The Gospel "Plus"

The central focus of the Bible is the gospel. The Old Testament is a precursor and demonstrates fallen man would need a substitutionary atonement. It also points to the coming incarnation of God in Christ Jesus. The New Testament gives us a picture of the incarnation, life, death, burial and resurrection. It also instructs us on how the early church was formed and developed. Then finally in the epistles there is much instruction given for Christians and churches.

It would be a foregone conclusion since the gospel is the central theme of the Bible, that it should be the central theme of any church, individual’s life, or organization. Seems quite elementary, right? But apparently, it isn't as easy as it appears, and neither does this seem to be adhered to. Many well-meaning people miss the mark on this crucial staple of living and relating to God, including myself.

I was a part of a group of churches for 16 years. During this time, I experienced what I refer to as The Gospel Plus. What do I mean by that? I am referring to any teaching, influence, or inuendo relating to how we practice living our lives insinuating this addition to the gospel makes us acceptable to God. We are all prone to it. But this group of churches was far overreaching with these tendencies. Nothing was blatantly talked about by leaders or spoken from the pulpit. It came through in various subtle ways. Churches and their leaders can promote a certain practice that can make one feel as if they need to adopt this practice in order to fit in.

Whether it's home schooling, adopting a certain form of courtship for your teens, or feeling like you need to agree with certain theology that is not essential, can all lead to internal pressure to conform. Let me first say that any of these things mentioned above are very commendable and seen as biblical. This is not the issue. It shouldn't matter whether you have your children in public school or think that dating is the way to go. Every other doctrine or Christian practice should be non-essential for being included. Or more importantly, acceptable to God. The problem lies when people feel they need to practice these things in order to fit in. This translates to a performance-based pressure that can change our view about God himself. After all, if we are not acceptable in our church it may stand to reason we are not acceptable to God.

At this point, I need to confess my own culpability. While I was a leader in the group of churches I mentioned, I followed suit making some feel they needed to tow the line as well. And what about my family? They were raised in an atmosphere of performance. After all, if their dad didn’t perform by having his family in line with The Gospel Plus, (or he would be disciplined. That’s another story) then they felt the pressure too. For this I am deeply sorry to anyone who felt pressured to perform. I wish I could go back and change things.

This error is not isolated to my experience or this group of churches. I believe most churches have succumbed to this one way or another. Not to mention individual Christians who may be weak in their faith. Even for some of the most mature Christians, this can be a great struggle. Especially after coming out of a period of not so godly living or struggle. The thinking is, “how can I possibly return to God until I clean myself first?” The enemy has a field day with people like this. Does any of this ring a bell to you? I know it does for me after 43 years since my conversion.

I cannot begin to tell you what this can do to people. It is probably the main reason why people struggle with guilt, condemnation, and fall away from the faith. It produces a performance-based lifestyle that can never be satisfied.

But how do you know this type of subtle and indirect teaching gets into a church? Look at your leaders. Do they have anything in common as far as practice is concerned? Such as, do they all homeschool their children? Do they all practice courtship in a certain way? Or maybe we can look at it another way. Would anyone be able to aspire to be a leader if they didn't practice homeschooling or courtship? Or what about being a member? Do you need to believe certain things or mold into the “norm” to feel welcomed? These few examples may not be resonating with you. But what is consistent with your church or denomination?

At this point I need to clarify something. There is no perfect church or leader. Even the best churches and most godly leaders can be prone to this. The last thing I want to do is have you question your leaders or God's placing you in the church where you are. But at the same time, independent thinking can be very helpful at times.

Let me talk about this on a broader scale. It doesn't matter what denomination, group of churches or Christian ministry you are a part of. They all seem to have their idiosyncrasies. I think you would agree that each denomination is very different from how they practice Christian living from the next. Diversity and acceptance are a good thing. But if you must act like a Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic, Mennonite, and on it goes, in order to feel accepted, then we need to stop and consider some things. The “us and them” mentality is not only prevalent among denominations, but can be the flavor of leaders toward their constituents.

The only thing that we should hold in common together by any church related ministry is the gospel. If anything else seems to be necessary in order to aspire to responsibility, or be acceptable to the group that you associate with, then this is the gospel plus. Because ultimately this type of atmosphere will take a root in people’s hearts. They may associate their acceptability and justification before God as being performance based as well.

Let me clarify another thing. I am not referring to theological distinctions between denominations. Each denomination has their own understanding of theology and it's a good thing. It's when a certain understanding of theology is being taught to practice your life in a certain way that can lead to these implications. For example, one group may have a Calvinist understanding of salvation and another may concur with an Armenian approach. There is nothing wrong with these distinctions. The problem lies when someone feels an underlying pressure to conform in order to fit in or be seen as a mature Christian. At this point, one shouldn’t minimize the perception if the group is primarily Calvinistic, and you hold to an Armenian view. I have seen this phenomenon firsthand where one looks down its nose at the other. Obviously, you’re immature if you don’t hold to our teaching on Soteriology. When individuals are treated this way, it forms in them gospel plus baggage which they tow along like a ball and chain before the throne of God.

This writing is in no way minimizing the need for sanctification. I think we would all be a better off if most of us would pursue holiness and sanctification. Don't you agree? But it's when any of these fine teachings on practicing biblical truths get intermingled with the gospel where we go astray. This is where the damage is done.

The main reason I have written these things is because I would like to remind people that our fellowship should be based solely on the gospel. There are no other requirements. I've spent 16 years in a ministry under the heavy burden of performance. I know this transferred to my family as well. It caused many good Christians to struggle greatly and feel they will never be acceptable to both God and man. More concerning, it has shipwrecked some. My hope is we all understand that while there can be distinctions between denominations, ministries, etc., we can never allow those practices define us before God.

If you have been struggling with guilt for something you have done, or a period that wasn't so godly for you, be free! Why do you think you needed a Savior in the first place? Your salvation and acceptability must be based solely on Jesus Christ and him crucified and nothing else. Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross, burial, resurrection, and now being seated at the right hand of God is the only thing you need to be acceptable before God almighty. The risen Christ now stands as The Great Mediator between God and man! Let this relieve your troubled soul. Let this be an open door and invitation back to Jesus and find the joy of your salvation once again.