Summary
Jeffrey Thayne explores how embracing the Redemptive Gospel shapes our values, helps navigate life’s challenges, and differentiates true gospel living from counterfeits.
This talk was given at the 2024 FAIR Annual Conference at the American Heritage School, Salt Lake City, Utah on August 9, 2024.
Dr. Jeffrey Thayne holds a doctorate in psychology from BYU and specializes in worldview analysis and apologetics. He is dedicated to exploring how values shape faith and gospel living. He runs an active practice and frequently speaks and writes on psychology, faith, and culture.
Transcript
Introducing Jeffrey Thayne
D. Jeffrey Thayne
The Gospel Lens: Making Christ the Center of Your Worldview
What Do We Treasure?
Hi, my name is Jeffrey Thayne. Thank you for that wonderful introduction, and I want to start with a question:
What do we treasure?
The answer to this question changes everything.
Imagine an archaeologist and a treasure hunter both opening the same ancient tomb.
They’re going to see completely different things. One person is going to see artifacts that illuminate history, and the other is going to see sparkling gems and gold to profit from.
What we treasure determines what we see.
Or, as President O explained, what we see around us depends on what we seek in life.
The Power of Worldviews
Today, I am talking about worldviews.
At their core, worldviews are value systems. There is no such thing as a view of the world that is not filtered through our values.
Our core values change our vantage point, which again changes what we see.
And when we value most what God values most, we are in the best vantage point to see and measure our lives the way God sees and measures our lives.
Today we’re going to talk about four different worldviews, and I’m going to describe each of these as a gospel.
What Is the Gospel?
This is because each worldview defines human flourishing or the good life a little bit differently, and thus what we think of as the end, goal, or purpose of living the gospel.
The term gospel means good news.
So, in other words, the question is: What do we treat as good news?
The Expressive Gospel
The expressive gospel treats self-expression and personal authenticity as the highest prize towards which we strive.
It emphasizes the importance of being ourselves, rather than being pushed into—so, um—into molds or social templates.
We want to be accepted by others for who we are, to be able to live out our unique priorities, desires, and eccentricities.
We wrap our self-concept around what makes us different, and then all the other features of the worldview fall into place.
Non-Conformity and the Expressive Gospel
If our chief goal is to be ourselves, then any Community Norm that prescribes a certain life path becomes a stumbling block.
In the expressive gospel, the rebels of the community are often the protagonists of the story, and the villains are anyone who reinforces Community Norms.
Non-conformity is the key to the good life, which is achieved by becoming your true self. And when the community celebrates you for who you are.
The Prosperity Gospel
What does prosperity gospel look like?
The Prosperity Gospel comes in a variety of flavors. When within this world view, sometimes the good life is found in:
- comfortable living and in material possessions
- living a middle class lifestyle or above
- with plenty of leisure time
- freedom from unwanted responsibilities.
Professional Success as The Good Life
Other times the good life is found in professional success. The conflict of the story then centers on our struggle to be noticed and the threat of obscurity:
- As an aspiring musician, will I get noticed by the top record labels?
- As an aspiring writer, will one of my books become a bestseller?
A Latter-day Saint Version of Prosperity Gospel
I think Latter-day Saints sometimes put our own spin on the Prosperity Gospel.
We treat life benchmarks and milestones, such as serving a mission or getting married, having children, serving in church callings of escalating importance as measures of success in gospel living.
We might talk, for example, about how paying tithing insulates us from financial hardship or how living the Word of Wisdom grants us Health and Longevity.
The Therapeutic Gospel
The therapeutic gospel treats personal fulfillment and the satisfaction of our personal needs as our greatest treasure.
Defining Basic Needs
The psychologist Abraham Maslow believed that human suffering stems largely from unmet personal needs.
He believed that our needs can be organized loosely into a hierarchy:
- Basic needs – such as food and water (at the bottom).
- Safety needs – such as freedom from physical and social aggression.
- Love and belonging – which includes a place to call home and intimate companionship.
