Gospel Perversion.

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel: which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Gal 1:6-7)

How does one “pervert the gospel of Christ”? Knowing the Greek word for the verb “pervert” can be translated “turn around,” a perverted gospel is a turned-around gospel. It is a gospel which turns the focus away from Jesus plus nothing to Jesus plus something which causes a person's trust to be in something other than Jesus or Jesus plus something else.

How is the "gospel of Christ"...the "Gospel of Grace"...perverted?

Though many preach it as the gospel...a "perverted gospel" is NO GOSPEL AT ALL...because it is a distraction from the "gospel of Christ" and His finished work on the cross validated by His resurrection.

Some perversions that are added as pluses to the "gospel of Christ" that perverts it are:

Grace Butting...I believe in grace "but", there is a human part that we must perform by our human effort. Grace "but"...is a human effort performance-based gospel that turns your focus away from Christ thus, is a perverted gospel. "Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Gal. 3:3)

Tradition Worshiping...Our fore-fathers believed it this way since the beginning because it was the right way, therefore it is the right way now. Is it possible that the way our fore-fathers believed was wrong? "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Col 2:8).

Deceptiveness of Deceptive Deception....Do good to be good. I am basically a good person, at least I am better than so and so who claims to be a Christian. Our goodness falls far short of God's goodness, what matters is whose righteousness we are wearing...our own self-righteousness or His righteousness. Again (Col. 2:8).

Law and Rule Keeping...Doing the do's and not doing the don'ts. Col. 2:21-23, 2 Cor. 3:7.

Sin Consciousness. God’s grace is greater than your sin. If you are more conscious of your sin than you are of his righteousness, it is believing that the payment of Jesus Christ was insufficient. His worth is greater than your unworthiness! (Heb. 10: 2 and 22.)

These things may sound good and sound right, so what is wrong with them? Simply put, they move our focus from Christ's accomplishment to something else and diminishes our faith and trust in Him. The more we trust in our own good works the less trust we place in His finished work.

These things are weights that easily beset us. They can’t save us because they are based on “worldly principles rather than Christ” (Col 2:8).

We have died to such things (Col 2:20). They have no value for us.

“The only thing that counts is grace faith expressing itself through love in grace living” (Gal 5:6).