The one true "gospel of God's grace," which God offers as our only salvation, has three basic elements: 1) who Christ is—fully God and perfect, sinless man in one Person (were He less, He could not be our Savior); 2) who we are—hopeless sinners already condemned to eternal death (or we wouldn't need to be saved); and 3) what Christ's death accomplished—the payment of the eternal penalty for our sins (any attempt by us to pay in any way rejects the Cross).
Christ has commanded us to "preach the gospel [good news!] to every creature [person]" (Mark 16:15). What response is required? Both the desperate question and uncomplicated answer are given to us: "What must I do to be saved?...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:30-31). Neither religion, ritual, nor good works will avail. God calls us to simply believe. "For by grace are ye saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8)—whosoever believes in him will not perish, but has eternal life (John 3:16).
It is the gospel alone that saves those who believe it. Nothing else will save. Therefore, we must preach the gospel. Paul said, "Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel" (1 Cor 9:16). Sentimental appeals to "come to Jesus" or "make a decision for Christ" avail nothing if the gospel is not clearly explained and believed.
Paul specifies the gospel that saves: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Cor 15:3-4). "I am the door," said Christ: "by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" (John 10:9).
The gospel contains nothing about baptism, church membership or attendance, tithing, sacraments or rituals, diet or clothing. If we add anything to the gospel, we have perverted it. —Dave Hunt, excerpt from The Nonnegotiable Gospel, 2006.
What's Happening to the Faith?
from our archives - now with audio and video!
March 21, 2021 • Dave Hunt
The Greening of the Cross
May 16, 2021 • Dave Hunt
July 1997 Newsletter Newsletter Archives: https://www.thebereancall.org/newsletters Newsletters in Spanish: https://www.thebereancall.org/spanish Newsletters in German: https://www.thebereancall.org/german Audio Newsletters: https://www.thebereancall.org/newsletter/audio Printable Newsletters: https://www.thebereancall.org/newsletter/pdf The "Gaia hypothesis" is taken seriously at gatherings of scientists seeking to restore and preserve the Earth. Goddess worship is, of course, promoted by feminists, even by some who call themselves Christians. Rosemary Radford Ruether, professor of theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, has written Gaia and God: An Ecofeminist Theology of Earth Healing. Consider the "Re-Imagining God, the Community and the Church" conference held in 1993. One of the speakers was Chung Kyun Kyung, a South Korean Presbyterian. In her plenary address to this "Christian" gathering, Chung declared, Endnotes (1) Earth & Spirit: The Spiritual Dimension of the Environmental Crisis, International Conference brochure sponsored by Chinook Learning Center, Seattle, WA, Oct. 19-21, 1990. (2) The Moscow Plan of Action of the Global Forum on Environment and Development for Human Survival, Jan. 1990 (final draft), 9. (3) Ibid., 12. (4) Ibid. (5) Carl Sagan, Cosmos (Random House, 1980), 243. (6) The Oregonian, Sept.13, 1992, Forum 4. (7) Parade Magazine, Mar. 1, 1992. (8) Cited in Ground Zero (C.T. Communications, Box 612, Gladstone, MB R0J 0T0, Canada, Oct./Nov., 1996), 8. (9) From a brochure promoting the event and sent out by Marilyn Ferguson and her Brain/Mind Newsletter. (10) Foundation, July/Aug. 1994, 6-7. (11) Christian News, Mar. 21, 1994, 8. (12) Christian News, Feb. 5, 1996, 1. (13) O Timothy, 11:3, 1994. (14) O Timothy, 9:1, 1992. (15) Ed McGaa, Eagle Man, Rainbow Tribe: Ordinary People Journeying on the Red Road (Harper San Francisco, 1992), 3. (16) Los Angeles Times, Feb. 5, 1993. (17) Laura Sessions Stepp, "Creation theories aside, they join forces to save the Earth," The Morning News Tribune (May 24, 1992), A3. (18) "Religious Leaders Join Scientists in Ecological Concerns," Christianity Today (Aug.19, 1991), 49. (19) Tarrytown News (Nov. 1984), 5. (20) Calvary Contender (June 15, 1996). (21) Christian News, Mar. 21, 1994, 8. (22) Norman Vincent Peale, PLUS: The Magazine of Positive Thinking, 37:4, May 1986, Part II, 23.
Caesar and God
May 9, 2021 • Dave Hunt
June 1999 Newsletter Every Sunday-school child knows the story well. Hoping to entrap Him, the Pharisees and Herodians publicly confronted Jesus with an apparently unanswerable question, "Is it lawful [under the law of Moses] to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give?" They had cleverly plotted to place Christ in an impossible position. If He answered "yes," He would be a stench to the Jews, who hated Roman taxes. If He answered "no," He would be fomenting rebellion against Caesar, and the Romans would crucify Him. Jesus, "knowing their hypocrisy, said unto http://them...bring me a penny...." When someone presented the coin, Jesus asked whose picture was on it. When they told him it was Caesar's, Christ spoke these oft-quoted words, "Render [give] to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Mk12:13-17). His brilliant avoidance of the trap that had been carefully laid for Him left the rabbis speechless. To their chagrin, they found themselves unable either to denounce Him to the Romans or to discredit Him with the Jews.
Unity and Truth - Newsletter from April 1998
April 25, 2021 • T.A. McMahon
"Political/religious correctness" is essential to the false unity desired by this world. "Spirituality" without truth will be the rule. The world will have returned to Babel, where the "city" (i.e., the secular government) and the "tower" (i.e., the religion) were united: "[L]et us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven..." (Gen 11:4). Those who persist in the claim that some teachings are wrong will be silenced for the good of society. That trend is already reflected by TBN's Paul Crouch, whose prayer demands immunity from correction: "God, we proclaim death to anything or anyone that would lift a hand against this ministry...."1.