Kitty-Cats and Wolves
Our daughter’s first word was “kitty-cat”. After months of encouraging her to say a simple “mama”, our gigantic cat walked by and as clear as day my baby girl said “kitty-cat”.
Soon after this word solidified itself in her vocabulary, we went over to a friend’s house for dinner. Their dog came out into the living room and our daughter squealed “kitty-cat!” Another day, we were reading a bedtime story with a bear as the main character. “Kitty-cat!” my daughter exclaimed. Soon it became very clear that while our actual cat was the inspiration behind her first word, our daughter now thought any furry, four-legged creature she saw was also a kitty-cat and no one could tell her otherwise.
I fear there is a similar misnomer happening with the word ‘gospel’. Allow me to explain. Imagine a person being introduced to the gospel for the first time. But rather than diving into the depths to truly understand the great and glorious beast in front of them, they gather the highlights. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, rose three days later and whoever believes in him will spend eternity in heaven. Pretty straightforward. But then they hear the gospel message that covers the same basics, but additionally upholds the requirement for good works in order to be truly saved. They read the gospel message with an addendum that health, wealth and prosperity are theirs for the taking if they only have enough faith. They begin to hear the gospel message being centered on themselves and don’t realize God is quietly being minimized.
While my daughter has people in her life who have learned the difference between kitty-cats and other animals who will patiently teach her the difference as she grows, this person may not have someone more mature in their faith to help them spot the differences between the true gospel and distorted versions.
So they go through their whole life not understanding why God doesn’t seem like enough. They are laden with guilt that their faith isn’t strong enough. Or they are content to live however they like, trusting they are mostly good but loosely hanging on to the fire insurance of Jesus’s death as an added bonus.
I fear there are many people who claim to know the gospel, but in reality they are following a totally different animal.
Look at the words of Paul when he saw this phenomenon in the first century church:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
Galatians 1:6-8
The problem the church in Galatia faced is the same problem we face today. There are some who trouble us and want to distort the gospel of Christ. The distortion of the gospel is EVERYWHERE! It is in the lyrics of popular Christian songs, it’s found in the table of contents of best-selling books, it’s hidden in perfectly manicured Instagram posts and it’s paraded around in pulpits.
The only way to know a counterfeit is to study the original. So let’s look at what Scripture proclaims as the gospel:
In the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are all sinners, ruined by the Fall (Romans 3:23). The perfect relationship God formed in the Garden of Eden was severed by sin and there is nothing we can do to fix it. We were in need of a Savior. God then gave the law to his people not as an ultimate means of salvation, but to show us the depth of our depravity (Romans 7:7). The law required constant bloody sacrifices to be made on behalf of God’s people as a payment for our atonement. But there were whispers of something greater. There were whispers of a coming Messiah (Isaiah 52-53). Those whispers were followed by hundreds of years of silence that were finally broken by the cries of God Almighty humbling himself to take on human form (Luke 2:1-21). Jesus Christ, God’s son, was born equally God and man (Philippians 2:5-7). He was born under the same law his people were burdened by and he fulfilled it perfectly (Matthew 5:17-18). In God’s perfect plan, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was nailed to the cross as the ultimate sacrifice of our sin (Galatians 3:13, 1 John 2:2). He bore the full weight of God’s wrath meant for us and atonement for sin was accomplished – once for all (Hebrews 10:10). Our Savior died and was buried. But then he rose and sat at the right hand of God, leaving the promise of his Spirit to indwell the hearts of his people (John 14:26). From the moment he saves us, God promises to daily transform and sanctify us until he calls us to our eternal, heavenly home, fully restored forever and ever (1 Thessalonians 2:13, Revelation 21:1-7). Amen!
This gospel has the power to save souls. This gospel glorifies God, not man. Jesus is the hero of the story, not us. This gospel is sufficient. The work of the cross was and is enough. Why, why do we settle for anything less?
Because the distortions of the gospel are much easier to sell to the masses than the truth.
If the gospel you are learning about doesn’t cost you anything, doesn’t call for repentance and requires no change from you – it’s not the gospel. If you hear that, in addition to the cross, you need to accumulate as many good works as you can – it’s not the gospel. If the song on Christian radio station exalts you over the Lord God Almighty – it’s not the gospel.
These lies are rarely spoken outright. They are covered by enough truth to fool us. They are hidden in pretenses. They are subtle. And they are dangerous.
Just because an animal is furry and walks on four legs doesn’t mean it’s a kitty-cat, no matter how insistent my daughter may be.
Just because a book, song or church claims to be Christian doesn’t mean they hold to the true gospel if they preach anything less than what Scripture clearly states.
Friends, we have the incredible blessing of God’s word easily accessible to us. His word is sufficient. His true gospel is enough. Feast on the truth in his word. Don’t be content to live off of the junk food false gospels provide just because it’s sweet and easier to digest. Let his word hide in your heart so that you may test what you hear in our world today.
There is far too much at stake to be content believing the world is full of kitty-cats only to realize too late we’ve been keeping the company of wolves.
