They are afraid that just saying "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" is just not enough to save a person so they add a price tag to the "free" gift of God's grace. These same folk will often try to bolster the grace of God with terms that focus on what we must do (turn, try, surrender, commit, etc) or they will try to redefine faith as more than simply trusting in Jesus.
#Paintboard gospel presentation full
Is the gospel a license to sin? No! No! No! (Romans 6:1.) But it can be easily perceived as a license to licentiousness by those who are afraid of unleashing the full force of God's grace with nothing added. If it doesn't sound like a license to sin then it is not the gospel. What this once-in-a-generation preacher was saying is that whenever you preach the gospel of grace it can sound like a license to sin.
If my preaching and presentation of the gospel of salvation does not expose it to that misunderstanding, then it is not the gospel."
There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel of salvation than this, that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that it really amounts to this, that because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will redound all the more to the glory of grace. Martyn Lloyd Jones once wrote, "The true preaching of the gospel of salvation by grace alone always leads to the possibility of this charge being brought against it. Some of you reading this right now may be cringing a bit, wondering if preaching this faith alone in Christ alone message may lead to a license to sin. He didn't say, "Turn or burn! Try or fry! Forsake or bake!" Instead he said, "Believe and receive!" He replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household." When the Apostle Paul was asked, "What must I do to be saved?" by the Philippian jailer his answer was surprisingly succinct. So, once we understand the basis of our salvation, let us continue our clarity adventure by being clear about how a person receives the gift of salvation. These core realities comprise the foundation of the gospel message. He rose from the dead, proving he was who he claimed to be. We were sinners and Christ died for those sins. Paul defines the core facts of the message in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…." We must be clear as we present the gospel! We can be sure that these three same commands apply to every preacher, evangelist and Christian as well. Napoleon had three commands for his messengers: He knew that the difference between a clear presentation and an unclear presentation is the distance between heaven and hell. Why did he do this? Because clarity matters, especially when it comes to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Yet, in spite of all his qualifications to preach the gospel, he asks for prayer to be clear as he presents this simple, yet astounding message. This is the same one-of-a-kind writer who penned the salvific books of Romans and Galatians, the Constitution and Declaration of Independence of the Christian faith. If Paul needed prayer for to ensure a clear proclamation of the good news, how much more do we? This is the same brilliant and determined disciple who baffled the Jews after his conversion with his inarguable arguments for the grace of God. The great Apostle Paul asked the believers of Colosse to pray for his gospel presentation to be as clear as possible. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Colossians 4:3,4 …pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
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