What is the Gospel? by Voddie Baucham

Here are some notes from this excellent sermon that addresses some major misconceptions we have in modern church culture about what the gospel is:

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written,

“BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE,

AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

 Romans 9:30-33

Let's contrast the two approaches:

Israel ·    Pursued righteousness ·    Did not attain righteousness ·    Used the law to fail to attain righteousness

Gentiles ·    Did not pursue righteousness ·    Attained righteousness ·   Used faith to succeed in attaining righteousness

This is the difference between works righteousness and the gospel.  Paul is was a Jew who saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

What the Gospel is Not

1.  The gospel is not just how we get saved. 

The average Christian believes that the gospel is the plan of salvation.  They think that the gospel is what you need to get saved, but you need to graduate to something beyond the gospel after you have gotten saved.

Tim Keller says, "We never get beyond the gospel in our Christian life to something more advanced....The gospel is not just the ABCs, but the A to Z of Christianity.  The gospel is not the minimum required doctrine necessary to enter the kingdom, butt he way we make all progress in te kingdom."

You often hear that the gospel is the ABC: Acknowledge your sin, Believe in Christ, Confess him as your Savior.  That is not the gospel!  It is a cheap substitute.  The gospel is not for unbelievers, but believers need something more.  Folks, there is nothing more than the gospel.  You never move beyond it or outgrow it.  If you think you are too sophisticated for the gospel, you don't know what the gospel is!

2.  The gospel is not just the two great commandments. 

This is what is popular in our day, we think the gospel can be boiled down to love God and love people.  D.A. Carson says, "Other voices identify the gospel with the first and second commandments, the commandments to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbor as ourself.  These commandments are so central that Jesus Himself insists that all the prophets and the law hand on them, but, most emphatically, they are not the gospel."

"Love God, love people" is not the gospel.  In fact, here is the irony.  That phrase, "love God, love people," is actually a summary of the law.  It is the opposite of the gospel! 

Paul says in Romans 13:10 that, "love is the fulfilling of the law."  We use this phrase as though we have unlocked a magic key to the gospel and the irony is that we have run back to the law like a dog running to its vomit.  Now we still love God and love people, but this is what the gospel produces, not the gospel itself.  Our love for God and others is evidence that we have been born again, that Christ has transformed us.  We are able to love and bear fruit because of the work of the gospel in our lives.  It is not a substitute for the gospel.  That is blasphemous.

3.  The gospel is not the moral teachings of Jesus. 

If we say that the gospel is all the moral teachings of Jesus, then we are saying this: "God gave us a law in the Old Testament that wasn't righteousness enough, wasn't clear enough, or wasn't enough.  So Jesus came and gave us a new and better law that could be kept.  God made a mistake the first time, had to come correct it."  That is not the gospel.

Let's look back at Romans 9:30, " What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by..."

What?  Saying a magical ABC prayer.  No.

By loving God and loving people?  No.

By keeping all the teachings of Jesus.  No.

By faith!  It is not by any of these works.  Romans 9:32 gives the reason that Israel did not attain righteousness, "Why?  Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works."  There is two ways.  It is either faith or works.

What the Gospel is

Let's look again at Romans 9:33, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”  That is a succinct statement that has all the major elements of the gospel.

1.  The gospel is news.

Paul starts out by saying, "Behold," listen up, hear ye, hear ye.  The word gospel means announcement.  It means news.  We do not live the gospel.  That is foolishness.  You don't live news.  You can't live out the news from yesterday's newspaper and expect people to understand it.

People will remind you that St. Francis said these popular words, "Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words."  You look at them and say, "He didn't know what the gospel is."

You must use words to preach the gospel because the gospel is news.  The gospel is news about what God has done in Jesus Christ.  For me to think that I can live the gospel is to put myself in the place of Christ.  That is blasphemy: "You don't need the news about Jesus, just watch me!"

2.  The gospel is God centered.

The gospel is not just news, it is God centered news.  It is about what God has done, not about what I have done.  The gospel is news from, about, for, and through God.  The gospel is God centered.  That also means that it is not man centered.  The gospel doesn't begin with God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.  The gospel is not about you.  The gospel is about God.  The gospel is about creation, fall, redemption and consummation, creation by God, fall from God, redemption to God and consummation through God.  It is God centered.

