I was a born and brought-up as a catholic and knew absolutely nothing about India, Hinduism and Hindus. When I was a young Frenchman of 19, I had the privilege to hear about the Mother and Sri Aurobindo, through a friend, whose father was the last Governor of Pondichery. My friend told me that a caravan of 5 cars was about to drive from Paris to Pondichery. On a hunch, I joined this caravan.
Upon arriving in Delhi after driving trough nine countries, I felt I had come home and that this country was a very special place.
I lived in the Pondichery Sri Aurobindo ashram for seven years. These were wonderful times: the Mother was still alive and everything looked new, everything seemed possible. One read Sri Aurobindo, of course, as he was the Master and the inspiration of the place, but one either did not understand or felt disconnected to his political writings.
Then, having done some journalism and photography in France, I started freelancing in South India and I discovered the Hindus. What I chanced upon was that their religion was not in their heads, as it is for us Christians – “I must pray, I must be good, I must not sin” – but that it was rather something they lived: they seemed, for instance, to accept me, a Westerner, a non Hindu, as they seemed to accept all other religions. This discovery would never leave me, even when I became a political journalist in Delhi for major French newspapers.
Thus slowly, I became acquainted with the eternal principles of Hinduism:
• A Hindu is one who searches for the Ultimate Truth.
• Unlike other religions, Hinduism refuses to sanction the monopoly of one God, or one Scripture as the only way to salvation.
• Hinduism is the eternal faith, Sanataana Dharma, or the universal law by which all humans are governed.
• Hindus believe that the soul takes birth in a physical body, dies, gets reborn, until it has attained Perfect Divinity.
• Hindus believe that one can cleanse oneself from karmas through yoga practices, such as pranayama, meditation or asanas.
• One can be a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, or from any other religion and still practice Hinduism. His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has shown the way: breath has no religion and pranayama can be practiced by anybody, whatever their creed.
In that sense, I consider myself a Hindu
Hello Sir,
I don’t know much about religion. However I don’t understand that why it is important to believe and to be part of some religion.
I don’t know but somewhere I am very upset when someone says that I belong to this religion or that religion. I think that religion is very personal thing that one keeps to oneself, it is personal even for those who don’t believe in any religion.
I dont know how to put it, hope you got what I meant to say…
Regards,
Ranjeet Jha
such a deep insight , thanx
Francois I have read some of your irrational rants. You sound like a hippie who came to India and got hooked. Thats okay, but I think you should stop fanning the fire of communalism. Your articles like ‘Awake Hindus’ present a false dilemma to the majority hindu population and you are creating a divide amongst Indians. India needs to promote secular thought backed by reason and science. Its provided for in article 51 of the constitution. You are promoting religion and ill feeling between the already irrational religious population. It appears that you are a mouth piece for right wing hindu fascists. So please stop writing nonsense and leave our country alone.
Very Good Article Sir!!!!
francois i have been quite a regular reader of your articles and blog. However, id like to mention that the quintesssence of hinduism is not that it is a religion in the sense of the word “religion” but rather the soul or very core of hinduism is spirituality which extremely practical for daily living i do appreciate the work guruji is doing being a follower of art of living myself , i have learnt from him that one neednt been born a hindu, christian, muslim, sikh, atheist to be spiritual and imbibe good values from various organised religions infact seeing the principles of the foundation it has aspects of all religions imbibed in it inspite of its originality…overall i liked your article..jgd
If at all anyone has to leave Bharat i.e India it should be the cassocked goons. They get afraid when someone has the guts to show the extent these goons to deceive people with their lies, utter lies and their red-lined book of fables. Please spare us you cassocked goons
Dear Gautierji,
Namaste, living in America I see the vast ignorance of hindus that reflects right here in the comments section. I also see why hindu lands were invaded and conquered by outsiders for almost 800 years and how these hindus were subjugated and successfully converted out of their faith. They dont read scriptures, they have ‘understood’ their religion after a muslim or a christian bigot’s ‘ASSESSMENT’ of hinduism. None of these naysayers ever took trouble to read Gita and vedopanishads. Please dont get disheartened or distracted by the men living in andhakara (ignorance), they were there all along in hindu history and bound to be there as long as the hindu religion is alive and kicking.
YOU ARE A TRUE HINDU SIR, Please find some solace with a breath of fresh air that comes from ‘western hindus’ (google it). These westerners are not going to let down the only faith that is applicable to all and serve as a bonding and unifying force to people across the planet and beyond. Great men like you and other western intellectuals are the real hope to keep the sanatana dharma alive.
Thank you for your contribution to hinduism and India.
- Surya, USA.
To be truly human is to be truly divine.Francois Gautier is a true hindu because he is a true human being. It does not matter whether one gets a Nobel Prize or not.The sages Ved Vyasa and Valmiki or Goswami Tulsidas who produced immortal literature were not Nobel Laureates. Why to judge any one by the awards one gets? Gautier would never get a Nobel because he is Noble and truthful about what he writes about Hinduism and about India.
I think the problem with majority of Hindus is that they are unaware of the core philosophical concepts of their religion, whatever knowledge they have is of some Puranic stories and some rituals, however the real gem of Hinduism is its philosophies. The secularists… well most of them in my opinion are not really anti-Hindu but they see Hinduism as somewhat backward and primitive. This this specially true of Indian elites educated in Christian convents, the class that most English language editors in India fall into. The insistence of some of their middle class readers in being “Indian first” stems from the same mentality, “India” has a better brand value than “Hindu.
EXCELLENT ARTICLE SIR. YOU ARE THE REAL HINDU. WHAT I HAVE IN MIND IS EXACTLY WRITTEN BY SURYA. THAT IS THE TRUTH. WE DEGRADE OURSELF BY CONSIDERING OUR RELIGION AS PRIMITIVE WITHOUT KNOWING THE REAL VALUE OF ALL THE THINGS WRITTEN IN VEDAS AND PURANAS.
