When cultural movements begin redefining truth, Christians must hold firmly to the unchanging message of Jesus Christ
When I taught Essential Christianity at Evangel University, I would have discussions with my students about the issues of the day. Over the past several years, racial justice was often one of the primary issues they wanted to talk about. They wanted to know, “What does the Bible have to say about this?”
But it wasn’t just racial justice. We talked about homosexuality, abortion, gender and sexuality, and other cultural issues. And what I saw in many of these young Christians wasn’t necessarily rebellion against their faith. They were trying to figure out how to fit what the world was telling them spirituality and Christians should focus on into the truth of what they believed as Christian young people.
I think this is exactly why Paul addressed the church in Galatia when he wrote:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in 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.” Galatians 1:6–7 NIV
Paul’s warning was clear. Not everything presented as good, righteous, compassionate, or even spiritual is the Gospel. There is only one Gospel.
The Gospel is that we are sinners separated from a holy God. But God loved us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins and rose again. Through Christ, we can be forgiven, reconciled to God, and given eternal life. As Scripture teaches, if we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved.
That is the Gospel, and it is important that we do not get sidetracked from the real Gospel.
Here’s what I have realized. Some people are presenting a different gospel, what I would call the “social justice gospel.” And that gospel tends to focus heavily on three things: 1. racial justice, 2. the right for women to choose, which is abortion, and 3. the advancement of the LGBTQ agenda, which includes the whole transgender issue. But Paul warned us almost 2,000 years ago about turning to a different gospel, “which is really no gospel at all.”
I saw this especially during the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. I get it. Racial justice is a good thing. We all want racial justice, and God wants justice. Our young people heard that message, recognized something good in it, and embraced it. But along with that one good thing, they were also being handed two poisonous pills.
The first was the right for women to choose, which is abortion. The second was the advancement of the LGBTQ agenda, including the transgender movement. Those things do not fit into the Gospel of Jesus Christ at all, and that is why we have to reject the social justice gospel altogether.
We cannot allow the world to take something good, attach things to it that contradict Scripture, wrap the entire package in words like justice, compassion, equality, and love, and then tell Christians that we must accept all of it. We don’t. Our standard is not what the culture tells us Christians should care about. Our standard is the Word of God.
This is especially important for our young people. They are constantly being told what a “good Christian” should believe, what a “loving Christian” should affirm, and what a “compassionate Christian” should support. But our job is not to make the Gospel fit the culture. Our job is to make sure our beliefs fit the Gospel.
Paul’s warning to the Galatians is still a warning to us today. There will always be people trying to add something to the Gospel, subtract something from it, or reshape it to fit the values of the culture.
But Paul’s words are unmistakable. When we turn from the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a different gospel, he says it is “really no gospel at all.”
So be careful what the culture asks you to accept in the name of justice. Be careful what you are told you must affirm in the name of compassion. And be careful when cultural causes begin replacing the message of sin, repentance, forgiveness, the cross, and salvation through Jesus Christ.
There is only one Gospel.
We were sinners separated from a holy God. Jesus came. Jesus died. Jesus rose again. And through Him, we can be forgiven, reconciled to God, and given eternal life.
Everything else must be measured against that truth.
And if it contradicts the Gospel, reject it.
Alex Bryant is a pastor, author, and speaker who writes about race, faith, and culture in America.
