1048. Defining "The Gospel"

The gospel. We hear the word a lot—probably without thinking much about what it specifically means. Meanings in the Greek describe gospel as to proclaim or declare good news. And while it is literally defined as good news—and we can relate the good news to Jesus—what exactly is that good news?

There are many Bible-related nuggets and concepts that may be assumed or considered as the gospel of Jesus Christ but might often be quite different from the way the Apostle Paul described it ... and may not be the gospel at all.




Get the book

923. "A Different Gospel" (Mixture of Law and Grace) Distorts the Gospel of Christ

When Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians, he was astonished at how quickly they had been turned by others who invaded their turf after he had been there ... and these seemed to want to distort the gospel of Christ. These Gentiles had previously been given the pure message of the grace of Jesus, but were now being told they needed to mix some aspects of the Mosaic law with faith in Christ.

Paul referred to it as a different gospel (although it was really no gospel at all). He had some strong words against those delivering this contrary message and it launched the rest of his "Galatians" letter, where he would expound on the differences between a ministry of bondage under works, compared to a New Covenant of Faith.



   
Get the book

882. Legalistic Religion’s Push for Cheap Law (Grace Isn’t Cheap)

Those who advocate for a works-based attempt at getting right with God will often accuse the message of faith-based righteousness as nothing more than “cheap grace.” Of course, the Bible doesn’t caution against grace at all. Pure grace is not “dangerous ground” or something we can have too much of because God has poured out an abundance of grace—grace upon grace—which overflows beyond what is needed. There is no such thing as cheap grace because it cost God everything to bring people into a place of perfection through the bloody sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

However, there is something we don’t hear much about, but it dominates the corporate church communities … and that is cheap law. This is where the wolves will try to convince the sheep they can actually achieve success in keeping the rules and regulations of the Mosaic law (more accurately, a modernized, shrunken version of it). As members of the “hyper-grace” community, we realize the law of God given to Israel was something so holy, so good and so righteous, that nobody could possibly live up to that perfect standard. It was never given for that purpose … which is why it would be fulfilled by Jesus, allowing us to receive life by grace through faith, apart from works.



   
Get the book