You Might Get Some Yogurt Hop Ons

This looks delicious!

I bought some plain yogurt once.  I didn't know that it tasted like a big gulp of sour cream.  It's not sweet like regular flavored yogurt.  Yuck!  To recover a semi-wasted breakfast, I started adding ingredients to make my own flavored yogurt concoction. I stirred in some honey, some fruit, and topped it with a granola bar.  I was hoping that I had a great tasting yogurt delight.  Guess what?  The finish product tasted like plain yogurt with some add-ons.  I was dissatisfied with the results.

As I eating my less-than-delicious breakfast, I reflected back to my quiet time that morning from reading in Colossians.  Paul had given the gospel message to the Leodicians plain yogurt style.  Even though they had not met face to face, Paul felt it was his duty to set them straight about who Christ was and what Christ had done for the church.  Somewhere in the telling of the gospel of Jesus, fine sounding arguments were added to the full gospel truth.  

Paul had to lay things out.  Paul was a teacher and a church planter, so he knew what he was doing.  His sold-out-for-the-gospel motivation came from his burden for all to "be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." When it was rumored that the Leodician church was trying to add to or put restrictions on the who's, the what's and the why's of the gospel, Paul had to speak up.

Read Colossians 2 to see how he sets them straight.  

As I was mixing in my additives to the plain yogurt, I thought how sometimes the church today tries to add to the gospel to make it more attractive and acceptable to those who need the message of Christ.  That's not our job to add to the Truth.  That is the role of the Holy Spirit to change hearts towards God.  

"Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 'Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!'? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self‑imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence."

Colossians 2: 20-23

We need to be faithful to share our story in how Christ changes us, and always speak of our life of faith, but as far as making the gospel more attractive...whoa...no....don't.  If you do, you will just give a fake imitation of what the gospel is and who the gospel represents.  The lost world doesn't need fine sounding arguments.  The lost world needs pure, simple Jesus.  Serve the gospel in it's purest form.  

Speak Jesus, without your own additives, special flavorings and toppings.