What role does man play in the gospel?  You are the problem in the gospel.  But the way we talk about the gospel is not at all God centered.  It is man centered and here it what it sounds like: "You are so awesome that god made the world just so that one day he could look at you and you are also so awesome that God sent his Son Jesus because he couldn't imagine life without you in eternity.  And so He stands here right now pleading with you, begging you because he just cannot imagine his life without you.  Would you please do God the favor of accepting Christ so that He can finally be at peace because He has got you?"

That is not the gospel.  The gospel is not about how special you are.  The gospel is about how sovereign God is.  The gospel is not about how much God needs you or wants you.  The gospel is about how much you need God.

Romans 9:33 says, "Behold I lay in Zion..."  It is about what God has done.  It is not about what man has done.  Read that part of the verse again, God says, "I lay in Zion."

3.  The gospel is Christ centered.

Behold I lay in Zion what?  A stumbling stone.  This is Christ.  Romans 9:33 says, "Behold (news) I lay in Zion (God centered) a stumbling stone (Christ centered)..."  Martin Luther says, "Gospel is and should be nothing else than a discourse or story about Christ."  The gospel is Christ centered, not man centered.  The gospel is news about what God has done in Christ.

4.  The gospel is cross centered.

"Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense..."  What is offensive about the gospel?  It is the cross.  It is the fact that the God of the universe killed His only begotten Son, pouring out His wrath on sin that is justly deserved by every human being, but has been poured out on His Son as a substitute for those whom the Father had given to the Son before the world began.  The gospel is cross centered.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

1 Corinthians 1:22-24

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

1 Corinthians 1:1-2

It is cross centered.  Now let's be careful here.  Have you ever been to an Easter service where the gospel was presented like this: "Look how gruesome the cross was.  He did that for you.  Can't you live your life for Him?"  That's what happened when The Passion of the Christ movie came out.  The cross is not a tool to let men know how much they are worth.  No, cross centered means you help men understand how significant and weighty their sin is.

The cross is a reminder of how holy God is.  The cross is a reminder that God demands payment and satisfaction.  The cross is a reminder that you may not approach God with your sinful, filthy life and your filthy hands and that there must be propitiation, that the wrath of God must be poured out upon sin, that God's righteousness has to be satisfied.  Justice has to be served and you are not worthy.  Christ alone was worthy.  He suffered, died, and rose again because He was worthy and the grave had no right to hold Him.  That is what cross centered theology is, but we take the cross and turn it into man centered theology.  That is how ego centric and narcissistic we are.  Whether it is southern gospel, "He was on the cross, I was on His mind;" or contemporary Christian, "Crucified, laid behind a stone, He lived and died rejected alone.  Like a rose trampled on the ground, You took the fall and thought of ME above all."

How dare we?  How dare we?  It is the glory and righteousness and holiness of the Father that is vindicated on the cross, not my worth!  It is the worth of Christ that is vindicated on the cross.  It is the magnitude of my sin that is demonstrated on the cross.

Today we think of the cross as cosmic child abuse.  We don't understand the cross.  We don't understand sin.  We don't understand the Levitical law which says that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.  In Exodus, remember how the lamb was slain and his blood was placed on the doorpost so that the death angel would pass by, in the desert the serpent was placed high on that cross and that they would look at him and live and now Jesus Christ, Him who knew no sin becomes sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  That is God vindicating His righteousness and allowing Himself to still have mercy on you, a sinner who deserves to hang on that cross and then spend eternity separated from God in hell.

The offensiveness and scandal of the gospel is that it wasn't you who died for your sins.  It was the spotless, sinless Lamb of God who died in your place.  That is the gospel.

5.  The gospel is grace centered.

"Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever..."  What does He say next?  Whoever lives a life worthy of Him...no.  It says, "whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”  That is the answer.  Here is the amazing thing.  A lot of people will say that believing is the work that man does.  Man does the work.  You are absolutely right.  Man must believe, but watch this.  Go back to verse 30.

"What shall we say, then?  That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness..."

If they did not pursue righteousness then it was a gift by grace.  It is election.  Ephesians 2:4-9 is perhaps the most beautiful presentation of this anywhere in the Bible:

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

The gospel is grace centered.

