Are We Going to Let the GOSPEL be
DILUTED, COMPROMISED and MODIFIED to be ACCEPTED, FRIENDLY and WELCOME???
(An Excerpt from Ravi
Zacharias “Three
severe tests for authentic Ministry – Track
06. We do not distort the word of God”)
“ . . . We cannot
preach a forged message: A country preacher
went looking for a job and the interviewing committee interview him and finally, they said, “Do you know much about the Bible?” He said, “Oh! Yea, I know the
Bible through and through.” “What is your favourite book?” He says, “The book
of Mark.” They ask, “What’s the favourite part?” He says, “It’s the parable.”
They said, “What’s your favourite parable?” He says, “Parable of good
Samaritan.” “So, can you tell it to the committee?” He says, “Yap!
It goes this way. Once there was this man travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among the thorns and the thorns sprung up and choked him and as he went on he didn’t have any money and he met the Queen of Sheba and she gave a thousand talents of gold and a thousand changes of raiment and he got into chariot and drove furiously and when he was driving under a big juniper tree his hair caught in the limb of the tree and he hung there many days and the ravens brought him food to eat and water to drink and he ate five thousand loaves of bread and two fishes. One night, when he was hanging there, asleep, his wife Delilah came along and cut off his hair and he dropped and fell on stony ground but he got up and went on and it began to rain and rained for forty days and forty nights and he hid himself in the cave and he lived on locust and honey. Then he went on to meet the servant, who says, “Come, let us have supper together” and he made an excuse and said, “No, I have married a wife and I can’t go” and the servant went out to the highways and the hedges and compel him to come in. After supper he went on and came down to Jericho and when he got there he looked up and saw that old Queen Jezebel sitting down high up on that window and she laughed at him and he said, “Throw her down out there” and they throw her down and then he said, “Throw her down again” and they throw her down seventy times seven and of the fragment that remains they picked up twelve baskets, besides women and children and then said, “Blessed are the piece maker” P-I-E-C-E. Now, whose wife do you think she will be at the Judgement Day?” Quite a distortion! Isn’t it?”
It goes this way. Once there was this man travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among the thorns and the thorns sprung up and choked him and as he went on he didn’t have any money and he met the Queen of Sheba and she gave a thousand talents of gold and a thousand changes of raiment and he got into chariot and drove furiously and when he was driving under a big juniper tree his hair caught in the limb of the tree and he hung there many days and the ravens brought him food to eat and water to drink and he ate five thousand loaves of bread and two fishes. One night, when he was hanging there, asleep, his wife Delilah came along and cut off his hair and he dropped and fell on stony ground but he got up and went on and it began to rain and rained for forty days and forty nights and he hid himself in the cave and he lived on locust and honey. Then he went on to meet the servant, who says, “Come, let us have supper together” and he made an excuse and said, “No, I have married a wife and I can’t go” and the servant went out to the highways and the hedges and compel him to come in. After supper he went on and came down to Jericho and when he got there he looked up and saw that old Queen Jezebel sitting down high up on that window and she laughed at him and he said, “Throw her down out there” and they throw her down and then he said, “Throw her down again” and they throw her down seventy times seven and of the fragment that remains they picked up twelve baskets, besides women and children and then said, “Blessed are the piece maker” P-I-E-C-E. Now, whose wife do you think she will be at the Judgement Day?” Quite a distortion! Isn’t it?”
17th October 2013