John 3:16 and the Feminization of the Church! – Part #6

How Did Christ Evangelize? - “A Lesson From the Rich Young Ruler!”

By Richard Allen – June 8, 2026

As we consider the “Feminization of the Church” in general, and more particularly, the current presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our modern age, let me point out that the Biblical model for ‘proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ’ to unbelievers, is quite different from the worldly models that modern Churches often use. There are two extremes of Gospel presentation – both of which are wrong, and for different reasons: 1.) The ‘Hellfire and Damnation’ approach to Evangelism, and 2.) The ‘God Loves You’ approach. Protestant preaching in America over the past two centuries has swung from ‘one extreme to the other.’ Either trying to ‘scare men’ into coming to Jesus to ‘flee from the wrath to come,’ or ‘to woo men with an enticing message,' all in an effort to attract 'ungodly men and women’ to believe they can be saved without repentance, guaranteeing them ‘eternal life’ with God in Heaven. While there is a definite continuum from one extreme to the other, our focus should be on the ‘Biblical Models’ of Evangelism that we see in New Testament Scripture.

As a young Christian in 1981, I was given a book written by a Reformed Baptist pastor named Walter Chantry. His book was entitled: “Today’s Gospel: Authentic or Synthetic?” At the time it gave me a new perspective that was eye-opening. I knew there was something wrong or deficient with the ‘anemic’ presentation of the ‘Love God Gospel’ that I heard weekly from the pulpit in the Bible Church I attended. Jesus’ message was unlike the ‘sentimental doughy-eyed’ approach of the ministers in the modern Evangelical Church. What made Pastor Chantry’s words so powerful was his observation of how Jesus evangelized unbelievers.  Chantry explains Jesus’ encounter with the ‘Rich Young Ruler’ in Matthew Chapter 19 to contrast the difference in Jesus’ Gospel presentation:

“Now behold, one came and said to Him, ‘Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?’ So, He said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said to Him, ‘Which ones?’  Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother, and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to Him, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?’  Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:16-22).

The first thing we notice is: Jesus was not very winsome. I’m sure this sounds facetious, but according to these modern experts, Jesus certainly didn’t know how to win someone to His Gospel. Most Evangelicals I knew in the early 1980’s would have bent over backwards to lead this guy in the “sinner’s prayer.”  Then have him make a quick decision and bring him into the Church where they would do their best to quickly involve him in some type of ministry or service. He had everything going for him. He was rich, young and was in some leadership role – a complete success! To the success-minded men and women of today, this is marketing the ‘Love God Gospel’ But Jesus didn’t lead him into the “sinner’s prayer,” or get him involved in serving!  He did call him to sacrifice all his possessions and follow Jesus in a ministry of poverty. Jesus started by ‘correcting’ the Rich Young Ruler’s theology. For our modern preachers, this Rich Young Ruler would have been a ‘soul-winning-trophy’ to be coveted. When he asked Jesus: “What must I do to enter eternal life,” Jesus’ response was quite direct: “Keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). He was undaunted by Jesus' response, so he asked, “which ones?” Jesus listed the second table of the Law: “Do not commit adultery, do not commit murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness and honor your father and mother as He referenced one of the two ‘greatest commandments,’ “And Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:34-40).

Without missing a beat, the Rich Young Ruler responds: “All these I have kept from my youth.”  Instead of questioning him, Jesus puts his claim to the test by saying: “One thing you lack, go and sell all that you own and give it to the poor, and come follow me.”  Notice, Jesus’ command lines up exactly with the Young Man’s claim – he had always kept the commandments. Then Jesus challenges him:

“If you really love your neighbor as yourself – prove it by giving everything to your poor neighbors.”

