The Other Gospel

As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be cursed—Galatians 1:9

Chances are pretty good that you heard this contrary gospel preached in some way, shape, or form last Sunday.

Fair warning: this post may be offensive. If you do not wish to be offended, please stop reading here. I have come to the conclusion that Jesus is extremely offensive. He is offensive because His teachings convict us of our sin. Yet, while He is offensive, He is also God so He has every right to offend. 

We don’t like to be offended. When we are convicted by something Jesus says, we basically do one of three things: (1) confess and repent of our sin or of our religion, (2) slightly change the interpretation of the passage so that it does not apply to us, or (3) just ignore Jesus.

The first option is obviously the correct biblical response to God. The third one is obviously the incorrect biblical response to God. The second choice is obviously wrong but at the same time it is subtly dangerous. It is my contention that this second choice is how most Christians in America approach the Bible.

Here are some examples. See if any sound familiar:

Does Matthew 28:19-20 apply to you? “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Does Jesus expect you to take the gospel to all nations?

Does Luke 6:38 apply to you? “Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Do you believe that you can’t out-give God?

Does Acts 1:8 apply to you? “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Does Jesus expect you to be his witness to the end of the earth?

Does John 14:14 apply to you? “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it?” Do you believe that you can ask Jesus for anything and He will do it?

Does Luke 14:33 apply to you? “Anyone who does not give up all that have cannot be my disciple.” Does Jesus expect you to give up everything to be His disciple?

Does Matthew 11:28 apply to you? “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Do you believe that you can come to Jesus for rest?

So, the question is: Do all of those examples apply directly to your life? I’d be willing to bet that you answered “No. They don’t all apply directly to my life.” Naturally, you would argue, a person needs to have a specific missionary call for the 1^st or 3^rd example to apply. And if you’ve ever heard Luke 14:33 preached, or read it for yourself, it has always come with the attached phrase, “But Jesus doesn’t expect everyone to do this.” And I’d take my money to the bank on the fact that you definitely claimed the promises of the 2^nd, 4^th, and 6^th example for yourself.

If this sounds like you, then please realize that you may be guilty of responding to Jesus the second way mentioned above—that of slightly changing the interpretation of the passage so that it doesn’t apply to you. I would leave you with one question to consider as you think about this: By what authority do you have the right to pick and choose which passages apply to you and which ones don't?