I write this lesson in order to correct doctrinal error and to open the eyes of the people of God. Some within the Church
have been deceived by what I call the feel good gospel; this error must end. This teaching incorrectly sets the standard for
the believer’s life. The message of this pseudo gospel is this: All is well all the time.
The proponents of the feel good gospel build on the promises in the Bible that I personally believe in and preach myself.
However, when biblical passages are wrongly interpreted and truth is stretched beyond its original meaning, doctrinal error is
the result. That is the spiritual pit into which many within the Church have fallen. We must know the truth and it is then we will
be set free, as we know.
I cannot count the number of discouraged, despaired Christians who were ready to give up on God and quit. Their
discouragement arose from feeling like something must be terribly wrong with them since they encountered some tragedy or
a personal failure. The problem is that their doctrinal foundation was not solid and was unable to sustain them through difficult
times. This is similar to the parable of the man who built his house on the sand and it fell when the storm hit. These people
built their belief structure on the feel good gospel and then suddenly they collided with the error of that belief structure.
Remember:
Doctrinal error always brings destruction.
Truth sustains.
The truth is that our covenant with God does promise a wonderful life for us here on earth besides the enjoyment of eternal
glory that will be ours in heaven. The covenant blessings are so far-reaching that as the apostle Peter writes,
“His divine power has given to us all things that
pertain to life and godliness.”
II Peter 1:3-4
We clearly see from this verse (and many others) that the Christian life is indeed one that is promised to be a good one. But
oftentimes the “good” will come on the heels of the battle after you have experienced the awesome might of your God to
deliver you.
The feel good gospel errs in that it neglects to accept that according to the Bible there will be adversities in this life and
there will be challenges to our faith, and indeed we will face spiritual battles. If we do not understand this truth, when the
tough times happen we will be ill-prepared to deal with them because we will spend our time and energies trying to figure out
what went wrong with our “perfect life” rather than confronting the challenges in faith and conquering them. Of course, the
truth declares that in spite of these tribulations “we are always led in triumph in Christ.” (II Corinthians 2:14) But to blind our
eyes and understanding to the reality of adversities in the world is folly.
Our biblical promises of victory are precious to me personally because I have found them to be true. The faithfulness of our
God is absolute and it is sure. But the one thing I have discovered is that before any victory can be declared there is first an
enemy that is encountered. The simple reality is this:
APART FROM A BATTLE THERE IS NO
SUCH THING AS VICTORY!
Triumph is wonderful, but it is always the result of a conflict of some sort, and that truth is what is missing from the feel good
gospel. It seems these people discount the existence of adversity in the lives of Christians. The result is that folks feel badly
about themselves because they cannot produce “the perfect life” concept that is taught in which nothing bad happens to a
believer in Christ Jesus.
Look at what Jesus prays to His Father on behalf of His disciples,
“…I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but
that You should keep them from the evil one.”
John 17:15
In this petition we see an important truth, and that truth is that the people of God were not meant to be isolated and insulated
from the world with its possible adversities and challenges. Of course, the good news is that the evil one himself cannot
touch us! But what he can do is to create evil in the world that we will face. The reason we can rejoice is that our heavenly
Father has set in place a plethora of His covenant promises that declare our victory over every adversity, whether it is
natural, demonic, or otherwise.
My counsel to you is to not waste time trying to figure out the “Why?” when you face tough times. God will make it plain to
you if you are to understand something about the challenge. The attacks to our well-being can be of our own making, as we all
know, and in this case the Holy Spirit (our Teacher) will guide us into the truth we need. Spend your time standing strong in
faith according to the Word of God rejoicing over the pending victory and declaring deliverance and triumph. Do what you
know to do: do not murmur or complain, bind the evil spirits assigned to you, loose the angels of God to fight on your behalf,
and give thanks to God ahead of time for the triumph that lay ahead. This approach to adversity is how you shorten that tough
season and get through it quicker.
Study the following verses of Scripture to cement the truth into your spirit that even though adversities and challenges may
come, the promise of God is always victory for you. Amen.
Psalm 34:17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles
Psalm 34:39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble.
Mark 10:29-31 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this
time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come,
eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”