a different gospel

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Galatians 1:6-7

I too am astonished at the way in which “different gospels” ensnare souls. Satan loves to counterfeit. He loves to clothe his lies in a robe of religiousity, twisted thinking, and a pinch of what looks like truth… but this is destructive. There are many distorted gospels today. Here are some that come to mind:

• Legalistic distortion. It is all about what I do, not much of what Jesus did matters. I will prove to you how good I am. I will judge sin around me distorting the fact that Jesus took all of the judgment at the cross.
• Liberal distortion. There is no such thing as sin. Jesus tried to show us a way to happiness by accepting ourselves as we are in Him. We can only find love by loving ourselves and accepting “the way we are”. There is no need for a redeemer, just a divine buddy who accepts us as we are and changes to be like us.
• Loving distortion. God just wants me to love everyone and everything and be kind. It starts with loving myself. And Jesus tried to tell people this but they killed him for it. His disciples couldn’t deal with it and created a new religion, destroying his original message.

All these distortions are lies. Jesus died for our sins. He was raised for us to find renewing power so He could change us. A new birth means we repent of an old sinful life, allow the gospel to renew our deepest, darkest impulses and live in the transforming work of God’s Spirit and Word as new creations in Christ.