Im so impressed by what you write…I often make people read what your thoughts on Hindus are…May be some day few sold out Indian jernos read what you write.Great job ,Sir.
I have met François on several occasions in the Art of Living events and read his articles and blog posts. He strikes me as being a very sincere, truthful person and one possessing very high integrity. When he says Awake Hindus, it is a call to action to preserve the culture of Bharat which is the reason for its diversity and accepting nature. Berate and put down Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma all you like, but understand the reason for your being able to do so is the accepting nature of Hindus in this country. India is the greatest country in the world in terms of diversity, acceptance and real religious freedom.
Hinduism A simply Great Religion
——————————————————-
Besides its basic qualities such as open-mindedness, compassion and tolerance; it would be the greatest religion on the basis of its profound mysticism alone. No other faith boasts such a deep and enduring comprehension of the mysteries of existence, or possesses so vast a metaphysical system. The storehouse of religious revelations in Hinduism cannot be reckoned. No one knows of its equal anywhere. It contains the entire system of yoga, meditation, contemplation and Self Realization. Nowhere else is there such insightful revelation of the inner bodies of man, the subtle pranas and the chakras, or psychic centers within the nerve system. Inner states of superconsciousness are explored and mapped fully in Hinduism, from the clear white light to the sights and sounds which flood the awakened inner consciousness of man. In the West it is the mystically awakened soul who is drawn to Hinduism for understanding of inner states of consciousness, discovering after ardent seeking that Hinduism possesses answers which do not exist elsewhere and is capable of guiding awareness into ever-deepening mind strata.
are you kidding me ??
this is a good example of poor quality parachute journalism.. Monsieur Gautier.. kindly acquaint yourself with the ill treatment of women, aboriginals and low-castes in india.
i think this hippie rant wont contribute to productive debate at all.
thi is to sidhath,
you are one more eg.how selective journalism can spoil the focus,in sanathan dharm,the basic fundamentals never speek about the problems you highlighted,its the interpretations and the practice over 1000 of yers made the change,you can yourself evaluate the treatment meted out to women in muslims,the division among themslves,these are not what religion teaches,its what people extracts out of it.
you with out going in to the merits and de merits,attacking him peronally shows the quality of yours,which certaintly not attributes to any true religion.
my friend,hindiusm is a way of living.which cares for everyone,the earth,the water all,not like christianity and islam,which speak about themself as the true for of religion,they are in fact bought the instability in the whole world,with out accepting others beliefs.
Referring to Gautier as a hippie sounds pretty racist. You would not derogatorily refer to him as hippie if he was Indian. So much for your tolerance and acceptance of difference that you claim to espouse. You are not interested in discussion or debate, but to make your view the only view that you want others to believe in.
In America the Founding Fathers understood the importance and value of religion while limiting government exercise of religion: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” America is deeply religious, and is also a place of different religions. Secularism is not the absence of religion, nor is it atheism. In a real secular society religion is respected and allowed to thrive along with agnosticism and atheism. This is where the far left gets it wrong and it is not liberalism as much as communism/socialism that falsely equates secularism with anti-religion and with atheism. The left need to separate liberalism from communism/socialism. They are not the same.
I am surprised the way some people have made a statement saying Christianity and islam have lead to a destabilized world. It is racist. I respect all religions and am a catholic. I agree we humans are not perfect. To generalize a group and spread hatred is racist. you can say some christians do this and that or some hindus do this and that. Do you know all christians? Do you know they are human beings like you? Well hinduism is a great religion and I respect you do not follow a religion cause it is old or new . It should speak to your spiritual self and you cannot hate.
Christ speaks of love and compassion in his own words let you who is without sin through the first stone. It is not christians or muslims or hindus who are evil it is the human being who is. No religion asks to kill its how you interpret it. That said I do agree though I am not political Mr Francisis you are threading a political path based on money paid to you by RSS and VHP and other hindu orgs.
BTW I voted for BJP when in India and love some of its leaders.if Mr Francisis could not be a good christian he may not be a good hindu as he sold his soul. I do agree no forced conversion should occur and some people who do it should stop. Let us not destroy churches that belong to inoncent christians cause we want revenge where is the compassion.what have they done to you Please read bible quran torah or gita of opposing faith before criticizing. Love each other my brothers I have cousins from inter religious marriage they are happy. You will now the truth whether Ram rahim or jesus lives only when you die there is no proof of god we all could be wrong.
On that note spread love as christ and buddha did and compassion. Lets make a better world lets be rational and stop stereotyping why is belief so important in loving another human. I am sadened by people ( my fellow Indian bothers who do not understand hinduism and make such statements ) .
Spirituality is not to master your mind only it is to make you a better person looking at fascist statements I have no doubt that people above making broad statements on hinduism and fascist ones would make horrible christians too. As the evil is in their soul filled with hatred and revenge and venom. In Gandhi’s words” If all christians followed the teachings of christ the whole world would be christian” I do not like all congress leaders but the BJP is political too its hindu wing the Shiv sena was attacking fellow north and south indians. That is how hate works. The truth is the RSS, VHP and wings are scared to lose vote bank of brain washed hindus.
It wants diversion politics though some leaders are moderate. Fascism is fascism whether spread by hitler , al qaeda or VHP/RSS/Sangh parivar all for political again. If you are hindu stand up for whats right not cause it was said by hindu.
Satya Meva Jayathe
Jai Hind
Neither Christianity nor Islam is a race. They are religions and are fair game.To criticize a religion is not racism as they are not people and are not a race. It is healthy to debate religions. In a democracy where free speech is valued, all topics should be debated and criticized including religion. It can be done honestly and civilly. Love and compassion does not mean the shunning of criticism and debate of religions. They need not at all be mutually exclusive. I so much rather have an honest discussion on religion than some fake stifling PC niceness.
