage and deception. There is no deliverance in a perverted gospel; there is no power in a perverted gospel; there is no Salvation in a perverted gospel! The only thing there is in a perverted gospel is “trouble,” hence, the Apostle saying, “there be some who trouble you.” To be sure, it’s “trouble” with a capital “T.”

It is my belief that the Church presently is in worse spiritual condition than at any time since the Reformation. To be sure, it is richer than ever, and with greater numbers of people; however, Jesus said, “And knowest not, that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17).

Any gospel, so-called, which doesn’t have the Cross of Christ as its foundation, and its only foundation, is, pure and simple, a “perverted gospel.” And the world is rife with such presently!
At approximately the turn of the Twentieth Century, the great “latter rain” outpouring of the Holy Spirit began. The “former rain” took place during the time of the Early Church, as recorded in the Book of Acts. Both were prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:23). Most, if not all, of the mainline Denominations rejected this latter rain outpouring. As a result, some of them attempted to preach the Cross without the Holy Spirit, which presented a “perverted gospel,” which the Lord could never accept. As a result, they are no longer preaching the Cross or the Holy Spirit.

The Full Gospel Churches, which were born out of this great latter rain outpouring, tried to preach the Holy Spirit without the Cross. As the former would not suffice, neither would the latter. Now, most Full Gospel Churches, so-called, are not preaching either. The Message of the Cross of Christ and the Holy Spirit are so intertwined that it is impossible to separate the two (Rev. 5:6; Jn. 7:37–39).

Tragically, all of this means that what is being presently presented, with some few exceptions, is little more than a “perverted gospel.” Jesus predicted this by saying, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, shall He find faith on the Earth?” (Lk. 18:8). In the original Greek Text, this reads, “Shall He find The Faith upon the Earth?” He is speaking of the same Faith which the Apostle Paul addressed in II Corinthians 13:5. It pertains solely to the Message of the Cross.

The question must be asked:
Are you in “The Faith,” or have you accepted “another gospel”?

Swaggart, J.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

© 2012-2024