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Fraud
is defined as an intentional misrepresentation (or one made with reckless
disregard for the truth) intended to cause a person to act to his injury in
reliance upon the misrepresentation. As
an attorney I am by training aware of the definition.
What
is the primary “fraud” in the presentation of the Gospel?
You may be astonished at how fundamental it is.
It has to do with the person of Jesus Christ.
The present emphasis in the Christian church seems to be on Jesus Christ
as our Savior. The invitations from
the pulpit are usually, “Accept Jesus as your Savior and you will have eternal
life!” Sometimes there is a
variation that states, “If you believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins
you will have eternal life.” Are
those statements biblically true?
Nowhere
in Scripture does it say or suggest that believing in or accepting or receiving
Jesus as Savior can save us. On the
other hand, it is clear from Scripture that Jesus must be our Savior if we are
to have eternal life. The first
announcement of his birth stated, “a Savior has been born to you” (Luke
2:11). Somehow the Christian
culture has apparently, carelessly assumed that because Jesus must be our Savior
then we need only accept him as Savior.
Likewise,
nowhere does Scripture say or suggest that we can have eternal life by believing
in something Jesus did. Virtually
all the scriptures that deal with salvation exhort us to believe in him
– the person of Jesus (e.g., John 2:11,
3:15,16,18, 6:40, 7:39, 8:30, Romans 4:24, 1 Peter 1:8).
If
we’re not to believe in, accept, or receive Jesus as Savior (or believe in
something he did) in order for Jesus to be our Savior and to gain eternal life,
then what are we to do?
What
did Jesus say? Jesus told his
disciples, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and “Lord’, and rightly so,
for that is what I am” (John 13:13).
Jesus said, “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not
believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins” (John
8:24). He described his
authority as Lord when he said, “All power and authority has been given to
me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).
Scripture
states we are to believe in, accept, and receive Jesus as our LORD!
Perhaps the most familiar salvation scripture is Romans 10:9, “If you
confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Likewise, Paul told the Philippian jailer, ““Believe in the Lord
Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts
16:31). That was the message
of the early church – the church that persevered through intense persecution!
They received Jesus as Lord (Colossians
2:6). Paul exclaimed, “We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus
Christ as Lord!” (2 Cor. 4:5).
An especially convincing scripture to me is Paul’s summary of his
ministry to the Ephesians: “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must
turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus” (Acts
20:21). He taught the same
to the Thessalonians, “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1
Thess. 5:9) and to the Romans, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans
6:23 – see also Romans 5:21).
Peter
confirmed Paul’s teaching. At
Pentecost he preached, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will
be saved” (Acts 2:21).
He concluded his sermon, “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified,
both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).
Later he taught, “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord” (1
Peter 3:15).
What
does it mean for Jesus to be our Lord? He
must be our master, our King, our sovereign, the one who has total authority
over our lives. I explained it to
my grandson as, “He must be your boss.”
If
we listen to what is preached in many of our churches we would surely declare
that the primary message of Scripture is that Jesus is our Savior.
But is that the primary message of Scripture?
Not at all. In the New
Testament, Jesus is called Savior only fifteen times.
Nine times God the Father is referred to as Savior.
Jesus is referred to as Lord 618 times, forty times more
often than as Savior.
Is
the distinction between Savior and Lord important? Is it important that we believe in Jesus as our Lord?
The issue is of eternal consequence, whether or not we have eternal life.
The proof is found in an unusual scripture.
Again it was Paul teaching:
“For this very reason, Christ died and returned to
life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living”
(Romans 14:9).
How
can that be? Doesn’t Scripture
teach that Jesus died and rose again to atone for our sins, to redeem us, so
that we may be justified before God, so that we will be reconciled to God and
presented holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation?
Of course it does. Can Romans 14:9 be reconciled with those redemptive purposes
for which Jesus died and rose again? Yes,
by recognizing that all those redemptive purposes are valid only for
those for whom Jesus is Lord! The
reason Jesus died and rose again was so he might be Lord of all, knowing that he
would be Savior only of those for whom he is Lord.
Christianity
is often referred to as a relationship, not a religion.
The distinction in relationships is important as we note the differences
that would arise from receiving Jesus as Savior versus receiving him as Lord.
If he could be only our Savior, then the relationship would be between
Savior and the one saved. When
Jesus is our Lord, the relationship becomes Lord and servant.
Which
relationship does the New Testament teach?
Overwhelmingly we are taught that the believer is a servant, or even a
slave, of the Lord Jesus. Scripture
teaches: “You are not your own;
you were bought at a price (1 Cor. 6:19).
Isn’t that the condition of a slave, not free but owned by a master?
