The Great Gospel Heist: Whatever HappenedTo The Good News?
By B.A. Richardson
Copyright © 2026 by Brad Richardson.
2nd Edition.
All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations in reviews or articles.
Unless otherwise indicated all Scripture references are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Contents
Contents
Introduction
The Gospel Defined
The Gospel Defrauded
The Gospel Defended
Confusion Over What It Means To Believe
The Gospel And Assurance
Simple Salvation Metaphors
Conclusion
About The Author
Introduction
On March 18, 1990 the greatest heist of physical property in American history occurred. Two men disguised as police officers responded to a fake disturbance call at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum which is located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Once the two imposters gained entry into the building they quickly over-powered the museum guards and spent the next hour identifying and stealing 13 irreplaceable works of art.
They got away with stealing works by Rembrandt, Degas, Monet, and Flinck. The value of the stolen paintings surpassed 580 million dollars!
To this day the museum leaves the empty picture frames on display to give a visual testimony to the enormity of this crime. No one has been brought to justice since this theft occurred 31 years ago.
Ironically, the thieves lacked a thorough knowledge of the value of the museum contents and could have increased the value of their haul considerably if they had done their homework. They left undisturbed a Rembrandt that was valued at over $200 million. Nonetheless, the damage was considerable.
The Boston museum heist was epic as far as physical earthly property was concerned but there is a heist in the spiritual realm that makes the Boston crime look like child’s play.
The greatest promise and offer ever given by God to sinners has been stolen. The gospel has been stolen from most churches, seminaries and Bible colleges. The heist has been carried off by men who have not taken but instead have “added” to the requirements for receiving the gift of eternal life, aka the good news. They have greatly muddied the waters concerning the crystal clear answer to the question “What must I do to be saved?” Or put another way, “What must I do to gain eternal life?”
The Apostle Paul proclaimed a message of reconciliation between man and God. It was so radically transforming that he called it “my gospel” in Romans 2:16 and the “gospel of the grace of God” in Acts 20:24.
His gospel was very simple and it described how anyone could gain forgiveness and eternal life just by believing in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for eternal life. By simply trusting in Christ’s saving work, sinners can experience the good news of salvation offered so freely.
Like the Boston crime where men disguised as agents of the law stole the precious contents of the Stewart museum, so too have men disguised as agents of the cross stolen the promise of forgiveness and heaven by altering ever so subtly Paul’s gospel.
This book seeks to lay out the greatest heist in history and to do it in layman's terms. If you have never experienced the deliriously good news of the gospel, then the following pages may help you to understand why.
The Gospel Defined
Ask people on the street what the word “gospel” means and you will get a wide range of different definitions. Some would say that the gospel is the Bible itself, others will tell you that the word refers to one of the first four books of the New Testament.
The truth is that there are many uses of the word gospel in the New Testament. In fact, there are several different gospels that are presented to different groups of people.
The word gospel simply means good tidings or good news. There is a particular passage of Scripture that I want to direct your attention to and it’s found in First Corinthians, chapter 15 and verses 1-8.
- Moreover brethren I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
- By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
- For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;
- And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures;
- And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve;
- After that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
- After that, He was seen of James, then of all the apostles.
- And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
It was different from anything ever taught before. In fact, it was a mystery revealed to Paul, and he referred to this message as “my gospel.” See Romans 16:25.
The passage above that I shared from First Corinthians 15 says that this gospel is the one that saves, in verse two. It must be received, verse one, and this reception is accomplished by belief, verse two.
What is it that we must believe in order to be saved? It is the simple message that Christ died for our sins, He was buried, He rose again and His resurrection had numerous eye witnesses; it is a historical fact.
That’s it, all of it. That is the gospel in eight verses. By believing that Jesus Christ died for “your” sins, was buried, and rose again, you can have eternal life and the complete forgiveness of sins. This condition is referred to in this passage and others as being “saved.”
It’s simple, isn’t it? Profoundly simple! And it’s why Paul warned against anyone who would tamper with this simplicity. See Second Corinthians 11:3, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
Just as Eve was tricked by the serpent in the garden, so today there are evil men, false teachers, and deceivers who are tricking multitudes of listeners to doubt that the gospel is a simple message.
