The Worst Gospel Presentation Ever - By Elizabeth Prata

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.

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Ms. Prata, a self-professed "discernment minister," attempts to provide the correct version of the Gospel message. We think she fails, mostly because of the flaws of Calvinism, but also because she never quotes any Scripture at all. We think "the worst Gospel presentation ever" has to be the one that never quotes the Bible.

For some reason she lists her own version, then provides someone else's similar version, adding a few things and changing some wording. At least the second version has good and pertinent Scripture citations. 

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–We are all sinners. We all stand guilty before a righteous Holy God. (Actually, we stand condemned. Guilt is a legal concept not present in the Bible texts. For example, Ja. 2:10:

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

The word "guilty" is enochos, which means held in, bound by, liable to. So someone who breaks just one of God's laws is bound and liable, connected, to having broken every one. 

Because of the influence of Calvinism many Christians consider the nature of sin and salvation to be a legal process. It is not.)

–Our due penalty for our sin is eternal punishment. (Ms. Prata is probably thinking of Ro. 1:27:

...and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

The Greek word for "penalty" here is antimisthia, which means, ...properly, proportionate reward; matching compensation... That is, the word conveys a matching compensation for their sin. It is not a legal situation, it is a commensurate reward [either good or bad].

Unrepentant sinners are already condemned [Jn. 3:18]. The status of the lost is already established. Their condemnation is akin to "dead man walking," where judgment has already been rendered, and the remedy is Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross, which removed our condemnation when we repented and believed [Ro. 8:1].)

–Since all of humanity would otherwise be consigned to hell, God sent Jesus, His Son, as incarnated God-Man, to live the perfectly holy life we cannot (due to being sinners), to become the blood sacrifice necessary to appease God’s wrath.

–Jesus absorbed all God’s wrath poured out onto Him for OUR sin. And then He died. (He did not "absorb" God's wrath, He carried the burden of our condemnation to the cross and nailed it there [Col. 2:14]. And He didn't simply die. He offered his life as the perfect Lamb of God, and was put to death in the most egregious manner. Ms. Prata diminishes the horror of the cross saying He simply died.)

 

–Pleased, God raised Jesus from the dead and has given Jesus all authority. ("Pleased?" Was there a chance the Father would not be pleased? Jn. 8:29: The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.)

–One must repent of one’s sin to Jesus in order to be saved.

–When Jesus receives that repentance He saves sinners from that wrath (since He already took it), (He did not take God's wrath. The Father did not punish Jesus. He washed our sin away by the spilling of His blood.) 

and He imputes His righteousness to us. We are pronounced not guilty. (No, "not guilty" is a western legal term, which means not enough evidence has been presented in a court of law to convict. This is not what Jesus did. We are pronounced "justified" [Ro. 8:30]) 

We would finally have a right standing before God.

Let's provide the Scriptures referenced:

-Ro. 3:10 As it is written: “There is no-one righteous, not even one..."

Ro. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

-Ro. 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned...

Ro. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

-He. 9:27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment...

-Ro. 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Is. 53:5-6 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

-1Co. 15:4 ...that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...

-Mk. 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

-Ac. 4:12 Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

For a detailed discussion of Jesus' sacrificial death, we refer the reader to here and here.

Our version of the Gospel:

1. God, who created everything and rules the universe, is perfect in every way. He values His creation, including us.
2. Each person is condemned from the beginning of the world as a breaker of God's law. Being condemned, each person is dead in his evil. 
3. There is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. 
4. God responded to this problem with the perfect solution, Jesus His Son. Jesus' purpose is to remove our condemnation. Jesus represents an innocent and perfect lamb, put to death to shed His blood for our sakes. 
5. Because He died, we now have the solution to become clean of our evil. He then rose from the dead in victory, which means He defeated the death sentence and brought life to those who would believe. 
6. We can be a part of His victory if we agree with God, believe in His Son, turn away from our evil and ask Him to forgive us. If we do this, we are given the same new life as Jesus when He rose from the dead. We become part of His family.