As for Gandhi he told those Christian missionaries, “I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” “When asked why he did not embrace Christianity, Gandhi said it offered nothing he could not get from his own religion, observing, “…to be a good Hindu also meant that I would be a good Christian. There is no need for me to join your creed to be a believer in the beauty of the teachings of Jesus or try to follow His example.” “
I will tell you Hindus in India, Christians in the US are taught that Hinduism is demonic by their priests, that you worship demons – yes demons -, that Satan is ruling India and much of Asia. Go google some US evangelical sites bent on converting Indians to Christianity. Christians do NOT believe that all religions are the same. They believe that only they have the truth and all else is run by Satan. So if you want to speak up against fascism and bigotry, there is plenty coming from Christian evangelicals. Their idea of love and compassion is to save you from your hell bound Hindu demon worshiping ways and get you to believe in Christ as your one and only savior.
Here is a current instance of a US Christian referring to an aspect of Hinduism as demonic, but he gives a good explanation of why he calls it demonic:
“…A little over a year ago, I said yoga was demonic. My stance hasn’t changed since then, but I thought I’d take this opportunity to provide a much fuller and comprehensive teaching on what yoga is and why it is in fact demonic. By demonic I mean it’s a spiritual act to a being other than the God of the Bible. And, for those unfamiliar with me, I’m no raging Christian fundamentalist. My most vocal critics tend to be from the fundamentalist tribe as I do drink alcohol, have been known to use strong language, and talk very frankly about the joys of married sex. I’m no prude, but I am a pastor….” http://pastormark.tv/2011/11/02/christian-yoga-its-a-stretch
So Hindus Christians consider Hinduism to be demonic because it is NOT Christian, not so much because it is Hindu. Get the difference? All religions outside of Christianity is demonic because it is not of the God of the Bible. Even within Christianity the other Christian denominations are also demonic and false – the Catholic Pope has been called the Anti-Christ (Satan). Plus remember Europe though now Christian for centuries used to not be Christian at all. European religions too were called demonic and were persecuted to non-existence. Churches built on top of temples of European religions. The spread of Christianity in Europe was the destruction of European religions and temples. Christianity is NOT from Europe. Jesus is NOT a white European. Christianity is from Asia, specifically the Middle East, Jesus was an Asian, specifically a Middle Eastern Jew. European religions once thrived but now nearly all are extinct. The remnants of European religions can be seen in the practices of Christianity (Christmas – Jesus was not born on December 25 – , Easter; look it up all symbols are from pre-Christian European religions). And some European religious stories you can still study in school as Greek and Roman mythologies. (Christians call other religions’ religious stories mythologies because they consider them to be fairy tales and fake unlike the Christian faith of course). European women used to still carry on many aspects of their European goddess religions, but ended up being burned at the stake in the millions by Christians because they were still practicing some non-Christian spirituality which they considered demonic.
Hinduism in India still exists, European religions not so much. Hinduism is facing the same onslaught from Christians as Europeans of old following European religions once did. Remember that.
Islam is the same. There used to be Arab religions all over the Middle East. Mecca once was the center for many Arab religions. The Kaaba the center for many Arab and other religions to come and rotate around seven times. Islam picks up from Christianity and has the same monotheistic proselytizing intolerance. Islam is NOT a separate religion – it considers itself the heir of Judaism/Chistianity. Jew are people still waiting for the Jewish messiah, Christians are Jews who believe that Jesus was the messiah and later it broadened to convert non-Jews to Christianity, Islam is an non-Jewish Arab man putting himself as the prophet after Jesus, fashioning himself the last in line of all the Jewish leaders of what we now know as Judaism and Christianity. Islam as the offshoot of Christianity has the same global conquest goal as Christianity which is an offshoot of Judaism. You could say that Islam is another offshoot of Judaism. They are not really three different religions – they are three religions competing to be the best most accurate upto date version of Middle Eastern Judaism. Did the Jewish messiah come or not? Think no, then you are Jewish. Think Yes and it is Jesus then your are either Christian or Muslim. Think no one came after Jesus, then you are Christian. Think a non-Jewish Arab pagan who never studied either Judaism or Christian scriptures and who belonged to a completely different Arab religion initially is the last prophet for the Jews/Abrahamic faiths, then you are Muslim. Here is the irony of Islam – thanks to the non-Jewish Arab pagan Mohammed promoting himself as the last prophet of the Jews, Mohammed’s people’s own Arab religions are no more and were all destroyed by his Islam. Arabs through Islam know more about Jewish scriptures than their own Ancestral Arab religion that Islam wiped out. Arab religions have been more thoroughly wiped out by Islam than European religions have been by Christianity. Read VS Naipaul’s Among the Believers to understand the impact of Islam on non-Arab peoples, and then remember it happened to pre-Islamic Arabs first and hardest.
Hinduism in India still exists. Arab religions not so much.
PC bs would say it is impolite to discuss such things, but shoving things underground does nothing to make the world a better place.
Francois has excellent articles and I was very impressed with so well researched and written information on hinduism. It is very important for our younger generation to read these articles. Hindu individual could not have explained any better. Will follow his writing.
Great Article sir. It is also evident that Hinduism is the most tolerant religion.. Unfortunately, few are taking this tolerance as advantage.
The idiot with moronic comment “Ranjit Jha” seems to be non hindu in disguise.
Hinduism is way of life and not a religion. I am a Hindu and practice my life according to my Guru and beloved father Suryakant Pandya
Greetings from the Emerald Isle!
A son of Patrick, a disciple of Jesus Christ & a child of God.