I recently was sharing the good news with a friend of mine. When I told him that eternal life and forgiveness were his for the taking if he would simply believe it he responded by saying “I don’t think we are going to get off that easy.”
What makes his response even more tragic is that he has grown up in the church and continues to attend regularly. Evidently, there has been a gospel heist at the church he attends. His eyes remain blinded to the simplicity of Christ’s offer.
The Gospel Defrauded
Let me stress again that the only requirement that is demanded from sinful men is that they “believe” this good news to be true for their own lives. It requires nothing more, no work of any kind. Romans 4:5 says, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
I hope you got two important facts from that verse. First, God justifies (declares righteous) those who “work not” but only believe. Second, God justifies “ungodly” people. Many folks think they have to clean up their act before God could save them. They are wrong; God receives people just where they are in life.
I stress this point because this is precisely where the modern-day church has slipped in their despicable additions into the simple promise of the gospel. While most of the church will attest to the fact that we must believe in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, they will then subtly add an additional requirement and in some cases, several additional requirements. Here is a list of some of those requirements...
- Turning from sin
- Being willing to turn from sin Being sorry for sin
- Submitting to the Lordship of Christ Total surrender of our life to God Total commitment of our life to God Baptism
- Tithing
- Church membership Reciting a “sinners prayer” Inviting Jesus into your heart Coming to the altar
You will not find these additions on most church websites on their “beliefs” page. They won’t divulge those specifics on their “about” page. They keep their “statements of faith” and “what we believe” pages pretty vague. You must attend several of their services and listen closely to their teachings to discover their devilish additions to the good news.
It is not just a problem with local churches but it is far more systematic. Take for example one of the largest protestant denominations in the world. They proudly proclaim their beliefs and practices are in sync with a statement of faith that they formulated decades ago.
Here is a summary of what their statement of faith (sometimes referred to as a “doctrinal statement”) says about salvation...
Under the section titled “Salvation” they have a statement concerning justification: Justification is God's acquittal of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. It sounds good at first reading but there is a slight addition, the requirement to repent, which they define as a “turning from sin.” I don’t know about you but I find the idea of “believing” to be a very doable request. I believe in a lot of things. I also understand the meaning of “believe” to be persuaded that a proposition is true. I do not find the request to “turn from sin” to be very doable at all. Before you call me a heretic or a false teacher, let me explain.
When I hear a preacher, church, or denomination asking me to turn from sin, I am immediately filled with questions. What do you mean by “turn from”? Does “turn from sin” mean to quit sinning? How many sins am I to turn from, 50%, 75%, 90%, all of them? How long am I supposed to turn from these sins, the rest of my earthly life? Does turning from sin mean to cease from all sin? What happens when I stop turning from sin? It’s easy to see that the notion of turning from sins is really a silly request because it’s something that no human being has ever done with the exception of One, the Lord Jesus Christ! In fact, He never turned from sin because He never sinned!
The Apostle Paul described himself in Romans chapter seven as a “wretched man” because he did things he didn’t want to do, and left undone things he knew he should do. We are all sinners and will remain sinners until the day we die. It is unbiblical and impossible to turn from sins to gain eternal life. The gospel asks us simply to believe in the person and work of Jesus to be saved or justified. Thanks be to God that he asked us to do something that can actually be done!
Additionally, in the same “statement of faith” they say that salvation comes by “commitment of the whole person to Him as Lord and Savior.” What in the world does that even look like? When would I even know when this seemingly incredible standard has been met? What happens when I don’t commit myself to God? What would be the obvious signs that I am not 100% committed? What happens if I fall out of a state of “total commitment”? The doubts and questions would never end.
So the simple gospel message of belief in Christ has now morphed into believing, turning from sin, and committing your entire person to Him. That results in three steps, but only the first step is Biblical, simple, and attainable.
So one of the largest Protestant denominations has effectively changed the terms of salvation. They have stolen the good news by adding man-made requirements to God’s simple gift.
Sadly, they are not alone and I will give more examples later in this book.