- Esteem – which includes the need to feel important in and valued by our community.
The Therapeutic Gospel and Personal Fulfillment
And in this worldview story, the protagonist of the story seeks personal fulfillment – that is the fulfillment of personal needs.
The term fulfillment used in this way grew in popularity as Maslow’s ideas filtered into our broader culture.
The Therapeutic Gospel and Emotional Dificiency
The therapeutic gospel offers us a vision of what is wrong with us and the world. We face emotional deficiencies and the traumas of rejection, loneliness, insecurity.
We become emotionally malnourished for the lack of:
- Emotional safety
- Esteem
- Physical intimacy
- Community connection
The Redemptive Gospel
And then last, we have the Redemptive gospel, which treats reconciling with God as our greatest treasure.
The Redemptive Worldview Explained
In this worldview, our greatest desire is to return and live with God, and to eventually become like Him in character and virtue; to enjoy that divine presence; to take on those Divine characteristics and Christlike virtues.
The gift of the Holy Ghost, I believe, represents God’s presence in our life—that reconciliation with God. And the fruits and the gifts of the Spirit represent His Redemptive work in our hearts—that is, transformation in His image.
The Chasm Between Us and God
In this story, what stands in the way?
Well, we’ve all been alienated from God through sin and temptation; through pride, enmity, weakness, and rebellion.
Our Need for a Savior
The more we aspire to the presence and divine nature of God, the more we recognize the chasm that separates us from Him, which we cannot cross ourselves.
And so, we seek reconciliation with God through the merits and grace of Jesus Christ. We take upon ourselves the name of Christ by making and keeping covenants with God and Participating in sacred ordinances.
Which Values Do We Elevate?
So, we have here four different worldviews. The question is: Which of these values do we elevate as our greatest treasure? Which floats to the top of our stack of priorities?
In other words, which of these are the subplots of the story, and which are the main plot?
How Core Values Shape Our Story
Each core value shapes every other aspect of our story, including what we consider to be the obstacles in the way, our greatest disappointments in life, the heroes and the villains of the story, and what the happy ending of our story looks like.
Why Does This Matter?
And so, why is this all important? Let me illustrate with an example of someone I know, who is close to me.
Health Challenges through a Gospel Lens
She has faced a devastating illness that has kept her from serving a mission, graduating from college, marrying, or pursuing a career. All of her various life subplots have been interrupted for now two decades. Some months, her benchmark for daily success involved getting out of bed, making breakfast, and tidying her room. Many times, even that is too much to ask.
One day, in a moment of depression, she asked me:
Why is the gospel not working for me?
What This Question Presumes
Note what this question presumes as the purpose of gospel living.
If we embrace the Prosperity Gospel, when circumstance turns against us, we might conclude that we are broken in some way, that our best efforts at living the gospel just aren’t good enough, or we might treat it as a failure external to us and conclude:
“The Gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t working for me.”
Plot-Driven Story
When we consider—when we wonder if the gospel has failed us because we’ve missed milestones such as graduation, serving a mission, employment, marriage, children, or retirement, we might have supplanted the gospel story with a Prosperity-based counterfeit.
The Redemptive Gospel of Jesus Christ
In contrast, in the Redemptive Gospel of Jesus Christ, our greatest priority is reconciling with God and overcoming the Fall. This involves moral transformation in the image of Christ, becoming new creatures in Christ.
Unlike the plot-driven story of the Prosperity Gospel, the Redemptive Gospel is a character-driven story. The focus is not on the events that happen to us, but on who we become in the process.
Character-driven Story
We succeed in gospel living as our character changes through repentance, covenant keeping, and receiving the fruits and gifts of the Spirit.
And so, when my loved one asked, “Why is the gospel not working for me?” my response was, and still is:
You are more Christlike because of the way you have endured these hardships; faithfully keeping your covenants and seeking the fruits of the Spirit. The gospel is working for you.
Success in Life is Who You Are Becoming
If I could convince her of one thing, it is that her success in life is not contingent on how brightly she shines in any of her professional pursuits. Or even whether she can do anything more than get dressed on a given day if that is all she can do. It is measured by the kind of person she’s becoming in the process.
