What The Gospel Is Not, Part 2

Introduction

There is a multitude of ways in which the Gospel is corrupted in attempts to compromise grace with works. In last week’s post I stated that, the salvation of the LORD, which He offers to all mankind is secured by believing in Christ as Savior (Acts 18:4-8). To this one requirement no other obligation can be placed on the unbeliever (Ephesians 2:8). Any addition would nullify “the power of GOD” to save and wreck total havoc on this essential doctrine of Scripture, which clearly defines salvation as by grace alone (Romans 3:20). Furthermore, it is rightly affirmed by all who comprehend the extent of GOD’s grace that even the least amount of human collaboration added to the work of salvation, other than faith, as a means of securing GOD’s favor is simply ludicrous and the height of human pride (Romans 2:23).

Believe and Confess Christ

It is recognized that well intentioned Gospel preachers in their zeal and sincere desire to see and account for conversions to Christ will often prompt a public confession of Christ from those who would be saved. But to the detriment of those being offered the invitation to believe, in the minds of the unsaved, it is often the case that the demand for confession is errantly coupled with saving faith and seen as equal importance with faith. However, as nothing can be added to GOD’s gracious gift, the demand of a public confession can work to confound GOD’s mighty working in the matter of salvation of the lost; and therefore, the demand for a public conversion can become a “different gospel.”

While there are two very emphatic and much used Bible texts that seemingly justify the need of confessing Christ as a means, couple with grace, toward achieving grace, it will be shown here that these Scriptures do not offer the unsaved a path toward salvation through public confession, plus believing He is the Savior.

The first of these much used text is Matthew 10:32, which states: “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.”

Here the case for a public confession seems strong, as it is Christ Himself who places this demand. However, the meaning and context of the verse is brought to light by the most excellent Bible-teacher and theologian Lewis S. Chafer, who says:

“This verse, which occurs in the midst of Christ's kingdom teachings and as a part of His instruction to His disciples whom He is sending forth with a restricted message to Israel (cf. vv 5-7) and which was to be accompanied by stupendous miracles (cf. v 8) such as were never committed to preachers in the present age, applies, primarily, to these disciples themselves in respect to their faithful delivery of this kingdom proclamation, and could be extended in its appeal only to Israelites to whom they were sent. The carelessness which assumes that this Scripture presents a condition of salvation for a Jew or Gentile in the present age is deplorable indeed.”

The second verse is Romans 10:9, 10, which states: “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” While difficult see how confession can be an excluded qualification for salvation from these two verses the next three verses clarifies the Apostle’s understanding of the place confession plays in a new believer’s new life and not in the life of the unbeliever. Romans 10:11-13, says: “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” “For there is no distinction…the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him.” Here it is clear that salvation is promised to all on the one condition that they believe. Of confession the Apostle says: “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED;” thus making the confession of verses 9 and 10, the prerogative of the person who first has responded in faith to the promise of salvation through grace that God offers to all in Christ. Therefore, confession of Christ is a Christian’s privilege and duty and it may take place the moment one is saved, but it is not a condition of salvation by grace.

Furthermore, as Chafer point out: “There are two convincing reasons why the Scripture under consideration does not present two human responsibilities in relation to salvation by grace. (a). To claim that a public confession of Christ as Savior is required in addition to believing in Christ, is to contend that 150 passages in which believing alone appears are incomplete and to that extent misleading. A certain type of mind, however, seems able to construct all its confidence on an erroneous interpretation of one passage and to be uninfluenced by the overwhelming body of Scripture which contradicts that interpretation. (b). To require a public confession of Christ as a prerequisite to salvation by grace is to discredit the salvation of an innumerable company who have been saved under circumstances which precluded any public action” (Lewis S. Chafer, The Saving Work of the Triune God, published in Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol. 107 (Oct.-Dec. 1950): 389-416).

Believe and Be Baptized

Many have held to the idea that baptism is a required action that must take place in the prospective convert before salvation is achieve. This is known as the doctrine of baptismal regeneration. The proof text often used to support this doctrine is Mark 16:15-16, which says: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” With regard to this verse, the question begs to be asked, Is Mark speaking here of the real baptism by the Holy Spirit or the ritual baptism with water? The answer that best fits is the one, which agrees with the overwhelming evidence of Scripture that says that salvation is always by grace. These verses speak of real baptism and not the rite of water baptism; and the real follows belief unto salvation by grace. Therefore, the conclusion is that it is the real baptism by the Holy Spirit that is contemplated by this passage.