Remember that Paul wrote that men are saved by receiving or believing the good news of Christ’s death for our sins, His burial, and resurrection. He further indicated that God’s grace extends only to those who “worketh not.” It's obvious that “turning from sin” and “committing our entire person to God” are works and will continue to be works the rest of our life.
Because they are works, they make grace ineffective and the gift of eternal life unattainable. Wages are the reward of work, but the gift of God is the result of grace. Don’t let your “works of righteousness” cost you Heaven itself! Remember, the Bible calls our works of righteousness “filthy rags”! See Isaiah 64:6.
So, you may be thinking: “Are there churches that get the gospel right”? Are there institutions that get the good news right? The answer is yes.
Here is a spectacularly accurate belief statement by the Dallas Theological Seminary. This paragraph comes from Article VII, “Salvation Only Through Christ”:
We believe that the new birth of the believer comes only through faith in Christ and that repentance is a vital part of believing, and is in no way, in itself, a separate and independent condition of salvation; nor are any other acts, such as confession, baptism, prayer, or faithful service, to be added to believing as a condition of salvation (John 1:12; 3:16, 18, 36; 5:24; 6:29; Acts 13:39; 16:31; Rom. 1:16–17; 3:22, 26; 4:5; 10:4; Gal. 3:22).
It’s interesting that Dallas Theological Seminary views repentance as part of believing, not a separate act of “turning from sin.”
The Greek word translated most often into the English “repentance” is metanoia and it simply means a change of mind. Dallas Seminary gets this right. You must change your mind about Christ, yourself and your sin in order to believe solely in Christ for salvation. Unfortunately, most of the Protestant world believes the word “repent” means to turn from sin; they are in serious error on this point. The Dallas statement says no other acts are to be added to believing as a condition of salvation. I salute them for this clear description of the gospel. Read their entire statement of faith, you will be blessed.
Here is a clear statement from Burleson Bible Church in Burleson, Texas. Why can’t more churches proclaim the good news with this kind of clarity?
The Condition for Salvation. We believe that all human beings are sinners, and as such are separated from God and in need of salvation (Rom. 3:23; 5:12). We believe that salvation is a free gift of God’s grace provided for all in the saving work of Jesus Christ (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2), and any who simply and only believe in His saving work, not in their own good works, effort, or merit, will receive the gift of eternal life (Rom. 4:5; Eph. 2:8-9).
Did you catch that: only those who “simply and only” believe in His saving work?
The Free Grace Alliance is equally clear in their definition of the gospel and its terms.
The sole means of receiving the free gift of eternal life is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whose substitutionary death on the cross fully satisfied the requirement for our justification. Faith is a personal response, apart from our works, whereby we are persuaded that the finished work of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, has delivered us from condemnation and guaranteed our eternal life.
There are churches and organizations that get the message right but they are in the minority. That is a sad thought, isn’t it? The greatest gift in the history of this world has been hijacked by adding requirements that God did not intend to be added to His precious gift.
The gospel is the good news that anyone who simply believes in the substitutionary death, burial and resurrection of Jesus has forgiveness and eternal life. It is for those who “simply and only believe in His saving work”! That is the gospel, the good news indeed.
The gospel is about what has already been done, not about what you must do. And I will use the word the Free Grace Alliance used by asking this question: Are you “persuaded” that the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has delivered you from sin and granted you eternal life?
I hope that is the case in your own life!
The Gospel Defended
We have already seen that the Apostle Paul delivered the gospel for our dispensation, or era. He called it “his gospel” and it is also referred to as the “gospel of grace.”
Paul was very zealous in his defense of the simple gospel that saves any man, woman, boy, or girl who simply believes in Jesus as their Savior. This is why Paul so strongly denounced anyone who would add to or take away from this simple message.
He strongly stated his defense of this message in Galatians chapter one, verses 6-9. Here is that passage of Scripture...
6. I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.
7. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8. But though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
We know the gospel that Paul preached and he warned anyone whether human or angelic against meddling with his gospel.
The word accursed means to be “condemned to Hell.” That is a very strong warning. Add anything to the gospel of grace and you can go to Hell. Don’t add anything at all. It’s faith alone.
