Chapter 3 — The True Gospel vs. Another Gospel
If there is one thing that can break or build a soul, it is the gospel — the good news of Jesus. Get the gospel right, and everything in life, death, church, and conscience finds its proper place. Get a different gospel, and you trade living water for a mirage.
Paul’s blunt warning in Galatians 1:6–9 still rings in the ears of every tired, searching soul:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace 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.”
This is not polemical heat for its own sake — it is pastoral emergency lighting. Your eternal posture is at stake.
So let’s do two things: (1) define clearly what the biblical gospel is, and (2) show the common forms of “another gospel” that masquerade as Christianity — including the subtle varieties that arose in Adventism and similar movements. We will then end with pastoral counsel: how to test a gospel and live under the true one.
What is the Gospel? — A precise, biblical definition
The Greek word for gospel is euangelion (εὐαγγέλιον) — literally “good news.” In the New Testament, this “good news” is never a vague optimism; it is historical, forensic, and Christ-centered. The Apostle Paul compresses the gospel into the most concise creed we have in 1 Corinthians 15:3–4:
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”
That short summary contains the core elements:
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The person of the Redeemer: Christ (the Messiah — fully God and fully man).
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The substitutionary act: He died for our sins — substitution, penal satisfaction, atoning death.
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The historical fact: He was buried — death was real and bodily.
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The vindication: He was raised on the third day, resurrection as proof and victory.
Paul elsewhere adds the legal consequence: Christ’s death produces justification (δικαίωσις, dikaiosis) — God’s reckoning of sinners as righteous. Romans 3:21–26 ties the cross to the divine declaration that makes sinners acceptably righteous before God by grace through faith (see Rom. 3:24: “justified by his grace as a gift”).
So the gospel is not “try harder” or “keep these rules,” nor is it merely “be a nice person.” The gospel is a person’s finished work — Christ’s substitutionary death and victorious resurrection — received by faith (πίστις, pistis), not earned by works (ἔργα, erga).
Why the definition matters: the difference between rescue and training
Imagine a man trapped inside a burning house. The fire department comes, rescues him, and carries him out. Is the man’s rescue a training program to teach him to be brave next time? No — rescue is rescue. The man did not earn his escape by demonstrating capacity; he was saved from danger. Then, once safe, he might learn fire safety. That second stage is training, not rescue.
The gospel is rescue — not training. Justification declares a sinner righteous before God on account of Christ’s work alone. Sanctification — the lifelong process of being made holy — is the training, the fruit, the evidence. Confusing these two is a pastoral calamity: it turns rescue into a system where people eternally strive to “qualify” for what Christ has already purchased.
Paul addresses this confusion head-on in Galatians. He rebukes those who would add requirements to the rescue: legal obligations, ritual marks, or ethical formulas — all turned into conditions for being “in.” He knows that if justification requires human works, Christ died for nothing (Gal. 2:21).
“Another Gospel”: forms and how they deceive
Paul doesn’t leave us guessing about what “another gospel” looks like. It usually follows one or more of these patterns:
A. Works-Added Gospels (Legalism)
This is the classic: “Believe + do X” where X can be keeping a Sabbath, earthly observance, special diet, joining a denomination, or performing rituals. The mechanics change, but the structure is the same: grace is supplemented by human obedience as a requirement for right standing with God.
Why it deceives: It uses Christian words (faith, Jesus, salvation) but functions like a contractual system — your faith is valid only if you also meet requirement X. The result is anxiety, pride, and performance-driven religion.
Key texts: Galatians 1:6–9; Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:20–28.
B. Ritualism and Symbolism Elevated to Salvific Status
This is where an ordinance, color, day, or dietary law originally given as part of a covenantal system becomes the test of loyalty and salvation. The ritual becomes the seal of God’s favor rather than a sign within a specific covenant community.
Why it deceives: It mistakes covenantal signs (intended for Israel) as universal soteriological gates. The New Testament reframes covenant-signs around Christ: baptism and the Lord’s Supper point to Christ; the Sabbath was a shadow fulfilled in Christ (Col. 2:16–17).
Key texts: Colossians 2:16–17; Hebrews 8:6–13.
C. Moralism and Self-Righteous Piety
Moralism says, “We will be accepted because we are morally upright.” It encourages outward conformity and substitutes moral observance for heart transformation. Moral achievement becomes the currency of assurance.
