What is the Gospel?
And why it matters.
[Galatians 1:6-10 KJV]
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
I’m deeply concerned about how quickly a false gospel is spreading. Lately, what I’ve seen and heard online makes me feel I need to warn the Church about an old teaching that’s gaining new attention.
Lately, I’ve heard the same story in different places—one from the California Bay Area, two from Southern Oregon, and many from online chats with people around the world.
This false gospel comes out of a subset of the Hebrew Roots Movement, called the Hebraic Restoration Movement. It teaches that you are saved by Christ and His sacrifice, but you stay saved by keeping the Law. In other words, it’s Jesus plus the Law that keeps you in God’s family.
When I hear this, it sounds like, “Welcome to the family, now put on some coveralls and start doing your part.”
Some of us remember the old RonCo commercials and their famous line, “but wait, there’s more!” That’s what this kind of false gospel feels like.
The One True God
To believe the True Gospel, we first need to believe in the True God. The word Trinity isn’t in the Bible, but the Godhead is. A simple diagram from the Athanasian Creed shows the unity of the Godhead and the unique identity of each person.
The Bible shows this idea in how it describes people. We are made up of body, soul, and spirit.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 - And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow (body), and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The True Gospel
The True Gospel starts with knowing the One True God.
Even a small error at the start can lead to a significant deviation over time. Pastor Chuck Smith illustrated this with a flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii: if a pilot sets the course for Honolulu but is just one degree off, the plane will miss Hawaii entirely.
A quick Google search shows that if a plane flies straight from Los Angeles to Honolulu but is off by just one degree, it will drift 92 feet per mile and end up missing Hawaii by 44 miles.
Small mistakes can have big consequences.
Changing the Gospel, even a little, can also have serious consequences.
What are a few ways the Gospel can be off even one degree?
If we add anything to what Christ has already done, we change the gospel message.
I looked up some ways people can change the gospel, even in small ways. Here’s a list from both my research and my own thoughts.
Adding Religious Rituals: Mandating physical rituals like circumcision as a requirement for salvation shifts the focus from grace to a legal obligation to keep the entire law, rendering Christ’s sacrifice ineffective for the believer. (Galatians 2:3-4, 5:2-3)
Observing Traditions and Calendars: Adhering strictly to religious calendars, such as specific days, months, or years, represents a return to “bondage” and “weak and beggarly elements” rather than relying on one’s status as an heir. (Galatians 4:9-11)
Seeking Human Approval: Adjusting the message to please people or avoid the “offence of the cross” perverts the gospel and prevents one from being a true servant of Christ,. (Galatians 1:10, 5:11)
Perfecting the Spirit through the Flesh: Trying to achieve spiritual maturity through human works and legalism after starting in the Spirit is a “bewitched” approach that causes a believer to fall from grace,. (Galatians 3:3, 5:4)
“Jesus Plus” Additions: Incorporating extra requirements—such as financial blessings, self-righteousness, or any other human effort—creates a “false gospel” that deviates from the finished work of Christ,. (Galatians 1:6-7)
Removing the Necessity of Sacrifice: Promoting a “bloodless gospel” that ignores Christ’s substitutionary death and the “shedding of blood” for sin negates the very means by which believers are redeemed from the curse of the law. (Galatians 1:4, 3:13)
The Gospel is never Jesus plus anything else.
A false gospel either adds to or takes away from the Gospel we find in the Scriptures.
You could get everything else right about the Gospel, but if you add anything that changes it, even a little, it’s no longer the Gospel.
Things get even worse if you believe in a false Christ—one who is different from God the Son as taught in the Bible.
The Gospel declares man’s need for a Savior, because sin brings death.
The Gospel warns us about coming judgment. Rejecting the Gospel and Jesus Christ is an unforgivable sin. Turning away from Christ leads to death, hell, and being separated from God forever.
The Gospel offers forgiveness that doesn’t depend on our works.
Consider man’s first need for the Gospel. In Genesis Chapter 2
[Gen 2:16-17 KJV]
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Then, in Chapter 3, the Serpent tempts Eve, and she slightly alters God’s commandment and the resulting judgment.
[Gen 3:2-4 KJV] 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
The command carried a sure penalty; God said: “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” and Eve conveyed the message “God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
God said, “Eat of it, and you will surely die.”
Eve said, “If you eat of it, you might die, or perhaps you will die.”
A small change to God’s word can have major consequences.
A few weeks ago, we visited Knott’s Berry Farm, where they have a roller coaster called “The Xcelerator.”
The ride launches out of the gate and speeds up to 82 miles per hour in just 2.3 seconds, climbing 205 feet.
At my age, when I see a ride like that, I think, “I might die.” I used to enjoy roller coasters when I was younger, so thinking “I might die” lets me imagine riding the Xcelerator. But if you or I knew for sure that riding it would mean we’d “Surely Die,” no one in their right mind would get on.
Eve was deceived, but Adam sinned knowingly.
God showed that a Savior would come, the promised seed. Adam and Eve tried to cover their sin by their own efforts, but it didn’t work.
They had the knowledge of sin (their eyes were opened, they knew they were naked)
They sewed fig leaves together, and they made themselves aprons.
[Genesis 3:7 KJV] And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they [were] naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. ...
But God points to the coming Savior. Sin had entered the world, and with sin came death. The wages of sin are death. God sacrificed an animal to make coats of skins, and he covered or clothed them. Covering their sin, and rejecting the work of their hands to cover their sins.
Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
The death of a sacrificial animal covered the first sin. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. If the Gospel leaves out the blood, it’s not the True Gospel.
It doesn’t matter if it’s the JW’s, the Adventists, the Mormons, the Scientologists, the Oneness Pentecostals, or the Hebraic Restoration Movement. Not everyone who claims the Name of Christ knows Him or believes in a biblical Gospel.
Learn to ask, “What is the Gospel?” and tell me about your God, and then ask the questions to discover if they believe in the God of the Bible or a god of their own making and imagination.