It’s interesting and alarming that the great heist of the gospel began during the Apostle Paul’s lifetime and sadly it has continued right up to our present time.
So are there churches, preachers, seminaries, and organizations today that are accursed? The answer is a resounding yes.
I have already pointed out how one of the largest Protestant denominations has so cobbled up the gospel that they would have a person believe that it takes more than faith in the gospel to be saved; they say it also takes turning from sin and commitment of the whole person to God.
No wonder there are so many who follow these false formulas who lack any real assurance that they’ve been saved! But are there others who preach another gospel? Yes, there certainly are multitudes.
I’m not going to give a list of false teachers in this work. You can do a Google search and find a lot of information. Just do a simple search such as “lordship salvation teachers”. However, I would like to give you my thoughts on why we have strayed so far from the simple gospel. I will do that in the next chapter.
Confusion Over What It Means To Believe
In the 16th chapter of the book of Acts we find the story of the incredible escape from jail of the Apostle Paul and his assistant, Silas. God sent a powerful earthquake which loosened the chains on these two men and opened the doors of the jail. The terrified Roman jailer who was guarding these prisoners ran up to Paul and Silas and asked one of the greatest questions in the Bible. In verse 30 he asks: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul and Silas answer this man’s question quickly and succinctly in verse 31 by saying, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”
Paul and Silas proclaimed the good news to this man with one sentence and one requirement: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word translated into English as “believe” is the Greek word pisteuo. The vast majority of times that pisteuo is used, it is translated simply as “believe.”
So what does “believe” mean? It means to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to place confidence in, or to trust in. If you are persuaded that the substitutionary death, burial and resurrection of Jesus on your behalf are sufficient to forgive you of sin and secure your eternal life in Heaven then you are a BELIEVER, a child of God and you are destined for Heaven!
Here is what the Bible scholar Dr. John Robbins had to say about this matter...
“Belief, that is to say, faith (there is only one word in the New Testament for belief, pistis) and trust are the same; they are synonyms. If you believe what a person says, you trust him. If you trust a person, you believe what he says. If you have faith in him, you believe what he says and trust his words.” Source
Let’s put it another way. If you are “trusting” in the person and work of Christ “alone” to be your ticket to eternal life and forgiveness of sin then you are a BELIEVER.
It is really not that difficult; but thanks to theologians who have complicated God’s plan, the simple idea of believing has evolved into a work. According to many in the church today, Paul and Silas should have told this Roman jailer to totally commit himself to Jesus and to turn from his sins and surrender to Jesus. Thankfully, Paul and Silas correctly responded to this frightened man with a “one step solution” – believe on Jesus!
Another classic text in the Gospels is found in John 11:25-26. Here is the passage as it reads in the King James Version...
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
In this passage, Jesus has just arrived at the cemetery in the small town of Bethany. His close friend Lazarus died four days prior to His arrival and Jesus is visiting with Lazarus’ sister, Martha. Jesus declares to her that her brother will live again because He (Jesus) is the resurrection and the life. Then Jesus asks her for a response and it is the only response that anyone should and can make, and that is to believe. Notice that Jesus uses “believeth” in verse 25 and “believest” in verse 26. Both words are translated from the Greek word pisteuo.
Again, let me emphasize that of the 248 times that pisteuo appears in the Greek it is translated into the English as “believe” 239 times. Only one time is it translated “to be committed unto.” I hope you can grasp the importance of that fact. While so much of the church wants our belief to be a work of commitment, the Bible only uses that meaning one time in the New Testament. The overwhelming meaning of pisteuo is to be persuaded or convinced of a truth. The Gospel is a declaration of good news to be persuaded of, not commands to be obeyed. It is not good news to hear that you must turn from sin or completely commit your entire person to God. Those are huge challenges that will be met with failure. But to simply be persuaded that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life is a joyous invitation.
So how do these modern-day “scholars” mess up a simple concept like believing? Let’s examine a three-part Latin definition that liberals, Arminians, and Calvinists have used to make the act of believing into a complicated work. They use a three-part Latin definition of the simple word for believe and magically transform this simple act of the will into a work of the flesh.