6.  The gospel is eschatological.

"Behold," it is news.  "I am laying in Zion," it is God centered.  "A stone of stumbling," Christ centered.  "And a rock of offense;" cross centered.  "And whoever believes in him," grace centered.  "Will not be put to shame;” that is eschatological.  Eschatology is the branch of theology that deals with the end times, specifically the Second Coming or the Last Judgment of Christ.  This a reference to the day when you will stand before God.  That doesn't mean that you poke your chest out.  Why would you?  There is no boasting when you understand that it is of grace.

Because the gospel is eschatological what do we eliminate?  We eliminate any possibility that somehow the gospel is just how we get in and then we have to work to keep ourselves.  If that were the case, and if it were up to us, we would have no eschatological hope.

If someone asks, "Are you saved?"  We say, "Yeah, I am right now, but it depends on how firmly I hold on to this thing."  Now we laugh at that, but do you live like it?  Do you believe that the grace that saves you is the grace that keeps you?

Listen to John Hendricks, "In short, the gospel is the life altering news that Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God became man, lived a sinless life under the law, died for sinners and rose again to reconcile them to Himself eternally victorious over every enemy that stood between God and man.  Now because of His redemptive work, there is nothing that separates those who believe from their Creator and all the benefits that He promises in Him."

That is the gospel.  And the difference between Israel and the Gentiles is this: One is holding out hope, pursuing, racing towards a law with the belief that it will eventually be attained; and through attaining it they will also attain righteousness and right standing with God.  The other simply believes the news of what God has done in Christ through the cross by grace for the eschatological hope of those who faith their faith in him.  The difference is the gospel.  That is the difference.  Our hope is the gospel.  And it is our only hope.

I will close with this from D.A. Carson, which is necessary for us who are in the process of raising children.  "Perhaps more common yet is the tendency to assume the gospel, whatever that is, while devoting creative energy and passion to other issues—marriage, happiness, prosperity, evangelism, the poor, wrestling with Islam, wrestling with the pressures of secularization, bioethics, dangers on the left, dangers on the right—the list is endless. This overlooks the fact that our hearers inevitably are drawn toward that about which we are most passionate. Every teacher knows that. My students are unlikely to learn all that I teach them; they are most likely to learn that about which I am most excited. If the gospel is merely assumed, while relatively peripheral issues ignite our passion, we will train a new generation to downplay the gospel and focus zeal on the periphery. Moreover, if in fact we focus on the gospel, we shall soon see that this gospel, rightly understood, directs us how to think about, and what to do about, a substantial array of other issues."

You pick the gospel up and look at everything through the prism of the gospel.  It is the gospel that orients my thinking on every other issue so that I can approach it rightly, because if I don't, then what happens is I am putting my hope in something else.  We too often think, "The gospel is how I get saved, parenting needs something more advanced; the gospel is how I get saved, my marriage requires a trained psychotherapist; the gospel is how I get saved, but in politics you have got to make compromises to get along."

Wrong answer, wrong hope, wrong picture.  Behold, it is news, I am laying in Zion, God centered, a stumbling stone, Christ centered, a rock of offense, cross centered, whoever believes in Him, grace centered, will not be put to shame, it is eschatological.  Is that all of the gospel?  You will spend eternity marveling over the depths of the riches of God in Christ.  What is the gospel?  It is an announcement of what God has done in Christ through the cross by grace to give eternal hope to those who have faith in Him.

Is the God of Mormonism the same God of the Bible?

Let us examine if the God of the LDS or Mormon church is the same God of the Bible by comparing the claims of Joseph Smith with that of the Bible itself.  Joseph Smith taught in his sermon, The King Follett Discourse, that "God himself, who sits enthroned in yonder heaven, is a man like one of you."  He adds, "And you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves—to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done—by going from a small degree to another, from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you are able to sit in glory as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power."

Joseph Smith's statement is blasphemy.  Men do not become Gods, for there is only one God.  Isaiah 43:10 says, "Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me."  God was not a man before He became God, He has always been God; for Malachi 3:6 says, "For I, the LORD, do not change."