The Gospel Works for Everyone
The gospel, understood this way, works for everyone. It works for the same-sex attracted, for those with chronic illness, for the unemployed, the infertile, those who are grieving, those who feel like their talents are underutilized.
All can enjoy the gifts of the Spirit, become sanctified, and become holy as people.
When the Redemptive worldview is the main plot of our lives, life’s various subplots can be interrupted, and the main story can still be reconciliation with God through Christ and feasting on the fruits and gifts of the Spirit.
This character-driven story is never derailed by the vicissitudes of life.
A Challenge to This Perspective
Let me share another example. Someone just recently pushed back on some of these ideas in an email to me with the rejoinder:
“What’s better? To have an unhappy person living Church standards or to have someone living happily while not following all of them?”
He expressed, essentially, the view that gospel standards do not bring fulfillment to everyone, but that everyone needs fulfillment.
And so, some must seek that fulfillment— in his view—outside the Church and its teachings, and that we should not try to stop them because that fulfillment is what life is all about.
“We’re here to be happy, aren’t we?” was another part of his email.
The Assumption of Maslow’s Hierarchy
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy is the most popular version of what this fulfillment looks like, and I think that most people take for granted the premises of this hierarchy.
And they—I think many of us—assume that esteem, belonging, and other forms of self-fulfillment are essential ingredients of the good life.
And I want to iterate plainly and clearly that I find nothing wrong with any of these, nor anything wrong with wanting them, nor anything wrong with therapists helping their clients obtain them.
Self-Actualization Doesn’t Necessarily Make You a Better Person
However, a number of psychologists who I respect have observed that individuals who satisfy every level of Maslow’s hierarchy, who have all the esteem, love, and belonging they could possibly hope for, can still be rotten people.
There is nothing about personal fulfillment and self-actualization in nearly any of the versions on offer in the therapeutic world that automatically leads to character transformation or moral goodness.
The Purpose of the Gospel
We can and should seek to feed the hungry, both the physically hungry and the emotionally hungry, but we should not presume that this by itself is the purpose of the Gospel.
Christ and Maslow’s Hierarchy
In fact, our Moral Exemplar once quipped:
Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.”
And of Him, we read:
He is despised and rejected of men, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.”
What Needs Did Christ Fulfill?
Jesus Christ did not satisfy any level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, because that was never really the point.
The point was to conquer sin and death, and that is the gift that He seeks to offer us.
His goal was to help us overcome the Fall, to overcome sin, and to be reunited with our Father in Heaven.
And I firmly believe that following Christ and becoming like Him involves, at times and seasons (and for reasons known only to our infinitely wise Father in Heaven, for some more than others), experiencing some of the same deprivations that He did.
King Lamoni’s Father: An Example of True Treasure
I invite you to consider – what was King Lamoni’s father’s greatest treasure when he knelt and prayed?
Oh God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God, and if there is a God, and if Thou art God, wilt Thou make Thyself known unto me? And I will give away all my sins to know Thee, and that I may be raised from the dead and be saved at the last day.” (Alma 22:18)
And following his conversion, and the conversion of his family, and the conversion of many of his subjects, many of them had a journey that did not resemble Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, to put it mildly.
Which of These Values Overrides the Others?
Let’s go back to the four worldviews again.
There is nothing wrong with valuing self-expression, professional success, or personal fulfillment. These values can be good values.
I am not arguing that we should not climb Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, or seek to be successful in life, or express ourselves in our various communities.
The question is: Which of these values overrides all of the others?
For example, do we say, “I am willing to keep my covenants only so long as it doesn’t jeopardize my career goals?” Do we say, “I’m willing to keep my covenants only so long as it doesn’t require me to sacrifice some measure of personal fulfillment?”
Or do we say instead,
“I will seek after professional success, self-expression, and personal fulfillment only so far as that does not stand between me and God, or lead me away from my covenants with God?”
