In today’s devotional, Dr. Michael Youssef explores what it means to have a “sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).
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[00:00:00] You are listening to My Devotional, the Daily Devotional from Dr. Michael Youssef and Leading
[00:00:06] The Way.
[00:00:08] An Adulterated Gospel by Dr. Michael Youssef
[00:00:13] In 2 Corinthians 11, verses 3-4, Paul laments,
[00:00:19] But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning,
[00:00:23] Your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ,
[00:00:29] For as someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached,
[00:00:33] Or if you receive a different spirit from the spirit you received,
[00:00:37] Or a different gospel from the one you accepted,
[00:00:41] You put up with it easily enough.
[00:00:44] When Paul says he fears the Corinthians will be seduced away from a sincere and pure devotion to
[00:00:50] Christ, the word sincere is not the best translation.
[00:00:53] The Greek word here literally means singleness and simplicity,
[00:00:57] a word that would describe a glass of clear water without any impurities or additives.
[00:01:03] It is interesting that both the Old Testament prophet and the Apostle Paul used the imagery
[00:01:07] of adultery to describe a religion to which falsehood has been added.
[00:01:13] Similarly, we say that when a harmful substance is added to pure water,
[00:01:18] the water has been adulterated. To adulterate is to taint and contaminate.
[00:01:24] The Western Church has adulterated the gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ is simple and
[00:01:31] transparently clear, yet we have clouded and adulterated it with the false philosophies,
[00:01:37] ideologies, and doctrines. We have added business principles, psychological principles,
[00:01:43] worldly philosophies, new revelations, political ideologies, and human greed to the purity
[00:01:50] of the gospel message. Then we call this poisonous stew, Christianity.
[00:01:57] We forget that the people of Israel did not deny God, they still proclaimed their love for God,
[00:02:02] and they still offered sacrifices to Him. They just added a few harmless idols and practices
[00:02:08] borrowed from the Canaanites and the Philistines just to make God more relevant.
[00:02:15] In His high priestly prayer before going to the cross, Jesus pleaded for us in John 17,
[00:02:21] My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.
[00:02:27] They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth.
[00:02:35] We must not exchange the truth for a lie but be set apart, clinging to the scandalous love
[00:02:41] of God that confounds the world but brings hope to the lost. Let's pray together. Lord,
[00:02:48] bring your church to repentance. Start with us. May we never add to your perfect gospel of grace
[00:02:55] through faith in Jesus Christ. We know He alone is the rock in righteousness.
[00:03:02] Let us not be a stumbling block to your truth by adding or taking away from the pure and simple
[00:03:09] gospel. We pray this in the name of Jesus, amen.