The first element is Noticia which refers to the intellectual content of faith. Faith must believe in something; it has to have a subject. This aspect of Biblical faith is true. We can have faith in George Washington but believing in Washington will not secure forgiveness of sins or eternal life.
The second word is Assensus or assent. This element is the state of persuasion that a proposition is true. This is exactly in line with the Biblical concept of belief.
The third word is Fiducia. This is the element of faith that some of these scholars label as trust. Fiducia comes from the word faith or faithfulness. Some of these scholars say an element of “commitment” is necessary on the part of the believer. This Latin idea of fiducia (which they call trust) is where the Bible would disagree with them. Belief and trust are synonymous from a Biblical perspective. Again, I could care less what the Latin definitions of belief are; I’m only concerned with the Bible’s definition of belief. If I believe in someone then I trust them.
Now the problem with these three Latin elements is that the Bible was not delivered to us in Latin. The New Testament was given to us in Greek, not Latin. The Greek meaning of pisteuo is most closely aligned with their Latin element, Assensus. Pisteuo or belief is assent to a proposition. Those who desire to make believing more than assent will run to this Latin trifecta, and Fiducia in particular, in order to promote their distorted views. The Gospel is not about my commitment to Christ, but Christ’s commitment to me. And of that truth I am persuaded...assensus!
There is no shortage of theology books written by Calvinists and Arminians that expound on the wizardry of these Latin concepts. I would encourage you not to chase such ungrounded teachings. Instead, I would encourage you to take the Apostle Paul and the Lord Jesus at their word and know with certainty that the only requirement for salvation on man’s part is to believe.
The Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians chapter two, verse three, told us that the coming day of the Lord would be preceded by a great falling away (apostasia) or apostasy. An apostasy is an abandonment of true doctrine for any heinous false religious teaching. I believe that the precious truth that the gift of eternal life received by faith which has now been twisted into a reward to those who totally commit themselves, is in fact that great apostasy that Paul predicted. We are living in perilous times when the church, universities, seminaries, and denominations have hijacked the good news. The Gospel is declarative not imperative. It is good news to be believed, not a list of demands to be obeyed.
Another source of confusion concerning the Gospel is the failure of men to correctly separate teachings on salvation from teachings on discipleship.
To be clear, salvation comes by simple faith in the person and work of Jesus. Discipleship is another matter altogether. Discipleship requires discipline and commitment. Phrases like taking up the cross, counting the cost, following Christ, and forsaking family (and many more) all depict the work aspect of becoming a disciple. But salvation is a gift received by faith...alone.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
One final hurdle to understanding Biblical belief in all its simplicity has been the erroneous teaching of Calvinists concerning “perseverance.” The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints can mean different things to different people. The typical Calvinist will generally take this doctrine to mean that if a person has truly believed in Christ as Savior then he will persevere in good works and belief for the rest of his life. Hence they really need a definition of belief in which faith becomes a “working faith.” Some will even say that a faith that doesn’t work doesn’t save.
I once became ensnared in Calvinistic teachings until I became more concerned about what the Bible taught than what men teach. I am now a firm believer in the “perseverance of the Savior.” God is the only One who truly perseveres. We are sinners, disloyal, unfaithful, and frail. The Scriptures support this version of perseverance. Notice what 2 Timothy 2:13 says…If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
The Gospel And Assurance
There are no hard statistics on this but my experience as a pastor has led me to believe that many Christians lack assurance of their salvation. However, if these same believers properly understand the Gospel then they should have assurance that they are God’s children and on their way to a place called Heaven.
On the other hand, if you have a concept of faith that must persevere and “hold on” to be valid, then you will probably never have assurance of salvation.
God wants us to know we are saved and He has told us this explicitly in His Word. Note what the Apostle John had to say in I John 5:11-13...
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Did you see the connection between “believe” and “know”? If we believe on the name of the Son of God, we can “know” that we have eternal life. That is pretty simple, isn’t it? I can tell you that I know I have eternal life because I believe in Christ. Because I believe; not because I persevere, turn from sin, do good works, go to church, tithe, pray, or any of a multitude of man-created requirements. My job is to believe and Christ’s promise is to save.
