“And He (Jesus) said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark 16:15-18.

Today’s social gospel does not seem to understand the Great Commission.  We no longer preach the Gospel of Jesus to the sinner which will lead them to church but we lift up the church in hopes they will come and hear the Gospel.  These good works they are doing are indeed good but let us be clear, they are not evangelistic.  They glorify the organization and not The Lord Jesus Christ.

Religion is often used as an instrument for oppression but because it is religious we don’t discern who or what is being glorified.  Make no mistake, self righteousness is oppression in its ugliest form.  “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:5.   Am I saying all of the people partaking in the community event are self righteous, absolutely not.  I am saying, however, they are headed down the path of a social gospel and not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is not fulfilling the Great Commission given by Jesus, it is fulfilling the commission given by the organization/church.

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.” John 12:32.  It is only the Holy Spirit who can draw the sinner but the name of Jesus, Who He is and what He has done, must be lifted up.  Jesus came to die on Calvary’s Cross.  He had the purest motive for doing such and that is love for His creation.  Because of Adam’s original sin, we (His creation) were cut off from fellowship with the Lord.  Blood of bulls and goats reconciled the fellowship but could not take away the sin.  It took the shed Blood of the Perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, to take away our sin and pay our sin debt.  Jesus made a show of every demon in hell when He paid the price for our sin.  For us to lift up anything other than the name of Jesus Christ to a lost and fallen world is another gospel and another Jesus.  “As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:9.

Discern who is being lifted up and who is being glorified when we get busy doing all of these good works.  Yes, they are good works but don’t mistake them as evangelistic.  The devil wants to keep us busy doing things that do not lift up the name of Jesus to the lost but he doesn’t mind us lifting up the name of a church or organization.  These churches and organizations have never saved anyone, nor do they have the ability to change someone’s heart.  Our Great Commission is preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ which will set the captives free…not another gospel.  – Donna Clark Warren