Is the gospel that you believe a saving gospel or is it a pseudo gospel? And what is the difference? Well, a saving gospel is the gospel according to the scriptures. The truth laid out in the New Testament and predicted in the Old Testament would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. a gospel of grace, all-sufficient grace, out from which flows the gift of faith, by which you are united to Christ and his finished work on your behalf, so that salvation is of the Lord, lest anyone should boast. The pseudo-gospel, however, is a gospel that says that yes, Jesus came into the world, God gave his only begotten son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. But then, God did all that subject to man's free will choice, or not, without any knowing whether anyone would believe. And so ultimately, your salvation is tied to a work of faith that you contribute. So let me just say that again. The saving gospel of Jesus Christ is a work of grace, all sufficient grace. out from which flows the gift of faith in the finished work of Christ on your behalf. And upon hearing that gospel proclaimed, the Spirit moves upon your heart, mind, and will, so that you are then regenerated, made alive from a state of spiritual death and moral death, to be made alive and you believe and are saved. And the Spirit takes up residence in you and begins to conform you into the image of the one who died on your behalf and saved you. without any contributing factor on your behalf whatsoever. That's the gospel. It's the gospel that not only saves you, it's the gospel that heals you, restores you, makes you whole mentally, emotionally, brings your humanity back into a place of functionality, Restores your dignity from a from being a person enslaved to sin corruption and death To one who's truly free and free in Christ For the first time in your life to be fully human Though that is yet to be fully realized at his return But the pseudo gospel is that you were the deciding factor, and therefore you make faith a work. It's a gospel of self-justification. And it leaves in place that element of the most essential element, the most defining element of sin itself, and that is pride. You see, characteristic in all the world's religions is this element of man-centeredness, whereby man, with God's help or without, is working his way towards union with God, by which you'll reach salvation. So that man himself is in control of his eternal destiny. And when that kind of thinking is baptized and called Christianity, it's the worst deception on the planet. Because not only will it not do what it promises, it's a pseudo Christianity. It's a pseudo faith. But what is astonishing, and I hope you find astonishing, is that it is by far the most prevalent view and understanding of the Gospel today among professing Christians. I listened to a wonderful message by John MacArthur recently, talking about the fact that when he began his ministry, he was startled to realize that most of the people that he was preaching to in the church, those who were among the reached with the gospel, were in fact not reached at all. They were church members. And he suddenly realized that he was going to spend his whole life, which has been over 50 years now of preaching, He's going to spend his whole ministry reaching out, not just to the unbeliever and to the unreached, but to the reached. In fact, his primary ministry, he said, was going to be to those, to the reached, not the unreached. Those sitting in the pews who think they are saved and are not. You see, there's no greater point of self-delusion. And if you think, if you really believe that you are in Christ because of something you did, something you contributed to the work of Christ, then you're either not saved or you're deluded. once you come to know the truth of the gospel, the good news folks, the gloriously good news that salvation is of the Lord from start to finish, that which God began he will complete and has completed in Christ and and is working out in you even now, when you understand the totality and the fullness and the glorious nature of the gospel. And you are, that is declared to you and you come to see and know the truth, but insist instead that you retain an understanding of the gospel that leaves you as the one at the center, that leaves you as the one who must make the vital necessary contributing factor, even your faith itself, then you have every right to question whether or not you're even a Christian, and so does everybody else. Now that, I know that, I'm not trying to be unkind here. I mean, kindness in fact dictates that I say this. So I want to share with you a couple of texts to help you get some great clarity. What I want for you today is to get a good solid look and begin to grasp the glorious nature of the gospel of grace, and begin to do so then, once you do so, you'll be able to, much better equipped to discern that which is not. The pseudo gospel. As a student of church history, as well as a student of the Bible, I am utterly astonished how that the battle from the time of the apostles, even during the time of our Lord's ministry, was between the truth and a pseudo-truth. The battle for the Church is not necessarily with the unbelieving secular world. The reason we're here is to reach them. No, the battle for the church is with those who purport to be Christians, that which purports to be Christianity, but is not. That's what we have to contend with. Remember, the devil appears as an angel of light. The devil doesn't appear as some wild-eyed cult leader. The devil doesn't appear as some kind of decadent, morally decadent, crazed human being. No, no, no. His best work is to appear to be very orthodox, very