The Mormon or LDS church teaches that, "Jesus being the literal son of exalted human gods obviously did not create all things either.  For example, He did not create the planet He was born on as a spirit child (Ibid.; Gospel Principles, 17-20 [1997 edition]; and 27-9)."  (***Note: this quote reference was on the LDS site as of 8:00 am on 7/4/13 but has since been changed.  The quote was from Mormoninfo.org.) 

 

This is also a direct contradiction with the Bible.  Jesus Christ is God and is not a created being and He did indeed create all things, as shown in John 1:1-3, " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being."

1 Timothy 4:1-2 warns, "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron."  We must not be deceived by Joseph Smith and the LDS church who readily admit to lying, for they teach a different God, a different Jesus, and a different gospel.

For more information on this topic, please look at these sites:

The Plain Truth About Mormons
Mormoninfo.org
God the Father According to Mormonism

Mormonism - A False Gospel

Mormonism is considered to be a cult, in that it is a perversion, a distortion of biblical Christianity that rejects the historic teachings of the Christian Church.  The Mormons believe that Joseph Smith saw a vision in which he was told that all Christian denominations were wrong, that their teachings were an abomination, and that all professing Christians were corrupt.  This vision became the basis of the Mormon religion.  

This vision and the entire basis of the Mormon religion is false because it is in direct contradiction with the Bible.  The Mormons will tell you that Joseph Smith became a prophet because the church had failed once Jesus and His 12 disciples left the earth.  Jesus said this in Matthew 16:18: "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."  This is the problem: Joseph Smith says the church failed and Jesus said it would not fail.  If two things are in direct contradiction to one another, they cannot both be correct.  We must reject the one and accept the other.  We must believe in either the words of Joseph Smith or of Jesus Christ.

The Mormons will ask you to pray to God about whether Joseph Smith is right or not.  We can pray but God already gives speaks clear instructions to us in His Word.  For example, we can pray about whether or not we should murder someone, but God already tells us that murder is wrong in His Word.  If we do hear a voice telling us it is okay to murder someone, we can know that it is the voice of Satan and not the voice of God. 

The Bible starts in Genesis with the creation of the world and the original sin of Adam and Eve against a holy God and tells us of the righteousness of God in redeeming mankind from the wages of our sin by sending Jesus Christ to die in our place.  The Bible ends in Revelation with Jesus Christ defeating Satan once for all and creating a new heaven and a new earth.  The Bible is God's complete revelation to us and we are warned in Colossians 2:18 about false prophets trying to add to it, especially those who claim to have received visions from God: "Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen."

God warns us again at the very end of the Bible in Revelation 22:18-19 about those who would try to add to His Words: "I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book."

There will be no further revelation from God after what He has already given us through Jesus Christ in the New Testament.  Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world."  We are now in the last days and there will be no other prophets to add to what God's final prophet, Jesus Christ, has already given us in the Bible.  Jude 3 says, "Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints."  Once for all means the gospel of Jesus was given to us one time for all of time.  That's it, there is no more to add to the true Biblical gospel.

There are no other visions or words of prophecy that we need for salvation, as Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:15, "You have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus," and in Colossians 2:2-4, "Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  I say this to you so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument."  All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Christ and are given to us in the New Testament, and we must not be fooled with the persuasive argument of those preaching a different gospel.

Galatians 1:8-9 warns, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!  As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”

The Mormon gospel is not the same gospel that is preached in the Bible, despite what some Mormons claim.  Listen to Joseph Fielding Smith's (not the same Joseph Smith) blasphemy in Doctrines of Salvation, where he says there is "No salvation without accepting Joseph Smith...No man can reject that testimony without incurring the most dreadful consequences, for he cannot enter the Kingdom of God."  Eternal life comes from repentance from sin and belief in Jesus Christ, not from belief in Joseph Smith!  That is a lie straight from hell.

God's Word strongly contradicts Mormonism's blasphemous claim.  Isaiah 43:11 says, "I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me."  Jonah 2:9 says, "Salvation is from the LORD."  Acts 4:12 says of Jesus, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."  Finally, Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."  Joseph Smith is a deceiver who attempts to add to God's Word, but he is indicted by Proverbs 30:6, "Do not add to His words or He will reprove you, and you will be found a liar."  Joseph Smith is a liar.  We must reject him as a false prophet and we must reject the cult of Mormonism in its attempt to proclaim a false gospel contrary to the Bible.

