Recently I was online ordering some Gospel tracts and ran across a number one, best-seller of all tracts in the 10 years of this website’s sales.  Naturally, I was intrigued. So guess the title of this number one tract. 
 
A. God’s Gift  
B.  Jesus, Our Savior 
C. Sin and Salvation
D.  You are Special. 
 
And the answer is… “D”—“You are Special”, written by Ted Griffen in 2007. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                  
So what is the main idea of this number one selling ‘gospel’ tract?  Almost anyone reading this is left with one thought, and one thought only… I’m not that bad, actually I’m really wonderful. But is that the truth? 
 
 
 
Consider several verses about the state of man found in God’s Word (all emphasis mine)
  • Jeremiah 17:9– “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
  • Job 42:5– “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
  • Luke 7:6– “Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof.”
  • John 2:23-25–  “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because He knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man.”
  • Romans 7:18, 24, 25–  “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I  thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”
 
 
Here are several glaring errors found in the tract written by Ted Griffen.  (The tract can be read in full at: http://www.goodnewstracts.org/product/663575730996)  (All emphasis below is mine.)
Note: Part 2 of this blog will address each point below in light of Scripture.
  • Believe it or not—no one else is just like you. Your physical appearance, your voice and personality traits—your habits, intelligence, personal tastes—all these make you one of a kind. Even your fingerprints distinguish you from every other human being—past, present, or future. You are not the product of some cosmic assembly line; you are unique.
  • But the most important fact of your identity is that God created you in His own image (Genesis 1:27). He made you so you could share in His creation, could love and laugh and know Him person to person. You are special indeed!
  • But even here we are precious to God, for He continues to love us even when we pay Him no mind. He still sees us as individuals with great value. No wonder the psalmist declared, “How precious are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand” (Psalm 139:17, 18).
  • He cares, and He considers each one of us important enough to love.
  • Because you and I are special to God, He wants to forgive us and give us a full, meaningful life. When we trust in Jesus Christ and let Him put our lives together, the Bible says that we become “God’s masterpieces, created in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:10, paraphrase). Can anyone be more special than that?
  • Yes, you are valuable to God! 

Is not the Gospel called the Gospel of Christ and of God?  It is NOT called the good news of man!

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16

***See Part 2 for a biblical response for each point above. ***