The Gospel good news, bad news, or both?
These days it seems many Christians are keen to keep away from the ‘bad news’ of the Gospel – the places where mankind stands in relation to God, sin, and all that. I think without the bad news first, the truth of the Gospel is not complete and a half-truth is really no truth at all. Others are keen only to speak of condemnation, the wrath of God and of pushing hell, sometimes, so the good news is all but lost amongst a torrent of doom. So what is the correct in the Gospel good news, bad news, or both?
Jesus does not condemn, he convicts – there is a huge difference and many preachers today need desperately to take hold of this lest they end up preaching a half-truth gospel and misleading people. Generally for a Christian spotting a half-truth gospel should be relatively easy, but for people who are not Christians and know little about Christianity a half-truth will be much more difficult to spot.
Unique people and a universal Gospel
Every person is unique, every situation is unique. Nothing can be easily put neatly into a box for a formulaic solution to presenting the gospel message. As a result, it is preferable to be giving the complete gospel message (the full truth) – both the bad news of the Gospel – so people understand their current position with God, and then also the good news – that all is not lost, and that ANYONE can genuinely come to Christ.
Steadfast truth, good news and ‘judgement’
Just looking at the state of the world certainly we would ‘judge’ the world to be a sinful place, and most Christians would also. So again, we find the Bible says the same thing, and is absolutely true today as it was when the words were spoken.
However, the Gospel is ultimately only GOOD NEWS, and with good news comes hope and love – that’s the reason for continuing to point the way to Jesus, that all might be saved. Who is actually saved and who isn’t, is not something we can judge ourselves to ever know – but it is somewhat concerning that at least one passage in the Bible implies it will be fewer than we might like to think who will ultimately be saved, and it is highly likely that not everyone will be saved. The Gospel is open to all who would hear and believe. The Bible particularly strongly warns about the problems of false teachers and this holds true today with the likes of prosperity gospel and grace vs works. The Gospel, for Christians, if anything, is a call to urgency, not complacency, in reaching out to people with Jesus’ salvation message and the truths of the Bible.
Theology and philosophy distractions and the onward march of time – how long?
Together, the Holy Spirit and the Bible can help each of us know enough to know where we stand, and what we need to do each day. Sometimes, we cannot yet see the full picture, only some parts – because we know only God can see the whole picture in it’s completeness. This is also a firm foundation in Jesus for faith, hope, trust and love – no need to know all the answers before accepting, and allowing faith, hope, trust and love to motivate good works and enable good things.
The Gospel contains man’s relationship with God without Jesus (Matthew 25:31-46) which ultimately equals bad news and mans relationship with God restored in Jesus (John 3:16) which ultimately equals Good news. How long will some Christians continue to be distracted by theology and philosophy at the expense of an on-going restored relationship with God?
A restored relationship through Jesus is what God desires for us, not expert theologians or indeed philosophers since God looks at the heart as well as the mind. Do you accidentally offer a half-truth or the full truth of the Gospel message – both the bad and the good? or have you ever heard a half-truth of the Gospel message?
Sharing the Gospel always includes prayer, sensitivity, insight, understanding and listening to the Holy Spirit to guide a person in terms of how they present the full truth of the Gospel and what to say. Every person is unique, each situation is unique. There is no doubt that a Christain’s personal experience and testimony from their own life can count for a lot when introducing others to the messasge of the gospel.
Food for further thought and discussion in your small groups or at church
These examples highlight the importance of discerning true biblical teaching from distortions of the true gospel. This list is by no means exhaustive, or an endorsement of the source content and only included here as a conversation starter perhaps for you and your small group. It is not intended as a definitive and authoritative list of false doctrines. There are many more false doctrines cited on the internet and in books.
As helpful conversation starters, here are nine examples of false gospel teachings along with related biblical references. These teachings often distort the true message of the gospel and can lead people away from Christ’s true teachings:
- Prosperity Gospel (Health and Wealth Gospel): This teaching suggests that faith in Jesus guarantees physical health, wealth, and success. The Bible, however, teaches that following Christ can involve suffering (Matthew 5:10, 1 Peter 3:14) and warns against setting hearts on material wealth (Luke 12:15, 1 Timothy 6:17) (Ref. Ligonier Ministries)
- The “Self-Help” Gospel: This message focuses on self-improvement and personal development, often relegating Jesus to a mere means to achieving personal goals. True gospel focuses on Christ’s work for our salvation, not self-centered improvement (Galatians 2:20, Luke 9:23) (Ref. Christ and Culture)
- Salvation by Works: Salvation is being delivered from the righteous judgment of God that will fall upon those who have sinned by breaking his law. In order to be saved from that judgment, we must trust Christ. This can only be done by faith because our righteous deeds are filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). (Ref. CARM)
- The Gospel of Social Justice: In this false teaching, while appearing very worthy, social concerns replace the finished work of Christ who died and rose again to save sinners, and the gospel of God saving us from sin is almost entirely neglected in favour of doing good works. (Ref: Christianity.com)
- Modalism – Denial of the Trinity: Modalism is probably the most common theological error concerning the nature of God. It is a denial of the Trinity. Scripture clearly teaches the triune nature of God (Matthew 28:19, John 14:26) (Ref. CARM, see also Got Questions)
- Universalism (Everyone Will Be Saved): This false teaching claims that everyone, regardless of faith, will be saved. The Bible, however, makes it clear that salvation is only through faith in Jesus (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) (Ref. Ligonier Ministries, see also Got Questions)
- Hyper-Grace: The term hyper-grace has been used to describe a new wave of teaching that emphasizes the grace of God to the exclusion of other vital teachings such as repentance and confession of sin. (Ref. Got Questions)
- Political Gospel: This false gospel emphasises that allegiance to a particular political party or ideology is equivalent to following Christ. The Bible teaches that our ultimate allegiance is to Christ’s kingdom, not earthly powers (Matthew 6:33, Romans 13:1) (Ref. Christ and Culture)
- Denial of Christ’s Divinity: Some false teachings claim Jesus was only a good teacher or prophet, but not divine. Scripture is clear that Jesus is God incarnate (John 1:1, Colossians 2:9) (Ref. Ligonier Ministries)
- Exclusivity of a Denomination: Denominationalism, is a devotion to one’s own denomination or, more negatively, an emphasis on denominational differences to the point of being narrowly exclusive. The Bible’s teaches that salvation is through faith in Christ alone, not through affiliation with a particular group (Romans 10:9, 1 Corinthians 1:12-13) (Ref. Got Questions)