When Other Values Become the Main Plot
Which of these core values sets the bounds for all of the others?
And when any of these other values—self-expression, material comfort, professional success, cultural milestones, self-fulfillment, and so on—become the main plot of our life story, we can encounter what I sometimes refer to as gospel counterfeits.
Understanding Gospel Counterfeits
The term counterfeit carries a strong negative connotation. We see counterfeits as malicious lawbreakers. In this context, however, I use the term in a more descriptive way.
A counterfeit is simply something that is superficially similar to the real thing: similar enough to be mistaken for it, but crucially different underneath. It’s like fool’s gold, so to speak.
In each case, the performances of faith may be superficially similar. For example, those who embrace each of these worldviews might pray and seek God’s involvement in their lives, but for fundamentally different reasons, for different aims and purposes.
What Is the Purpose of Our Covenant Living?
Which of these do we see as the purpose of our covenant living?
President Oaks taught:
Each of us has a personal lens through which we view the world. Our lens gives us a special tint to all that we see. It can suppress some features and emphasize others.”
For example, what does love look like to us?
How we feel God’s love, how we feel the love of others, and how we express love for others depends on what we hold as our greatest treasure.
Personal Authenticity as the Greatest Treasure
If we see personal authenticity as our greatest treasure, then love is going to look a whole lot like:
- Celebrating me for who I am
- Celebrating others for who they are
I’m going to feel loved when—and only when—I feel that others accept me and my choices.
I’m going to feel unloved when people evaluate my choices or prescribe a course of action for my life.
Prosperity Gospel and Love
If we unwittingly embrace the Prosperity Gospel, then if we experience poor health, financial struggles, struggling to find a spouse, failing to win the election, or if our book isn’t published, we might start to feel less loved by God.
Personal Fulfillment as the Greatest Treasure
And if we see personal fulfillment as our greatest treasure, then love is going to be about others meeting our personal needs, helping us to feel fulfilled, whatever that looks like for us.
So, when someone invites us to live chastely, forgoing perceived needs for physical intimacy, we might see that as a lack of concern for us, an unloving thing to do.
Reconciliation with God as the Greatest Treasure
But when we see reconciling with God as our greatest treasure, then love might, in fact, look a lot like invitations to live our covenants.
I might even see evidence of divine favor in my greatest disappointments and in calls to sacrifice.
God loves me so much that He puts me in situations that force me to clarify my priorities and to shed the baggage that separates me from Him.
Same Words, Different Meanings
When two cultural tribes use the same words to mean different things, this is a recipe for conflict and confusion. Let me give just one more example of that.
Different Meanings of Non-Judgmental Love
When those who embrace the Redemptive Gospel speak of non-judgmental love, they are typically speaking about non-condemnatory love—condemning no person for their actions.
When those who embrace the Expressive Gospel speak of non-judgmental love, they are often talking about non-evaluative love—evaluating no actions.
We can use the same vocabulary but mean entirely different things, because of the worldview we have embraced, because of what we treat as our greatest treasure in life.
What Does Authenticity Look Like?
Actually, I have one more example of this: What does authenticity look like?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say—well, first off, I’m going to say authenticity is one of the buzzwords of our modern culture. It was the word of the year last year. (Or the year before. I don’t remember which.)
And I’m going to make a claim—a bold claim: I think that there are few things in life that are more important than being authentic.
But what do we mean by that?
For the sake of time, I’ll just do two worldviews on this one.
Authenticity in the Expressive Gospel
In the Expressive Gospel, to be authentic means to express all of my unique desires and preferences and characteristics, even if they are contrary to the norms and expectations of others.
It means asserting myself on the world—being myself—over and against all the moral prescriptives of faith and community.
Authenticity in the Redemptive Gospel
In contrast, if I embrace the Redemptive Gospel, authenticity might mean something fundamentally different.
It might mean being genuinely good, unhypocritical, diligent in my discipleship.
It might mean not making a pretense of keeping the commandments or of living Christlike virtues, but being the real deal.