Furthermore, Spirit baptism is the act by which a believer is taken “into Christ Jesus” and “into His death” (Romans 6:3). This new state is further explain by Paul at 1 Corinthians 12:13, and at Galatians 3:27, where he states respectively, “we were all baptized into one body” and “all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Believing has the influence over the soul, through the power of GOD in accordance with His promise in the Gospel, of bringing the one who believes into the estate of salvation with all its values which are received from Christ. The new relation to Christ of being in Him is produced by the Holy Spirit’s baptism and it could not be absent in the case of anyone truly saved.

While there are other passages in the Bible that couple belief with baptism (cf., Acts 2:28), the examination of Mark that is here presented should dispel any notion that baptismal regeneration, through the rite of water baptism, however administered, is a condition, which is to be added to believing as a necessary step in salvation. Any attempt to make this so qualifies as a “different gospel.”

Believe and Surrender to God

This is a most subtle deception: to believe and surrender one’s self to GOD! The Bible boldly proclaims the utter inability and spiritual death of the unsaved. They are shut up to the message that Christ is the Savior and they cannot accept Him; much less surrender to the One who sent Him. The Word of God declares, unless illuminated by the Holy Spirit, saving faith is not a possession of mankind (Eph 2:8). Only the elect Christian has been enabled by GOD to surrender to His will.

As all this is true, it follows that to impose a need to surrender the life to God as an added condition of salvation, other than belief in Christ as Savior, is most unreasonable. This notion is a mere human attempt to meet GOD on our own terms and not on His. While a hollow show of religious self-dedication to GOD is possible on the part of the unsaved, this most subtle, self-satisfying form of “works” can only serve to condemn any who fall for this “different gospel.”

Believe Make Restitution

One of the ways the natural man proposes to be saved and yet retain his dignity, supposed worthiness and separation from GOD is through the act paying restitution. This is a false notion, but one which is widely accepted by Christians as a necessary addition to saving faith as mean of salvation. Christianity is not a twelve step program. And thanks be to God it is not, because the truth be known an unregenerate person cannot improve his fallen condition by “paying his debt to society.” Sin cannot be taken back and harm cannot be undone—there are no “mulligans” in life—and any who holds this human ideal for salvation are fooling themselves. It is God who justifies the ungodly (Rom 4:5); it is while men are enemies of GOD that Christ died for them (Rom 5:6-10); and all their unworthiness is accounted for by Christ in His death. However, for the Christian there is a duty to set things right—after they are saved—and none should neglect this responsibility. It therefore remains true that those who are saved are saved on the one condition of believing upon Christ; requiring the unbeliever to make amends prior to belief is a “different gospel.”

Believe and Implore God to Save

To implore GOD to save is the favorite trick of the self-pious preacher of a “different gospel.” None of the errors being considered seems more reasonable than this, and yet none strikes a more deadly blow at the foundation of divine grace. The error includes the claim that the sinner must seek the Lord with all his heart and plead with God to be merciful. But this is wholly unnecessary due to the fact that salvation begins in the heart of God. The entire breadth of salvation is the reflection of His infinite love; and salvation awaits the sinner’s right response to the invitation, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). With this marvelous revelation in view, there is no place left for the idea that the sinner must seek GOD or plead with Him to be merciful: this is a “different gospel.”

Conclusion

Salvation is wholly a work of the triune GOD: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Mankind’s sole responsibility is to believe the Gospel, which is:

“First of all…Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures… He was buried…[and] He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. The Gospel was no new thing in God’s mind. It had been predicted throughout the Old Testament times. Every time the coming Savior was mentioned, there was proclamation of the Gospel. It began in Eden when the Lord said, “The seed of the woman shall bruise thy head.” It was typified in every sacrifice that was offered. It was portrayed in the wonderful Tabernacle, and later in the Temple. We have it in the proclamation of Isaiah, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him: and with His stripes we are healed.” It was preached by Jeremiah when he said, “This is His Name whereby He shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness” (Jer.23:6). It was declared by Zechariah when he exclaimed, “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones” (Zech.13:7) All through those Old Testament dispensations, the Gospel was predicted, and when Jesus came, the Gospel came with Him. When He died, when He was buried, and when He rose again, the Gospel could be fully told out to a poor lost world. Observe, it says, “that Christ died for our sins.” No man preaches the Gospel, no matter what nice things he may say about Jesus, if he leaves out His vicarious death on Calvary’s cross (Electronic media, http://www.gotothebible.com/HTML/whatisgospel.html).

