A Perverted Gospel

By

Shelby G. Floyd

August 10, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is the gospel? It is the good news that God sent his son into the world to die on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. The gospel is that he was buried and raised the third day:

 

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

NKJV

 

     Notice in these verses that Paul affirms the gospel is that “by which also you are saved.” In the great commission Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).  We are saved by the gospel, by grace, by faith, by the blood of Christ and by baptism. But the false teachers and preachers today also “pervert” the gospel. Recently I read where the “faith only” teachers will say in one breath that we are saved “by grace alone.” Then in another breath they teach we are saved “by faith alone.” And then when they put the two together, in order not to look silly, they teach that God saves sinners “through grace by faith alone.” Someone even made the ridiculous statement: “By grace alone, by faith alone, to God alone be the glory.” Now which is it? If salvation is by grace alone, then it excludes the human work of faith. And if it is by “faith alone” it excludes the divine work of God’s grace.

 

     The truth of the matter is that salvation is not by any one thing alone. The “perverted gospel” of “faith alone” is patently false, for James wrote, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (James 2:24).  “The different gospel” being pedaled around today is a “perverted gospel” that will not save anyone from their sins. Copyright © 2009 Shelby Floyd, All Rights Reserved