And that’s not something we can do ourselves.
We need Christ to change our very natures, to make us new creatures by changing our fundamental values.
Living the Gospel Among Other Worldviews
The existence of other worldviews is not by itself the problem. I think the Gospel is intended to be lived as one worldview among competitors.
Mortality is a bubbling cauldron of worldviews, so that we can, by contrast, understand the Gospel more fully as we live it.
When family and friends embrace self-expression, personal fulfillment, and professional success as their core values, I think we can disagree without being disagreeable. We can embrace an ecumenical spirit and seek mutual understanding with those who embrace other worldviews.
We can do this while still pursuing redemption through Christ as our guiding value and inviting others to do the same.
When Do Worldviews Become Gospel Counterfeits?
But why, then, did I refer to these competing worldviews as Gospel counterfeits?
That’s not very ecumenical, after all.
When embraced on their own terms, other worldviews and values can be alternatives to the Gospel or even supplements to the Gospel, when pursued within proper bounds.
But not necessarily Gospel counterfeits.
Gospel Counterfeits Defined
They become Gospel counterfeits when they come to be seen as the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is, when they are clothed in religious vernacular and presented as the scriptural message.
Put in different terms, other worldviews become Gospel counterfeits when they shift what we see as the purpose of Gospel living and when they redefine or co-opt important Gospel vocabulary.
The Need for Cultural Vigilance
When this syncretism distorts the purposes of the Gospel and redefines our core Gospel vocabulary, we need to be more culturally vigilant and more discerning.
The need for respect and kindness remains the same, but the need for clarity becomes more important than ever.
Various cultural influencers can unwittingly speak the familiar language of the Gospel but, by reordering our values in subtle ways, offer a very subtle and (at times) pernicious counterfeit of the Gospel.
The Danger of Counterfeits
The danger is that, though our vocabulary will remain the same, the core values of our faith will be replaced with the core values of a foreign worldview.
Some have left the faith because they felt let down by a gospel that was never the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Put in a different way, some never leave the Gospel of Jesus Christ because they were never converted to it in the first place.
Rather, they were converted to a very subtle distortion or counterfeit of it—versions of the Prosperity Gospel, the Expressive Gospel, or the Therapeutic Gospel wearing the garb and speaking the language of the Redemptive Gospel.
How We Drift Away from the Redemptive Gospel
Other times, we were originally converted to the Redemptive Gospel. But the priorities of the world and the messages on social media crowd in and nudge us (over time) into a competing set of values — until we are using the same words and speaking the same language, but embracing an entirely different worldview.
And when these subtle counterfeits disappoint us—as all counterfeits eventually do—we assume we were disappointed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Stepping Into a Sturdier Faith
Rather than take offense at the notion that we sometimes embrace Gospel counterfeits, I believe we can take heart in the possibility of stepping into new and more sturdy faith.
We can rejoice that whatever we thought the Gospel was, it might be something so much better and so much more. A Gospel of Jesus Christ that promises us the transformation of character, reconciliation with God, and the gifts and fruits of the Spirit is more beautiful, hopeful, and ennobling than a Gospel that promises us merely a life of comfort without disappointment, a Gospel that offers a life without sacrifice or grief, or a Gospel that promises us mere personal fulfillment.
And — I believe this Gospel also has the benefit of being more real.
Thank You.
Audience Q&A
coming soon…
Endnotes & Summary
Jeffrey’s talk, What Do We Treasure?, explores how different worldviews shape our understanding of the gospel and influence what we see as the “good life.” He identifies four primary worldviews—the Expressive Gospel, Prosperity Gospel, Therapeutic Gospel, and Redemptive Gospel—each defining success and fulfillment in different ways. While Expressive Gospel prioritizes self-expression, Prosperity Gospel equates righteousness with financial success, and Therapeutic Gospel emphasizes emotional well-being, the Redemptive Gospel teaches that true success is found in reconciliation with God. By examining these perspectives, Jeffrey warns that misplaced values can lead people to misunderstand the gospel’s true purpose.