The
New American Standard Version of the Bible correctly defines our relationship to
the Lord Jesus as his bond-servant. The
bond-servant is a special category of servant.
It is described at Exodus 21:5-6: “But
if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not
want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges.
He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an
awl. Then he will be his servant
for life.” This was the case of
the person who had sold himself into slavery but found his condition as a slave
was far to be preferred to his prior circumstances.
He chose to stay with his master as his bond-servant.
The master often honored him with a gold earring as a symbol of his
special status as a bond-servant.
The
conditions of a bondservant are: (1)
It is voluntary, (2) confessed publicly, (3) out of love for his master, (4)
slavery – giving up everything, and (5) for life. Those are the same requirements for those who would follow
Jesus and receive him as their Lord.
The
New Testament writers declared themselves to be bond-servants:
Paul (Romans 1:1),
James (James 1:1), Peter, (2
Peter 1:1), Jude (Jude 1:1) and
John (Rev. 1:1). All true
believers are declared to be bond-servants:
“The Revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which
must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to
His bond-servant John, . . .” (Revelation
1:1, NAS).
Just
as the relationship is dramatically different when Jesus is our Lord, so is our
response to Jesus as our Lord. If
Jesus could be only our Savior, our response would likely be gratitude for
saving us from God’s wrath. When
Jesus is our Lord and we are his bond-servants, our primary response to him is
obedience out of love.
Scripture
confirms that obedience is our proper response to our Lord Jesus.
The writer to the Hebrews related salvation to obedience:
“He (Jesus) became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey
him” (Hebrews 5:9).
Jesus expected obedience from his followers. He asked those who claimed to follow him as Lord but did not
obey, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke
6:46). Jesus said there
could be no salvation without obedience: “Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew
7:21).
Obedience
is important as the natural response of our relationship as servant to Jesus as
our Lord. It is also evidence that
Jesus is truly our Lord. It should
be no surprise then that Jesus made obedience a part of his last instructions to
his church. First he declared his
Lordship: “All power and
authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto me” (Matthew
28:18). Then he told his
followers what he expected them to do in his absence. “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations”
(Matthew 28:19). He told them two things they were to do with these disciples:
“Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, and teach them to obey all that I have commanded you” (Matthew
28:19-20).
If
I were in a court of law prosecuting the church for fraud in its presentation of
the Gospel, I believe many churches would stand convicted.
Does your church, and do you, present Jesus Christ as Lord?
Does your church, and do you, make it clear that there is no salvation
unless Jesus is Lord? Does your
church, and do you, teach that obedience is the necessary evidence (to God) that
Jesus is Lord? Finally, does your
church, and do you, obey his final command to teach new disciples to obey
everything Jesus commanded?
Those
who present salvation as accepting Jesus as Savior almost invariably also fail
to teach the importance of obedience. That
double error leads to still another salvation-denying problem concerning the
Holy Spirit.
It is correctly stated that all true believers are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Scripture teaches it is essential to have the Holy Spirit if we are to have salvation: “And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9).
We
know we must belong to Christ to be saved because Jesus said, “I am the way
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John
14:6).
Many
church leaders apparently believe that the Holy Spirit automatically indwells
those who “accept Jesus as Savior”. But
is that what Scripture says?
Jesus
told us how and under what conditions the Holy Spirit is given:
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And
I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you
forever — the Spirit of truth” (John
14:15-17). The
conditions are that we must (1) commit to obey Jesus (2) out of love.
Then he will ask the Father who will give us the Holy Spirit.
Scripture corroborates that teaching as Peter defended the disciples
before the Sanhedrin. Speaking of the Holy Spirit he said, “ . . . the Holy
Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (Acts
5:32).
Jesus
explained the relationship resulting from obedience to his commands:
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one
who loves me. He who loves me will
be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him” (John
14:21).
And again he said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my
teaching. My Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These
words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me” (John
14:22-23).
Note
that it is those who love Jesus and obey his commands that are loved by God the
Father and Jesus and they will come and make their home with them (through the
Holy Spirit).
If we are not taught we must believe
in and receive Jesus as Lord then we are likely not taught that we are to obey
him. If we do not commit to obey
him, we will not receive the Holy Spirit. The
initial misrepresentation of the Gospel has led to three different reasons why
such people will be denied salvation.
Consider Jesus’ chilling warning:
“ Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?’ Then I will
tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:22-23).
Who are these people that Jesus never knew?
They had not received him as Lord, nor did they obey him, nor had they
received the Holy Spirit. But
didn’t they prophesy in his name, drive out demons and perform many miracles
in his name? Yes, indeed.
That is part of the great deception that even now is in the church.
Didn’t Jesus warn, “For false Christs and false prophets will appear
and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were
possible”? (Matthew
24:24). They
will deceive by doing these things in Jesus’ name.
