My Sweet Wife and I are blessed to have a dear friend (along with his family), Pastor, Author and Lecturer, Dr. Tom Cucuzza, of Northland Bible Baptist Church in St. Cloud, MN. (His excellent book, Secure Forever! is mentioned here on the right sidebar of this page. Check it out).
In the middle seventies our small South Florida church was blessed to have Tom as our Youth Pastor and later our Assistant Pastor. He and his wonderful wife Sue worked tirelessly with us for the Lord.
Tom and I recently had an email discussion about people and organizations who publish Christian commentaries, books and DVDs. We find it disappointing and inexcusable when we see so much good media spoiled by the proclamation of a misleading “gospel” message. We see such phrases as:
- you must give your life to Christ to be saved
- turn from sin to be saved
- come under Christ in obedience and to the study of His Word in Holy Scripture to appropriate God’s Grace
- Make Christ the Lord of your life to be saved — and many more.
These are important things to do AFTER one is saved but an unbeliever can never claim these as a means to gain eternal life. Salvation is only by faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross alone — without works of righteousness. (Titus 3:5 and Ephesians 2:8-9)
Shirley and I both were thrilled by the succinct wisdom of Tom’s statement in an email we received today:
“I do not understand why [Christian] people have to change the gospel. We are simply His [the Lord’s] ambassadors to bring His message to people. We need to represent the Lord properly by saying what He has given us to say.” Dr. Tom Cucuzza
There are some Christians who will agree with Tom’s statement but few who actually follow such a simple, profound truth. Why it is so difficult for Christians to comprehend that?
Of course we may guess why some would sacrifice the truth for error. Could it be because of ignorance, deceit, conceit, self importance or just trying to build a bigger and “better” church? Regardless of the reason, there is no Biblical justification for error.
The Apostle Paul warned in Galatians 1:6-9
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
And the Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:25
“But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
Thanks, Tom, for a great paragraph of truth.
Notes From A Retired Preacher 