There are several common assaults upon the message of Faith Alone in Christ Alone. I intend to look at three. All believers in Jesus Christ are responsible to be His representatives; we are ambassadors of Christ who are to give testimony to the person and work of the Savior. When it comes to the message, there is only one message (or gospel) that we may proclaim while remaining faithful to the Bible. Unfortunately, confusion abounds with respect to the content and presentation of the good news of God’s grace in the person and work of Christ.

The Christian message is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the message of salvation through His person and work. That sounds simple enough, but somehow it becomes convoluted in the details. The simple message, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved,” has been assaulted from early on. Since the message is crucial to salvation, anathema is pronounced on those who misrepresent it or change it (Gal. 1:6-9), so clearly we need to know the message. If we are to be true to the Bible and to the grace of our Savior, we need to be able to share the gospel clearly and avoid the distortions.

Outside the doctrines related to the Person and work of Christ, there is no truth with lesser implications and in need of more ardent defense than salvation in limitless quantity and power is secured, as far as human responsibility is concerned, by believing on Christ as Savior. To this one requirement no other obligation may be added without violence to the Scriptures and total disruption of the essential doctrine of salvation by grace alone. Only ignorance or reprehensible inattention to the structure of a correct doctrine of salvation will attempt to intrude some form of human works with its supposed merit into that which, if done at all, must naturally be done by God alone through sovereign grace.

From the early days of the church, the church has faced the problem of those who wanted to add to the message. In Acts 15:1 we read these words: “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Verse 5 tells us that these were men from the sect of the Pharisees who had believed. They were members of the church and so, from within its own ranks, a controversy broke out concerning the exact nature and content of the message of the gospel.

By nature, the gospel is a God-centered, grace-centered message which offers salvation as a free gift, without cost, through faith in God’s work through His Son rather than by man’s work whether religious or moral (1Cor. 1:30; John 4:10; Acts 8:20; Rom. 11:6; 15:15-18; Rev. 21:6). The nature of the message, the condition of man (dead in sin and born spiritually blind [Eph. 2:1; 1 Cor. 2:14; John 9:39]), and the activity of Satan (2 Cor. 4:4; John 8:43-45) make this a difficult message to accept. Man naturally thinks he must add something to his salvation for it to be real.

As a result, certain accusations are often leveled against faith alone in Christ alone. It has been called “cheap grace” or “easy believism.” This nonsensical claim of “easy believism” is so often aimed at those who preach “faith alone in Christ alone”, but it is a misnomer. Simple faith is not easy for mankind who wants to add something to the work of God. Furthermore, salvation in Christ is free, but it is not cheap. It cost God the death of His Son Jesus.

Many of the common ways used to pervert the gospel, often by well-meaning and sincere people, are not a new problem. The early church dealt with this problem in one form or another starting Acts 15 and it has remained a problem throughout the history of the church. It will continue to be a problem until Christ returns.

The first assault centers around the issue of repentance. The opposition holds that repentance is a separate act and is consistently added to believing as a human requirement for salvation. In other words, rather than seeing repentance as a synonym for believing, one is saved by repenting (which in this view means a turning from sin) and by believing (putting one’s trust in Christ). Few issues are more vital interest to whose who believe in heaven and hell than the question of what man must do to gain entrance into heaven. Answers to this question nearly always include a reference to repentance. Throughout church history nearly every theologian has taught that repentance is essential for salvation from hell. However, several disparate understandings of repentance have been advocated.

Some form of the word “repent” is used at least 100 times in most Bible translations. Repentance is clearly a prominent concept in Scripture, but often the words of the original text are not translated in the same way by translators of different versions. This is because some translators didn’t believe our English word “repent” always conveyed the right meaning. This was due to their own misinterpretation of the word, based on preconditioned ideas about the word.

The issue facing us is what exactly does it mean to repent? How does it relate to other important questions and issues. What are we to repent of and for? Does it mean to feel sorry for something? Does it mean to feel sorrow for sin? Does it convey a resolve to turn from sin? What is the place of repentance in relation to salvation? Must it precede faith or is it a part of faith or a synonym for it? Can one be saved without repenting?

