False gospels

Recently I attended the funeral of a neighbour. The priest assured us that we will see him in heaven because he had been baptised as a child and he had confessed his mortal sins to the priest at the last rites. Holy water was sprinkled on the coffin as a reminder of his being cleansed of original sin and made a Christian through baptism. This is a different gospel (Gal. 1:6-9) because it contradicts John 14:6 where Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. The true gospel is to trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin – no one comes to God except through Jesus. Baptism is not a part of salvation – it’s a consequence, not a cause (Acts 10:47-48; 16:14-15; 31-33; 18:8).

And I heard another different gospel in King Charles Christmas message. He mentioned the problem of wars and violence in many parts of the world. But how are we to overcome such conflict? He said that the Gospels “teach the values with which we can overcome it”. But the Good News is about how Jesus came to earth to save His people from their sins. He was born to die – not born to set us an example for 21st century ‘values’.

The King’s misunderstanding of the Gospel continued: “The example that Jesus gave us is timeless and universal. It is to enter the world of those who suffer, to make a difference to their lives and so bring hope where there is despair.” But our hope is in the gospel, not just in good deeds.

Instead of the Gospel of Christ, the King claimed that all faiths are fundamentally the same. And that “The message of the angels to the shepherds – that there should be peace on earth – echoes through all faiths and philosophies”. But there can be no lasting peace without the Peacemaker. The king has a moralistic, do it yourself, multifaith religion.

Contrast this with Queen Elizabeth. In her 2011 Christmas message the Queen said that we “need saving from ourselves—from our recklessness or our greed” (that is from our rebellion against God). And that God sent Jesus into the world as “a Savior, with the power to forgive.” This is the essence of the true gospel.

Peter said, “Salvation is found in no one else [apart from Jesus Christ], for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are not part of the gospel – the good news about salvation through Jesus. They are just reminders of Christ’s death and resurrection. And good deeds are not part of the gospel – but they are fruit of the gospel.

Prayer

Father God, we thank you for your plan of salvation and how it is unique. In no other human faiths and philosophies does God take the punishment that we deserve so that we can be with Him forever.

We thank you that apart from accepting your offer of salvation, there is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation.

We thank you for sending Jesus to die for the sins of all the people of the world. Through His death our sins can be forgiven, and we can look ahead to a home in heaven. Amen.

Acknowledgement

This post was inspired by The problem with the King’s Gospel by David Robertson.

Written, December 2024

Also see: Recognizing false teachers