A
church that has been deceived by a fraudulent representation of the Gospel, that
lacks teaching on the need to obey, and that is not empowered by the Holy Spirit
would be simply part of a Christian culture. It would lack power and discernment. It would be lukewarm; its members would hardly be
distinguishable from the rest of the world; and it likely would begin to
compromise fundamental beliefs. Ultimately
it might question the infallibility of Scripture, then the deity of Jesus, the
truth of the resurrection, and perhaps openly allow sin in the church and pulpit
by accepting homosexuals and ordaining homosexual pastors.
Such churches might also chase after various claimed manifestations of
the Spirit but lack the discernment to know whether such manifestations are of
the Holy Spirit.
How
closely does that describe some of our churches today?
I fear many of our churches are part of a changing Christian culture
rather than firmly anchored on the unchanging, immovable rock – the Lord Jesus
and his word.
In
a court of law, fraud is actionable. Contracts
can be voided when fraud is used to induce a person to enter into the contract.
In our churches we make representations to induce people to make
decisions that will immeasurably alter their lives forever.
These decisions have far-reaching ramifications.
Those who believe and accept our representations will change their lives
and their life-styles. They will
give their money to the church and serve in the church in various capacities,
taking time, sometimes sacrificially, from their other activities.
If
we induce them to make that decision based on fraud – by presenting false
information – we can do immeasurable harm.
Not only may such persons not have a saving faith – and therefore not
have salvation – but also they may become disillusioned and never thereafter
be willing to make a saving commitment to Jesus.
Years ago I began to suspect that one of the evidences of fraud in the presentation of the gospel is the high percentage of people who quickly desert the church after having “made a commitment.”
Ray Comfort's Bride of Heaven, Pride of Hell confirmed my suspicions. Ray quotes statistics of a major denomination in the United States that disclosed it obtained an incredible 294,784 decisions for Christ in 1990. Yet, in 1991, it could only find 14,337 in a Christian fellowship. There were 280,447 decisions that couldn't be accounted for. The leadership had no clue as to why this happened, but could only conclude, "Something is wrong!" The trend continued. In August 1996 a leading U.S. denomination revealed that during 1995 it secured 384,057 decisions, but retained only 22,983 in fellowship. It couldn't account for 361,074 supposed conversions. Ray told of another crusade at which 600 decisions were obtained, no doubt with much rejoicing. But 90 days later, follow-up workers couldn't find even one person who was going on in his or her faith. In 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio, 400 decisions were obtained in an Inner City Outreach, but, again, later not one person could be found who continued in the faith.
Ray quotes Charles E. Hackett, the Division of Home Missions National Director for the Assemblies of God in the U.S.: "A soul at the altar does not generate much excitement in some circles because we realize approximately 95 out of every 100 will not become integrated into the church. In fact, most of them will not return for a second visit."
This phenomenon is not unique to the U.S. According to Ray, a pastor in Boulder, Colorado sent a team to Russia in 1991 and secured 2,500 decisions. The next year they found only 30 persevering in their faith. In Leeds, England, a visiting U.S. speaker acquired 400 decisions for a local church. However, six weeks later only two were going on, and they eventually fell away. A pastor who traveled to India every year since 1980 told Ray he saw 80,000 decision cards stacked in a hut in the city of Rajamundry, the "results" of past evangelistic crusades. But he maintained that one would be fortunate to find even 80 Christians in the entire city. That is 1/10 of 1%.
Ray also cited statistics of the Barna Research Institute that indicated 62% of Americans say they have a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ. However, a Gallup Poll, taken around the same time, revealed something interesting about a special group of 6-10% of Americans who say they are Christians. Mr. Gallup said of them:
"These people are a breed
apart . . . they are more tolerant of people of diverse backgrounds. They
are involved in charitable activities. They are involved in practical
Christianity. They are absolutely committed to prayer."
Neil Anderson in The Bondage Breaker, page 107, states a similar statistic, saying, "It is my observation that no more than 15 percent of the evangelical Christian community is completely free from Satan's bondage." Though Neil generously speaks of the remainder as Christians, from his description of them they have the behavior traits of those described in Galatians, Ephesians and Revelation who (Scripture says) will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Ray Comfort's emphasis is that we don't tell the truth – again fraud and deceit – when bringing people to Christ. As a result, the seed is scattered on stony ground and though received with rejoicing the person falls away quickly in times of difficulty and/or persecution. I agree with Ray that there must be a 100% honest presentation of the gospel.
Part
II will deal with deceit in the presentation of the Gospel.
The combination of fraud and deceit is likely the reason that 95% or more
of the people who “come to faith” quickly fall away.
Scriptures were taken from The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.