The Cost of the Gospel

“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death...” Philip. 3:7-10

Did you ever notice that Paul’s ministry wasn’t one of comfort? We have a gospel being preached today that offers health and wealth. You name and claim it. All Christians ought to be healthy and wealthy. I do not find that in the life of Paul.

If you’re looking for comfort and ease, you’ve come to the wrong place. What keeps men from Christ? Personal comfort and pleasure? And yet we live in an age where there is a false gospel being offered. One of comfort, wealth, happiness, and no real commitment. And people are flocking after it by the thousands.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a gospel that accommodates the sins of men, but rather one that deals with it, confronts it, and destroys it. We have not been called to compromise the cross, but to preach the cross.

Someone said, there is a new cross in Christianity today...
▸ The old cross slew men - The new one entertains them.
▸ The old cross condemns men - The new one assures them.
▸ The old cross destroyed confidences in flesh - The new one encourages it.
▸ The old cross bought tears and blood - The new one is bringing laughter.

“The flesh, smiling and confident, preaches and sings about the cross; before that cross it bows and toward that cross it points with carefully staged histrionics - but upon that cross it will not die, and the reproach of that cross it stubbornly refused to bear.”
- A.W. Tozer

What we need today is to be bold and confront folks with the claims of Christ.