Do Pentecostals and Evangelicals Preach the Real Gospel?
It seems like a lot of ‘evangelism’ these days is full of phrases and practices that we don’t see in the New Testament.
For example, modern Evangelical, including Pentecostal Evangelism, may involve these sayings that aren’t even found in the Bible:
– Ask Jesus into your heart. – It’s a religion, not a relationship. – It’s about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. – Accept Jesus as your personal Savior.
Jesus being the Savior is in the Bible, but ‘personal Savior’ isn’t, and without explanation, ‘personal’ can just obscure what we are trying to say with excess verbage.
In the Bible I see that the apostles and other early believers in scripture preached that:
– Jesus died for our sins. – God raised Jesus from the dead. – Jesus is the Son of God. – Jesus is Lord and Christ.
And preaching to Gentiles, Paul would explain:
– Who God is.
The would also call people who had heard the Gospel to baptism.
Does the ‘evangelical gospel’ save people if we leave out the Biblical gospel? Suppose a quasi-Hindu New Ager comes to your church, very willing to accept that Jesus is one of many ‘ascended masters’ who can be spirit guides for New Agers as they meditate. He is willing to ‘pray to accept Jesus’ as His Savior and to have a personal relationship with Him. He doesn’t know or believe that Jesus died on the cross for his sins or that God raised him from the dead. He is a pantheist and doesn’t have a Biblical view of God anyway.
Will repeating a prayer asking Jesus into His heart save this man if he doesn’t believe the Biblical Gospel?
Peyton Gurley [09/21/2015 10:47 AM]
What a wonderful post!
John Kissinger [09/21/2015 11:29 AM]
you should start with defining your meaning of MOST
Jon Ruthven [09/21/2015 6:19 PM]
If it looks like Paul’s gospel in Rom 15:18-19, (or the way Rolland and Heidi Baker do it), then, yes!
Tim Anderson [09/21/2015 11:33 PM]
I think actually “making disciples” would be more worthwhile than to spend time knocking others methods (fault-finding). I can’t give you the verse but I believe the principle is abundant. my two cents..
Peter Ciple
Yes.
Jon Ray
Tony Conger Terry Wiles What’s the real difference? Are all Pentecostals evangelical but not all evangelicals Pentecostal?
Peter Ciple
Good point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tony Conger
I always thought so
Charlie Robin
Tony Conger followed your example 🙂
Terry Wiles
Some Pentecostals would not share a meal with an evangelical. 🙂
Peter Ciple
Is there a reason?
Terry Wiles
They don’t want anything ecumenical. Generally they are very narrow minded.
Peter Ciple
Why do you say ecumenical? Being ‘universal’ is not biblical. I wouldn’t say Pentecostals are narrow-minded. Probably you met some who didn’t bring the message across properly.
Terry Wiles
No. they equate anything ecumenical with Roman Catholic and the pope. The question was “are there any that aren’t evangelical?” Also the entire oneness group of Pentecostals are not evangelical. Evangelists yes. The evangelical movement has the Trinity as a foundational doctrine.
Peter Ciple
There are other denominations that are ‘ecumenical’ that also say the Catholic church is such. Don’t you know that? Pentecostals believe in the Triune God (ONE GOD) which is also known as the Trinity.
Terry Wiles
Peter Ciple Not all Pentecostals believe in the Triune God. Don’t you know that?
Peter Ciple
Terry Wiles, then they are not pentecostals.
Terry Wiles
Peter Ciple I’m not defending them but in the words of the Apostle they “speak in tongues more than you all. ‘
Look up united Pentecostal churches.
Peter Ciple
I’ve never really come across a pentecostal church who don’t know about Triune God. They are fakes if they do not believe and give us a bad name.
David Lavoie
If they preach the diety of Christ, faith in his resurection and the sufficiency of the cross, I would say; yes.
Course the trinity gets Mudyesd by some, but by and large..
Faith and repentance.
Jon Ruthven
I agree. My new book deals with this problem. The New Reformation: Recentering the Mission and Message of Jesús
Robert Borders
Is this book on the market?
Jon Ruthven
Not yet.
Varnel Watson
Nice promo build up though 🙂 I am still waiting for the “demon casting protocol”
Shane Snow
Im on 9f the few people i think that has the truth
John E Ollis
In a sense it is too broad a question, some Pentecostals and some Evangelicals DO NOT preach the real gospel