It Is Finished
As I consider the state of the Church at the beginning of the twenty-first century, I observe a people who have swapped their faith for a bumper sticker and a church that has been caught up with the wrappings of religion. Many in the Church have grown tired of that old-time religion, and they have become enamoured with the affluence of get-holy-quick, pop-Christian programs. They have joined arms with the razzlers and the dazzlers of the world’s marketplace, and they have set out on a journey down a yellow-brick road that will lead only to the great and powerful Judge whom they do not recognize, for without even realizing it they have abandoned their first love. For all practical purposes, the person and work of Jesus Christ have become commonplace, and the finished work of Christ’s atonement is largely taken for granted.
Nevertheless, the atoning death of the Lord of glory is never to be regarded merely as a pleasant fact of history. Redemption has been accomplished. God promised that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, and He promised that the Christ would be a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offence. When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order to redeem those under the Law for the express purpose that we, His people, might be adopted as sons of God. God’s Word is filled with the story of God’s enduring love for His people. From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals the progress of the salvation of His people culminating in the death of death in the death of the Saviour who cried out “It is finished.”
Although no one would ever admit it, many have attempted to displace the redemptive work of Jesus Christ — wrapping the entire doctrine of redemption in ornate packaging with colourful bows and ribbons in order to make Jesus look as attractive as possible so that He would not be an offence to anyone contemplating the option of religion. However, it does not matter if we dress up Jesus in the most colourful robes of our culture, and it does not matter how we decorate the cross of Christ; it will always be an offence to the unbelieving world. We cannot disguise the cross of Christ, nor can we hide its radiance. For it was upon the cross the Prince of glory died so that we might live, move, and have our being, before His face and for His glory alone.
Counterfeit Gospels
The Gospel is not “You must be born again.”
The Gospel is not “You must be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
The Gospel is not “You must be baptized in the Holy Spirit.”
The Gospel is not “You must speak in tongues.”
The Gospel is not “You can perform miracles.”
The Gospel is not “Let Jesus into your heart.”
The Gospel is not “You must have a personal relationship (or experience or encounter) with Christ.”
The Gospel is not “Repent.”
The Gospel is not “Expect a miracle.”
The Gospel is not “Put Jesus on the throne of your life.”
The Gospel is not “Jesus set an example for us so that we may follow him to Heaven.”
The Gospel is not “Trust Jesus.”
The Gospel is not “Let go and let God.”
The Gospel is not “Draw nigh unto God.”
The Gospel is not “Christ died for all men and desires the salvation of all.”
The Gospel is not “Decide for Christ.”
The Gospel is not “Christians should take dominion over the Earth.”
The Gospel is not “Make Jesus Lord of your life.”
The Gospel is not “Jesus is coming again.”
The Gospel is Good News.
But the Gospel is Good News of a particular sort. It is not good news about what Christians will enjoy in Heaven. It is not good news about what God can do in changing your life. It is not good news about the success, prosperity, health, money, and powerful
living that God wants you to enjoy. Many people confuse the Gospel with stories about what God has done or can do in their lives.
One looks in vain through their books and newsletters for a presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What one finds instead are numerous accounts of miracles, speaking in tongues, and other amazing and exciting religious experiences. None of these things is the Gospel.
They make the same mistake that seventy disciples did, as Luke reports in chapter 10.
Let me repeat the story:
After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before his face into every city and place where he himself was about to go….
Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject
to us in your name.”
And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven. Behold, I give you
authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in Heaven.
Unlike many religious people who falsely claim they can perform divine miracles, here were seventy men who could truly perform divine miracles. God was doing wonderful things in their lives. They had dominion even over demons. But Jesus tells them explicitly, “Do not rejoice in this.” Christ gave them a direct and explicit command not to rejoice in their own experiences—experiences that some people today would promote as “power evangelism” and “power healing.” The disciples were focusing on their own experiences rather than what God had done from all eternity and what Christ was going to accomplish on the cross. They were rejoicing in their subjective experiences. But Christ told them to rejoice in something that they had never experienced, something that God had done wholly outside of them, even before they were born. He told them to rejoice in the doctrine of election—that their names are written in Heaven. That election is permanent:
Their names are written. But many, if not all, of those who are promoting healing and miracles today actually deny the doctrine of election. They believe that man is free of God’s control. Therefore, they have nothing to rejoice in but their own experiences.
Most of what are called “Evangelical” books, essays, television programs, and sermons consist of little more than stories about the wonderful things God is doing in this movie star’s life, or that football player’s life, or what he can do in your life. They do not contain even the least suggestion of the Gospel. It is impossible to over-emphasize this point. Virtually all of what is preached from the pulpits and television studios, in conservative as well as in liberal churches, is not the Gospel. It is a clever counterfeit, and millions of churchgoers and television viewers are being cheated.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ
In contrast to their subjective religious experience, the apostle Paul tells us what the Gospel is in 1 Corinthians 15:
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the Gospel which I preached to you, which
also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold
fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again
the third day according to the Scriptures.
That is the Gospel, and that Gospel is preached in very few so-called Christian churches today:
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, he was buried, and he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
Because of contemporary religious confusion, there are several aspects of Paul’s Gospel that demand elucidation.
First, the Gospel concerns history, not legend or myth. It is not, as Peter says, “cunningly devised fables.” When Paul mentions Jesus Christ, he means an actual historical character like George Washington or Julius Caesar. He is not speaking of an experiential “Christ” whom we imagine. There are many different “Christs” and “Gods” being talked about today. The words Jesus, Christ, and God have become almost meaningless in the 21st century, as we have seen, and unless one says exactly which “Christ” he means, no one, including himself, can know. Paul does that. His Christ is an historical figure, not a voice, nor a vision, nor a dream.
