Here are some gospels being offered by the church in our day.

1. God helps those who help themselves.
2. Just be better than the people around you and you’ll be fine.
3. Follow Jesus and fly first class, get your speeding tickets dismissed, and have your retirement account grow more than the S&P 500. No problems. No worries. That is Jesus’ promise.
4. It really doesn’t matter what you believe. All roads of faith lead to the same place.

Any church which promotes any part of these gospels are leading people astray. They are not to be trusted with your lives. Your belonging will not lead to the eternal places but the temporal ones.

Let me suggest that your gospel needs to:

A. Be for all people at all times and all places. Not just inclusive but encompassing.
B. Must address evil in the world, and in our individual lives. There is a wrath to come and if it is ignored is not good news but a placebo or a numbing instrument that allows humanity to creep closer to destruction not salvation. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling of the just God we serve.
C. Must far exceed your ability to earn, your imagination to vision, or even your willingness to make happen.
D. Must cost the insiders so that the outsiders have a chance. In other words, it must cost God everything and you something too.