Theology & Life

Jesus reserved His harshest words for the religious leaders of His day. In a similar fashion, the Apostle Paul did the same regarding those who would dare preach a false gospel.

In Galatians 1:6-9, Paul pens these sobering words to the saints of Galatia: “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. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (ESV‬‬).

Paul pulls no punches when the integrity of the gospel is on the line (and neither should we). If someone preaches a false gospel—an utter distortion of the biblical gospel—then, as Paul wrote, let that person be accursed.

Accursed, which comes from the Greek word anathema. Damned to Hell. Those who peddle a false gospel—barring repentance and faith—are headed for Hell. We can agree to disagree on the mode of baptism, how the end times comes about, spiritual gifts, and the like. We cannot agree to disagree, however, on the gospel itself. That’s where we draw the line because that’s where the Apostle Paul and, more importantly, Jesus, drew the line.

There is a laundry list of false gospels that try to steal away our attention from the gospel of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter which false gospel it is—Mormonism, Islam, Roman Catholicism, prosperity, self-help, you name it—at the foundation is a fundamental denial of essential Christian truths, such as salvation by grace through faith, the deity of Jesus, and the Trinity.

What happens is we shy away from using this language in order to not offend. Of course, there’s no need to be bombastic. It’s certainly possibly to be obnoxiously orthodox (just ask any former cage-stage Calvinist). As Francis Schaeffer famously said, “Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world.”

But the point is we should be okay with using the language Paul uses because it’s just that serious.

To preach a false gospel is a damnable offense. If someone preaches a distortion of the biblical gospel—and does not repent and believe—he or she will go to Hell. It may be offensive to some, but it’s not rude or unloving. To call out or expose someone’s false gospel is the epitome of love, as it warns them of the cliff they are on and what they must do to not fall.

Further, we must stand firm on the fact that there are false gospels being preached. Many people, even professing Christians, criticize those who call out false gospels. Like Shai Linne rapped, “The only heresy is saying that there’s heresy.” But just as Paul didn’t mince words, we must not either. Let the person who unrepentantly preaches a false gospel be damned, barring God’s saving grace. God’s glory shines bright in their damnation, as well as in their hopeful repentance.

I don’t mean for this to be overtly negative, but to shine a light of how serious it is, according to Scripture, for someone to preach a false gospel. Let us do our due diligence, exercising caution, to call out those who explicitly teach a false gospel. We shouldn’t do it for its own sake, but to hopefully, and prayerfully, bring false teachers to repentance and to warn those who listen to them.