FAQs Mondays: Is It Possible to Lose the Gospel?

"You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach it to others" (2 Tim. 2:1-2, HCSB). 

Is it possible for a church to lose the gospel?

The simple answer to the question is yes. A church (or denomination) can lose the gospel. As Paul urged Timothy, we need to be strong in Word and pass it on to faithful men who will ably teach it to others. There are several ways that a church could lose the gospel, but the process is generally the same.  Mack Stiles in his book, Marks of the Messenger, describes the lose of the gospel in four stages (page 40):

• The gospel is accepted.
• The gospel is assumed.
• The gospel is confused.
• The gospel is lost.

In the initial stage, people hear and respond to the gospel. However, the transmission process breaks down, and they begin to assume everyone already knows it. Without a clear and continual explanation of the gospel, people get confused as what the gospel is all about. Finally, anything can pass as the gospel because the term loses all meaning.  Thus, the gospel is lost.

Paul's letter to the Galatians address this very issue. The church, although founded by Paul, replaced the gospel of grace with a gospel of legalism. Paul said their new "gospel" was not a true gospel, but a damnable false teaching.

It doesn't take long for a church to lose the gospel. It begins with the assumption that everyone believes and understands the gospel. Stiles says, "An assumed gospel leaves the gospel unspoken and implicit" (Marks of the Messenger, 40). Thus, the church has the duty to speak the gospel clearly, frequently, and explicitly.

Now we are left with the question, "What is the gospel?"  That is the question we will address next week. How would you define the gospel? Leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.