What The Gospel Is Not, Part I

Introduction

The salvation of the LORD, which He offers to all mankind is secured by believing in Christ as Savior (Acts 18:4-8). To this one requirement no other obligation can be placed on the unbeliever (Ephesians 2:8). Any addition would nullify “the power of GOD” to save and wreck total havoc on this essential doctrine of Scripture, which clearly defines salvation as by grace alone (Romans 3:20). By the very nature of all that is accomplished in salvation, if it is to be produced at all, it must be GOD’s doing alone. This is so, because salvation is the eternal display of His sovereign power to save by grace (Romans 5:21), those who by Divine right deserve judgment instead (Ephesians 2:3); and no human hand can be allowed to mar this wondrous opus of the Creator (Hebrews 7:17-28). It is rightly affirmed by all who comprehend the extent of GOD’s grace that even the least amount of human collaboration added to the work of salvation, other than faith, as a means of securing GOD’s favor is simply ludicrous and the height of human pride (Romans 2:23).

But even when the supernatural character of salvation is recognized, it is possible to encumber our intended message of grace, where the lone human responsibility is faith, with various human works; in which case we preach a “different/another gospel,” thus our message, no matter how sincere we are, becomes ineffectual to all who are in desperate need of salvation. “Another” gospel can be defined as one that targets self-gratification. It is a “gospel” that offers another Jesus who can benefit you in the flesh by denying the cross. To the church at Philippi, Paul wrote, “(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ...” (Philippians 3:18). It is the purpose of this article (and subsequent ones) to clarify the doctrine of Divine sovereign grace by showing that the infinite and eternal GOD alone in able to accomplish salvation. The practical bearing of this truth is that the message and method of would-be soul-winners, if they are to fulfill their parts in Christ’s unfinished business in the world, must be in complete agreement with the tenets of grace. There must be no attempt at conforming grace to the human ideal, which says, mankind through good thoughts, purposes and deeds can please GOD and cause humanity to move towards achieving its own salvation (Genesis 3:6). An endeavor such as this has already resulted in disaster for the human race and recycling the effort will only produce continued pain and suffering (Genesis 3:16-18; Romans 5:12-15).

Must I First Repent?

The first “different gospel” to be considered is the imposition on the unbeliever that repentance is prerequisite to belief in Christ as Savior. While true repentance is essential, too often repentance is conceived of as a separate act on the human-side for salvation. And what a ridiculous assertion this is shown to be, when one stops to consider the impossibility of requiring that the crystal methamphetamine addict quit his habit before he can believe in Christ and be saved! What of others, mixed up in the endless variety of human sins,—everyone is a sinner—do all have to repent of whatever their sins are before believing in Christ? How can those who have harmed others repent; can the murder or rapist undo their crime? They cannot! But are they then excluded from salvation? Not if GOD has chosen them to be saved (1 Corinthians 1:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:13) .

Salvation by sovereign grace through faith establishes a Christian in what he has become: a new creation--“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10; cf., 2 Corinthians 5:17)--which is the condition of the one now in Christ, for whom everything is new. While the final and complete transformation of the believer is future, the work of renovation starts at the moment one first believes; and not prior to belief. The transforming of the new believer is the sanctifying work of the Spirit--a cleansing, so to speak--that takes place in believers and guarantees their safe-keeping and maturity. In this endeavor, on the human-side, though confession and repentance of personal sins are required, these acts are accomplished only as the believer submits to the Spirit and utterly relies on Him. This work of the Spirit in the believer continues unceasingly until the moment the Christian is brought home to heaven conformed to the image of Christ (Ephesians 1:14). But at the onset where a unbeliever repents and becomes a "new creation;" the repentance spoken of is not the need in the unbeliever to first cleanse himself and then to believe. The true Gospel knows nothing of a self-purging by the unbeliever as a means toward achieving GOD’s grace.

At this juncture, the biblical meaning of repentance is beneficial: in every instance in the Bible where the word repentance is used it means a change of mind. With regard to the wrong definition of repentance, it is a common practice to read into this word the idea of heart-felt sorrow. There is no reason why sorrow should not accompany repentance or lead to repentance, but the sorrow, whatever it may be, is not repentance. In 2 Corinthians 7:10, we read that “sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance,” that is, it leads on to repentance; but the sorrow is not to be confused with the change of mind, which it may serve to produce. The New Testament call to repentance is not an urge to self-condemnation, but is a call to a change of mind which promotes a change in the course being pursued. When the Philippian jailer asked: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” From the context it is clear that this man was truly sorry for his treatment of the apostles in his custody, but he was informed by Paul and Silas, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” They then instructed the jailer and all in the household in the ways of the Lord, then as a show of their belief in Christ the jailer “was baptized, he and all his household” (Acts 16:30-33). In essence, Paul and Silas asked the jailer and those of his household to quit their current confidence in temporal, non-eternal things for safety and security and to trust in the true GOD.

