The Gospel like you probably haven’t heard it in church:
“God’s Coming Judgment Will Be Impartial, the Same for All
So you have no excuse – anyone, whoever you are, who sits in judgment! When you judge someone else, you condemn yourself, because you, who are behaving as a judge, are doing the same things. God’s judgment falls, we know, in accordance with the truth, on those who do such things. But if you judge those who do them and yet do them yourself, do you really suppose that you will escape God’s judgment?
Or do you despise the riches of God’s kindness, forbearance and patience? Don’t you know that God’s kindness is meant to bring you to repentance? But by your hard, unrepentant heart you are building up a store of anger for yourself on the day of anger, the day when God’s just judgment will be unveiled – the God who will ‘repay everyone according to their works’.
When people patiently do what is good, and so pursue the quest for glory and honour and immortality, God will give them the life of the age to come. But when people act out of selfish desire, and do not obey the truth, but instead obey injustice, there will be anger and fury. There will be trouble and distress for every single person who does what is wicked, the Jew first and also, equally, the Greek – and there will be glory, honour and peace for everyone who does what is good, the Jew first and also, equally, the Greek. God, you see, shows no partiality.
How God’s Impartial Judgment Will Work
Everyone who sinned outside the law, you see, will be judged outside the law – and those who sinned from within the law will be judged by means of the law. After all, it isn’t those who hear the law who are in the right before God. It’s those who do the law who will be declared to be in the right!
This is how it works out. Gentiles don’t possess the law as their birthright; but whenever they do what the law says, they are a law for themselves, despite not possessing the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts. Their conscience bears witness as well, and their thoughts will run this way and that, sometimes accusing them and sometimes excusing, on the day when (according to the gospel I proclaim) God judges all human secrets through King Jesus.”
– Romans 2:1-16 (NTE)
And remember this is part of the original Gospel. Anyone departing from it is accursed:
“Grace to you and peace from God our father and Jesus the Messiah, our Lord, who gave himself for our sins, to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of God our father, to whom be glory to the ages of ages. Amen.
I’m astonished that you are turning away so quickly from the one who called you by grace, and going after another gospel – not that it is another gospel, it’s just that there are some people stirring up trouble for you and wanting to pervert the gospel of the Messiah. But even if we – or an angel from heaven! – should announce a gospel other than the one we announced to you, let such a person be accursed. I said it before and I now say it again: if anyone offers you a gospel other than the one you received, let that person be accursed.”
– Galatians 1:3-9 (NTE)
You probably also haven’t heard the original definition of grace:
“God’s saving grace, you see, appeared for all people. It teaches us that we should turn our backs on ungodliness and the passions of the world, and should live sober, just and devout lives in the present age, while we wait eagerly for the blessed hope and royal appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour, Jesus the King. He gave himself for us so that he could ransom us from all lawless actions and purify for himself a people as his very own who would be eager for good works.
This is what you must say. Exhort people and rebuke them. Use full authority. Don’t let anyone look down on you.”
– Titus 2:11-15 (NTE)
Things to ponder on, straight from the Bible. If this Gospel doesn’t match your “gospel”, you have a problem…
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