Undoubtedly, there are many ‘gospels’ out there today that are being preached and promoted. Then there is the gospel that Jesus preached before commissioning His disciples to go and continue preaching as well. We are also told that when they did, He ‘worked with them confirming the word with accompanying signs’. (Mark 16:20)

What I find intriguing is when Jesus arrived on the scene preaching the ‘gospel of the kingdom’, and then backing up what He preached with miraculous signs of healing and demonic deliverance, we are told the people had ‘never seen anything like this before’. (Mark 2:12). That reminds me of what the people of God were told early on after they entered the Promised Land,( which was a blueprint of our walk of salvation): “You may know the way by which you must go...you have not passed this way before.” (Josh. 3:4)

Don’t you just love it when God shows up with the promise of doing a ‘new thing’ in our lives? But keep in mind: It’s not really a ‘new’ thing; rather it’s just ‘new’ to us because we’ve been in the dark or asleep. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb. 13:8). It only seems new because He reveals His truth to us; and if He’s not the one revealing or opening scripture to us...we will never see it. (Luke 24:32,45; 10:21; 8:10)

So let’s continue on with this discussion on what the gospel is...and isn’t.

Have you ever heard or been taught before that “God doesn’t work like that anymore”, or maybe - “that signs and wonders stuff was only for the 12 apostles”? If that was the case, then how do you explain what God was doing through a deacon named Phillip in Acts 8 or Paul, for that matter? It seems to me that for generations, we’ve been shooting a lot of ‘blanks’ with the modern day version of the gospel that has become accepted as the standard.

Do you recall what Paul had to say about the ‘gospel of Christ’ he came preaching? He stated it was the ‘power of God to salvation for everyone who believes’. (Rom. 1:16) The word ‘power’ comes from the Greek word that implies ‘supernatural or miraculous’. Can I just tell you that suggests much more than a strong surge of ‘emotions and good feelings’?

Take a look at Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians where he reminds them that he did not come to them with ‘excellence of speech or human wisdom’, rather his ‘speech and preaching (of the gospel) was not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (1 Cor. 2:1-5). Could you just let that marinate in your spirit for a bit?

You may or may not be aware that in most Bibles today, at the close of Mark’s gospel (chapter 16), you will see small footnotes and commentary trying to explain why verses 9-20 should “not be in there” which is rather comical to me. It kind of puts some ‘egg on our face’ when the gospel that most are preaching is not backed up with God confirming His word with signs and wonders. As I stated recently in a post before I went on vacation- “God is not interested in confirming or promoting false gospels’. So in order to save face, we need to write books and commentaries that dilute the word of God.

Here's a novel concept: Why not go back and maybe read, for the first time- what God had to say when it comes to preaching His gospel – the gospel of the kingdom. We might be like those folks in Mark 2 who say the same thing: “We’ve never seen or heard anything like this before!”