So, here things really begin to fly apart for this "statement" (and we haven't even gotten to the Heresy debacle yet!).
Gospel
WE AFFIRM that the gospel is the divinely-revealed message concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ—especially his virgin birth, righteous life, substitutionary sacrifice, atoning death, and bodily resurrection—revealing who he is and what he has done with the promise that he will save anyone and everyone who turns from sin by trusting him as Lord.
WE DENY that anything else, whether works to be performed or opinions to be held, can be added to the gospel without perverting it into another gospel. This also means that implications and applications of the gospel, such as the obligation to live justly in the world, though legitimate and important in their own right, are not definitional components of the gospel.
Nobody I know of it trying to add "works" to the Gospel. That isn't it at all. All they're doing is applying plain scripture. 1 John 4:7-14 should be convicting, and appropriate here. Is it loving to deny the legacy of pain others have lived with?
Lets look at the part highlighted in red. It is technically "correct" in the way a tax law loophole is. How wrong and twisted it is. Look at James 2:14-26. So, we don't need to "add this to the gospel" for it to apply. The Gospel rightly is reconciliation with God. This, James, the brother of Jesus and John tell us in no uncertain terms will lead to living justly and being reconciled (i.e. being merciful, loving and living justly) with our brothers.
So, am I saying? Do you need to live justly to have the gospel? By no means is that a requirement, however, if you aren't living justly, then we can be sure that your faith is dead, or you don't know God (in which case, you don't have the Gospel). It is as plain as it can be in scripture.
That is not to say we instantly live justly when we become Christians, or we don't at times backslide, but if this isn't even a concern in your life, if you never feel deep compassion after the Father's heart? In that case, I'm sorry to say, I need to speak to you about Jesus. Your "Jesus", like your gospel is weak and brings no real change, no drive to Holiness, no love for your brother, or the oppressed. Jesus is both Holy and compassionate. It can be seen throughout His ministry, it can be seen in the writings of the scriptures. It's even a direct command from Jesus himself; in Mathew 4:22-24. Almost as if he is saying that without reconciliation your sacrifice (as the song goes, "of a broken heart") is meaningless. That's a reversal for the "just preach the gospel crowd".
So, you might say, "this is what they meant". If that is true, why aren't these people acting with compassion on the needs of the hurting in the church? And if they are, why not say it? The heart of this statement is a desire to shut down the so called "social gospel" (i.e. social good news; heaven forbid Christ should be good news for anything beyond one's immediate relationship with God). This social gospel only exists in the form it does (which is at times extreme) because of the watering down of the Gospel by men like the ones writing this statement to the point where it has no power to change anything, and by the failure of the church to address and condemn systematic injustice within the church itself, let alone the world. The solution to this problem is not a statement that further rubs salt into those very wounds! It cannot be!
We have this weird idea that everything is OK before we die, then God will magically and painlessly deal with our lack of Holiness then heaven and harps and angels forever.
It doesn't work like that. Should you live like that, you will escape as one from the fire, if at all. Will that be painless? I don't think so. You cannot remain how you are and bear the presence of the Living and Holy God. Do not resist the Spirit. Be reconciled with your brother. Walk with him. Feel his pain. Rejoice with him. This is what Christianity is about - we are loved by God so that we can love in return, so that we can have His heart for the world.
May God have mercy on us, for how we deny his Son and His Good News, by our thoughts and actions and attitudes. May He grant us the grace to apply his Gospel to the world.
In summary, a gospel never "applied" is a weak, pitiful and even dead gospel. Or rather no gospel at all. All it leaves you with is easy believism. A faith without cost, and without power. A gospel boiled down and reduced until it is no longer good news for the world, just good news for me and my buddies. I will have no part in such a thing.
As always, this is my domain. I reserve the right to delete your comment if I feel that you are not applying the principle of charity.
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