Context is vital to a proper understanding of most words. Within the context most terms make immediate sense. Without the context you either misunderstand what is meant or you are left wondering. For example, English has this one word “run” to mean all sorts of things – the man runs, the car runs, I have a run in my stocking, my nose runs, the water runs, my dogs are tied to a run.  Clearly, context is everything in trying to grasp the concept of the English word “run”. In American Sign Language, each of those usages of “run” would have a different sign because the concepts are very different from one another.  It is the same way when Bible translators try to translate Greek into English. The ingredient needed to make the meaning of the word clear is the CONTEXT. Let’s look at a scriptural illustration.

The word “salvation” is the Greek, soteria and soterion. The basic, unaffected meaning of the word salvation is “to rescue” or “to save, deliver.” We must look deeper than this basic meaning if we are to understand its meaning in a particular context. What are we being rescued from? In Philippians 1:19 Paul used the word “salvation,” soteria, to mean rescue from his confinement in Rome. Except for the KJV, most versions translate this word “deliverance.” In that text salvation does not mean rescue from eternal damnation but deliverance from his present confinement in Rome. But, of course, in other contexts salvation does refer to being rescued from eternal condemnation [Acts 4:12].

Similarly, the word “redeem” has a theological meaning and we must apprehend that meaning in order to understand the doctrine related to it. Redeem means “to buy or purchase something.” Of course, that brings the question, what is being purchased? In Matthew 13:44 a man redeems a field; that is, he buys it. This use has no relation to the redemption our Savior made on the cross, though the same word is used of the payment He made for sin when He died (2 Pet. 2:1). The basic meaning remains the same--to purchase--whether the word refers to paying the price for a field or for sin. See also Matthew 14:15 (buying food); Matthew 21:12 (buying in the temple); 1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23, (Christ’s purchasing our redemption or salvation on the cross).

The basic meanings of these words remain the same, to save whether from a physical disaster or from eternal judgment, or to purchase whether to pay a price for a field, buy something in the market, or to pay the price for our sin. It is the context which makes the difference with regard to the exact meaning.  The same principle must be applied to the word repentance. The first question is, what is the basic meaning for the word repentance as it is used in the New Testament? For many people, repentance carries with it two ideas: (a) sorrow for sin, and, based on that, (b) turning from sin and going in a different direction.

These two ideas, sorrow for sin and turning from sin, are then added to believing in Christ, or it is explained that this is what faith in Christ means. In other words, you must feel sorry for your sins, turn from your sins, and trust in Christ for salvation. Then, added to all this is often a fourth--there must be a willingness to continue to turn from sin or you cannot be saved or you are not really saved.

Since our English word is a translation of the Greek of the New Testament, we need to look at the original language. There are two New Testament Greek words which are translated repentance in the modern English translations: metanoia (also metanoeo) and metamelomai. Metanoia is translated 58 times in the New Testament; metamelomai only six times. This study will be concerned primarily with metanoia.

Metamelomai means “to regret, change the mind” and may connote, but is not required to connote, the idea of sorrow. It is usually translated by “regret, change the mind, and feel remorse”, and in all but one of the passages where it is used, the primary idea is a change of mind (Matt. 21:29, 32; 27:3; 2 Cor. 7:8; Heb. 7:21).

Metanoia, the primary word, unquestioningly means “a change of mind.” It refers to the thinking of people who thought one thing or made one decision and then, based on further evidence or input, changed their minds. This is its meaning and use both inside and outside the New Testament and in the New Testament. It is a change of mind that leads to a different course of action, but that course of action must be determined by the context. In a context that deals with forgiveness of sin or receiving eternal life as a gift from God, the course of action is a change of trust because one now sees Jesus as the only means of salvation from sin. Sorrow may well be involved in repentance, but the biblical meaning of repentance is to change one’s mind, not to be sorry. However that change of mind must be genuine, not superficial. The presence or absence of sorrow does not necessarily prove or disprove the genuineness of the repentance.

