Keywords: JUSTIFICATION, FAITH, WORKS
When justification and faith are redefined or denied, the very foundation of the gospel is subverted. The result is not a minor doctrinal disagreement, but the emergence of what Scripture calls “accursed gospels”—counterfeits that rob believers of assurance, inheritance, and present fellowship with God. These errors are not peripheral; they strike at the heart of salvation itself and must be exposed and rejected.
The Truth: Justification by Faith Apart from Works
Justification is not the declaration of your righteousness, but of God’s. It is God’s public vindication of His justice in justifying the ungodly—those who believe in Jesus—apart from the law and apart from works. God is righteous and free to exercise His mercy, making sinners sons and heirs with Christ, not because of their reform or performance, but because of Christ’s finished work.
This is not a technicality. Justification is God’s answer to Satan’s accusation: “How can God be just and reconcile sinners to Himself?” (Make no mistake—Satan is the original moralist.) Paul writes:
“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested… even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe… Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus… to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21-26)
“To him that works NOT but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted to Him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:5)
Justification is a gift that secures not only your eternal destiny, but your present standing before God. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God… because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:1-5)
Because of justification, you have peace with God, you stand in grace, and you possess the Spirit—the very blessing of the gospel (Galatians 3:14). You are “accepted in the Beloved” and “blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3,6). This is your present reality, not a future hope.
The Three Accursed Gospels
Let us be clear about the three primary distortions that masquerade as gospel but are, in fact, accursed.
1. Frontloaded Works Gospel
This is the most blatant denial of justification by faith. It insists that eternal life is earned by works—by law-keeping and moral reform. This is the doctrine of every world religion and of “Christian” groups that reject Paul’s gospel: Hebrew Roots, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and Arminians of the Finney variety.
Here, believing the gospel does not save. Salvation can be lost. Eternal life is not eternal. The door to life is closed to faith and opened only to those who can prove themselves by their performance. The result is the utter loss of assurance and eternal security. If you accept this gospel, you forfeit the very peace and standing Christ purchased for you.
2. Backloaded Works Gospel
This error is more subtle and therefore more dangerous. It claims to affirm “grace through faith,” but then redefines faith as a work. You are told that “real faith” must be evidenced by inward transformation or measurable fruit—usually according to the law. The Calvinist “head/heart” distinction is a classic example: mere assent is not enough; you must have a certain quality of faith, proven by your life.
This gospel nullifies assurance. You are left endlessly examining yourself, measuring your supposed faith by your works. The law becomes the yardstick, and the gospel’s power is minimized in favor of an undefined “transforming experience.” Calvinism and Catholicism, both rooted in Augustine, are formal examples. Many who sought rest in Reformed churches find themselves harassed and doubting, because “faith” has been redefined and assurance is lost.
3. Galatian Error
This is the error Paul wrote Galatians to confront. It targets those who are already saved, who began in the Spirit and are heirs of the promise. Here, justification is minimized to a ticket to heaven, while present blessing and favor from God are said to depend on your works. You are told: “Grace gets you to heaven, but law-keeping perfects you and earns God’s favor now.”
This is a deadly mixture—grace for the future, law for the present. The result is spiritual bondage, fleshly effort, and persecution of those who live by the Spirit. Paul’s answer is clear: justification makes you an heir now, and the only way to live is to walk in the Spirit, reckoning yourself dead to the law. If you mix law and grace, you will inevitably become a persecutor, accusing others of seeking a “license to sin”—the very accusation Satan hurls at God.
What Is Lost If These Errors Are Accepted?
If you embrace any of these accursed gospels, you lose not only the assurance of your eternal destiny, but also your present access to God, your standing in grace, and the blessing of the Spirit. You are cast back on your own efforts, left to measure yourself by the law, and robbed of the inheritance that is yours in Christ. The finished work is nullified, and the Christian life becomes a treadmill of religious zeal in the flesh, rather than a walk in the Spirit as a son and heir.
The Only Way Forward: “Not I, But Christ”
The cross did not merely deal with your “bad sins.” It condemned your religious zeal and your fleshly efforts to please God. The only path to growth is to judge the flesh as God has judged it—crucified with Christ—and to live by faith in the Son of God. “Not I, but Christ” is not an advanced doctrine; it is the narrow road from spiritual infancy to maturity, from milk to meat.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Galatians 2:20-21)
Pastors who perpetuate the Galatian error are often spiritual infants, exalted for their zeal but frozen in place. Their teaching keeps congregations in bondage, stunting growth and obscuring the riches of Christ.
Repentance: Return to Justification by Faith Alone
The only remedy is repentance—a decisive turning away from every gospel that mingles works with faith, and a return to the biblical gospel of justification by faith apart from works. Only then is both your eternal salvation and your present fellowship with God secured. Only then do you stand as a son and heir, enjoying the Spirit and the full blessing of the gospel.
Reject every gospel that conditions God’s favor on your performance. Stand in the finished work of Christ. Anything less is not just a lesser gospel—it is accursed.
