I watch the trends in the modern church—not because they excite me, but because I’ve read enough Scripture and seen enough history to know that the so-called “new” is rarely anything more than old compromise with a fresh coat of paint. Sometimes it’s worldly compromise. Sometimes it’s outright heresy. But it’s never new.
Problem: 2 Corinthians 4:4 says that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so they will not see the light of the gospel. Who, then, is the “God of this world who blinds people”? Is it Jesus, or is it the devil? Now, this might sound like an easy question to answer. The god of this world is the devil. After all, it does not seem that Jesus would blind people from seeing the gospel. My opinion is that the god of this world is the devil. However, some maintain that it is Jesus. Both positions have their justification. Let me show you why.
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Problem: What was the gospel message which Paul preached to lost men? The Apostle Paul very specifically sets forth the gospel that he preached in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. In 1 Corinthians 15:3 we learn that the central part of the gospel message is that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” In 1 Corinthians 15:1 Paul says that this is the very gospel which he preached to the Corinthians, and obviously when they first heard the gospel they were unsaved and unregenerate, and Paul did not know which ones in his audience were among the elect. He just knew that God had “much people” in this city (Acts 18:10). To these unsaved Corinthians, including some who would never be saved, Paul preached this gospel: “Christ died for OUR sins (yours and mine)!”