This concept is clear from 2 Corinthians 7:9-10. Sorrow may lead to a genuine change of mind, or as in the case of Judas, it may not. The point being that sorrow and repentance are not same thing.  The nature of the change and what is changed is determined by context. So, about what do we change our mind? Answering that question will focus the basic meaning on the particular change and issue involved.

Many today make repentance and faith two distinct and necessary requirements for salvation. Does the Bible really teach that? Believe and repent are never used together as if teaching two different requirements for salvation. When salvation from eternal condemnation is in view, repent (a change of mind) and believe are in essence used as synonyms.  Repentance is included in believing. Faith and repentance are like two sides of a coin. Genuine faith includes repentance, and genuine repentance includes faith. The Greek word for repentance (metanoia) means to change one’s mind about sin and one’s adequacy to save oneself and about Christ as the only way of salvation.

In Luke’s rendering of the Great Commission he used repentance as a single requirement in the same sense as believing in Christ (Luke 24:46-47). The repentance comes out of the recognition of one’s sin, but the object of repentance is the person and work of Christ, or faith in Christ. Interestingly, in Luke 8:12 he used believe alone, “Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.” A comparison of other passages clearly supports the fact that repentance often stands for faith in the person and work of Christ. Compare Acts 10:43 with 11:17-18; 13:38-39 with 2:38. Also, note Acts 16:31 which uses “believe” alone.

Although obviously the Greek word metanoia was used in other contexts where it might take on other meanings, within the Christian experience of repentance is involves a change of mind regarding sinful behavior as found in 2 Corinthians 7:8-11; 12:21; Revelation 2:5, 16, 21; 3:3, 19. By Paul’s use of lupeo (to distress, grieve) and metamelomai, 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 he clearly illustrated that metanoia does not mean to feel regret, but involves a change of mind.

For though I caused you sorrow (lupeo) by my letter, I do not regret (metalomai) it; though I did regret (metalomai) it--for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while--I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful (lupeo), but that you were made sorrowful (lupeo) to the point of repentance (metanoia); for you were made sorrowful (lupeo) according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow (lupe) that is according to the will of God produces a repentance (metanoia) without regret (metamelomai), leading to salvation; but the sorrow (lupe) of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow (lupeo), has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter (2 Cor. 7:8-11).

I thank my friend RV for his gracious assistance in catching, what for me in my very limited understanding of Greek, would not have seemed connected.

“Gospel” is an Anglicized German phrase meaning “good news” and that is what the apostles were preaching. In the midst of depressing life circumstances, this good news was happily welcomed because it said “no matter how bad you’ve been, God can still pardon you for all your crimes.” This was welcome news for one of the thieves hanging behind Jesus at Golgotha. It was welcome news for Peter after he denied His Lord three times and essentially contributed to His death. It was welcome news for the crowds at Pentecost after hearing that they had contributed to the death of their long-awaited Messiah. It was welcome news to Paul when he realized that he had been persecuted God Himself as he persecuted the Christian church. It continues to be welcome news to millions around the globe.

The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia summarizes the gospel message as “The central truth of the gospel is that God has provided a way of salvation for men through the gift of His son to the world. He suffered as a sacrifice for sin, overcame death, and now offers a share in His triumph to all who will accept it. The gospel is good news because it is a gift of God, not something that must be earned by penance or by self-improvement (John 3:16; Romans 5:8–11;  2Cor. 5:14–19; Titus 2:11–14).”

The term gospel is found about 90 times in most English=translation Bibles. In the Greek New Testament, gospel is the translation of the Greek noun euangelion (occurring 76 times) “good news,” and the verb euangelizo (occurring 54 times), meaning “to bring or announce good news.” Both words are derived from the noun angelos, “messenger.” In classical Greek, an euangelos was one who brought a message of victory or other political or personal news that caused joy. In addition, euangelizomai (the middle voice form of the verb) meant “to speak as a messenger of gladness, to proclaim good news.” Further, the noun euangelion became a technical term for the message of victory, though it was also used for a political or private message that brought joy. (Greek explanation from the NET Bible).

