Church Rot Update... The Diluted Gospel Edition

An epidemic of easy believism...

It seems that everywhere one turns these days, there is another report of woke liberalism, white guilt, and homosexuality taking root in many so-called Christian churches. Lesbian “bishops”, gay weddings, and drag queen story hours for children are just some of the unbiblical things happening in many of these churches.

But even worse, (if that is possible) many churches are watering down the Gospel, leading to an epidemic of easy believism without the need for true repentance.

They may be doing it to increase membership, improve their finances, or worse, they are in serious error about the true Gospel. Whatever it is, they are preaching a diluted Gospel that teaches only that God loves you, that there is endless grace, and that He has a wonderful plan for your life. They teach a diluted Gospel that makes no moral demands on those who “believe in Jesus”. They are teaching what Paul called “another Gospel” in Galatians that promises salvation but offers no eternal security at all.

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a Gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:8, NSAB)

The term “another Gospel” refers to that which adds to, subtracts from, contradicts, or denies the Gospel contained in the Bible.

These “churches” fail to teach that God hates sin and justly punishes sinners. They fail to teach that our God is righteous and cannot and will not tolerate evil. They do not teach that God will not save those who profess only “belief in Him” and continue in unrepentant sin. They do not hear that obedience is necessary.

It is exactly what Satan wants people to believe.

The presentation of the Gospel in many churches has been weakened and cheapened to the point it bears no resemblance to the original biblical message. Judgment is never mentioned, and repentance is never discussed.

Instead, many of them substitute social justice issues and multimedia worship experiences to appeal to Millennials and Gen Z. Slick marketing has replaced the need to know and proclaim the truth. They proclaim that God is love… but that is a half-truth. Yes, God is love, but at the same time, He is a just God… His perfect justice requires payment for sins. Anything else is a false Gospel.

Sadly, this rot is being championed in seminaries. Consider the case of the Duke Divinity School. A report from the Institute on Religion & Democracy has documented that students at the school, affiliated with the United Methodist Church, have held a “Pride” worship service to pray to the “Great Queer One.” One of the event’s speakers claimed God is “mother, father, and parent” and “drag queen, and transman, and gender-fluid.” The speaker, a self-identified transwoman, and first-year student defended gender transition as biblical. It is not Biblical… it is an insult to God's creation and order…. implying He made a mistake.

Really?

This false Gospel taught in some so-called churches leads people to believe all they have to do is claim Jesus as savior without a commitment to obey Him as the Lord of their lives… as they continue to blaspheme and live in rebellion against God.

These churches are not alone… there are also several so-called Christian speakers holding seminars and workshops in churches around the country. They profess only half-truths to tickle the ears of attendees with promises of health, healing, or financial prosperity.

Consider the words of Peter:

“1 But false prophets also appeared among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Many will follow their indecent behavior, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed, they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 1-3 NASB)

Still, others are reluctant to preach the whole Gospel because they think people don’t want to hear it. But a diluted version of the Gospel will not change lives. It only deceives people into thinking they are saved when they are NOT.

Salvation Army founder William Booth spoke somewhat prophetically in the 19th century when he said, “The chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell.”

It looks like Booth got it right... it just took a little longer than he expected.