The Outside In Upside Down Gospel

From the beginning of our nation’s existence, men of God stood upon the belief that they came to this New World to be a model for the Old World. That God had chosen them to create a new nation in His image...a city on the hill...a beacon of hope to all the inhabitants of the earth. When these men landed on these shores, they did not build their own homes, but they first built a church to praise God to give Him the glory. Even today, though somewhat murky, there is still this great ‘feeling’ that sheds its light abroad to the world that America is the place for the tired, poor, and restless. Here, in America, a man could enjoy the fruit of his labor because true freedom reigned. Somewhere along the way in America’s history there was a turning point. A place of profound change in how we conducted our affairs. This turning point can only be rooted within the spiritual side of our culture. It is people who make up a nation and how those people think, naturally and spiritually, will produce how that nation functions. Somewhere along the line the gospel was turned upside down and inside out. A basic tenet of the gospel was perverted and in this perversion our entire world view has changed and not only has it changed it has been flipped upside down and turned inside out. But what changed? What could have caused such a monumental shift in our cultural mind set?

What once was seemingly a basic understanding of the nature of man has become the exact opposite. Clearly the nature of man, at one time in our country, was deemed to be in a fallen state and in need of a Redeemer. This simplistic understanding of the nature of man was the underlying principle that compelled the colonists to stand up against the greatest nation on earth. This basic understanding of the nature of man was ingeniously grafted into our Constitution as a continual check against human nature. It is possible to even ‘see’ the evidence of this belief if one only takes some time and traverses through a pictorial review of American history. It is easy to see through the myriad of pictures that a certain standard and way of life was upheld. Most denominations at one time understood this elemental point concerning the nature of man. It can easily be observed in the pictures of the times. Women looked like women and at least upheld some form of modesty. A woman not only looked like a lady but acted like one too. Hard working men are pictured in their full clothing. Speedo’s and tank tops are no where to be found. Just where did these values come from? Since this was before the advent of the lamestream media and all the other distractions, there is no doubt (at least in my mind) that such morals were preached from a pulpit. Yes, there was a time where moral convictions were preached from our pulpits. But early in the nineteen hundreds a subtle change began to take place. Many may blame and point their fingers at certain movements that were occurring in America at the time. Such as the feminist movement or the Scopes Monkey Trial, but these events were really only symptomatic of a deeper spiritual illness, which can be traced to the perversion of the gospel.

When the gospel is preached...by this I mean the true gospel. The same gospel the Apostle Paul preached and said men would be accursed if they preach any other. The same gospel that Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. If and when it is preached it will first confront the nature of man. The gospel stands flat footed and looks that old adamic nature right in the eyeballs and tells it to REPENT. The first step toward God is rooted in the understanding that this creature is in a fallen state. Yet, somewhere at the turning of the twentieth century the gospel was turned upside down and inside out. It became a popular notion to preach that man was not in despair nor innately evil but within him resides this abundance of goodness and virtue. If we would only fan the flames of man’s heart, nothing but sugar and honey would flow out of his being. No longer was there just one path to God, but now there were a million paths to God and all a man had to do was follow the goodness of his heart. Yes, we are living in a day where we are at the receiving end of the harvest of this gospel perversion. Most denominations don’t preach much against the flesh or the wickedness of man’s heart. How a man can stand in the pulpit and contradict the enormous amount of scriptural evidence concerning the nature of man is beyond me. When looking up the word ‘heart’ in the concordance it comes up 830 times! And that is just the one word, heart and not any of the words that may be connected to the heart. Most every book in the Bible has a scriptural reference concerning the heart of man. Where men like to cloud issues and create their own gospel, God does not mince words when he speaks.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart , I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. (Jer 17:9-10)

What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? (Job 15:14-16)

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. (Prov 28:26)

This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. (Eccl 9:3)

And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me: (Jer 16:12)

Most want to refuse the authority of God’s Word because it gets right down to the nitty gritty. God’s Word is quick and powerful, cutting straight to the bone, discerning the thoughts and intents of a person’s heart. No wonder people hate the name JESUS. Where the law left room for the flesh to find it’s own glory and the outter man to shine, JESUS narrowed everything down to it’s originator and that was man’s wicked heart! And he said (JESUS SAID THIS), That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. (Mark 7:20-23)

A gospel that does not confront the wickedness of man’s heart is not a gospel at all. A gospel that preaches the goodness of man’s heart (whether that be literally or by omission) is a gospel that has been flipped upside down. A gospel that does not deal with the issues of the heart is a very shallow gospel and has been turned inside out. Focusing on the outer man rather the inner man is not really a gospel at all.

No wonder our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ compared the last days to the days of Noah! When man’s heart is set on a course to fulfill itself then the fruit of such pursuit will not be good. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Gen 6:5) Today, in these perilous times it almost seems impossible to reach this lover of pleasures generation. It is a generation that is founded upon the fruit of a shallow gospel. It is a generation that claims victim hood rather than responsibility. Far be it from us that the problem resides in us, it must have been someone else's fault. The mantra of this victim mentality is even found in the claim ‘The devil made me do it!” It is far easier to blame someone or something outside of ourselves then to be completely honest with ourselves. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.(James 1:14-15) Though some would like to blame the devil and his imps for their troubles, the Apostle Paul took full responsibility...Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Cor 9:24-27) Blame some flying demon in the air if you want to, but Paul said he wasn’t fighting or beating at the air but he kept his body, with all it’s appetites and lusts, and brought it under subjection to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today, I thank God for men of God who are not afraid to preach the true gospel that was once delivered to the saints. The same gospel that pricked their hearts of men on the day of Pentecost is still the same today and if rightly divided by a God called man, it is still able to pull you out of these perilous times and any of the heart’s devices.