That both the noun and the verb are used so extensively in the New Testament demonstrate how it developed a distinctly Christian use and emphasis because of the marvelous news that mankind had been afforded salvation and victory over sin and death through the person and accomplished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, proven by His resurrection and ascension. In the New Testament these two words, euangelion and euangelizo, became technical terms for this message of good news offered to all men through faith in Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, the apostle Paul, writing less than 25 years after Jesus’ death and probably quoting a Christian hymn or confessional creed dating from the first half-decade following the resurrection, summarized the most basic ingredients of the gospel message --the death, burial, resurrection, and appearances of the resurrected Christ. He emphasized four things therein:

“ Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—1) that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and 2) that he was buried, and 3) that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and 4) that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)

These verses give us the heart of the gospel and show that the resurrection is an integral part of the gospel. Note that Paul described this as “of first importance”, stressing priority, not time. These truths are central to the gospel message.

Actually, the central ingredient of the gospel message is a two-fold confession: (1) Christ died for our sins and (2) He was raised on the third day, overcoming the death our sin requires. The reality of these two elements can be verified by the Scriptures (Psalm 16:10; Isa. 53:8-10) and by such awesome historical evidence as the empty tomb and eye witness testimonies. Thus, the other two elements mentioned here accomplish two important facts regarding the gospel. The fact that He was buried verified His death, and the fact that He appeared to others verified His resurrection.

While gospel is often found alone, it is very often modified by various terms that focus on a particular aspect of the gospel.

In the New Testament, various modifiers of the word “gospel” bring out some aspect of the gospel that is being stressed in the context of the good news of what God offers us in Christ.

(1) The gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:1; 1Cor. 9:12) and the gospel of His Son (Rom. 1:9). These two descriptions speak of the good news of salvation that comes through the person and work of Jesus Christ who is the Son of God in human flesh. Again, this is good news of deliverance from sin’s penalty, power and presence through the coming of Christ.

(2) The gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24) emphasizes that salvation in all of its aspects is on the basis of grace rather than on a system of meritorious works.

(3) The gospel of the kingdom (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14) is the good news that God will establish His kingdom on earth through the two comings of Jesus.

(4) The gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15) describes how this good news of salvation in Christ brings peace in all its many aspects (peace with God, the peace of God, peace with others, and world peace) through the victory accomplished by the Savior.

(5) The eternal or everlasting gospel (Rev. 14:6) expands our perspective of gospel as we normally think of it. This gospel as proclaimed by the angel was developed in three commands and two reasons:  “Fear God.” Holy reverence is due the sovereign authority and power of God to deal with man in His holy wrath and to bring an end to the world of sin as we now know it. To fear God is to recognize Him as the true God who can destroy the soul and not just the body.   “Give Him glory.” Praise and honor should accrue to God from mankind due to our recognition and high estimation of God as the sovereign Creator of the universe. “And worship Him who made …” “Worship” means to show reverence or respect, and emphasizes the external display of our obedience through prayer, singing, and formal worship. The word “fear” emphasizes the reverential mental attitude behind the worship. In the Tribulation people will be forced to fear and formally acknowledge the beast and his image. In this message the angel is demanding that mankind reject the beast and formally turn to God to worship Him (Rev. 14:11). He gives two reasons. “The hour of his judgment has come” refers to the final judgments of the Tribulation—the bowl judgments—which are about to occur that will put an end to the system of the beast and bring the rule of the Lord Jesus, the King of kings. These will conclude with the return of Christ Himself (Rev. 19), leading to the removal of all unbelievers from the earth. The emphasis is to not delay because the time is short. The second reason given in Revelation refers to God as the Creator. We are called to pay attention to the ageless and universal message of creation itself. Age after age creation has called mankind to recognize God’s existence and to seek after Him (Acts 17:26-27 with Psalm 19:1-6). People are without excuse and that, when the angel proclaims this gospel, the hour of the Creator’s judgment is about to fall (Romans 1:18).

