Three Subtle Ways Satan Distorts the Presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

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The Gospel can't be destroyed because it's the truth of the Word of God. If Satan can't destroy the Gospel, there are other ways he can make sure people don't get hold of it. According to the Anglican preacher J.C. Ryle, these are by addition, subtraction or substitution to present a wrong picture of the Gospel. When you get the Gospel wrong then you're pretty much wrong on everything.

I. ) Adding something to the Gospel

The declaration of the Bible is that salvation is by faith alone. Satan can deceitfully work against that truth by adding works, sacraments or extra mediators to the Gospel. Here are a few examples one can observe:

  • Conditional security requires that every saved person must do good works to stay saved rather than declare that good works is the inevitable result of being saved.
  • The Roman Catholic system adds Mary the mother of Jesus as a co-Mediator with Jesus that all must pass through her first before they can enter Jesus. It has woefully misquoted John 2:1-11 to say one must pass through Mary before they can go to Jesus. They have also added good works and sacraments as requirements for salvation rather than requirements for sanctification of the believer. 
  • Many pseudo-Christian cults aside from Roman Catholicism add church membership, good works and rituals to gaining and/or maintaining salvation. Many of these churches under an executive minister say nobody can get saved without church membership in their group.

II.) Subtracting something from the Gospel

Another danger is subtracting from the Gospel. While it's true that salvation is by faith alone but it is not by a faith that is alone. Here are a few examples of what has been subtracted from the Gospel:

  • Repentance as part of salvation is removed. Many think today that repentance of sins means forsaking them. A Christian forsakes sin because they've already repented of it. Repent in the Greek is metanoneia which means a change of mind which begets a change in purpose. Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3 and Luke 24:47 all emphasize repentance of sins.
  • Salvation from sin is not emphasized. Instead, many teach today that you're just saved from Hell and the consequences of sin but not from sin itself. Then what about Matthew 1:21 where the angel Gabriel says that Jesus came to save people from their sins? Salvation has always been delivering people from sin and Hell, not just sin itself. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says that salvation changes one's life from wickedness to righteousness. Titus 2:11-14 emphasizes that God's grace changes the believer to a life of righteousness. Ephesians 2:8-10 emphasizes Christianity doesn't only save people by God's grace but also equip them unto good works. 
  • Many don't preach the Law as it should be preached to people as they are as it is today. Three of Ray Comfort's videos called, "True and False Conversion", "Hell's Best Kept Secret" and "Revival's Golden Key" contain the bitter truth about what watered down preaching ends up with. Many today have a very watered down presentation of the Gospel resulting to false conversions. All three videos presented the ugly truth how many times the Law is removed from preaching the Gospel. Galatians 3:24 and Romans 3:19 emphasizes the importance of the Law in showing people their sin. Today, many people take the shortcut method which is a surefire guarantee that a lot of people will become false converts. No wonder some Baptist churches today have become cults instead of Christian churches.

III.) Substituting something for the Gospel or a fundamental truth in the Gospel

Then we have the problem of substitution. There are many "substitutes" to the Gospel today. Here are a few examples of what's being substituted for the Gospel or in the Gospel:

  • The prosperity gospel substitutes the whole reason why Jesus came to save people. Matthew 1:21 said Jesus came to save people from their sins not from their problems or to give them a happy, healthy and wealthy life all the time. But by substituting the reason why Jesus came to save people presents another Jesus.
  • Roman Catholicism has now substituted the Gospel of Jesus Christ with salvation by good works. They say anybody now can enter Heaven if they're good enough by human standards. Pope Francis has repeatedly validated that statement when he said atheists, Muslims, Jews, etc. can enter Heaven if they just live a good life. That's a lie straight from the pits of Hell. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI affirmed the same heresy. 

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