Second, the Gospel concerns the past, neither the present nor the future. It is history. The Gospel does not describe any present or future action that God or man might take. The Gospel is news about actions God in Christ took almost 2,000 years ago to save his people, actions that are wholly outside of our experience. Just as all men are condemned by Adam’s sin, which was wholly outside of us, so are all of God’s chosen people saved by Christ’s obedience unto death, which is wholly outside of their experience. Just as the Gospel is history, not legend; and just as the Gospel concerns the past, not the present nor the future; so the Gospel is about something that God did, not something that we must do or can do. Christ is both the author and the finisher of our salvation. We do not complete what he began; Christ said, “It is finished.”
Third, the Gospel concerns what Christ did for his people:
Christ died for our sins, not for the sins of everyone in the world, but for the sins of his people only. He did not die for the sins of Judas, for example, for Judas went to Hell. If Christ had died for Judas’s sins, why was Judas sent to Hell? Was it for his unbelief, his failure to “let Jesus into his heart”? But unbelief and failure to “accept” Christ admittedly are sins, and Christ, according to this false but popular gospel, died for all of Judas’s sins.
So the question remains unanswered:
If Christ died for all men, why are some men punished in Hell?
The Scriptures teach that Christ did not die for all men. He came to Earth to save some men, whom the Bible calls “his people,” “the sheep,” “friends,” and “the church,” among other names, and he actually earned salvation for them. He did not come merely to offer salvation to all men and hope that some men would accept his offer. He came to save his people, and he did so.
The Gospel is an objective and historical message.
It does not concern our experiences at all. It does not concern our works, but God’s works. It does not concern our alleged miracles, but Christ’s death and Resurrection. Regeneration—sometimes called the new birth—sanctification, faith, and the Second
Coming—are all consequences of what Christ accomplished 2,000 years ago in Judea. They must not be confused with the Gospel, for effects should not be confused with causes.
The Whole Counsel of God
But there is more in Paul’s account of the Gospel than might appear in a superficial reading. What we have discovered so far is totally different from what passes for the Gospel in this decadent age. But there is a great deal more. Paul uses the phrase
“according to the Scriptures” twice in this concise account of the Gospel. His whole summary of the Gospel takes only twenty-seven words in the New King James translation (and fewer in the Greek), and eight of those words are “according to the
Scriptures … according to the Scriptures.”
The phrase is obviously very important. Why does Paul repeat it? What does it mean?
The Gospel, according to Paul, is embedded in some thing much larger:
It is embedded in all the Scriptures. Not only are the Scriptures the only reliable source of information we have about the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, but the Scriptures alone explain those events. The Gospel is not merely that Christ died; so did Paul. The Gospel is not merely that he was buried; so was Abraham.
The Gospel is not merely that Christ rose again, so did Lazarus. The Gospel is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. And that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. The Gospel is in accord with and explained by the Scriptures.
When Christ explained his resurrection to the disciples, he did so by explaining the Scriptures:
And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the
Scriptures the things concerning himself….
Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him: and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us? … And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
By emphasizing the phrase “according to the Scriptures,” Paul is emphasizing the fact that the Gospel is part of a system of truth given to us in the Bible. All of the parts of this system fit together. All the statements in the Bible are logically consistent with one another. To give but one example of this, Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection fulfilled specific prophecies given centuries earlier. The exact town where he would be born was predicted hundreds of years before his birth; the fact that his birth would be unusual, for his mother would be a virgin, was predicted centuries before his birth; his death among the wicked and his burial among the rich were predicted; and Christ himself predicted his resurrection. The specific propositions that Paul calls the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 do not stand alone. They imply and are implied by many others.
The choosing by God the Father of those that should be saved, the suffering of the punishment due them for their sins by Jesus Christ at Calvary, and the gift of faith to the elect people by God the Holy Spirit are all part of the system of truth taught in the Bible. They are the three great aspects of redemption: election, atonement, and faith. And the
Gospel, the doctrine of the atonement, is the central theme. It is impossible to defend the Gospel, or even to preach the Gospel, without defending and explaining the system of truth of which it is a part.
Paul’s emphatic phrases in 1 Corinthians 15 indicate that those who wish to separate the Gospel from the system of truth found in the Bible cannot do so. The Gospel, while a distinct part of the Biblical system, is nevertheless a part of the system.
This system is fully expressed in the Scriptures. The propositions that Paul calls the Gospel are some of the propositions of Scripture. Because the Gospel is part of the Scriptural system of truth, it is impossible to defend the Gospel without defending the whole system. An exclusive emphasis on the “fundamentals” of the faith, rather than the “whole counsel of God,” which is the phrase the Bible uses, is futile. Six or eight unconnected truths, even if they be major doctrines of Christianity, are not the whole of Christianity, and cannot be defended effectively.
Fundamentalism poses no serious threat to secular philosophies because it is logically unsystematic and disjointed, a mere shadow of the robust Christianity we find in the Bible.
Paul emphasized the Scriptures, but this emphasis upon the writings is not unique to Paul. When explaining and defending Christianity, Christ always appealed to Scripture and never to his own experience. During his temptation in the wilderness, Christ quoted Scripture in reply to each of the Devil’s temptations:
“It is written,” “It is written,” “It is written.”
What makes this appeal more significant is the context in which it occurred.
Christ had just been baptized in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. He had heard a voice from Heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well-pleased.” The Holy Spirit had descended on him in the form of a dove. Talk about religious experiences! No one else, before or since, has ever had such an astonishing experience. Yet Christ did not tell the Devil what had happened to him, the voice from Heaven and the giving of the Holy Spirit. Why not? Why did Christ ignore all this and quote what many today call the dead letter of the Bible? Why does Christ answer the Devil by quoting Scripture rather than recounting his recent and unique spiritual experiences? Because, the Scriptures are the objective written word of God.
