In the April 5 edition of the AgapePress online news summary, there was a short article dealing with Della Reese, an actress that has now turned preacher. Reese played the part of Tess, a tough but loving supervising angel in the former popular television show, "Touched by an Angel". She is now acting as a pastor of the "Understanding Principles for Better Living Church" in Los Angeles. The article reads that, "Reese says she preaches on living happy and prosperous lives here, rather than focusing on eternity. 'I teach a practical Christianity,' she says, 'not about the Beulah Land and "after you die, hallelujah by and by"; none of that. In the teachings of Jesus Christ, when they ask Him why did He come here, He said "I have come that they may have life, and that more abundantly." He says that He wants us to be prosperous so that our joy will be full.'"
What Reese appears to be teaching isn't anything new; it's a selfish version of an old gospel--what was known as the social gospel. The social gospel was a movement that began in the late 1800's designed to attack social problems (e.g. hunger, education, pollution) using the teachings of Christ. Of course, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with that--unless that becomes the whole goal of the movement. And that is really what happened; the renewing of society became the goal of religion. This version simply appears to be a selfish version of that; the goal of religion becomes the renewing of one's life here--that we become prosperous and content here on earth.
But there is something terribly wrong with what the "social gospel" taught back then, and what Reese teaches now; you see, that kind of gospel is concerned with education, pollution, world hunger, our prosperity in life; but Jesus didn't come as a social reformer, nor did he come just so we could feel good about ourselves. He came as a Savior--a spiritual Savior.
Jesus came to the earth to take care of a real problem. Don't get me wrong; there are problems in society; and scripture does say that a child of God's religion is useless if he ignores the helpless, or worse, if he oppresses them. James wrote in 1:27, "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." God expects Christians to care for the defenseless; and of course, this is nothing new: he has always expected it of his followers, as we see in Isa 58. There, the Israelites were wondering why God was ignoring them, and He told them that he wanted more than just the outward profession of religion. In verses 6 and 7, He basically asked the question: isn't this what I want, for you "...To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" God does expect his children to care for the defenseless.
Yet, that isn't why Jesus came. Jesus didn't come to eliminate hospitals or to build soup kitchens. There are always going to be needs like that as long as we live in this imperfect world. No, our real problem doesn't deal with social concerns; our real problem...is sin. As Paul wrote in Rom 3:22-23, "...there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." That means all of us--you and I--have sinned.
All those other issues--hunger, education, pollution--they are problems, but not a one of them is anything like the problem of sin. The worst those other issues can do is cause our physical death--but sin causes spiritual death: it separates us from God. Isaiah wrote in Isa 59:1,2, "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear." Our sins stand as a wall of separation between us and our God, and there is nothing that we alone can do to tear it down; we can't go over it, we can't go around it, and we can't burrow under it. We have a real problem, and that problem is sin--but fortunately, there is also a real solution.
Jesus came to earth to give a real solution to our real problem of sin. John the baptizer introduced Jesus and His purpose for coming to earth, by saying in Jn 1:29, "...Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" Jesus came to bring a solution to the problem of sin.
Reese explained the "more abundant" life that Jesus offers is that, "He wants us to be prosperous so that our joy will be full." Yet what we read is that Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." Now, how would that be accomplished? He continued, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." (Jn 10:10,11) You see, Jesus gave his life, not for us to be prosperous here, but to bring us back into a relationship with God--that is the abundant life!
Paul understood why Jesus came to earth; he understood that it wasn't just so that we could live pleasant prosperous lives here--that is why he wrote in 1 Tim 1:15, "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all." More than that, though, in the next verse, Paul tells us not only is there a real solution to our real problem of sin, but God, in his love and mercy, has also given us a real future. He continues, "Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life."
Jesus didn't die that we might have a full belly, a warm home, and a full social calendar. If we do, we can be thankful; but we should be far more thankful that it's not the reason he came--because, as Paul wrote in 1 Cor 15:19, "If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied." Jesus died so that we could have that wall of sin torn down; and because of that, we have a real future. I don't mean some kind of utopia on earth, or millennial kingdom where lions will start to eat grass. I mean a real future: a home with God in heaven.
You see, Jesus taught against putting all your eggs in this world's basket, saying in Mt 6:19,20, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal..." Why would that be? It's because this world will not last forever! 2 Pet 3:10-12 tells us that the earth and all it contains will be destroyed; but he continues in verse 13, that "...according to [God's] promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells."
When we become Christians, we have the hope of living with God in the beauty of heaven forever; there will be no social ills: no hunger, no sickness, no sadness. Again, in 1 Pet 1:3,4, we find that God "...has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you..." Our inheritance as children of God is not on this poor, miserable earth. We have far more to look forward to. Just as Abraham, we are "looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Heb 11:10)
What we are talking about is the real gospel--that good news of Jesus Christ! That's what gospel means: "good news". It is not good news of the elimination of hunger, or of universal education, or of a prosperous life here on earth; it is the good news of salvation from sin. It is that gospel that tells us how we can get back into a relationship with the God of heaven through faith in Christ and obedience to His will. Paul wrote, "...I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Rom 1:16) We should thank God for the gospel!
It's ironic that one who once played an angel on television would be preaching a gospel focusing on the here and now, rather than the hereafter--because Paul wrote to the Galatians about some that were preaching a different gospel than the real gospel he preached. He wrote, "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!" (Gal 1:6-8)
Friend, we dare not preach or accept a different gospel than the one revealed in scripture. No gospel to help cure social ills, or gospel declaring our prosperity on earth can be worth the eternal loss that will come because of it.
