My concern is to avoid a polluted and compromised gospel that turns people away from Christ or worse, inoculates them against the true gospel with cheap grace.\u00a0\u00a0Your letter<\/a> most likely triggered a reaction in me because I am right now driven to seek God for answers about some disturbing things around me in church and my own life. I’ll try and articulate it a bit if you can see what I feel distressed by.<\/p>\n Out there in the world of church and Christianity, there seem to be two camps.\u00a0 The first camp is those in the grace camp.\u00a0 Many of their ideas are biblical in that it’s true that we are saved by grace alone through faith in Christ.\u00a0 However, it seems to take on several disturbing shapes beyond that.\u00a0 It begins in the Spirit perhaps but somehow ends up in the flesh. Folks in this camp may tend to regard anyone who insists on actually doing the Bible as sadly bound by legalism and not enjoying freedom in Christ, especially in the thornier areas like submission and restrictions of women’s roles and the husband’s leadership. Women nowadays, even in the church, wear the pants and are just as lacking in discretion as worldly women are. Perhaps the most obvious thing I’ve noted that worries me is that there is no discernment.\u00a0 As the emphasis on freedom, grace, and the gifts of the Spirit increase, this seems to translate into selective obedience and wholesale acceptance of any spiritual experience or supernatural experience being of God. Some of what people describe as hearing from God sounds like having a spirit guide. I firmly believe His sheep hear His voice, but there are many deceiving spirits too. There are exceptions of course, in that there are grace-oriented, charismatic churches with genuine gifts, but there are also many who water down the gospel, de-emphasize the seriousness of sin, cheapen repentance, using gimmicks instead trust the Holy Spirit to do His convicting work.<\/p>\n The other camp I’d describe as those who are taking a back to the Bible, insistence on pure theology approach. These are the ones hanging on tightly to the purest doctrine they can find, perhaps as a desperate reaction against the infiltration of impurity and deception into the church.\u00a0 The only way they know to stay safe from deception is to refuse to compromise on what they believe to be solid doctrine (with good reason too). They are fed up with how the banner of grace has been used as a Trojan horse to usher in all kinds of compromise and falsehood, doctrinal error, etc. and they have had it with that whole kettle of fish! They seem to gravitate toward the old fashioned church where all the men wear suits and ties and all the women hats, dresses and gloves and conformity is taken to be unity.\u00a0 Many of these have seriously valid concerns and points.\u00a0 Where is righteousness?\u00a0 If one is genuinely saved, why is there no holiness and no distinction from the world?\u00a0 At the same time, one wonders if the way they are going about trying to correct the problem is of God, why is there so little love and so little power included in the package?\u00a0 Many of the folks I’ve known who are part of this life are rigid, severe, and not very joyful. They know how to correct, punish, and rebuke, how to rip off other people’s masks but not how to love, how to bear long, or how to show uncommon grace and mercy. They are determined to hold the fort against the world and not get dragged along into deception and hell with it. Hmm. The thing is, society worked well when the boundaries were clear and everyone knew their place in it. And the flesh is enmity to God and the things of God. Do we react negatively to this because it is, as some say, legalism, oppression, a religious spirit, or is it because we are so comfortable in the flesh that we don’t recognize that this may be where our distaste for clear order is coming from?\u00a0 Perhaps this is why strong doctrine is offensive?<\/p>\n Perhaps you can sense my confusion as I seek to find the truth amidst all the stuff going on; it is really at times, depressing. I fear that a counterfeit gospel has invaded the church and slowly unraveled its solid underpinnings. My reading of church history indicates that repentance was a work of the Holy Spirit that produced a measurable change in a person’s life.\u00a0 Else the Word wouldn’t say that we could test ourselves and see if we are in the faith. I find it interesting that now in the church, one may merely put up their hand and ‘receive Christ as your personal Lord and Savior,” while in times past, people tarried before the Lord while seeking salvation, and afterward, there wasn’t a whole lot of doubting about whether or not one was saved.\u00a0 I’m also familiar with the expression “Picking green fruit” and have experienced a similar version to the race to the finish line brand of getting folks saved in my own introduction to Christianity.\u00a0 Some folks seem to be spiritual scalp collectors and want that validation of their faith and witness so bad that they violate the work of the Holy Spirit in the person’s life by rushing ahead of God and trying to manipulate, bribe, or even coerce a person into making a premature declaration of faith.\u00a0 (I have my own name for it; I call it “Cattle Ramp Evangelism” – who cares how they get there, just herd them in the right direction by any means fair or foul) Our pastor wants to bring in a martial arts program as an outreach. To me, this is a radical departure from truth. Martial arts is a pagan practice rooted in Zen Buddhism among other things.\u00a0 He thinks we can just do the exercises and that will be fine. Since when do we need pagan practices as outreach?\u00a0 What of the Holy Spirit?\u00a0 Wasn’t that His job?