THE FALSE GOSPEL
OF SALVATION WITHOUT REPENTANCE
A Call for Humble Submission to God
By Gary Ray Branscome
“Shall
we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? Absolutely not! / do
not allow sin to reign in your mortal body” (Romans
The words, “The law is not meant for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless
and rebellious,” tell us that the law is God’s warning to the unrepentant
[the “lawless and rebellious”] (1Timothy 1:9). And, because it is God’s warning
to the unrepentant, when people are unwilling to turn from sin, or admit that
there is anything wrong with their sinful lifestyle, the church must condemn them. Any pastor who portrays God’s
love as God allowing them to sin without punishment is teaching a false gospel.
And, that pastor is condemned by the words, “When I say to the wicked, You will surely die;
but you do not give him that warning, or say anything to warn him to give up
his wicked way… I will require his blood at your hand” (Ezekiel
Many who are hardened in a homosexual
lifestyle will claim that God loves them, and does not condemn their lifestyle.
But His word to all of them is, “Anyone
who claims to know Him, but does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him” (1John 2:4). In saying this I realize that people
who want to do what is right sometimes wind up doing something they regret.
However, those who not only do not
regret their evil behavior but deny that it is evil, and have no desire to
stop doing it are “lawless and
rebellious”. And the words, “He who
does what is sinful is of the devil,” tell us that they are under the
control of Satan (1John 3:8). Moreover, the words “I will condemn you, because you say, I have done nothing wrong,”
tell us that God will condemn them because they deny that there is anything wrong
with their sinful lifestyle (Jeremiah
Following Christ’s Example
Anyone who thinks that the only way to
save someone is to buddy up to them and tell them how much God loves them is
not following Christ’s example. Those who are sorry for their sins and have a
tender conscience before God need assurance of God’s love, but those who are
unrepentant need to be warned of God’s wrath. And, the words, “The law is not meant for a righteous man,
but for those who are lawless and rebellious,” tell us that those who are “lawless and rebellious” are still under
the law, and will continue to be under the law until they cease to be “lawless and rebellious” (1Timothy 1:9).
We see this truth in Christ’s own
example as He dealt with the Pharisees. Consider the fact that Christ never
told the Pharisees that God loved them. The reason that He never told them that
God loved them is because they were unrepentant. If He had told them that God
loved them each of them would have patted himself on the back and replied, “Oh
I am sure He does, because I am such a good person”. That would have only hardened them in sin! He condemned them for
being proud hypocrites because they
were rationalizing their own sins instead of repenting, yet claiming to be
saved. And, that is true today of all who want to be accepted by the church
without giving up their sinful lifestyle. As it is
written, “If we say that we have
fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we are lying, and are not living the
truth” (1John 1:6).
While we have God’s assurance that He “will not despise a heart that is humbled
and sorry for sin” those who are “lawless
and rebellious,” are not “humbled”
and are not “sorry for sin” (Psalm
51:17).
Perverting the Gospel into an Excuse to Sin
A few decades ago I would have found
it difficult to believe that many who call themselves “Christian” have
perverted the Gospel into an excuse to sin. However that false gospel is
widespread! And the words, “If we, or an
angel from heaven, preach any gospel to you other than what we have preached to
you, let him be accursed,” should be a warning to all who follow it
(Galatians 1:8). If those “who despised
Moses’ law died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How
much more severely, do you think a man deserves to be punished, who has
trampled the Son of God under foot, treated the blood of the covenant, by which
he was sanctified, as an unholy thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?”
(Hebrews 10:28-29).
The passage I just quoted not only condemns the
pastors who condone homosexuality, but any “Christians” who have bought into a false Gospel which tells them that they
can live in sin and still be saved. The Bible says, “Walk in the Spirit, and
you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians
The words, “They commit adultery, and walk in lies, they strengthen the hands of
evildoers so that no one repents of his wickedness: all of them are like
The words, “Hear
the word of the LORD… Correct your ways and your doings… Will you… commit
sexual sin, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by
my name, and say, We are safe, only to continue doing these wicked things?”
condemn all who sin sexually and think that God will accept them even though
they have no desire to repent (Jeremiah 7:2-10).
Perverting God’s Promise of Sustaining Grace
The words “The
law is not meant for a righteous man,” tell us that we need to comfort
those who are sorry for their sins and long for God’s forgiveness, not threaten
them with warnings of the Law (1Timothy 1:9). And all who have a repentant
heart before God are “righteous” in
the sight of God because “The blood of
Jesus Christ His Son cleanses” them “of
all sin” (1John 1:7). Just as they need assurance of God’s saving grace,
they need assurance that just as God has saved them by His grace, He will keep
them by His grace. As it is written, you are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation” (1Peter
1:5). That assurance of God’s sustaining grace is an important part of the
gospel. However, because those who are “lawless
and rebellious,” are still under the Law (1Tim. 1:9), God’s message to them
is, “Unless you repent, you will all
perish” (Luke 13:3).
Because the gospel is God’s promise of mercy to all who
repent, while the Law is His warning to the unrepentant: The passages that
assure us of God’s grace (including those that assure us of God’s sustaining
grace) belong to those who repent (those truly saved). In contrast, the
passages that warn us of the danger of falling from grace are God’s warning to
all church members who are unrepentant. God wants those warnings given to the
young man who got his girlfriend pregnant, and when called to account said,
“That is what forgiveness is for”. Or to the young man who when caught being
immoral, said “When I asked Jesus into my heart I was told that no matter what
sin I committed I could not lose salvation”. Or to the woman who tried to
convince other church members to accept her homosexual friend by saying, “We all
sin, my husband and I were not virgins when we got married, and I lie to my
kids all the time”.
I could give other examples, but people who think that
way have created a false gospel in
their minds, and since the Holy Spirit will not lead anyone to believe a false
gospel, they also have a false faith.
God did not include warnings of the
danger of falling away in His Word for Christians to ignore and explain away.
When God moved Paul to write, “I buffet
my body, and bring it under my control: lest there be any way that I, after
having preached to others, might be rejected,” He did so as a warning to
the kind of unrepentant Christians mentioned in the last paragraph. And, people
like that need to be warned of the danger of falling, not told that they can
keep on sinning without ever being condemned. As it is written, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God” (Hebrews
In clarification, let me say that balancing God's
promise of mercy with his warning of wrath is never easy. It may help to think
of God's love for all men (or hatred of the wicked) in terms of actions rather
than emotions. We tend to think of love and hate in terms of our own emotions,
but God is beyond all of that. God loves all men in the sense that He sent
Christ to die for their sins (John
When it comes to the unrepentant, I believe that the real
issue is: Do they really want to be
delivered from their sinful lifestyle, or are they only using the gospel as
an excuse to continue in sin. And, actions speak louder than words. God’s Word tells us to not “associate with
anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral… expel that
wicked man from your congregation (1Corinthians 5:9-13).
Conclusion
I have explained why those who think
that the gospel is just a way of escaping punishment while continuing in sin
have a false gospel. And, the words, “If
we, or an angel from heaven, preach any gospel to you other than what we have
preached to you, let him be accursed,” are God’s command to flee and
condemn every church and church leader that promotes that false gospel
(Galatians 1:8).”
As a warning to all caught up in such
falsehood Jesus says, “Whoever commits
sin is the slave of sin” (John