Popular notions about the term ‘gospel’ tend to limit it to the message of how one may receive eternal life through faith in Christ, but it is much broader than that. For instance, Paul wrote in Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, “the righteous by faith will live.” But by using the term “gospel” here, Paul did not limit his thoughts to those central truths by which a person is given eternal life. Paul’s gospel included such matters as justification by faith (verses 3-5), sanctification through the Spirit (6-8) and God’s future for Israel (9-11). The gospel gathers together all the truths that are found in Romans, so that we can conclude that when Paul expressed his confidence in the gospel (Romans 1:16), he was also expressing in the truths of justification, sanctification and glorification of God’s power to deliver us from the bondage of sin.

Central to the gospel message is how one receives the salvation offered in the gospel. This was the subject of the first heresy, after all. God offers us salvation from sin’s penalty with the promise that this will one day result in the glorious reign of Christ on earth with sin, death, and Satan vanquished for eternity. That is good news, indeed! However, the fact that God offers us salvation as a free gift through faith in Christ is good news beyond description. Paul clearly linked the gospel with faith in Galatians 3:6-9:

“Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, saying, “all the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who believe are blessed along with Abraham the believer.

If salvation were dependent on our merit or our ability to keep the law, it would not be good news because of our complete inability to keep the law or any kind of righteous principles as a means of our justification or right standing with God (Romans 3:19-20; Gal. 2:16). This is why grace is such wonderful news! It guarantees justification with God because justification is based on the accomplished work and merit of Jesus Christ (Romans 4:13-16).

Salvation is the free gift of God to be received by faith alone in Christ alone (Rev. 21:6; 22:17; Romans 4:4-5; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:4-5). The message of grace goes contrary to the heart and thinking of man who intuitively thinks in terms of merit. After all, you can’t get something for nothing—at least not if it’s worth anything. Man has always had a problem with grace, as is easily seen in the book of Acts. From the very early days of the church, it has faced the problem of those who wanted to add some form of works to the message of grace.

When we come to the study of Acts 15, we will encounter “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” There were Christians, men within the church at Jerusalem, who believed this wholeheartedly, to the extent that Paul and Barnabas and the church universal, meeting in Jerusalem, had to make a definitive statement about how one receives the grace of God. Later the apostle Paul dealt with the ongoing fall-out of this controversy in the book of Galatians. Writing regarding those who wanted to deny the gospel of grace, Paul wrote, “Now this matter arose because of the false brothers with false pretenses who slipped in unnoticed to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. But we did not surrender to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you” (Gal. 2:4-5).  The apostle warned of those who offer a gospel of works for salvation rather than grace. We should remember, as Paul taught us in Romans 4 and 11, if it is by grace, it is no longer by works and if by works, it is no longer by grace (Romans 4:3-4; 11:6). In reality, any time someone offers a gospel of works, it is not the gospel—the good news. Instead, it is bad news, for it is a false distortion of God’s truth (Gal. 1:6-10).  The gospel, if distorted by rejection of the truth that all God does for us in Christ is by grace alone through faith apart from works or by a denial of who Jesus is, then the “gospel” is a “different gospel, which is in fact, no gospel at all (Gal. 1:7).

So, what is the gospel? It is the message of the good news of salvation, the word of truth offered to mankind by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. It is a message not just about eternal life, but one that encompasses the total plan of God to redeem people from sin, death, Satan, and the curse that now covers the earth.

Unfortunately, many are blinded to the gospel by Satan who wants to keep people from understanding the gospel of Christ (2Cor. 4:3-4), but the Christian should never be ashamed of the gospel or reticent to share it because the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes for the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel (Romans 1:16-17).  

We’re at a natural break in the narrative of Acts, so I thought I would touch on some issues that have absorbed this blog for months now.  In a sense, this momentary lapse from following the Biblical narrative is necessary to explain future events within Acts.