Essential Repentance

Significantly, while the demand for repentance from past sins prior to salvation is absent from Scripture the relation of repentance to believing is essential, but it is wrongly added as a separate requirement for salvation; i.e., that one needs to quit their previous life-style before they can be acceptable to GOD and saved by Him. Conversely, too often, when it is asserted—as it is here—that repentance is not to be added to belief as a separate requirement for salvation, it is assumed that repentance is not necessary to salvation. But this is a wrong assumption too. I already stated, repentance is essential to salvation and none can be saved apart from repentance, but it is included in believing in Christ for salvation and it cannot be separated from it. In every instance where repentance is related to the unbeliever, for Jews or Gentiles alike, it means to either return to or begin belief in the true GOD (cf., Acts 2:28; 3:19; 5:31; 8:22; 11:18; 13:34; 17:30; 19:4; 20:21; 26:20).

To believe on Christ is one act. It is not turning from sinfulness to sinlessness; but rather turning to GOD from idols. To turn to Christ from all other confidences is one act and in that one act repentance is included: “you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9). This text provides no comfort for those who contend that people must in remorse turn from sins as a first act and afterwards as a second and separate act, turn to belief in GOD. The text recognizes but one act—“turned to God from idols”—and that is the act of faith that produces repentance unto salvation.

Only GOD Saves

Repentance, therefore, is a change of mind, which is included in believing, because no one can turn to Christ from loyalty in an idol—be it from religion, self, wealth, etc.—without a change of mind. This change of mind is the work of the Spirit (Eph 2:8). As those who are amenable to the Word of God will confess, the essential preparation of the heart, which the Holy Spirit accomplishes in the unsaved, prepares them for an intelligent and voluntary acceptance of Christ as Savior. And this change of mind, by Spirit-illumination, to Christ from dumb idols is all the repentance a spiritually dead individual is capable of (John 16:8-11). The unsaved that come under this influence are given the clear understanding concerning one sin, namely that “they believe not on me;” this is the only sin the unbeliever must repent of and it is accomplished at the moment one believes.

In the coming weeks, I will supplement this writing with other examples of how humans works are subtly added to GOD’s grace. No matter how trivial an addition of works to GOD’s grace seems it is rightly called: “a different gospel,” which is not “the gospel of your salvation” (Galatians 1:6; Ephesians 1:13) and therefore, void of the saving power of GOD. No one is saved by works. Therefore, the Gospel preacher must adhere to proclaiming the true Gospel; to preserve it from being made to depend upon any degree of human responsibility other than saving faith in Christ; because grace plus anything else is not grace and only by grace is anyone saved! That is the simplicity of faith.

Concluding Thought

“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past.

“Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.

“Over and over and over again in the New Testament we read of the Gospel. It is the Gospel not a Gospel. People tell us there are a great many different Gospels; but there is only ONE. When certain teachers came to the Galatians and tried to turn them away from the simplicity that was in Christ Jesus by teaching “another Gospel,” the apostle said that it was a different gospel, but not another; for there is none other than the Gospel. It is downright exclusive; it is God’s revelation to sinful man” (Harry Ironside, What Is The Gospel, Electronic media, http://www.gotothebible.com/HTML/whatisgospel.html).

The Key to Eternal Life

The following words are for sinners only. If for whatever reason you believe yourself sinless, if to you sin is meaningless to your life and in the life of others, nothing more than mere perception, so that no consequences result from sin, what follows will be of no benefit and a waste of time. But I must caution you: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:7).

If, conversely, you know that you are a sinner, that sinful acts and thoughts that you have participated in or pondered have hurt you and others both physically and spiritually and worse of all that your sin has deeply offended God, then what follows is truly good news that you must examine—it is the Gospel. Why? Because, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). And your contemplation of this truth, “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) will surely work to point you into the way of inner peace, even though you be the most cold-hearted and reckless of all sinner; no matter who you are and regardless of what you have done.