Then, without specifically mentioning the other ‘great commandment,’ Jesus challenges him:

"And if you love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength, come follow me!” Sadly, the young man’s estimation of his obedience to God’s Commandments was highly exaggerated.  He had great wealth, and was not about to part with it, so he went away sorrowfully. Because this Rich Young Ruler was wealthy, Jesus had challenged him exactly where his greatest temptation to sin was – his covetousness!  What’s also ironic is ‘Jesus doesn’t speak of God’s Love at all, but rather He applies the Law of God to this young seeker.’ The whole Law is summed up as ‘our obligation to love God and neighbor!’ I’m hoping no one would entertain for a minute that Jesus was preaching ‘Law keeping,’ or ‘works righteousness!’ As the text tells us, our Lord loved this Young Man and was fully aware of his temptation to sin regarding money and possessions. He was actually calling him to ‘take up his cross and follow Jesus in humble faith.’ 

As Galatians 3:24 tells us: “The Law God was a truant officer, convicting us of sin and ultimately pointing us to Faith in Christ!”  It’s precisely because ‘we can’t keep the Law to love God or our Neighbor’ that ‘the Law brings a knowledge of, and a conviction for sin!’  We then ‘flee to Christ by faith’ for Salvation. It’s this very approach that explains the Evangelism in the Book of Acts, and why modern-day evangelism has it completely backwards. The Biblical approach to Evangelism is Not about telling everyone that God Loves them, or that Jesus died for everyone, but rather pressing upon all sinners that ‘we owe love to God and our neighbor’ – that’s the very definition of our Sin! There are three ways that God uses the Law to reveal our Sin and failure to: “Love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and our neighbor as ourselves.” 1.) Through the preaching of the law – just like Christ did with the Rich Young Ruler. 2.) By the witness of the created world around us (Romans 1:18-23), and 3.) In the Person and Works of the Lord Jesus Christ!

But one thing you can’t find in the ‘preaching or Apostolic ministry’ in the Book of Acts is: ‘Preaching that Jesus loves you and died for you!’ This is the ‘feminized, neutered Gospel of our modern age.’  It’s no wonder that the message devolved down as the doctrine of ‘Repentance’ has been largely ignored over the past 60 years. Repentance makes a person ‘confront their own sin, renounce it and admit their guilt before God!’ This kind of Gospel isn’t popular in our present anemic age. Just like our Judicial System, we don’t like to hold people accountable for their crimes and make excuses for bad behavior. Today's Gospel downplays Sin, God’s Law, and Man’s exposure to: “the coming wrath” (Matthew 3:7). But honestly, why would anyone need to fear God’s wrath? They’ve been assured that God loves them and Jesus paid for all their sins! There is no warning in that message. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the Gospel message. The ‘evangelion’ (Gospel) is the Good News of Salvation from the wrath to come by the suffering and death of Jesus Christ! To those who are under the knowledge and conviction of their sin – this Gospel is Good News indeed! As one preacher said to me many years ago: Only a drowning man sees a life preserver as deliverance!

Please don’t think that I’m saying we can’t even proclaim God’s Love as it’s made known through the Gospel of Jesus! Far from it, but we need to preach the ‘Whole Gospel’ not just a Feminized, bloodless message about God’s Love. In fact, here are a few of the ways in which the Book of Acts presents the Saving message of forgiveness in Jesus:

• Acts 2:21: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

• Acts 2:38: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

• Acts 4:12: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

• Acts 10:43: “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

• Acts 13:38-39: “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

• Acts 15:11: “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”

• Acts 16:31: “And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

• Acts 20:21: “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

• Acts 26:18: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”

Again, conspicuous by its complete absence, the Love of God is nowhere to be found in these ‘Evangelical Calls’ to Repent and Believe in Acts!  The Gospel call does include a ‘Call to receive remission of sins’ and ‘forgiveness of sins.’  So it must be asked: “Where did we get the present day ‘God Loves You’ message?”  The short answer is that since the Enlightenment, Western thought has made ‘man the measure of all things,’ and by it, corrupted the Gospel!  But the longer more thoughtful answer is: ‘Using John 3:16 as a foundation, modern men have created ‘Rules for God’ that He must abide by. We’ll take a deeper look at these ‘Rules’ in our next Blog from this series!

Soli Deo Gloria!