The Different Gospel in Some Presumably Conservative Evangelical Churches

“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel, 7 which is not just another account; but there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Gal 1:6-7 NASB).

From these words of Paul to the Galatians, the reader is made aware of the potential for true Christians (cf. 1:2, 11; 3:3, 5, 15; 4:6, 12, 31; 5:13; 8-9) to become sidetracked by “different gospel[s]” that are not founded on the “grace of Christ.” Among the Galatians, the Judaizers had been sowing a gospel of works-based righteousness. To combat this false doctrine, Paul declares that “a person is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal 2:16 NASB).

Like the Galatians of yesterday, modern Christians are susceptible to confusion and desertion (cf. Gal 1:6) when it comes to the gospel of grace. For this reason, Peter demonstrates that preachers must constantly remind their parishioners of the basic tenets of the gospel: “Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them and have been established in the truth which is present with you. 13 I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder” (2 Peter 1:12-13 NASB). Here, Peter is not simply saying that he will re-articulate the gospel so as to make new converts to Christ. Rather, he is reminded maturing Christians to apply the gospel of grace to their maturation process. With this in view, this current article will discuss this application in the contemporary church.

Within many evangelical churches of today (e.g. Southern Baptist Convention), the focus is on numerical growth and becoming the next megachurch. To this end, churches seek out pastors with visible signs of success. These include such things as involvement with growing churches and work with large churches/staffs. These experiences, and in fact almost any experience that appears to be successful even if it is secular in nature, are almost always more prized in the hiring process than time spent at the seminary acquiring an advanced education in theology. Instead of assessing these pastors on the character qualities mentioned by Paul (cf. 1 Tim 3:1-7) and their faithful exposition of the Word, many churches choose to focus on the personality, likeability, and charisma of their prospective pastor as these qualities appeal to people who prefer to judge by outward appearance (1 Sam 16:7).

Besides dubious approaches to selecting ministers, these churches tend to favor music in worship that excites the emotions while leaving the intellect disengaged. With a desire to offer a polished experience that is more satisfying to the listener, sermons at these “houses of worship” tend to be ripped out of context, placed into self-help series, and narcigeted (i.e. they read their own ideas into the text) by the poorly qualified although charismatic preacher.

For many, these choices have somehow been validated by and enshrined in the Great Commission. Within this commission, one will certainly find a call to evangelize, but churches who focus solely or predominantly on evangelization while neglecting their role in the maturation of believers demonstrate disobedience when it comes to the Great Commission.

To be clear, these churches consistently transmit the gospel of grace in their call to salvation (hereto forth to be known as the gospel of salvation), but they fail to deliver a gospel of sanctification which takes the tenets of the gospel of salvation and applies those to the believer throughout the lifelong discipleship process. To receive the gospel of salvation, one must repent of sin and place faith in Christ. There is no work required of the convert as Christ alone finished that work on the cross. Upon conversion, the believer participates in the victory (won by Christ) over Satan, sin, and death and experiences the indwelling of the Spirit. At that point, the believer is filled by the Spirit and enabled to live a Christ-glorifying life.[i] This convert has now only to walk by that gospel of salvation.

Given the hyper-focus on conversion, many evangelical churches succeed (at least on the surface) in delivering a solid appeal to receive the gospel. Unfortunately, many congregants have come to see the gospel as little more than an initial stepping stone into the life of a believer as these same churches often fail to apply this gospel to maturing believers so that these believers can continue to walk victoriously on the path established by Christ.

To correct this situation, churches need to be clear when discussing sin in believers’ lives. Just as new converts must repent, so also all Christians must continue to obey the Lord and repent when they have erred (Ps 51; 2 Cor 7:8-12). When repenting, churches must be careful not to encourage the penitent to work on their problem less they become guilty of teaching a “different gospel”. Instead, churches should have repenting believers to seek out the grace of God made available through Christ’s death on the cross. In other words, they should direct believers to seek victory by following up repentance with ardent prayer: “and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” (James 5:15 NASB).

[i]Some churches falsely teach that the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit is disconnected from the initial filling by the Holy Spirit.