A trimmed down Gospel never saved a soul. A trimmed down diluted, edited religion is not the religion Christ died to establish. Heaven is not filled with weaklings who had to have someone go along and help them over the rough spots, it is full of soldiers and martyrs and the dreamers and the prophets and the clean man who loved his God and loved his generation and lived and died living a good life-a hard life. (A.W.Tozer)

In this quote Tozer identifies that saints will live hard lives. They will not be loved by the world, they probably wont even be loved by their own families. A saint living a Godly life reflects badly upon those who are not. A saint living a bold and unashamed life in Christ reflects badly upon the ones who are not, whether of the world or religious professors. A saint who speaks the truth in love with fear and favor for no man reflects badly upon those only share convenient truth. I know a man who refuses to use the word sin when preaching. It is too offensive and he loves people too much to use the word sin. Apparently he is more loving and Holy than the Word of God and Jesus Himself. Instead he uses the words “errors,” and “mistakes.” He will actually say that Jesus died for your mistakes. This is the essence of being ashamed of the Gospel. A trimmed down edited for local consumption Gospel but not the Gospel that Jesus died to establish.

Grace is high-jacked in these circles, the Gospel is edited and men believe it to be virtuous, it is not virtuous it is cowardice. It is not the language of the soldier for Christ. Nor is it the language of the martyr or the prophets or the good men who strive with everything that is in them to speak the truth in love. These men are not ashamed of the Gospel before a wicked and adulterous generation. Listen to how Godly men, filled with the Spirit spoke. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?………Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Act 2:36-37) You see how the language of the Holy Spirit speaks? He reminds the crowd that they crucified Christ and then when they are shaken to their very core- that they should repent. Repent of what? Their errors? Their mistakes? No, their sins.

You know who hates the concept of sin being spoken about? The author of sin. The deeper we move into the last days the more he becomes infuriated with the word sin. He has managed to get society to all but outlaw it. It will be soon. It will be hate speech to call out sin, especially the favorite sins of a wicked and dying society. At best you will be mocked for using that word. The soft men will tell you they do not use it because they love people so much and do not want to do or say anything that would allude to it, rather they say things like “well, we have all made mistakes.” How badly this compares to the saints of the first century. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.(Act 3:14-15) Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.(Act 4:10) The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.(Act 5:30) Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:(Act 7:52)

Can you see the language and the power and the boldness that penetrated the hardest hearts of men and established the Church? They were not ashamed of the Gospel, the full Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Calvary was an amalgam of justice and mercy intertwined on the cross. It is where sin was judged and grace was found. Preach one without the other and your words will never penetrate the hard hearts of men. You will create religious men or anemic converts. There is a baptism of fire for the soul that has been penetrated by the Holy Spirit. And out of that fire they cry out- and out of that fire they are plucked by the hand of grace, the Lord our God. Errors and mistakes are what happens when you take an arithmetic test. Sins dealt with and souls saved is the work of Calvary.