Does the Modern Church Still Believe in the Power of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit?

Recently, there was a big uproar over Pastor Mike Todd’s Easter play at his church, Transformation Church. If you search online, you will find lots of commentaries on the content that was delivered in that play, so I don’t need to go too deep into that. However, there is a bigger concern that I believe we need to address as the church in the 21^st century, because what happened in his church is becoming symbolic of many churches in America. This could just be a byproduct of western culture and the church in America, but it needs addressing.

In the seeker-sensitive model of church that has become popular in America these days, does the church still believe in the power of the Gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit? As I ponder and write, I feel like the answer is no.

Become Like the World to Win the World… Huh?

In the play that was done at Mike Todd’s church, he encouraged his team to go to the edge to bring this play to life. In his own words, he said they would do “everything short of sin” to make this play happen. My interpretation of this was we are going to become like the world to win the world to Christ (I am still scratching my head on this one.)

True to the mission, they became like the world using songs by Ke$ha, Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé, but changing the lyrics to make them more “gospely”. They even used references to women’s body parts that are highly inappropriate for any setting, let alone in a church service. As a man, the last thing I want to see in church is a woman dressed in attire that draws attention to her body. Let alone for this to be coming from the platform and with the approval of the leader of the church. If that is difficult for a saved man to endure, how would that affect a man who is unsaved? Yet, they did all this to win people to Christ, or at least that is the story (I’m still scratching my head).

If these are the lengths we must go to in order to reach people for Jesus, this leads me back to my original question. Do we still believe in the power of the Gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit? For comparison, I want to focus your attention on two places in the New Testament.

The Power of the Gospel

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16).

Paul was acknowledging in this verse that the power to bring salvation comes from the message of the gospel. In case you are not clear, let me tell you what that message is.

We are all sinners separated from God because of our sin and deserving of judgment.
God sent Jesus as a sacrifice to bear the penalty of our sin in his body by dying on the cross.
If you will put your complete faith in Jesus Christ and the work he did on the cross, you will find forgiveness of sin and salvation.

That is the gospel in a nutshell. The message is simple and straightforward. As simple as it may sound, this message is the power of God that brings conviction, leads to repentance, and ultimately produces salvation. It is because of the simplicity of the message that I wonder if we are simply not believing in its power to transform. We can’t just give people the gospel and appeal to their heart and conscience, can we? Don’t we have to entice them with the things of the world, which appeal to their flesh and, in the process, hope they hear the gospel?

When we do this, we cheapen the reality and truth of the gospel. In the rush to be relevant in how we present the gospel, we have emptied the gospel of its power. The power of the gospel is not how relevant we can make it, but how clearly we can present it. When we do this, we give the gospel room to do the work God intended it to do.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).

In Paul’s presentation of the gospel to the Corinthian people, he had two options. He could seek to be wise and persuasive (depending on his own effort and creativity) or he could present the gospel humbly (depending on the power of the Holy Spirit to convict and transform.) Based on the things we are doing today to “present” the gospel, it is clear which way we are leaning. Again, this takes us back to the question. Do we still believe in the power of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirt?

What can easily get lost in this whole scenario is the reason Paul made this decision. He wanted their faith to rest on God’s power and not on his own human wisdom. Could it be in our search to be clever we are more interested in impressing people with how we present the gospel than we are in winning people to Christ? Maybe we are trying to wow them with our creativity because we are convinced that to give the simple truth of the gospel can’t work in the day we live in. I can’t say what is in a person’s heart, but I can question the actions a person takes. It is these extreme actions that bring the world into the presentation of the gospel that make me wonder if we still believe it has the power to save.

Where Do We Go from Here?

I encourage using creativity and the gifts and talents God has given us to present the gospel and try to reach those who are lost. However, we must not foolishly believe that our creativity alone is going to win people over. That is not the way the gospel works. We may win them to ourselves with our creativity, but it will take more than that to win them to Christ.

The heart of the gospel is allowing people to confront the person of Jesus Christ, and it is our responsibility to seek or create opportunities for people to do just that. We must make sure we don’t crowd out their opportunity to encounter Jesus because we have buried him in the techniques of the world.

Final Thought

Allow me to say this with no hesitation or reservation. The gospel still has power, and the Holy Spirit is still at work. When we preach the simple gospel and give room for the Holy Spirit to penetrate the heart of a person, then we position them to not only hear, but to respond. Best of all, their response is not to your creativity, but to the movement of the Holy Spirit in their heart. When they are drawn by his power, that becomes the source and basis of their salvation.

While there is room for creativity in how we share the gospel, let’s not go so far or close to the edge that we leave the gospel and the Holy Spirit out of the equation. When that happens, you may have something, but just know it is not the gospel or the work of the Holy Spirit.

Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club. He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. His most recent book is The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. This book will teach you how to put the pieces together so you can live a victorious Christian life and finally become the man or woman of God that you truly desire to be. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has just released his first Bible study course called Bible Study Basics. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com.