The Bible, not our experience, is authoritative. If Christ did not appeal to his experience, and it was a far greater experience than any mere man could ever hope to have, there is absolutely no justification for our appealing to our miserable and possibly deceptive experiences.
It was, in fact, the Devil who wanted Christ to appeal to his personal experiences:
He wanted Christ to perform a miracle; Christ refused.
He wanted Christ to take a leap of faith off the pinnacle of the temple, presuming God the Father would perform a miracle; Christ refused.
He wanted Christ to worship him, avoid the hellish suffering of the cross, and thereby gain dominion over all the kingdoms of the world; again Christ refused.
The Devil used the same appeal to experience in the Garden when he tempted Eve:
He promised Eve that she would become godlike when she ate the forbidden fruit. And Eve “saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise.” Relying upon her experience, and seeking a still more wonderful experience, Eve abandoned the Word of God. The secret of Christ’s intransigent resistance to diabolical temptation was precisely the fact that he did not prefer his own experiences to the Word of God.
The apostle Peter also emphasizes the written Word of God. He climaxes his account of the testimony concerning the truth of the Christian faith by mentioning Scripture. In his second letter, Peter says,
For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to him from the Excellent Glory:
“This is my beloved son, in whom I am well-pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from Heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.
We also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as a
light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in
your hearts.
A few verses earlier Peter had written that God’s “divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us.”
Please notice the phrase “all things.”
Later in the same chapter Peter again says that Scripture is the only way we have of getting this knowledge:
Scripture, the prophetic word made more sure, is the light that shines in a dark place—not a brightly lit place, nor even a dimly lit place, but a dark place. There is no other source for this knowledge, including knowledge of the Gospel, than the Scriptures. The Bible claims to have a monopoly on truth.
The Evangelical Pentecostal/Charismatic crowd, like all other cults and false religions, deny that monopoly. They denigrate the Bible and base their religion on their personal experiences.
The Gospel is the Good News of what Christ did for his people 2,000 years ago. It is not about the new birth, nor the Second Coming, nor the activities of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. The Gospel is propositions about historical events that happened wholly outside of us. It has consequences and implications for us today, to be sure, but these consequences are effects of the Gospel, and must not be confused with the Gospel itself.
The fatal error of the Dark Ages was to confuse God’s work for us with God’s work in us, and so pervert the Gospel. The same error is widespread among so-called Evangelicals today who do not distinguish between what Christ has done for us and what the Holy Spirit can do in us. We are rapidly re-entering the Dark Ages because the light and clarity of the Gospel has been lost.
What is it to Preach the Gospel?
“For though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel!”
1 Corinthians 9:16
What is it to preach the Gospel? Is everybody preaching the Gospel? No!
Is everybody who claims to preach the Gospel preaching the Gospel? No!
What is it to preach the Gospel? To Preach the Gospel is:
To Tell The Truth About God
First, to preach the Gospel is to preach the truth about God.
1. We preach the God of eternal existence. The Scripture says, “in the beginning God.” When Moses came to the burning bush, God said, “Go down and deliver my people out of Egypt.” Moses said, “whom shall I say hath sent me?” and God replied, “I AM.” Not, I was; not I shall be, but I AM, the eternal I AM, the everlasting I Am. I Am that I Am!
2. . We preach the God of creation. “All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made.” In him we move, we live and we have our being. God created all things.
3. . We preach the God of sovereign mercy. The Scripture says “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” The Bible says, “I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious.” We preach the God of mercy, yes, but sovereign mercy, the God of grace, yes, but sovereign grace. God will be gracious to whom he will be gracious. He owes no man anything; if he bestows grace, his mercy, it is sovereignly bestowed. He is an immutable sovereign, and unchanging sovereign.
4. . We preach the God of righteousness. Our Lord said, “I will in no wise clear the guilty. The soul that sinneth it shall die. Sin when it is finished bringeth forth death.” God Almighty is a righteous God. He is a holy God, therefore, Christ Jesus came into the world that God might be just and justify the ungodly. We preach a God that cannot show his love at the expense of his holiness. We preach a God that cannot show mercy at the expense of his truth and only at Calvary can mercy and truth meet together, and righteousness and peace kiss one another. The God we preach is the God of righteousness.
5. . He’s the God of unchanging grace. “I am the Lord,” he said, “I do not change; therefore, you sons of Jacob are not consumed “Why is there no fear of God before the eyes of this generation? They’ve heard preached a false god; they’ve heard preached a weak god; they’ve heard preached a failing god; they’ve heard preached a disappointed god; they’ve heard preached a god whose hands are tied; they’ve heard preached a god who says I have no eyes but your eyes; I have no feet but your feet; I have no hands but your hands. That’s a lie! The God of the Bible is totally and completely independent of his creatures as far as his strength, his wisdom, his power, his beauty and his glory are concerned. We do not add to his glory! We receive and share in his glory. The God we preach is the God of eternal existence, the God of creation, the God of sovereign mercy, the God of righteousness, and the God of unchanging grace. He is the God upon whom we depend; the God to whom we look; and the God without whom we can’t exist! All things that we have we receive of him. We return nothing but that which he gives us. What is it to preach the Gospel? It is to preach the truth about God.
