Be honest, how do you want to answer this question? When Jesus tells is we are salt (Matthew 5:13-16), do we take the liberty to add some flavor to the gospel message? Is that right for us to do? When Paul says things like ‘I become all things for all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel…’ (1 Corinthians 9:22-23), do we go to read what he is saying in context or do we just put our own personal spin on it? I mean, it sounds like a call to reach for any seasoning we see fit, right? Well, how do we square that with passages like this?
Gal 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
Gal 1:7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
Gal 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
—Galatians 1:6-10
We may want to rethink those spices huh? We are to let the aroma of Christ be just that (2 Corinthians 2:15-17) , as we do our best to keep the gospel message pure. The Holy Spirit is going to do His thing. We believe that, right? In my post the other day about The Most Hated Christian Doctrine, I featured a video from Todd Friel where he used the analogy of us being waiters/waitresses who are just bringing the meal to the table without messing it up. We don’t make the meal or cause them to consume it. May the same be true when we are sharing the gospel!