All sin, no matter how society tends to trivialize lawlessness and wickedness, which sin can be defined as, is ultimately committed against God. And no one should be so irrational so as to imagine that God, though perfect in holiness and justice, does not punish sin in perfect holiness and justice. Of the holiness of God it has been said: “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You can not look on wickedness with favor” (Habakkuk 1:13 ). Sin is so terrible in the sight of God and so damaging to His creation (cf. Rom. 8:21), that God himself, and He alone, provides a remedy for sin—“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16, 17).

No one can save himself from sin and its horrible effects that have ravaged humanity. But the Creator who loves humanity can save and freely He offers salvation as a gift to all who believe that in Jesus there is life and, “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

The following extend quotation by Dr. Ray Stedman does much to clarify God’s solution to humanities inability:

If you were the sole possessor of a cure for cancer, would you be quiet about it? Or would you share the secret with everyone around you? Paul [the apostle] was intensely aware that he possessed the secret that everyone needs. He had the cure for the sin disease, and he was determined to share that cure with everyone he met. What is this cure for sin that Paul feels driven to preach to the nations? He describes his message in the next two verses: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17). Paul closes with a quotation from the Old Testament: “The righteous will live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4). This is the phrase that gripped the heart of Martin Luther. This great truth, Paul says, is the life-transforming message of the Christian gospel: If you want to live a righteous life, then you must stop trying to achieve it by your own efforts. The righteous life can only be achieved by faith—that is, by a trust-relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This is a transforming truth, and Paul says he is not ashamed of it. In fact, he is proud of it. He proclaims it boldly everywhere he goes. He can’t wait to get to Rome so he can preach this message there. Paul is especially eager to proclaim this gospel in Rome because the Romans appreciated power, just as Americans do today. Roman military power had conquered the entire known world. Roman knowledge was power—their road-building technology, their war-making technology, their legal knowledge, their literary and artistic skill. Roman economic power had brought the wealth of the world to Rome through both trade and conquest. But Paul knew the Romans were powerless when it came to changing hearts. Even with all its wealth and military might, the Roman Empire was riddled with violence, corruption, despair, and suicide. The “noble Romans” lived meaningless lives; their wealth and power gave them no inner peace. That is why Paul is proud of the gospel. That is why he is eager to preach the gospel in the capital city of the Roman Empire. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God—power to do the very things that Roman power could not do.*

At the time Paul wrote his most extraordinary letter to the church in Rome, it has been estimated that a full one-half of the population of the Roman Empire where chained in slavery; just property belonging to another human being. Slave owners had legal rights to use, abuse and exploit their chattel in anyway they pleased. Without going into sickening details, slavery is a heinous example of the depravity that existed in great Rome, the jewel of humanistic advancement. During the time of ancient Rome’s dominion on earth, mankind was sunken in the darkness of despair. Idolatry had spread through the whole world and hopelessness and misery shrouded the earth, but at this darkest hour Christ was revealed from heaven and came to give us light (cf. John 8:12). Once again, in our modern times, history repeats itself as our humanistic world attempts to create a better society. But even with all our collective powers of intellect we have not made much improvement upon what the ancients achieved. Some would even say we have sunken into even greater degeneracy and I tend to agree with this latter assessment.

Against the growing darkness of our own time we need the Gospel message to ring out as clear as possible, because only the Good News holds the key to God’s way of breaking through the sin-caused human inability and to bring peace, joy and gladness to the hearts of mankind. This is the Good News: “He will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Yet the wonder of the sin-soaked human heart and the absolute hallmark of our twisted, human reason is that we cling to our pasts and refuse the supernatural healing power of God.

A court is in session, a verdict is in
No appeal on the docket today
Just my own sin
The walls are cold and pale
The cage made of steel
Screams fill the room
Alone I drop and kneel
Silence now the sound
My breath the only motion around
Demons cluttering around
My face showing no emotion
Shackled by my sentence
Expecting no return
Here there is no penance
My skin begins to burn
(And I said oh) So I held my head up high
Hiding hate that burns inside
Which only fuels their selfish pride
(And I said oh) We're all held captive out from the sun
A sun that shines on only some
We the meek are all in one
I hear a thunder in the distance see a vision of a cross
I feel the pain that was given on that sad day of loss
A lion roars in the darkness
Only he holds the key
A light to free me from my burden
And grant me life eternally…
…I cry out to God
Seeking only his decision
Gabriel stands and confirms
I've created my own prison…
…Should've been dead on a Sunday morning
banging my head
No time for mourning
Ain't got no time…**

*Ray Stedman, at electronic media, http://www.raystedman.org/romans2/romans3.html
**Scott Strapp & Mark Tremoti, “My Own Prison,” Wind-up Records, released August 26, 1997.