Christianity and the Gospel go hand in hand. They are closely tied to each other. Christianity wouldn’t exist without the Gospel and the Gospel wouldn’t have gone out into the world without the first Christians. Truly, one cannot exist without the other. Interestingly, although they are so deeply connected, not all Christians today agree on what exactly the Gospel is. Part of the reason why is that the general definition of term Gospel is: good news. Good news for one person is not necessarily good news for another. 

I learned this a while ago when talking to a church group about their favorite Bible passages. Most of them mentioned texts about God’s grace and forgiveness. A few others offered prophetic promises of paradise. But one man’s answer caught me off guard. His favorite passage was the story of Jesus entering the Temple with a whip and turning over the money changer’s tables (John 2:13–17). His reason for choosing that story was that he liked the picture of an angry, authoritarian Jesus. He actually liked the idea of Jesus whipping people. To him, the idea of an ultra strict, violently corrective, purifying God was good news. I’m not sure I’ve met another person who has also considered that as good news.

Multiple Gospels?

Photo by Vladislav Babienko

This brings up a good question. Of all the “good news” options, which one is the Gospel? Can there be more than one? In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul wrote about a fear he had concerning the church in Corinth, that “as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (verses 2, 3). He was fearful because they would readily accept any incorrect teachings—a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel (verse 4). So, according to Paul, some have tried to deceive with a different gospel.

He also talked about this in his letter to the Galatians (Galatians 1:6, 7). Again he was concerned that the church was “so quickly deserting him who called you,” and were turning to “a different gospel.” He clarifies though: “not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” Paul said that there is only one Gospel—the Gospel preached by himself and the other apostles that they received from Jesus (Galatians 1:11, 12). Any other “gospel” is a distortion.

The Danger of Distortion

Why would a different gospel be bad? Good news is good news, isn’t it? Not necessarily. Paul’s concern for the church for being so quick to chase after a distorted version of the gospel was because when they accepted this “different” gospel, they were “deserting” Christ (Galatians 1:6). In fact, in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul warned that the deception of these different gospels would “lead us from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

This is why a different, or distorted, gospel would be bad. Anything but the true gospel would draw us away from a pure, saving relationship with Jesus, causing us to abandon Him! And if we walk away from Jesus, we walk away from the source of our salvation. Then, “how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3)

Furthermore, since the gospel and Christianity are so strongly connected, if one is distorted, the other becomes distorted as well. Christians who adopt a distorted gospel create a distorted Christianity. Sadly, a distorted Christianity will only create more followers of a distorted gospel. In other words, the true danger of a different gospel is that it is incredibly contagious and will cause many to fall away from Christ.

Hold Onto the True

Today, just as in Paul’s day, there are some who will try to distort the gospel of Jesus. We have been warned that this day was coming: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3, 4). Too many today no longer want the simplicity of the Gospel. They no longer want sound teaching and would rather hear a “gospel” that supports their lifestyles. 

This is all the more reason we need to hold onto and proclaim the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.* Because the true Gospel will always draw us towards being fully devoted to God. It will always lead to a salvational, dependent relationship with God. And, like Paul, we must not be ashamed of this gospel—the simple and pure Gospel of Jesus—“for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16)!

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*Of course, to hold onto the true, we need to know what it is. I will write about it more fully in an upcoming post. In my next post, though, I will discuss the first of two popular distortions of the gospel today.