To Tell The Truth About Man
Secondly, what is it to preach the Gospel? It’s to preach the truth about man. Men do not want to hear the truth about God; and they do not want to hear the truth about themselves. But Gospel preachers preach the truth, not only about God, but the truth about the sinner, and they leave that sinner empty, broken and destroyed with all his foundations of flesh swept from under him, and all his self-righteous rags stripped from off him, leaving him naked and unclothed before the searchlight of God’s holiness. What does the Bible say about man? It says in Romans 3:10, “there is none righteous, no not one, there is none that understandeth; there is none that seek after God.” What are men seeking? Seeking their own pleasure; seeking their own comfort; seeking their own glory; seeking their own wills; seeking their own satisfaction, everybody seeks his own, they do not seek God. “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, for there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Christ said, “you have not the love of God in you.” Somebody says, “Well, I love people.” No you don’t. You just consider whom you love. You love yourself. You try and think this minute “is there anybody in this world you really love? Well, you say, “I love my wife,” that’s yourself. That’s your wife. Well, “I love my mother and father.” That’s still loving yourself! You love them because they are your mother and father. Well, “I love my son or daughter.” Your son and daughter! Do you love anybody else’s son or daughter? “I love my brothers and sisters” That’s yourself. Well, “I love my Saviour; my own personal Saviour.” That’s loving yourself. If He weren’t your Saviour, you would not love Him. Everything you love is connected with your own sinful, selfish self. Your whole world revolves around yourself, your own pleasures, your own delights, your own passions, your own seeking.
“There is none good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre, with their tongues they have used deceit the poison of snakes is under their lips; their mouths are full of cursing, bitterness, murmuring, complaining, fault-finding, gossip, back-biting, their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their ways, the way of peace, they know nothing about it.”
There’s no genuine, honest, sincere fear of God before their eyes, they don’t fear God; they do not tremble at the presence of God; they don’t fall at His feet as dead men, even religious worshippers today don’t fear God. If they feared God, they would be silent in the presence of God; they would choose their words carefully; their worship would be marked, not by shouting, but by awesome reverence and fear. Job said:
“When I saw the Lord, I said I have spoken once, yea, twice, but I’ll never speak again.”
John said:
“When I saw the Lord, I fell at his feet as a dead man. My eyes have seen the Lord.”
Isaiah said:
“When I saw the Lord, I cried, woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips. When I saw the Lord I saw my guilt.”
The average person goes to church and he comes away feeling good. If the preacher had preached the truth about man, they would have come away from that place crying:
“O, God, be merciful to me a sinner!”
To Tell The Truth About Christ
Thirdly: What is it to preach the Gospel? It is to tell the truth about God and man, and it is to tell the truth about Jesus Christ. My friends, Jesus of Nazareth is not a weak, frustrated reformer; Jesus Christ of Nazareth is very God of very God. He is the Messiah. He did not die as a martyr; he did not die as an example, he came down here and died on the cross as the victorious, conquering, successful Redeemer of his people. He died as the covenant Redeemer. He died for the covenant people; he died to accomplish a task given him by the Father before the world’s creation. When he completed his suffering on Calvary, he said, “It is finished.” He cannot fail! Christ is not a frustrated Redeemer; he is not a disappointed Saviour; he is not a defeated Saviour; he is not a poor, weak, reformer up there in heaven, crying his eyes out because people won’t let him have his way. He is the conquering, victorious Messiah who is seated at the right hand of the Father, waiting until his enemies become his footstool! He is the Lord of the living and the dead. A preacher said to a congregation one time, “won’t you make Jesus your Lord?” I emphatically declare that you cannot make Jesus Christ your Lord! The Father has already beaten you to it! He is your Lord! He is your Lord if you are saved; he is your Lord if you are damned! He is your Lord if you are on the right hand with his sheep; he is your Lord if you are on the left hand with the goats! He is your Lord! Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess in heaven, earth and hell that he is Lord. You don’t make him Lord, you recognize him as Lord. God made him Lord. The Father has delivered all things to the Son; the Scripture says he is the Lord. He purchased that right through his death on Calvary. Jesus Christ is not a fire escape from hell, he is the Lord; he is not a doormat named Jesus, he is Lord. If any man shall confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in his heart that God has raised him from the dead, he shall be saved. His life is a perfect righteousness; his death a perfect sacrifice. We’d better start telling the truth about this man called Jesus. To preach the Gospel is to tell the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ.
To Tell The Truth About Salvation
Fourthly: I am come to preach the Gospel and tell the truth about God, about men, about Christ and to tell the truth about salvation. Now let me tell you something about this thing of salvation. We use that word rather loosely in this day. Salvation from sin is not by the deeds of the law. Even those who are supposed to know something about salvation by grace have to remind themselves again and again that salvation is not by the works of the flesh, not in any way! Salvation is not by reformation; salvation does not come by decision; salvation does not come through church ordinances; salvation is not ours by church membership; salvation is in Christ the Lord. That’s where salvation is, not in man’s purpose, not in man’s plan; it’s in a Person. It’s not in a proposition, it’s not in walking an aisle, it’s not in a church ordinance, it’s in Christ! It’s not in a law; it’s not in the deeds of the flesh; salvation is in Christ. A man does not have salvation until he comes by the power of God’s Spirit through faith to a living, personal, vital, intimate union with Christ as the Lord. A man is not a Christian until he has a vital union with Christ. A man is not a Christian until he is inseparably joined, personally joined to Jesus Christ. A man is not a Christian until Christ becomes his life. A man is not a Christian unless you can cut into his heart and find love for Christ; cut into his mind and find thoughts of Christ; and cut into his soul and find a panting after Christ. Christ in you, that’s the hope of glory. The Holy Spirit convicts a man of sin; the Holy Spirit empties a sinner; the Holy Spirit brings a man to faith in the Son of God, faith in the living Lord. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.” Most people’s so-called Christianity can be taken off with their Sunday clothes; but a man who is genuinely saved has Christ living in him as an everlasting fountain springing up into everlasting life, he’s been born-again, he’s been resurrected from the grave, he has the very image of the Son of God stamped on his heart and it cannot be moved. What is it to preach the Gospel? There are not many folks preaching the Gospel because there are not many people telling the truth about God. Everybody has a god. But eternal life is to know the living God. What is it to preach the Gospel? It’s to tell the truth about man, and we are not going to like what we hear. It’s to tell the truth about, Christ, and it’s to tell the truth about salvation.