This is not meant to be the complete and detailed end-all against Mormonism.  There are unfortunately many other errors that I will not go into.  Be award that the Mormons will try to get new converts by introducing them to the Book of Mormon, but the real blasphemous claims are found in other Mormon literature.

I've got one more thing.  If you go to a Mormon site, Mormonthink.com and hover over Doctrine, click on a section called Lying for the Lord in which they admit to lying for the purpose of promoting Mormonism and admit that Joseph Smith today would be considered a "con artist" (Dan Vogel, Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet, 82-86)."

If I am a car salesman and if I have to lie to sell my product, that should tell me that the product I am trying to sell is not legitimate, but rather it is most certainly a piece of junk.  It's the same thing with Mormonism.  This shows how utterly seared their consciences are that Mormons would approve of lying to try to convert others.  It is said in John 8:44 of the devil, "Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."  This is another proof that Mormonism is not of God, but is birthed of Satan, the father of lies.  

Adversity vs. Prosperity

Job's friends thought that God simply blessed those who did good and cursed those who do evil.  When adversity hit Job, they wrongly assumed it was due to sin in his life.  Job knew this was not the case:

I am innocent, but they call me a liar.  My suffering is incurable, though I have not sinned.

Job 34:6

Jeremiah was at the other end.  He saw the prosperity of the wicked and was perplexed:

Righteous are You, O LORD, that I would plead my case with You; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered?  Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease?

Jeremiah 12:1

God is holy, just, and righteous.  He will punish sin and He can do it here on earth or He will most certainly do it in eternity.  He will also bless faithfulness.  However, they are no guarantees of blessing for Christians for their time on earth.  Scripture clearly teaches the opposite: we should expect adversity during our time on earth. 

Here are some verses:

Does not the Most High send both calamity and good?

Lamentations 3:38

And since we are His children, we are His heirs.  In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.

Romans 8:17

For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for Him.

Philippians 1:29

And you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM.  FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."  It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

Hebrews 12:5-8

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps.

1 Peter 2:21

Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

1 Peter 5:9

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

God uses adversity to test and reveal what is inside of us.  Adversity itself is a blessing since we receive blessing through our suffering in following Christ.  He uses adversity to purify, cleanse, and refine us.  God uses adversity to develop endurance and make us into who He wants us to be.  God uses adversity to break us down, so we will turn to God and rely on Him, instead of relying on self.  Finally, God glorifies Himself, shames our enemies, and shows His justice through our adversity. 

Do Not Love the World

Obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. 

1 Peter 1:9

1 Peter 1:9 tells us that the very outcome or goal of our faith is salvation—not prosperity, good relationships, or a better life in this world.  There are many promises given to us in the Bible, but the greatest promise of them all is salvation and the message of the gospel. 

“You hear people urging others to come to Christ: come to Christ so that you can get forgiveness, come to Christ so that you can get heaven, come to Christ so that you can get satisfaction, come to Christ so that you can get success, come to Christ so that you can get your best life, come to Christ so that you can get all the things you’ve ever dreamed of.  Blasphemy!  You come to Christ to get God!  We have taken God Himself out of the gospel and given His gifts instead!  You say, “What do you mean?”  Ladies and gentlemen, do you think it’s possible in our day to be more satisfied with the things of God than we are with God Himself?  To be more consumed with the things of God than we are with God Himself?  We have taken God, Himself, out of the gospel and rejoiced in His gifts.  This is wrong!  Ladies and gentlemen, you will not go to heaven if you don’t want God!  God is the gift of the gospel!  He gives us Himself!”

David Platt

Man's greatest need is not prosperity, it is to be saved from the eternal condemnation that his sins deserve.  The things of this world are nothing in comparison to eternal life and the message of the gospel.  The gospel and the world are in direct opposition to one another.  You cannot hold onto both, you must serve one and reject the other.  1 John 2:15 says, "Do not love the world or the things of the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."  Those who love the world are not of God, and the worldly gospel they hold on to is no gospel at all.  You must examine your hearts and repent if Christ and His glorious salvation are not enough for you.