Before we begin, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share this week’s memory verse.
“I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.” ~ Psalms 119:10
I ask that we all hide that verse away in our hearts. Offer it up as a prayer. Etch it into our lives. We’ll be more blessed if we follow David’s example in this passage, I think.
Okay, now. For the meat and potatoes!
In recent weeks, I’ve been involved in several…ahem…discussions on Facebook involving doctrine. As is typical with social media these days, these ‘discussions’ quickly escalated into something short of shouting matches, in which I promptly remove myself knowing that nothing positive will come from further pursuing the matter.
Then again, perhaps good things do come from such arguments because they have turned my mind inward, causing me to reflect more on such matters. For many Christians out there, doctrine (more specifically, sound doctrine) has become something of anathema. For many Christians of various denominations, there is a thought that people like me focus far too much on theology and not enough on love, compassion, and forgiveness. I believe there’s some truth to this notion, but the truth is that doctrine matters. Truly. Without it…without an understanding of sound doctrine, Christians would be flying blind and completely unable to know for sure whether they are in true fellowship with the God of the Universe. There would be hope, certainly. But there cannot be certainty without doctrine.
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” ~ 1 John 4:1-3.
In this passage, John tells us in no uncertain terms that we should be discerning when it comes to theology and doctrine. We should know whether a teaching is biblical (i.e. given by God) or whether it is antichrist (i.e. going against God’s word).
So, as I’ve reflected on these recent discussions I’ve had on Facebook, I’ve been testing the spirits of the various doctrines being espoused by different factions within the Church and have come to a simple, yet profound conclusion. Whether a doctrine is truly of God or false seems to be dependent on where the focus of a particular theological theory is placed. As I’ve thought about all these questionable doctrines out there, a pattern begins to emerge. It all boils down to whether a theory is God-focused or Us-focused. In other words, most incorrect or outright false doctrines have an unhealthy focus on us. Human-beings. On what we can get out of a covenant with God. How God interacts with us individually and universally. Us. Us. Us.
True and proper doctrine seems to have a healthy dose of God within it. The onus of a particular is on God. On who He is. On His character. We shouldn’t even be a consideration when a theological theory is formulated. After all, it’s right there in the name: Theo-ology. Literally, a “knowledge of God.”
So, in the coming weeks, every so often, I’ll be spending time on various false doctrines out there. False theology that is running rampant in our churches today so that we can test those spirits that John was warning us about. We will be using John’s litmus test: does the spirit of this doctrine promote the idea that Christ has come in the flesh from God? Does it posit that Jesus might not be divinity at all? Does it negate Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross, His resurrection, and His atonement of sin? That’s what we’re going to look at in the coming weeks (although probably not consecutively).
To get started, I wanted to dive into a quick survey of the most prominent false doctrines of soteriology (just a fancy term for the theology of salvation). In other words, the most common false gospels being espoused today within the Church. It won’t be an exhaustive discussion. In the coming weeks, we’ll probably dive a little deeper into some of them. This is more like a primer for you. Brief summaries of what to be on the lookout for, as well as to introduce you to their official names. We’ll start with the three most common false gospels this week. FYI, none of these are in any particular order and once again, there are many more such false gospels we’ll talk about soon.
False Gospel 1 - The Gospel of Permissive Grace
In this particular theological view of salvation, God’s grace is not only paramount to salvation (which is true enough), but it is also unconditional no matter your state of contrition and repentance. In fact, there are many preachers out there proclaiming that repentance is unnecessary to salvation at all. That God’s grace is all encompassing. After all, John 3:16, right? God so loved the WORLD. The Bible doesn’t say, God loved some people more than others. It doesn’t say God loves His people and not others, right? Well, in fact, the Bible says teaches there are distinct differences between His children and the rest of the World.
In John 17:20-23, Jesus is praying to God about His disciples and their ministry of evangelism. In the passage, Jesus makes it quite clear that while it was His hope that the ‘world’ would come to know Him, there is a distinct difference between this world and His disciples.
In Essence: Permissive Grace means one doesn’t have to turn from sin to be saved. They can keep living their lives exactly as they have always lived and God will simply forgive them because He loves them.
False Gospel 2 - The Social Justice Gospel
This gospel really took traction in the early 20th century and focused on bringing the Kingdom of God into the world by feeding and clothing the poor, taking care of widows and orphans, and other important social works. Also known as the Activist Gospel, this doctrine places emphasis less on Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as atonement for our Sin, but in imitating Christ’s ministry.
On the surface, this is commendable of course. We are directed in Scripture to do these things, however, living in this way is shown in the Bible as a byproduct of the process of sanctification after salvation, not a means to salvation in itself. After all, such a gospel would be works-based, not grace through faith in Christ Jesus.
False Gospel 3 - The Therapeutic Gospel
Less prominent, but growing rapidly is the Therapeutic Gospel, which seems to be a bit of a combination of both Permissive Grace and Social Justice. And to me, it seems utterly humanist in nature. A bit New Age-y, as well. Almost Star Trek-esque, really.
The Therapeutic Gospel basically states that somewhere in history, humanity failed to reach its “true potential.” Sin, in this view, is basically the stumbling block that stopped us from reaching that potential. However, the fact that God came down in human form and sacrificed Himself for humanity shows that we (as humans) are worthy and capable of attaining that true potential. Focus is on personal growth and fulfillment in our lives.
Now that we’ve tackled these few false gospels (once again, no where near exhaustive), go back and re-read 1 John 4: 1-3. Let’s test the spirits here. In 1 John, we’re told that anything that promotes the idea of Christ being sent by God to bring salvation to the World is of God. Anything that promotes the idea that Christ didn’t come to bring about salvation through His sacrifice on the cross is antichrist.
Re-examine the three false gospels. Do you see it? Do you see where the power of Christ and Calvary has been removed from the redemptive process in all three? Do you see the focus turning away from God and pointing directly to us? These are true signs of false doctrine, my friends. So, as you go about your lives…as you hear new (or old) ideas about salvation and other doctrines, test those spirits After today, you should have a better understanding of just how to go about that.
Thanks for spending time with us here at 4N6 Ministries today! I hope you’ll return next week. In fact, I hope you’ll subscribe to my Substack and never miss a single post. God bless and keep you all! Love ya!
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