Why it deceives: It ignores the Biblical diagnosis of sin (Rom. 3) and the need for redemption. It also often produces hypocrisy and judgmentalism.
Key texts: Romans 3:9–20; Matthew 23 (Jesus vs. the Pharisees).
D. Syncretistic or Occult-tinged Gospels
These are mixtures of Christian language with non-Christian spirituality — spiritualism, mysticism, prosperity teachings, or manipulative “spiritual gifts” that promise sign-based assurance. Spectacle can be mistaken for salvific proof.
Why it deceives: People often trust what they see more than what Scripture says, and signs can harness deep human longing for certainty or power.
Key texts: Matthew 24:24; 2 Peter 2:1–3; 1 John 4:1.
How Adventism can so easily tilt toward “another gospel”
We are not here to wage war on people but to test teachings by Scripture. There are common structural ways in which Adventist emphases can morph into a gospel-addition:
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Sabbath as seal and salvific badge. If Sabbath observance is taught as essential to being in God’s favor, it becomes an addition to Christ. The NT’s consistent move is to re-press the meaning of the covenant in Christ — Sabbath was a sign for Israel pointing to rest in Messiah (Heb. 4; Col. 2:16–17).
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Ellen G. White / extra-biblical authority. When prophetic claims or later writings are positioned as equal to or determinative over Scripture, we shift from sola Scriptura to a dual-source paradigm. The gospel is then interpreted through an extra filter, which can add requirements.
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Investigative judgment and ongoing uncertainty. A theology that keeps people in perpetual doubt about their standing turns assurance into a daily forensic audit. The New Testament gives believers assurance on the basis of Christ’s finished work (Rom. 8:1; Heb. 10:14).
When teaching or practice pressures the sinner to keep or prove a list as the ground of acceptance, that gospel has been altered.
The Mechanics of Justification: careful exegesis
To pierce through confusion, we must grip the language of justification in Paul.
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Imputation (λογίζομαι, logizomai). In Romans 4, Paul teaches that Abraham’s faith was counted (Greek elogisthe) as righteousness. God credits righteousness to the believer on the basis of faith. It is a forensic act.
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Penalty Removed. Romans 3:23–25 describes Christ as the propitiation — the means by which God’s righteous wrath is satisfied and mercy is shown.
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Faith, Not Works. Romans 4:5: “To the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” The contrast is stark: “does not work” vs. “believes.”
Important nuance: Paul’s condemnation is not of moral striving but of legalistic systems that claim merit before God. He is not teaching that good works are worthless. Rather, he insists that works do not form the basis for God’s justifying verdict.
James and Paul: Are they contradicting? No — complementary.
Some argue that Paul’s “faith alone” conflicts with James’ “faith without works is dead” (James 2:14–26). But careful exegesis shows unity:
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Paul speaks of how one is declared righteous before God (justification, forensic).
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James speaks of how true faith is demonstrated (Sanctification, evidence, practical).
In other words, justification is by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone — it produces works. A living tree bears fruit; a dead stump does not. Paul expects good works as the fruit of justification (Eph. 2:8–10), and James insists that a claimed faith with no moral fruit is not genuine faith.
Would you prefer a faith that saves you but does not change you — or a faith that both saves and transforms? Which one is truly the gospel?
Assurance and the tests of true faith
If justification is by faith in Christ alone, how do we know we truly have that faith? The New Testament gives several tests:
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Love. 1 John 4 and 2: If you love God and neighbor, you have evidence of new birth (1 John 3:14, 4:7–12).
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Perseverance. True believers persevere (Phil. 1:6; Heb. 3:14).
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Repentance. A turning from sin and toward Christ (Acts 2:38; 1 John 1:9).
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Fruit. Good works and holiness increase (Gal. 5:22–23; Eph. 4:1–3).
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Confession of Christ. Open confession of Jesus as Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9–10).
None of these is “earning” salvation; they are the Spirit’s signature on the life redeemed by Christ.
8. Truth without terror; grace without license
A believer must say both of these true things:
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You are saved by grace through faith, and there is nothing you can add to Christ’s work to make it more effective. (Eph. 2:8–9; Rom. 3:24.)
