Articles
Perverted Gospels
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There are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. (Gal. 1:7-9)
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The Greek word translated "gospel" means "good news." The gospel provides what humanity desperately needs: good news about how to resolve our sin problem. It's a message that incorporates historical facts regarding what God has done for us, especially in the work of Christ; instructions regarding moral behavior; and promises to incentivize that behavior. Taken as prescribed, the unadulterated gospel is literally a godsend, a framework of belief and behavior that answers every need of the human spirit.
Satan, however, is a master deceiver. Ever since the Garden of Eden, his M. O. has been not to directly challenge God's word, but to distort it, twist it, alter it just enough to destroy its effectiveness. It's much easier to get people to accept a counterfeit if it looks like the real deal.
It should come as no surprise, therefore, to learn that ever since Jesus completed His work on earth, Satan has flooded the zone with a host of perverted gospels--religions and philosophies that contain elements of the true gospel, but tainted with enough poison to injure those who swallow them.
Look at the history of Christianity itself. Catholicism evolved into a sacerdotal system of salvation by law-keeping. The Protestant Reformation, begun as a reaction to the excesses of the Catholic Church, swung to the opposite extreme and developed a system of salvation by faith alone. The modern social justice movement, while pursuing a lofty goal of serving the weak and marginalized, has descended into a self-righteous parody of Christianity, pursuing heretics with a vengeance that would make Torquemada proud (see: Spanish Inquisition). If you don't care for any of these, just look around; there are plenty of others to choose from.
These fake gospels can be detected and avoided only devoting ourselves to a careful study of the original. Jesus and His apostles have given us everything we need in the pages of the New Testament. Become intimately familiar with that body of instruction, and you will be inoculated against the enticements of Satan's pseudo-gospels.
--David
