Yes — Christian clichés can be misleading when they take the place of the gospel.
Les Feldick warns that phrases like 'take Jesus into your heart' or 'take Him as your personal Savior' are not the gospel by themselves. The true gospel is that Christ died, was buried, and rose again. When the full message is left out, these handy phrases can give people an incomplete or false sense of salvation.
1 Corinthians 1:18 — Les tells listeners to read this verse for themselves, where the preaching of the cross is shown to be God's power to the saved and foolishness to the lost.
2 Corinthians 4:3 — This verse underlies Les's point that if the gospel is hidden, it is hidden to the lost, which is why clichés that conceal the full message are dangerous.
The Bible speaks of the gospel as a specific message with power. First Corinthians 1:18 says, 'For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.' The gospel is the proclaiming of the cross, not a vague invitation. Second Corinthians 4:3 adds, 'But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.' The Bible makes clear that the gospel can be hidden from those who are perishing, so the message itself must be faithfully communicated.
Les Feldick says that evangelical Christians, pastors, and evangelists have often 'put cliches in place of the Gospel' (Clip 5). He defines a cliché as 'a little frame of words that we use that are handy' (Clip 3). Common examples he cites are 'come and take Jesus into your heart,' 'just believe in Jesus,' and 'take Him as your personal Savior' (Clips 3, 4). Les says these sayings are 'well and good as far as they go,' but they are not the gospel (Clip 3). For Les, the gospel has specific content: 'Christ died for you, was buried, and rose from the dead' (Clip 4). Believing this gospel is how salvation takes place. He points out that the Bible does not say 'take the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior and thou shalt be saved' (Clip 2). By themselves, clichés 'circumvent' the gospel (Clip 1) and can leave the lost without the message they need. He also warns that hell-fire and brimstone preaching, while true in what it says about the lost, is not the gospel either (Clips 1, 4). Les connects the overuse of clichés to a powerless church. He says too many people are reading books instead of the Book and being taught to cope with problems rather than the gospel (Clip 6). The believer understands the gospel, but if it is hidden, it is hidden to the lost (Clip 7, 2 Corinthians 4:3).
Les Feldick lists 'come and take Jesus into your heart,' 'oh just believe in Jesus,' and 'take Him as your personal Savior' as common clichés heard in Christian circles. He says these are handy little frames of words, but by themselves they are not the gospel. Multitudes have been invited to come down an aisle and take Jesus as Savior on the basis of such phrases, yet the content of the gospel was never explained.
For Les, 'just believe in Jesus' is a cliché unless it includes the gospel message. The gospel is that Christ died for you, was buried, and rose from the dead. He notes that the Bible does not say to take the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior and you will be saved; instead, we are to believe the gospel. When a person truly believes the gospel, Jesus does become his or her personal Savior, but the cliché without the gospel content is insufficient.
No. Les says it is true that lost people are headed to a devil's hell, but that is not the gospel. Preaching hell, fire, and brimstone can scare people and turn them away from Christianity. Les recalls how it was overdone in his childhood and how many people told him they wanted nothing to do with Christianity if that was all it was. The gospel is the good news that Christ died for you, was buried, and rose from the dead.
Les ties the replacement of the gospel with clichés to a powerless church. He says too many people are reading many books instead of the Book, and many teachings focus on coping with problems or getting along in life rather than the gospel (Clip 6). He also quotes 2 Corinthians 4:3 to explain that the gospel can be hidden to those who are lost; the believer understands it, but the lost do not recognize their plight (Clip 7).
1 Corinthians 1:18: The Preaching of the Cross
Les directs listeners to read 1 Corinthians 1:18 for themselves, where the preaching of the cross is described as God's power to the saved and foolishness to the lost. This anchors why the true gospel, not clichés, matters.
Clichés Circumvent the Gospel
Les says that when people use clichés like 'just take Jesus into your life,' they are circumventing the gospel—the message that Christ died, was buried, and rose from the dead. He also mentions the overemphasis on hell-fire and brimstone preaching.
Personal Savior Cliché Is Not Scripture
Les explains that 'I've taken Christ as my personal Savior' is a cliché, not Scripture. The Bible calls us to believe the gospel, understanding that Christ died our death and took our punishment.
Clichés Are Not the Gospel
Les defines clichés as handy little frames of words and says phrases like 'take Jesus into your heart' or 'believe in Jesus' are not the gospel, even though they are well and good as far as they go.
Gospel vs. Hell-Fire Preaching
Les distinguishes the gospel—Christ died for you, was buried, and rose again—from both hell-fire preaching and altar-call clichés. Clichés by themselves are not the gospel, though believing the gospel does make Jesus your personal Savior.
Cliches in Place of the Gospel
Les says evangelical Christians have put clichés in place of the gospel, with 'take Jesus into your heart' as the most common example. He repeats that this is not the gospel.
The Church's Powerlessness
Les ties the neglect of the gospel to a powerless church, noting that many books and teachings focus on coping with life rather than the gospel, while the devil uses deception.
The Gospel Hid to the Lost
Les references 2 Corinthians 4:3 to explain that if the gospel is hid, it is hid to those who are lost. The believer understands the gospel, but the lost do not recognize their plight.
1 Corinthians 1:18: For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
This verse shows that the gospel message itself—the preaching of the cross—is powerful to the saved and foolishness to the lost, which is why clichés that omit the cross are misleading.
2 Corinthians 4:3: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
This verse underlines Les's point that the gospel can be hidden from the lost, so reducing the message to clichés fails to reach those who need to hear the full good news.
Les Feldick says it is not the gospel, though it is well and good as far as it goes. The gospel is Christ died for you, was buried, and rose from the dead. Without the full message, the phrase is just a cliché.
He says the Bible does not use that phrase as the way of salvation, but he also says that when you believe the gospel, Jesus absolutely becomes your personal Savior. The problem is using the phrase alone as a substitute for the gospel.
He was contrasting it with the gospel. Hell-fire preaching can scare people and turn them off, but it is not the gospel. The gospel is the good news of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
In 2 Corinthians 4:3, Paul says if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. Les uses this to show that the lost do not understand the gospel message, so it must be clearly presented rather than reduced to clichés.
Watch the Teaching: Why God Chooses the Weak: Lessons from Moses and the Cross