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You are called to holiness and good works as evidence of that salvation — not to earn it, but because you have been given new motives and new power. (Titus 2:11–14; Eph. 2:10.)
The danger is always in the extremes. Legalism terrifies and exhausts. Antinomianism excuses sin and creates licentiousness. The gospel holds both conviction and consolation: we are simultaneously forgiven and being formed.
How to test a gospel in practice (a practical checklist)
When you hear preaching or read materials, run them through this sober litmus test:
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Is Christ glorified as the sole ground of salvation? If X (Sabbath, diet, baptism, membership) is required in addition to Christ, that’s a red flag.
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Is the gospel described as finished (what Christ did) or ongoing (what you must keep doing to remain in)? The former is biblical; the latter veers into another gospel.
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Does the teaching lead to peace and assurance or to fear and ongoing condemnation? Scripture creates assurance rooted in Christ’s work, not perpetual anxiety.
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Are good works presented as fruit (evidence) rather than as conditions? Healthy teaching stresses obedience as a response, not as a prerequisite.
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Does the teaching submit to the full counsel of Scripture (sola Scriptura), or does it require extra-biblical sources to complete it? Be wary of “prophetic” authorities that become an interpretive governor over Scripture.
Pastoral counsel for Former or Questioning Adventists
You have likely been told you must add something to Christ — or you have absorbed habits that make you live like you must. Pastoral counsel:
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Recenter on the cross. Spend time with the apostolic gospel texts: 1 Corinthians 15; Romans 3–5; Galatians 1–3; Ephesians 1–2.
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Be patient with your soul. Leaving a religion’s scaffolding means your conscience will scream. Grace speaks gently: You are accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6).
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Practice the marks of saving faith. Confess, repent, receive communion, and join a gospel-centered local church that preaches Christ, not rules.
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Explain with grace to loved ones. You will need courage. Frame your leaving as “moving to Christ, not abandoning people.”
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Guard against reactionary extremes. Some people leave legalism and swing to libertinism. The gospel’s maturity is freedom that leads to loving obedience.
An analogy — the wedding gift
Picture this: a loving father sends a lavish wedding gift to his son — a paid-for house deed in full. The son receives it by faith and moves in. Now imagine someone tells the son: “Yes, your father gave it, but you must now earn the right to live there by mowing the lawn, paying rent, and doing yearly inspections. Only then will the house be truly yours.”
Ridiculous, right? The gift was given and received; efforts thereafter are responses, not prerequisites. The gospel is the house deed. Good works are mowing the lawn — they are for maintenance and gratitude, not for initial ownership.
Would you reject a free, fully-paid wedding gift because someone demanded conditions after the fact?
Dealing with doubt: practical steps
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Re-immerse in the apostolic gospel. Read Romans, Galatians, and 1 Corinthians slowly and prayerfully.
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Find a gospel-centered church. Join a community that preaches justification by faith and discipleship as a response.
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Talk to a wise pastor or elder who understands your history and can shepherd you away from legalism without being sentimental.
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Practice confession and receive the sacraments as signs of grace, not badges of merit.
Final pastoral exhortation
The true gospel is not complicated: Christ died, Christ rose, and in Him sinners are declared righteous by grace through faith. It is sufficient. It is freeing. It changes lives by changing identities.
To the one who has been taught “Christ + X,” I say plainly: the gospel that saves is not a menu — you do not pick one additional requirement and keep the rest. The gospel is a person and his finished work. If your preaching or conscience pushes you toward salvation-by-performance, put that teaching on the scales against the Bible. Does it weigh in the same balance as Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews? If not, be wary.
Would you trade the finished, sufficient work of Christ for a religion of ongoing proof and performance — and call it peace?
Reflection questions
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When you hear the words “faith” and “works,” which one do you instinctively rely on for assurance? Why?
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Where in your life have rituals or rules taken the place of resting in Christ? How can you reorient that practice as a grateful response instead of a requirement?
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Who can you talk to this week — a mature, gospel-centered pastor or friend — about these questions?
Short prayer
Jesus, You are the Gospel. Cleanse us from any teaching that adds to Your finished work. Give us discernment to see “another gospel” for what it is, and courage to stand on the finished work of the cross. Let our faith be living and our works be the grateful fruit of a heart reconciled to You. Amen.
To be continued in Part 4
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