Throughout the history of the Christian church, the church has struggled with those who would redefine the gospel and promote their own beliefs in the place of orthodoxy. The church has deemed these people heretics. Unfortunately, the title of heretic has been flung at Biblical believers at times, so that the term requires re-examination to understand what it means. Ultimately, it comes down to a definition of the gospel, which prepares us for Acts 15, when the early church first undertook the task of making a definitive statement concerning the gospel.

It would be wonderful if God and the church had created some all-encompassing statement of faith during Jesus’ lifetime and had Him say, yes, this is the gospel. No such statement exists and that, in and of itself, proof that Christianity is the truth. Canned religions start out with statements of faith at the outset. The early church came to know God sort of like one gets to know their spouse – a little at a time. They dealt with issues as they came up. And, thus, what was heresy and what was orthodoxy was given to the early church, but dealt with in succeeding generations as outsiders and those from inside who had confused ideas challenged the basic beliefs of the church.

Dr. Harold O.J. Brown wrote an excellent book in 1984 titled “Heresies: The Image of Christ in the Mirror of Heresy and Orthodoxy from the Apostles to the Present.” This comprehensive book that traces the various heresies found in the church from the 1^st Century to the present.  Dr. Brown defined heresies as “those beliefs that are so at odds with orthodox Christian theology that they are a direct threat to the basic beliefs necessary for adequately understanding God’s plan for personal salvation.” They are more than differences of opinion. The heretic must have some claim on calling himself “Christian”, some real original relationship to orthodoxy. A non-believer cannot be a heretic. In a sense, some of what we call “heresies” are not truly heretical, but another religion entirely.

All the theological concepts subject to heretical interpretation are found in the Bible. These are primarily those surrounding the Trinity and the nature of Jesus, although other subjects have become the basis for some heresies. The earliest Christians generally understood these concepts in the natural course of their faith. However, when heretical beliefs started developing, there grew a need to formally refute them; thus, over time, these basic Christian beliefs were systematized in understandable ways.

It took several centuries for the early theologians to develop the ideas and vocabulary needed to present orthodox beliefs on the Trinity and the nature of Jesus. When this was done the results were the various major creeds (Apostles, Nicene [AD 325/381], Athanasian, Chalcedonian [AD 451]) created for popular use. Even this is not enough. For though some will generally agree with the particular postulations, the intellectual need to further explain these basics in the extreme leads to heretical thought. This led to the subsequent (to AD 451) one thousand five hundred fifty years of repeating heresies. Most, if not all, modern heresies are revivals of or share assumptions with heresies of the first 450 years of Christianity.

In Dr. Brown’s book, he explained this history in a logical, chronological narrative. He showed that in the early persecutions, some heretics were genuine martyrs. More importantly, he explained the ramifications of any particular heresy, not just dwelling on why it is wrong Biblically, but thoroughly discussing the logical implications, conclusions and even actions to which this variant belief brings the heretic.  

The story progresses to the political successes of the church when it achieves official state recognition and eventually becomes an official state religion. He recounts with sadness the change of the church of the martyred saints into a government organization persecuting, or when not yet official, having the government persecute, its “enemies.” These enemies were not always heretics, but often political rivals with minor differences of theological opinion. Even some of this difference of opinion was really the result of linguistic misinterpretation (willful or incidental depending on the goals of the personages) between Latin and Greek speakers. When the opponents actually were heretical there were instances when the persecutions strengthened opposition to orthodoxy much in the same way early persecutions strengthened the church. It was some of this attitude and prejudice that left varieties of North African and Middle Eastern Christians vulnerable to the wholesale conversions to Islam in the 7th and 8th Centuries.

This is one reason why apologetics is so important to modern Christianity. We live in a day and age when the Internet makes it very easy to spread heresies and Biblical ignorance makes the average Christian vulnerable to claims that are partially based upon the Bible, but not fully founded there. Without a firm understanding of Biblical truth and modern writers who can put ancient theological terms into understandable modern language, we face a situation in North America and Europe that is very similar to 7^th and 8^th Century North America and Middle East. We must guard against this and the first defense is an understanding of the meaning of the gospel.