Counterfeit Gospels

TREVIN WAX (MDiv, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the editor of GospelEPIC, a theologically robust, gospel-centered small group curriculum being developed by LifeWay Christian Resources. He blogs at www.trevinwax.com where he writes book reviews and hosts interviews with leading contemporary theologians and thinkers. He is also author of Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals. Trevin and his wife Corina have two children.

What if the biggest danger to the church of Jesus Christ is not blatant heresy, the moral failures of church leaders, persecution, the rise of Islam or the loss of our rights? What if the biggest threat is counterfeit gospels within the church, ways of thinking and speaking about the good news that lead to a gradual drift from the truth of Scripture?

The gospel is like a three-legged stool. There's the Gospel Story - the grand narrative of Scripture (Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration). Within that overarching framework, we make the Gospel Announcement about Jesus Christ (His perfect life, substitutionary death, resurrection, exaltation). The gospel announcement then births the Gospel Community: God's church - the embodiment of the gospel, the manifestation of God's kingdom. A counterfeit gospel is like a colony of termites, eating away at one of the legs of this stool until the whole thing topples over. This book exposes six common counterfeits (Therapeutic, Judgmentless, Moralist, Quietist, Activist, and Churchless) that would get us off track.

The goal of Counterfeit Gospels is to so deepen our love for the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ that we would easily see through the many counterfeits that leave us impoverished. So come, love the gospel, recognize and overcome the counterfeits, and be empowered for ministry!