<\/p>\n\t I believe I understand your concerns. If you wouldn’t mind taking the time, let me recommend the articles “Jesus: Intolerant, Confrontational, and Exclusionary<\/a>” and “Legalism: The Un-Sin<\/a>.” What happens is that people over time tend to simplify their views. They focus on just one aspect of Christianity to the point they lose sight of what Christianity really is. Then there is the drive to bring as many into the church as possible. Again it becomes a nearly exclusive focus, so that truth is ignored if someone won’t come because it is there.<\/p>\n Though you are trying hard not to fall into that trap, it does color your thinking. For example, you mentioned that salvation is by grace alone through faith. Do you realize that isn’t stated in the Bible? In fact, the statement is self-contradictory. How can salvation be by grace alone<\/em>\u00a0if it must be accompanied by faith? The verse that it is roughly based on (Ephesians 2:8) does not include the word “alone.” And if you sat down with your Bible and wrote down everything God connects to salvation, you will find that salvation is by no one thing alone. Take a look at: “What Saves a Person?<\/a>“<\/p>\n Another problem I’ve noticed is that people tend to confuse the showiness of emotional displays for love. But when you read the description of love in I Corinthians 13:4-8 there is nothing showy or overly emotional in the description. Here are two more articles to consider: “Who is Closer to God?<\/a>” and “The Deceitful Heart<\/a>.” The question is who is in the driver seat. Do the emotions drive the worship or does the worship drive the emotions?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: My concern is to avoid a polluted and compromised gospel that turns people away from Christ or worse, inoculates them against the true gospel with cheap grace.\u00a0\u00a0Your letter most likely triggered a reaction in me because I am right now driven to seek God for answers about some disturbing things around me in church…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[78,48,177],"class_list":["post-26880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-authority","tag-grace","tag-law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39268,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-there-different-gospels\/","url_meta":{"origin":26880,"position":0},"title":"Are there different gospels?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have been seeing more and more about the Kingdom Gospel vs the Gospel of Grace. Dispensationalism is becoming very popular on YouTube, and people are actually turning toward this teaching. I have seen comments that the churches of Christ intertwine the kingdom gospel and the grace gospel.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56607,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-grace-of-god-that-brings-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":26880,"position":1},"title":"The Grace of God that Brings Salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 3, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Irvin Himmel via\u00a0Truth Magazine, December 1973 Nothing is more clearly revealed in the Scriptures than our dependence on God's grace for redemption. Paul said to the saints in Ephesus, \"by grace are ye saved\" (Ephesians 2:5). Everyone who is permitted to enter heaven will be there by grace. Today\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31062,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/would-you-explain-hebrews-1310-13\/","url_meta":{"origin":26880,"position":2},"title":"Would you explain Hebrews 13:10-13?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm having a little trouble trying to wrap my mind around what Hebrews 13:10-13 is teaching. What is your understanding of these verses? I really do value your observations and commentary. Answer: I'm going to expand the range just a little bit so we get a complete thought: \"Do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90842,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/mixing-the-law-of-moses-and-the-gospel-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":26880,"position":3},"title":"Mixing the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton When brethren at Galatia tried to bring over circumcision from the Law, it was a faith problem. It essentially inferred that the gospel of Jesus is not sufficient without the Law of Moses. It states that Christians are incomplete with Jesus as head over all things\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87285,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-romans-argument\/","url_meta":{"origin":26880,"position":4},"title":"The Romans Argument","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Scripture shows that one of the earliest and potentially most devastating problems faced by God's people in the first century concerns the question of how Jews and Gentiles should relate to one another. After Peter taught Cornelius and his household, some among the Jews demanded answers from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95428,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/grace-and-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":26880,"position":5},"title":"Grace and Truth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bill Boyd After his presidency, Jimmy Carter returned to his home in Plains, Georgia, and taught a Sunday School class at the Maranatha Baptist Church. His book, \"Sources of Strength,\" is a compilation of his Sunday School lessons. He did not condescend to the Bible's contents as one might\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26880\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Answer:<\/h2>\n