{"id":31029,"date":"2022-09-10T15:14:02","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/what-is-the-greatest-threat-to-the-gospel\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:14:02","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:14:02","slug":"what-is-the-greatest-threat-to-the-gospel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/what-is-the-greatest-threat-to-the-gospel\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the \u201cGreatest Threat to the Gospel\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Jason Leung photo – Unsplash <\/p>\n

By John Mark Yeats<\/p>\n

“________ is the greatest threat to the gospel.”<\/em><\/p>\n

We say this a lot in evangelical church circles. We insert our favorite pet concern into the blank and attack from there. Just in the last 50 years, in one form or another, evangelical presses, conferences, and speakers insist that the gospel is threatened by forces external to it.<\/p>\n

Watch how this has worked out:<\/p>\n

\u201cWokeness<\/em> is the greatest threat to the gospel!\u201d \u2013 2020s<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Atheism<\/em> is the greatest threat to the gospel!\u201d \u2013 2010s<\/p>\n

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\u201cPostmodernism<\/em> is the greatest threat to the gospel\u201d \u2013 1990s and early 2000s<\/p>\n

\u201cThe breakdown of the family<\/em> is the greatest threat to the gospel!\u201d \u2013 1980s<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sexual Revolution<\/em> is the greatest threat to the gospel\u201d \u2013 1970s<\/p>\n

\u201c____ is the greatest threat to the gospel!\u201d We say this a lot in evangelical church circles. We insert our favorite pet concern into the blank and attack from there. \u2014 @jmyeats Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

The warnings reflect a specific concern\u2014fidelity to truth. The broader culture frequently embraces a new concept, philosophy, or ideal that challenge the claims of the cross. These challenges should not surprise us for Jesus reminded His followers that we would be hated, persecuted, and oppressed. As we enter seasons where external cultural forces make it difficult to live a life of faithfulness, our internal radar will frequently signal, \u201cDanger!\u201d We move to protect ourselves or warn our community, and rightly so.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the catch\u2013\u2013these claims aren\u2019t accurate, and worse, they feed into an instinct that moves us off mission.<\/p>\n

What this \u201cgreatest threat\u201d trope ignores is the clear teaching of Jesus that He will build His church and not even the gates of hell will prevail against it (Matthew 16:17-19). The gospel is never<\/em> threatened because it is the Savior who ensures His kingdom will advance.<\/p>\n

The gospel is never threatened because it is the Savior who ensures His kingdom will advance. \u2014 @jmyeats Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

We could move back in time some 1,800 years and listen to some of the early church apologists. In reading Justin Martyr (100-165), Irenaeus (130-202), or Tertullian (150-225), you hear firm assertions of the truth of Christianity to encourage believers in the faith, while also boldly confronting false assumptions about the church coming from external sources. These were high stakes\u2013\u2013competing philosophies sought to mislead Christians. Meanwhile, in certain regions, faith in Christ meant a complete excising from culture. For some believers, claiming Christ could literally be a death sentence.<\/p>\n

But note this: never once did they talk about these external issues as a threat to the gospel.<\/p>\n

Early church fathers firmly asserted the truth of Christianity, while also boldly confronting false assumptions. But never once did they talk about these external issues as a threat to the gospel. Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

Instead, they talked about the power of the gospel to supersede these distractions. Jesus was better. The claim, \u201cJesus is Lord!\u201d became the reminder of our true allegiance. Jesus\u2019 lordship gave believers peace and hope that He was still at work in their lives, in their church, and in their world, even if there was apparent chaos. From that position of strength and truth, they engaged a lost world bringing the hope of the gospel, trusting the power of their Savior to do His work.<\/p>\n

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And this is where we can lose the mission. When we are focused on the supposed threat without understanding the undefeatable power of the gospel, we are tempted to retreat, withdraw, and disengage from the very world that needs the hope that only comes through Jesus.<\/p>\n

When we are focused on the supposed threat without understanding the undefeatable power of the gospel, we are tempted to disengage from the very world that needs the hope that only comes through Jesus. \u2014 @jmyeats Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

I love how the author of Hebrews helped re-orient persecuted Jewish believers in his letter.<\/p>\n

You endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one \u2026 . But we are not those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls (Hebrews 10:32-34, 39).<\/em><\/p>\n

Our gospel simply proclaims, \u201cJesus is Lord.\u201d This is our banner. \u2014 @jmyeats Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

Our gospel simply proclaims, \u201cJesus is Lord.\u201d This is our banner.<\/p>\n

When standing in the arena facing death, Christians cried out, \u201cJesus is Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Rome fell, \u201cJesus is Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Black Plague ravaged Europe, \u201cJesus is Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

When persecuted, our brothers and sisters in the Far East and in the Middle East cry, \u201cJesus is Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever comes our way, \u201cJesus is Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

We are those who refuse to shrink back, knowing that nothing stands against the gospel of Jesus Christ, because the gospel is assured by the authority of our living Savior. \u2014 @jmyeats Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

From this foundation, we can engage any philosophy or cultural moment with confidence. We reject fear and refuse to be fearmongers. Even if our privileges in the West are stripped away, there is a calm assurance that the power of the gospel has not shifted in any fashion. Because of this, we are those who refuse to shrink back, knowing nothing stands against the gospel of Jesus Christ, because the gospel is assured by the authority of our living Savior.<\/p>\n

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John Mark Yeats<\/h2>\n

@jmyeats<\/p>\n

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John Mark serves as Vice President of Student Services and Professor of Church History at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n