Journal: Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society
Volume: JOTGES 36:70 (Spring 2023)
Article: Is Jesus’ Evangelistic Message Still Valid?
Author: Robert N. Wilkin

JOTGES 36:70 (Spring 2023) p. 39

Is Jesus’ Evangelistic Message Still Valid?1

Robert N. Wilkin

Executive Director
Grace Evangelical Society

I. Introduction

In the years 2000 and 2001, we published two articles by Zane Hodges on how to evangelize.2 In Free Grace circles, those messages caused much interest in the evangelistic ministry of Jesus.

Some Free Grace people feel that the evangelistic ministry that Jesus preached was intended to be effective only until He died and rose again. Then, according to this way of looking at evangelism, a dispensational change occurred.

Dispensationalism is the teaching that God has had different requirements during different ages as to what believers must do to please Him. It also includes the teaching that Israel is distinct, and always will be distinct, from the church.

Many people believe that each time God has given more revelation, the content of saving faith has changed. Thus, what Adam and Eve had to believe in order to be born again was far different from what people had to believe during Isaiah’s day. And what people had to believe to be saved during Jesus’ earthly ministry was far different from what people must believe today to be born again.3

JOTGES 36:70 (Spring 2023) p. 40

It is my contention that the content of saving faith has never changed. There has been and always will be only one saving message. The message that the Lord Jesus preached during His earthly ministry is, I believe, the same message He preached to Adam and Eve in the Garden. It is the same message that He preached to Abraham and to Moses, as well.

No one has ever been born again by a generic faith in God, by faith in animal sacrifices, or by faith that Messiah is coming.4

My thesis is: The evangelistic message that the Lord Jesus preached is, indeed, a sufficient message for today. If you think that the message the Lord Jesus preached needs to be supplemented today by the teachings of Paul or one of the other apostles, then I would like to challenge you to reconsider.

Since Jesus’ evangelistic ministry is carefully laid out in the Fourth Gospel, that is where we will go to see the evangelistic message that He preached.

I will then compare that with some favorite, seemingly evangelistic passages found in Paul’s writing (e.g., Gal 1:11–12; You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
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