The Authentic Gospel

Hi there,

My book "The Authentic Gospel" is at the concluding stage of its release.

I thought to share the opening chapter with you.

God bless as you read.

Foreword

Since the death and resurrection of Christ 2000 years ago, countless doctrines and gospels have emerged, every one of them claiming superiority. For this reason, it has become increasingly hard for Christians; especially baby Christians to tell the true Gospel of Christ from the false Gospels. More importantly is the fulfilment of the Biblical prophesy of men having itchy ears such that they yearn only for that which they want to hear and not what they should or need to hear.

We are living in the days of the fulfilment of Prophecies that are being fulfilled at a very fast pace because the heavens are eager to release the Spirit of the Son (see Acts 3:21) on willing and true saints.

The increasing rate of false doctrines and gospels are not only alarming but also devastating. The falsification, misinterpretation, misapplication, adulteration, denial, corruption of the scriptures and its gospel is more than ever pervasive; as people preach about “another Jesus”, they yield to the Jesus they preach, receiving a “different spirit” and embracing a “different gospel”. This gospel, which they receive, proclaim, and even die for, is symbolic of the life they yearn to live without God, outside God, or identifying with Him but partially or completely denying the power of his word, or ignoring His divine principles.

The purpose of this book is not to dwell on what has gone wrong with the gospel; neither is it aimed at adding to existing volumes of opinions on its perversion, rather it is a voice for The Authentic Gospel, aimed at raising its standard and restoring it to its original place.

The authentic gospel as presented or represented in this book is an expression of truth -- the truth of its genuineness and the attempt of men over the years to falsify it, not my personal opinion. My opinion serves as a medium of conveying the truth of the gospel, while allowing the gospel to reveal itself, so that the counterfeit will be exposed in its true colour. The best way to know the counterfeit is not to study it but to study the genuine and that is the background upon which I have written this book.

Just as there is no sin without law, so also is there no any counterfeit without the genuine. The classification of a thing or product as counterfeit is possible only because it is measured by a standard that is considered as the genuine. The value of the gospel has been cascading into near meaninglessness in the past decade; many preachers or pastors have reduced it to a means of wealth acquisition and dragged it into unsavoury reputation. For the laity, Jesus is to them a servant at their beck and call to meet their needs. This largely explains the upsurge of ministries and Churches across the nations of the world, without tangible transformation of lives, and reformation in governments and corporations.

Paul captured the situation appropriately in his second letter to the Mega Church in Corinth, that their lack of effectiveness, in spite of their size is traceable to the embrace of “another Jesus”, a “different spirit” and a “different gospel”. (2 Cor 11:1-6)

It is an anomaly to see the prevalence of evil and perversions in the midst of the seemingly endless upsurge of Churches in our societies, claiming to preach the gospel. We must begin to ask questions why we are not seeing the same results as seen in the early Church. The Bible declared that the disciples of old turned their world upside down. And this was accomplished in an environment without telephones (cell, land or fixed wireless), computers, and the Internet. None of the sophistication of communication technology of this day and time was available at the time. Yet, their accomplishments remain unprecedented. Is there not something they possessed that we lack?

I believe there is an ancient wisdom and power of the gospel that is today missing, but still relevant. And until we not only discover but also tap into them, the power of the cross will continue to elude in the church. The Church must return to the authentic gospel, with alacrity, reposition itself, and collectively key into the power of the gospel.

The gospel our Master Jesus Christ preached while on earth was a gospel of power, efficacy, and purpose, a penetrating gospel that consistently revealed the ills of the society in which it was declared, exposing falsehood for what it was. He also called every evil by its name, confronting evil and immoral men and women with their sins, regardless of their status, and letting people know his stand, his purpose and mission, a gospel that declared God’s kingdom principles on earth. He did not only teach men these principles, but lived by them as well.

It was a gospel that could not be ignored by the powers that be; its force, consistency, and integrity were so efficacious that like magnet it drew multitudes to itself amidst opposition and persecution of the kind that Modern day Christians may not have experienced. But that was not what validated it; the distinctiveness and authenticity of the gospel did. The authentic gospel was the one the early apostles preached. It created so much fear in the minds of the people that they were afraid to join the Church.

The message in this book is for as many ministries today who validate their calling by the size of their Churches. You need to ask why people find it easy to come to your Church, and it might be because it is “user-friendly”. What attracts men might not necessarily attract God, but if it attracts God, then it will attract only men who are sincerely seeking God.

If your Church is user-friendly, I have come to tell you that it falls short of the standard of the Bible – it was not easy following Jesus, the message of John the Baptist was not the attractive type. Paul did not preach a too attractive message either – if yours is attractive, you need to check the source of that message, it does not represent the message our Master (Jesus Christ) preached, which He handed down to the apostles.

If we are to appraise Jesus’ ministry by the standards of today, He will be considered an ineffective minister – one who preached a sermon that reduced His Church by almost 95% - we will begin to check His credentials or who His mentor- we will wonder if He has a good “covering”.

A prophet of God in my nation Nigeria, who I believe God, has commissioned to preach the authentic message of Jesus was once asked by some journalists why he was the only one being arrested all the time by the government. His response was revealing. “The question you should be asking is why are the others not being arrested?” This man represents a departure from the norm, the consequence of telling the gospel as it is. As you read, may the truth in this book cause a mighty turn around in your life and ministry.

You may wish to place an advance order by e-mailing theauthenticgospel@thekingdomcitizens.org or call Gbenga on 234-806-0542-949