traditional. to use all the right terminologies, to use all the right symbols. But there's always this subtle twist at the end of his gospel. And that subtle twist is that it's up to man to finish the work that Christ did. Christ's work only made salvation possible. And now it's up to you to complete that circle. That's the pseudo gospel. And if you believe that, then you're making your contribution of faith or believing a work. Very important. The little bit of leaven leavens the whole lump. A fly in the ointment spoils the ointment. And you believing that somehow you are in Christ because of something you did, beloved, is that fly in the ointment. It is that leaven in the lump. And I want you to know that. I want you to understand that. So if that is how you've been taught, you can see from Scripture that that's false. And repent of it. And believe the truth. The truth that not only saves, but sets you free. And you can see how gracious God has been towards us. He has lavished upon us in the finished work of Christ on our behalf. Okay, let me share with you just a couple of passages. I want to read to you the nature of the Trinitarian Gospel. And that's found in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 13, excuse me, verses 3 through 14. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love. He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight. He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his kind intention, which he purposed in him. with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to his purpose who works all things after the counsel of his will. to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise. who is given as a pledge, a guarantee, of our inheritance with a view to the redemption of God's own possession to the praise of His glory. Amen. Now, what you just heard is that the Father elects, the Father before the foundation of the world chooses, and whom the Father chooses and predestines, the Son enters into the world within human history and redeems, and the Spirit regenerates and seals for salvation, yet to be fully realized. There is perfect harmony between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And it's an intensely personal salvation. With you in mind, God knows you by name. He chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world. And he chose you that you would be holy and blameless before him. Not that that's something you now need to go run out and become. No, no, no. He chose you so that you would be holy and blameless before him on the basis of Christ's finished work of redemption. Everything that the Father does, the Son does, and the Spirit does is grounded in God's good pleasure. Something which he, verse 6 says, he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. Our redemption was according to the riches of his grace. And our inheritance, for which we are predestined according to his purpose, something that he works as all things after the counsel of his will. In other words, there was simply nothing in you, good or bad for that matter, that evoked God's election of you for salvation. Period. You may be good, you may be bad, it's just irrelevant. The ground of your election and therefore your redemption and your regeneration has everything to do with God's gracious choice, period. There's nothing we did to invoke it, there's nothing we did to earn it, and there's nothing we can do to lose it. Okay. Let me give you one more. This started out in verse 3 with, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the Apostle Paul. Now let me read you 1 Peter. 1 Peter 1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, and who are chosen. according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood." This phraseology is so glorious. It's breathtaking. who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. There you go, it's intensely personal. Now, I know there's a stream of theology that teaches that foreknowledge in this case means that God looked down the annals of time. and he looked and he saw who would believe and who wouldn't, and then he based his predestination on that future choice. He looked down the annals of time and seen somebody who had a greater capacity to believe and would therefore believe, somebody more virtuous than the others, and he based his predestination, his choice of then on that person, the foreknowledge of that individual, that noble individual. You see, it's insidious, folks. There is this compulsion within the natural mind that insists that the final contributing factor to our salvation be something that we provide. It's astonishing. how insidious that is, and how much Protestant theology is filled with that. I mean, what's Protestant anymore? What's evangelical anymore? Okay, let's go back to Peter. Verse three, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who's the blessed one here, me or God? God, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to what, our choice? No, our lovable-ness, as Rick Warren would say, that Jesus spread his arms out on the cross and said, I'm doing this because I love you so much, and you're so lovable. There are times, and I hope you join me, that you sit with your head in your hands, with tears in your eyes, and pray for mercy. Because the airwaves, the TV waves, the TV, the radio, the social media, the pulpits on Sunday are just filled with this man-centered pseudo gospel. it's not saving, it won't do anything for you, it won't free you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is, what, imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wow, what language, what glorious truth. May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. Verse three, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Who caused you to be born again? God or yourself? The Bible teaches clearly that it was God who caused you to be born again. Regeneration, the regenerating work of the Spirit, precedes saving faith. Now, I know many of you have probably been taught the other way around, that somehow you heard enough of the Gospel that you believed, and then the Holy Spirit came and caused you to be born again as a result of you believing. And that's how I understood it for 20 years. Kept my pride right in its most comfortable spot. It just left me without any assurance or any peace. I became a good church goer. That's about as much as I could get with that gospel. I was left wandering and wondering. But hear it clearly. His causes, according to his great mercy, not because of anything he saw in us, not because of anything we did, not because we even believed, has caused us to be born again to a living hope. Let me restate that spiritual principle, that biblical principle. Regeneration precedes saving faith. The regenerating work of the Spirit proceeds saving faith. And this gospel, this tells us that our salvation is imperishable, undefiled. It will not fade away. It's reserved in heaven for you. And we are not protected by our personal will or choice. We are protected by the power of God through faith. for salvation yet to be fully revealed than the last time. One more text and then we'll be done. I want you to see that this is the message of the New Testament. And to do that fully, it would take hours. But, please be patient for just a few more minutes. 1 Corinthians 1, Verse 26-31, For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen. the things that are not, so that he may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by his doing, who's doing? But by his doing, underline that in your Bible, 1 Corinthians 1.30, but by his doing, you are in Christ Jesus. who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, just as it is written, let him who boasts boast in the Lord." That is, by the way, a quote from Jeremiah 9, 23 through 25. Paul is bringing that forward into the gospel. God did not pick out the more virtuous people who have a greater capacity for religion and make them his people. That's Paul's point here. But to read this text through the lens of the modern gospel, it would read something more like this. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were many wise, according to the flesh, there were lots of mighty people, many noble people, with a great free will, and that God has not chosen the foolish things of the world, God has not chosen the weak things of the world, but the things that are strong. He's not chosen the base things of the world and the despised. Rather, God has chosen those who have something going on, those who are basically good people that are virtuous, and by a matter of their free will choice, can make their boast before God that they believed. That's how it would be read. Now, sometimes people will protest, well, I did believe. Yes, you did. I'm not denying that. And I did have faith and I trusted Christ. Yes, you did. Yes, thanks be to God. The question is, why and how? Not if. In the subtle twist that the devil would put on the back of your gospel is that that how and why was up to you. Something you contributed. Vital necessary factor apart from which God could not have saved you. That's the lie. That's the pseudo gospel. It's an unsaving gospel. So if that's what you've been believing and that's what you've been taught, take the text that I just read you today and read them over and over. Do some good exegesis around them. Do some cross-referencing and find other texts that say the same thing. And understand that it is by God's doing that you are in Christ, not yours. And let me warn you again, that if you hear the truth from me today, and yet come away insisting and demanding that you are in Christ because of something you did, something you contributed to the finished work of Christ, then the finished work of Christ wasn't finished, was it? It was an unfinished work that only made salvation possible for you, subject to your free will choice, then I have to tell you, you're in trouble. But if you've heard the truth of what I've read to you today and said to you today, then rejoice, rejoice in the Lord. Put your boast in Him, in Him and the Lord, and find the rest for your soul, for which you've been longing. You see, we don't... Fallen man does not live in a state of neutrality between good and evil, as arbitrated by his free will. That's a lie. Humanity made a choice in Adam. And in Adam, all humanity died and is now in a state of dead in trespasses and sins. Spiritually and morally dead. So yeah, there was a choice made, but it was made for you in Adam, which means that if you were there, you'd have made the same choice. And it's only then by the mercy of God, by His free grace alone, that God has intervened But God, it says in Ephesians 2, but God, who is rich in mercy, has made us alive in Christ, even while we were dead in sins, trespasses and sins. It's by grace that you are saved. Through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Take that to heart, beloved. That's the saving gospel of Christ. of his finished work on your behalf, an intensely personable, personal salvation. Because God chose you particularly. He's known you. He knows you. He knows of you. And it wasn't because he saw you as so lovable and so savable and so worthy of salvation. We don't know why God chooses us. We just rejoice in the fact that he did. Well, may the Lord keep you and strengthen you in this gospel. May you continue to grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.