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

 

Text, Context and Pretext

 

 

Text, context and pretext

Disagreement and getting vexed,

Let’s be simple, not complex,

After this verse move to the next.

 

Flurries, scurries, even stories

Personal agendas and self-glory,

Soap boxes, pulpits and rostrums

Any facility to air their theories.

 

Starting with the Holy Word

But quickly veering off

Cause if it doesn’t fit the agenda

Then it must be scoffed.

 

Observe the gymnastics

Both physical and spiritual,

Charismatic type and emotional hype

Cheered on by gullible people.

 

 

The verse carries the text

While the Word provides the context

Everything is good so far

But this changes with pretext.

 

Pretext comes in different forms

Though a lot of it is personal,

Consider too this other usage

The sectarian or denominational.

 

“O I know the Bible says,”

But the doctrine says otherwise

And if you look very carefully,

There's the cleverly concealed disguise.

 

A need to change the Word as is-

It doesn’t fit in with today,

Back then the culture was different

It was a totally different way.

 

Clearly God could not have known

How things would come to be

So we must draw this to His attention

And hope that He would see.

Text, context and pretext

With pretext holding sway,

Mixing the literal with the figurative

And coming up with my own way.

 

Yes, pretext suits me very well

I could comfortably live with that,

It is not exactly in the text

But grey could pass for black.

 

So many verses are misused,

Bearing a bent to men’s traditions,

Pretext more appealing than context

Brings a more acceptable rendition.

 

Every text is within a context

And is corroborated in the Word,

Pretext plays absolutely no part

Neither anything we have heard.

 

The Word can speak for itself

The Holy Spirit assures us,

Throughout the pages of Holy Writ

The focus is always Jesus

 

The Living Word and the written

There’s absolutely no conflict,

Pretext might be your desire

But the Word you should not edit.

 

 

Take the Word as it’s written

It’s God breathed; by now you know,

God can never make an error

I’m sure you know this is so.

 

Go with its text and context

Get rid of learned or induced pretext,

Regardless of sect or denomination

Be faithful to the biblical text.

 

Stewart Russell © February 2019