In the opening of Galatians....

In the opening of Galatians, the Apostle Paul warns believers of the danger of listening to a false Gospel. He reminds us there is no other Gospel; only the true Gospel and, in his words, other "perverted Gospels."

Examine your Church and its teachings carefully. If it has added onto the Gospel taught by Christ and the original Apostles in their Epistles, as to what the means to salvation is, what the nature of God is (saying it is other than the Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), or claims to know the origin of God (for the Bible only teaches that God is eternal and ever was) then your "church" teaches a perverted Gospel that cannot save you.

Some "churches" teach you must do works to be saved; if you do "all you can, then God will step in and do the rest." That is a false teaching, for we can do nothing to save ourselves except believe in Christ and cling to the Cross. We do works later as Christians not to save ourselves, but out of love of God and our fellow man. Ephesians tells us we are saved by faith alone, and not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8)

Some "churches" teach that the Trinity is false, or that Christ was fully man and not divine until death. Remember, Christ is the "Word" and the Gospel of John teaches us that the Word was with God from the beginning, and all things were made through Him. (John 1:1-2)

Some "churches" teach that God's origin is known, that God is somehow finite, in that He has a beginning ...but if God is finite, then He is not God. The Bible teaches us God ever was, and is. (There are many verses on this, but 1 Timothy 1:17 describes God as immortal, and John 1:1 again tells us that from the beginning there was God.) There was no process by which God became God, He always was God, and always will be. A church that teaches otherwise does not teach true Christian theology.

There are also churches and denominations, while attempting to hold onto the Gospel message, seek to make it exclusive to their branch of Christianity. Christ called His believers to be unified, yet we have scattered into many camps. Denominations do not hold the key to attaining eternal life, they only provide a method of worship one is comfortable with. The Gospel of Christ and the Cross provide salvation; what hymns you sing in what order, who preaches and how Sunday School is run is mere organizational form. Dogma and bylaws are not a substitute for the doctrine of the Gospel, and should not be allowed to make one church above another feel it has the key to heaven. Christ alone has the key.

Examine your Church against the Bible. Does it hold onto the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ? Does it preserve the rich heritage of Christian beliefs, creeds and faith? Yes, the Church has weathered its storms, with false teachers and apostate leadership causing splits and splintering along the way, but the Universal Church- the Body of believers that has existed since Christ established His Church- has been there for over 2000 years and is still going strong. That Church is found in believers of every denomination that holds Christ as the key to salvation. That Church holds precious the blood of its martyrs, the sermons of its saints, the wisdom of ages and the zest of new believers.

Hold onto the Gospel, and the love of Christ. That is all that is needed, it is enough for the soul to rest in, and to rejoice in.

-Beth Butler