What the Gospel Is Not

 

 

The Gospel is not legalism;

It is not the Law

And this of course does not mean

The Law had a flaw.

 

The Law was a precursor

To point us to Christ:

The central figure of the Gospel

And his sacrifice.

 

It is not antinomianism;

It is not anti-Law:

It regulates our moral conscience

On which we must draw.

 

It is not Sabbath keeping

As some seem to think

And neither is it a particular diet

That we eat and drink.

 

It is not going to church

By which some set store

Or even a particular denomination

As we hear the more.

 

It is not sectarian

Steeped in men’s tradition:

Forbidding this and forbidding that

As a means of salvation.

 

The Gospel is not tithing

Or sacrificial giving,

Neither is it abundant prosperity

Nor modest living.

 

It is not prayer and fast

Or missing a staple

Or stipulating a particular time

For them that are able.

 

It is not abstention

From meats or shell fish

Or in the case of liberated saints,

Eating what you wish.

 

It is not doing miracles

Or speaking in tongues

Or even prophesying the future

To an eager throng.

 

 

 

It is not saying out loud

A set sinner’s prayer

Neither is it one’s sacrificial giving

To give another care.

 

It is not the altar call

After a preacher’s homily,

With threats of raging hell fire

For all eternity.

 

It is not Bible study

Or scheduled prayer time,

It is not even as some may think,

Having a pure mind.

 

It is not water baptism:

Sprinkle or immersed

And it is not reciting catechisms

That one rehearsed.

 

It is not confession

Made to a Catholic priest

And it is certainly not the keeping

Of Jewish feasts.

 

It is not doing penance

Or keeping sacraments,

It’s not abstention from eating meats

With sincere intent.

 

It is not righteous living

Without fear or doubt

And it is not knowing the Scriptures

From inside out.

 

It’s not an eschatology

Regarding Christ’s return,

Neither preterist, futurist or idealist

Or any other learned.

 

 

 

None of the above

Is the Gospel of Christ,

Keeping any one or all of them

Will never ever suffice.

 

In and of themselves

These things are not bad

But the Gospel is not what we do

Or feelings we’ve had.

 

The Gospel is Jesus Christ,

His person and his work

And not a list of “dos and don’ts”

Or joining a church.

 

Stewart Russell © October 23, 2025