We have been caught in a hurricane of lie of what some theologians will call, “Easy Believeism”.
Detrich Bonhoffer said,
“The evangelists today are very often prepared to be anything to anybody as long as they can get somebody to the altar for something. They glibly call out: ‘‘Who wants help? Who wants more power? Who wants a closer walk with God?’’ Such a sinning, repenting ‘‘easy believeism’’ dishonors the blood and prostitutes the altar. […]
The problem in the church is that far too many Christians “don’t act” like they “believe.”
The Greek term translated “gospel” is the word euaggelion, which means “good news” which encompasses our entire life! We are not just mere “Soterians” who simply believes in a fire-insurance forgiveness-only salvation gospel to be saved from the fire of hell.
John MacArthur challenges the contemporary “gospel” that merely calls people to make a decision without telling them the full implications of their decision is a heresy.
So majority of the churches throughout American are bought in the lie of either the Forgiveness-only gospel or most likely, the consumer gospel. Consumer gospel sadly, perhaps is the most popular of the gospels that is being preached in the United States today. This gospel caters to one’s self-interest; since we live in a world of consumeristic mentality with such assertiveness, everything must be faster and bigger.
The gospel then becomes a by-product of our culture, which is driven by a monster maniac to a height of success. As such, this gospel is preoccupied with what cool youth program, the lights of worship service, the genera of music, the length of services, and the personalities and the ability of the preacher.
Most American Christians embrace a hybrid kind of gospel that melds the forgiveness-only with the consumer gospel – this creates Christians who live by “formulas” and interpret the Christian message as primarily a narrative about “their own needs.”
J. I. Packer in his book “Knowing God” says that we are “pygmy Christians” because we have a “pygmy God;” that is, a distorted view of Christ. So if we want to develop true Christian maturity, we need above all have a fresh and true vision of Jesus Christ (The Kingdom Gospel Mark 1:15). As the early Church father said it once well, “The ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”
Therefore, this leads us to the dilemma of discipleship. This consumer gospel does not welcome “discipleship” (the intentional commitment to follow Jesus and live for others). Stott summarized the Christian scene in the world today as “growth without depth” he continues,
“There is superficiality of discipleship everywhere we turn.”
We try to keep the party going but got rid of the reason for the party. In order to win the whole world we have lost our own souls.