What the Gospel Is Not

 

 

The Gospel is not legalism;

It is not the Law

And this of course does not mean

The Law had a flaw.

 

The Law was a precursor

To point us to Christ:

The central figure of the Gospel

And his sacrifice.

 

It is not antinomianism;

It is not anti-Law:

It regulates our moral conscience

On which we must draw.

 

It is not Sabbath keeping

As some seem to think

And neither is it a particular diet

That we eat and drink.

 

It is not going to church

By which some set store

Or even a particular denomination

As we hear the more.

 

It is not sectarian

Steeped in men’s tradition:

Forbidding this and forbidding that

As a means of salvation.

 

The Gospel is not tithing

Or sacrificial giving,

Neither is it abundant prosperity

Nor modest living.

 

It is not prayer and fast

Or missing a staple

Or stipulating a particular time

For them that are able.

 

It is not abstention

From meats or shell fish

Or in the case of liberated saints,

Eating what you wish.

 

It is not doing miracles

Or speaking in tongues

Or even prophesying the future

To an eager throng.

 

 

 

It is not saying out loud

A set sinner’s prayer

Neither is it one’s sacrificial giving

To give another care.

 

It is not the altar call

After a preacher’s homily,

With threats of raging hell fire

For all eternity.

 

It is not Bible study

Or scheduled prayer time,

It is not even as some may think,

Having a pure mind.

 

It is not water baptism:

Sprinkle or immersed

And it is not reciting catechisms

That one rehearsed.

 

It is not confession

Made to a Catholic priest

And it is certainly not the keeping

Of Jewish feasts.

 

It is not doing penance

Or keeping sacraments,

It’s not abstention from eating meats

With sincere intent.

 

It is not righteous living

Without fear or doubt

And it is not knowing the Scriptures

From inside out.

 

It’s not an eschatology

Regarding Christ’s return,

Neither preterist, futurist or idealist

Or any other learned.

 

 

 

None of the above

Is the Gospel of Christ,

Keeping any one or all of them

Will never ever suffice.

 

In and of themselves

These things are not bad

But the Gospel is not what we do

Or feelings we’ve had.

 

The Gospel is Jesus Christ,

His person and his work

And not a list of “dos and don’ts”

Or joining a church.

 

Stewart Russell © October 23, 2025

 

Who Can Tell?

 

 

 

Tell me, how oft have you heard

The following remark

He was saved under my preaching

Or something in that ball park?

 

Preachers often take credit

For seekers at the altar

And such become a notch in their memory

That none can alter.

 

“I remember that night,” they say,

“When the altar was full.

The Spirit was moving

And there was a very great pull.

 

People from all over the church

Just started a moving!

And while the Spirit gets the praise

It was me He was using.”

 

But who can tell

Under whose preaching Dave was saved?

For sure, the Holy Spirit,

And the only other person is Dave.

 

Salvation is always personal,

It is never ever a corporate thing

And it doesn’t matter how long the choir

Or the congregation sings.

 

 

So, a caution to all out there

Who are prone to make such claims,

None can save another:

Not even Billy Graham.

 

It is true, faith comes by hearing

And hearing the Word of God,

And though a preacher must preach it,

It is not the preacher we applaud.

 

I cannot now recount the details

Concerning when I was born again

But I have the witness of the Holy Spirit

That I am saved in Jesus’ name.

 

That was so long ago

When I was still in my teens

And then we went to the altar so often

Because then, that was the scene.

The invitation was the thing

Especially after a very convincing word

And many would run to the altar

Because they felt stirred.

 

While not as often as many others

I too have been a few times

And that is why the exact details

Are not fixed in my mind.

 

So, preachers should be very careful

Regarding such uninformed claims,

And, unless they are absolutely certain,

From such they should refrain.

 

For who can tell how,

Or, even when another was saved?

Instead, let’s thank God for the preachers

And for them that also prayed.

 

Stewart Russell © June 26, 2021

 

The Altar Call

 

I remember while growing up

There was the altar call,

It is not as prominent these days

To my mind it has taken a fall.

At the end of the message

There would be an invitational song,

Back then they were very ardent

And that invitation would be long.

It would begin with the preacher

Followed by the song leader

And if that were not enough,

A plea would be made by the pastor.

Older members would leave their seats

And would go and grab a youth

And would march him up to the altar,

Trust me, I am telling the truth.

It was like the only way to be saved

Was by kneeling at the altar rail,

Not at home by your bedside,

That and all other places would fail.

  

Fashioned after Billy Graham

That prolific evangelist,

You did not want to leave the church

And that invitation opportunity miss.

At the altar were all types:

The frightened ones and the emotional,

The forced ones and the imitators

Even the I don’t know why people.

I once heard a pastor say,

Be careful what you say down here.

Everybody is not coming for what you think

So, when you open your mouth, beware!

A word to the wise is sufficient

I will leave you to ruminate on that,

All kinds of people would go to the altar

But salvation was not always the fact.

Whether all were saved I could not tell,

That is way outside of my purview,

An individual would have to tell for himself

Hence, I could not know for you.

What I do know that I can tell

Is that true salvation is evidentiary,

For once the Holy Spirit indwells a heart

A changed life is the reality.

The altar at which the sacrifice occurs

Is the altar of one’s heart,

That’s where the penitent dies to sin,

That is where salvation starts.

It’s not the rail at the front of a church

Or even kneeling beneath a cross

But the sincere cry from a sinner’s heart

That recognizes he is lost.

He could be anywhere, as a matter of fact,

When by the Spirit he is arrested,

That for him is his altar call

And the offer in which many have invested.

A poem or song on the Internet

Could be the means of your altar call,

I would suggest, should this happen to you,

Positively respond, no longer stall.

Right there you can find the Saviour,

The Shepherd who is calling to you,

Right then you can find sweet communion

I have found it and so can you.

Stewart Russell © April 2020