Is the Gospel Clear? Referencing my last post, where mention is made of being resolute in the gospel declaration, a friend remarked with the following reply, (a thought that I suspect all of us wrestle with,) “it all depends upon how deep one is made to go down the rabbit hole. If one would be resolute, one can never to himself rule out the possibility of being deluded.” I began to think about this on the way home from work today, and will share some thoughts.
Believers are naturally wary in this matter, fearing the danger of presumption more than anything else. Experience has taught them that apart from Christ they are nothing, and that the human heart is unstable and prone to self-deception. Jeremiah 17:9. Such an awareness causes them to tread carefully, leaning not on their own understanding but on the Spirit of truth, who alone anchors them in Christ.
But what are we left with if this is true? If we are indeed deceived in that truth that we’ve embraced in reference to the gospel of Christ? Amongst other things, it would imply that the gospel is not clear, that it can be interpreted in countless ways and no one can ever know who is right. That conclusion is somewhat devastating because in my thoughts it strikes at the very core of the gospel itself. If the gospel is not clear, then the cross is shrouded in uncertainty, and the promises of God are left hanging in mid-air. It would mean that no one can ever know with confidence whether they are truly in Christ, for what is obscure cannot be believed with assurance. And if such were the case, then the distinction between truth and error would vanish altogether. Isaiah 5:20. The reason so few see it is not because the message is muddled, but because it must be revealed by the Spirit. II Corinthians 4:3. What remains hidden to the world is made plain in Christ, for the gospel does not blur the line between truth and error but sets it in sharp contrast. In Christ the dividing line is unmistakable, and by His grace the people of God are kept, not in confusion or speculation, but in the quiet confidence that His work is complete, Hebrews 10:14, and in that confidence they look to Him alone for all their salvation. Hebrews 12:2.
This is a marked line of distinction between those that are Christ’s, and those that are not, a distinguishable “spot” of separation, Deuteronomy 32:5, which characterizes and formulates the believer’s entire life in this sphere of God’s ultimate glory in Christ, or what we know as life. Romans 11:36. “The Lord knoweth them that are his,” II Timothy 2:19, and will not leave his elect to guesswork in the gospel of Christ. John 10:27. False gospels may mimic the language of truth, but they bear another mark. God’s children are known by their trust in Christ alone, their spot is the “spot” of God’s children, Deuteronomy 32:5, resting in the finished work of the cross, where the line between truth and error is made plain, and salvation is seen in Christ alone. Galatians 6:14. If the gospel were uncertain, such distinctions would collapse, and every way would seem alike. But God has spoken plainly in the gospel of His Son, Hebrews 1:2, and in Christ the difference between light and darkness, faith and unbelief, is laid bare with unshakable certainty. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world, he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12. MPJ