Several years ago my wife and I visited a Baptist church near our home town. We were looking for a church home and the pastor of this church offered to come to our house and visit us. The night the pastor and his wife arrived at our house we had a pretty good visit about the church and then the conversation turned to our own beliefs. Toward the end of our visit, I asked the pastor a question that I have asked many others and it went like this... “Pastor, what do you base your assurance of salvation upon?” The question seemed to catch him off guard. He looked up toward the ceiling, then back down to the floor. Finally, he answered by saying… “I guess I would need to take a hard look at my life and take an inventory of how I am living.”
In effect, what the pastor was saying was that he based his assurance on his performance. Let me just say that if you are basing your assurance of salvation on your own works, faithfulness, or performance, then you may never have real certainty that you are in good standing with God.
Why do I make such a claim? Because your performance or faithfulness will never be good enough to please God. The only thing that pleases God is faith in His dear Son. Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life and then died as a substitute sacrifice for you and me. He is the only One who could ever appease the wrath of God.
I base my assurance on the finished work of Jesus. I do not have any confidence in my so-called Christian life. C.I. Scofield once said, “Law condemns the best person; grace justifies the worst.”
I agree with the hymnist who wrote, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” My hope is not built on any of my so-called merits, faithfulness, ministry, dedication, commitment, or any other filthy righteous act. My hope rests in the person and work of the Son of God.
Simple Salvation Metaphors
In John the third chapter we have the most famous verse in the Bible, v.16...
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Jesus was having a spiritual discussion with a man named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. John 3:16 is sublime because of its simplicity that everlasting life goes to those who believe in Jesus! What many people don’t know is that Jesus used an O.T. story to prove to Nicodemus just how simple it is to believe in Him.
Jesus recounted the story of how the Israelites, while wandering in the wilderness following their exodus from Egypt, came under the attack of venomous snakes in the desert. God told Moses to make a serpent out of bronze and mount it on a staff. God further instructed Moses to lift the serpent into the air and when the people simply looked on the bronze serpent for relief, they were spared from the vipers.
Jesus then likened Himself to the bronze serpent. Whereas just one look at the bronze serpent saved the children of Israel, so too just one look of faith unto Jesus can save the vilest sinner. Just one momentary act of faith can bring eternal blessings.
These two verses precede the famous 16th verse: John 3:14-15 says, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Just one look can change your future and change your eternity. That is the good news that has been stripped from modern-day distortions of the gospel.
The Apostle John wasn’t done illustrating how simple this faith can be. In the fourth chapter, Jesus was visiting with the “woman at the well” and told her that He was the issuer of water that springs up to eternal life and just one drink of that water would cause one to never thirst again.
Again, in the sixth chapter, Jesus illustrated the simplicity of believing when He compared believing in Him to eating and drinking.
It’s not difficult at all. It’s freely available to anyone who simply looks, drinks, or eats in faith. The angel says in the final chapter of the book of Revelation, chapter 22, verse 17...
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Conclusion
To this day, the empty picture frames still hang in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. They are a constant reminder of the heinous theft of some of the most valuable paintings in the world. Those pictureless frames are a reminder of the sinfulness of men and the crimes they commit.
Likewise, religious organizations today present a perverted gospel that is not really the gospel and certainly not good news. The distorted and confusing messages brought forth from pulpits today offer no hope, no forgiveness, and no eternal life. Their false gospels have been stripped of the treasure of the really good news that Jesus saves people who simply believe in Him. Only the message of simple faith in the person and work of Jesus offers salvation to the seeking soul.
At a cemetery in Bethany over two thousand years ago, Jesus told Martha that He is the resurrection and the life and asked her “Do you believe this?”
Dear Reader, do you believe this?
If, after reading this e-book you have come to believe in Jesus as Savior I would love to know. Send me an email at freegracegospel@gmail.com.
About The Author
Brad Richardson is a retired Baptist pastor. He is married with two children and six grand-children. He maintains the evangelistic blogs How To Be Forgiven and Rapture Journal.
