THE GOSPEL AND THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS- BY PASTOR GREG ELKAN

One pitfall that must be avoided when reacting to a false doctrine or a false representation of a biblical truth is making absolute negations of the heresy. Heresies, by their very nature, have elements of truth in them. Thus, the absolute converse of a heresy is _NOT_ the Truth, but a new type of heresy.

An example of this phenomenon is the counter to the misapplication of the gospel of Grace. Hidden in the false teaching that Grace means a Believer is free to sin as they want, is a germ of truth that is actually Biblical. Which is the fact that the Believer in Christ (which none of the heretics evidently are), has been forgiven of his or her sins!

The forgiveness of sins is an integral, inextricable part of the Gospel message. “Gospel” means “good news”; and the preaching of the Gospel of salvation is not a proposition of a set of rules or a request of a change of lifestyle, but a declaration or announcement that God has forgiven our sins by virtue of the substitutionary work of Christ on the Cross. 

In Act 5:31 Peter declares to the High Priest and the Sadducees that God has exalted Christ to be _“... to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”_

Later on in Act 3:38, Paul speaking in a Jewish synagogue in Antioch declared that the message all the disciples were going about to preach was the offering of _“the forgiveness of sins.”_ 

The Lord Himself, at the point of Paul’s conversion, had commissioned him to go preach the good news: which is – among other things – _“theforgiveness of sins,”_(Act 26:18).

Beloved, we mustn’t fall into the error of making the teaching of heretics and extremists colour our message. Our Lord did not shy away from teaching about Resurrection of the dead just because it'd make Him look like a Pharisee (see Mat 22:23-34 and Act 23:8); neither should we shy away from a core element of the gospel message because we’re afraid we’d be misconstrued. 

This dying world needs to hear the _Good News:_ which is that “In Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” (2Co 5:19 ESV) 

AMEN

PASTOR GREG ELKAN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.