Nothing To Glory Of In Preaching
The next thing that Paul deals with here is “though I preach the Gospel I have nothing to glory of. Why is it that we who preach the Gospel have nothing to glory of? Well, firstly, we are conscious of our guilt. Any man who is not conscious of his own guilt can’t preach the Gospel because he doesn’t know the Gospel. And you can’t tell what you don’t know any more than you can come back from where you haven’t been. A man who preaches the Gospel is conscious of his own guilt. The man who was led of the Spirit to write this Scripture said, “I am not worthy to be an apostle, I see no worthiness in myself.” Later on he said, “I am less than the least of all the saints.” Pick out the least saint in God’s house and I am less than the least saint. Then later on he said, “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” When somebody asked, “Paul, who is the chief of sinners?” He replied, “I am.”
A man who really knows God never graduates above that statement right there, “I’m only a sinner saved by grace.” He may grow in grace, grow in talent, grow in gifts and grow in knowledge, but he’s still only a sinner saved by grace. We have nothing to glory of, we’re just using borrowed gifts. 1 Corinthians 4:7, states:
“Who maketh thee to differ?” Are you able to preach? Who gave you the power? Do you have a little more than somebody else? Who gave it to you? Do you have more talents than the next fellow? Who made you to differ? “What hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if you received it, why dost thou glory?”
Why do you glory in your beauty? God gave it to you. Why do you glory in your strength? Without God you would not have it. Why do you glory in your wealth? God gave it to you. Why do you glory in your talent, in your singing ability? Without God’s grace you’d be a simpleminded imbecile. Who made you to differ? What do you have that God didn’t give you? If you are walking around with something, something somebody gave you, why are you bragging as if you have it of your own natural ability? Why do you think that you are better than anybody else? Only God’s merciful grace; God’s gracious grace enables you to be anything.
Necessity Laid Upon Me To Preach
Read the next line of our text: “Necessity is laid upon me.” Why is it necessary for me to preach the Gospel? Preacher, why are you so compelled; why is it that every time you speak it’s always Christ and him crucified the Gospel? I’ll tell you why because of the truth and the beauty of the Gospel. I see in the Gospel of substitution a beauty beyond all things. I see in the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Good News of the Son of God, the truth of God. Only Christ can meet the perfect law. Only Christ can satisfy the justice of God. Only Christ can open the way for us into the holiest of all, into the presence of the Father. Only Christ can supply the need of the bankrupt sinner, and only Christ can keep me from falling.
“Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling, and who is able to present you faultless before the throne and the presence of his glory with exceeding joy; to him be glory both now and forever.”
That’s why it’s necessary for me to preach the Gospel: the beauty of it, the glory of it, and the truth of it. I could tell you that salvation is in the church, but it wouldn’t be true. I could tell you, let me baptize you, and by obeying the baptismal commandment you will go to heaven, but it wouldn’t be so. I could tell you that if you live a good life and pray and go to church on Sunday and give a little offering, God will take you to heaven when you die, but it wouldn’t be so. I could tell you to quit drinking, live a good, moral life and you will go to heaven when you die, but that would be a lie.
But when I tell you that Christ died for our sins; that Christ is a sufficient Saviour; that Christ is an effectual substitute who came down here and gave us a righteousness which we didn’t have and couldn’t produce, went to the cross, bore our sins, paid our debt, satisfied the justice of God; that he is our living advocate at the right hand of the Father; and that if you come to a living, vital union with him, you’ll be saved, that’s the truth, and the only truth that will make you free.
Woe Is Unto Me If I Preach Not
Paul said it first, the Holy Spirit inspired him to say it, “Woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel.” I’m in trouble, real trouble. I can’t think of a crime more terrible than to be entrusted with the immortal souls of eternity-bound boys and girls, young people, men and women, like every preacher is entrusted every Sunday, and then stand up in church and waste precious time talking about myself, about my problems or my so-called denomination or my church, or talk about my ideas of what is right and what is wrong. I can’t think of a more awful crime against society than to deceive people who are given to us to instruct in the things of the Lord. I’ve got to preach the Gospel! Woe is me if I don’t. God have mercy, and he won’t, if I don’t! Woe unto the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, woe unto the Christ-crucifiers of Jerusalem, but double woe upon the preachers and shepherds and pastors who for advantage, filthy lucre and praise of men deceive men’s souls. God help them, but he won’t. Woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel, and there’s not another one, it’s the Gospel of Christ. If an angel from heaven preaches unto you any other gospel, Paul said, “Let him be accursed.” I’m preaching as a dying man to dying men; I’m preaching as one who may never preach again, and under God I’m going to tell you the truth. I say this, woe is me if I preach not the Gospel; but I have something to tell you: woe is you if I preach it and you do not believe it. You may not understand it; and it may not fit in with your tradition; and it may not fit into your denominational pattern, and I’m sure if it’s the Gospel it won’t because Christ didn’t fit the denominational pattern when he came down here either. He didn’t fit into their religious theology; he didn’t fit into their tradition; and he didn’t fit into their mould; and they crucified him!
What is it to preach the Gospel? It is to preach the truth about God, the truth about man, the truth about Christ, and to preach the truth about salvation.
I hope I have done that, and that you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
Pip
@Pip
Yawn….
Yo Sridhar Krishnan (@kv_rangan),
That’s all you Hindus could do until Christianity came to India.
Go find your Rat & worship him!
Only for Western man, India would still be a SHIT PILE!
Or should I say Dung Pile, being politically correct?
It would still be a SHIT PILE!