The talk highlights how Gospel Counterfeits arise when cultural influences subtly redefine gospel vocabulary and shift the focus away from Christ. He provides examples of how phrases like non-judgmental love and authenticity take on different meanings depending on the worldview, leading to confusion and potential spiritual drift. Many individuals, even those originally converted to the Redemptive Gospel, gradually adopt cultural values while still using gospel language. This process results in a faith that, while still appearing religious, may no longer align with the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Jeffrey concludes by emphasizing the need for spiritual discernment and doctrinal clarity. While Gospel Counterfeits persist because they offer comfort, validation, or worldly success, the Redemptive Gospel calls for transformation through Christ. Faithful discipleship requires prioritizing God’s values over societal expectations, measuring spiritual success by personal sanctification rather than external achievements. By recognizing and rejecting distorted versions of the gospel, believers can ensure their faith remains rooted in eternal truths rather than cultural trends.
All Talks by This Speaker
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Talk Details
- Date Presented: August 9, 2024
- Duration: 26:31 minutes
- Event/Conference: 2024 FAIR Annual Conference
- Topics Covered: Redemptive Gospel, Prosperity Gospel, Therapeutic Gospel, Expressive Gospel, gospel counterfeits, authenticity, covenant-keeping, LDS worldview, personal fulfillment, character transformation, reconciliation with God, faith crises, gospel vocabulary, Maslow’s hierarchy, LDS apologetics
Common Concerns Addressed
Does our worldview shape our perception of the gospel?
Yes. The talk explains how different worldviews—such as the Expressive Gospel, Prosperity Gospel, Therapeutic Gospel, and Redemptive Gospel—shape what we see as the “good life.” If we prioritize self-expression, material success, or personal fulfillment as our highest values, we may misunderstand the gospel’s true purpose. Only by aligning our values with what God values can we accurately see and measure our lives.
How does the Prosperity Gospel distort our understanding of spiritual success?
The Prosperity Gospel promotes the idea that financial security, professional success, and life milestones (such as marriage or church leadership) are evidence of living the gospel correctly. However, the talk points out that this belief leads people to doubt their faith when they face financial struggles, health problems, or missed life milestones. The gospel’s true purpose is not material prosperity but reconciliation with God.
Why do people feel like the gospel is “not working” for them?
The talk shares an example of someone who, due to chronic illness, has been unable to serve a mission, marry, or pursue a career. She questioned, “Why is the gospel not working for me?” This question assumes that the gospel should bring temporal success, which is a Prosperity Gospel mindset. In contrast, the Redemptive Gospel teaches that gospel success is measured by becoming Christlike through repentance, covenant-keeping, and enduring hardships with faith.
How does the Therapeutic Gospel define human flourishing?
The Therapeutic Gospel frames personal fulfillment as the ultimate goal, prioritizing emotional well-being, self-esteem, and relational security. While these are good things, the talk emphasizes that they do not automatically lead to moral transformation or reconciliation with God. The gospel’s purpose is not merely to meet our psychological needs but to refine us spiritually through Christ’s grace.
Does suffering mean the gospel has failed us?
No. The talk highlights that Jesus Christ did not fulfill any level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, yet He fulfilled the greatest purpose—overcoming sin and death. Likewise, gospel living may involve suffering, sacrifice, and trials, but these experiences bring us closer to God. The Redemptive Gospel teaches that the ultimate goal is not a comfortable life but transformation into Christlike beings.
What are “Gospel Counterfeits,” and why are they dangerous?
The talk defines Gospel Counterfeits as worldviews that mimic the gospel’s language while subtly distorting its purpose. Examples include:
- The Expressive Gospel, which values self-expression over covenant-keeping.
- The Prosperity Gospel, which equates success with righteousness.
- The Therapeutic Gospel, which prioritizes emotional well-being over spiritual transformation.
These counterfeits lead people to abandon the gospel when their expectations are not met, believing it has failed them, when in reality, they were following a distorted version of it.
How does redefining gospel vocabulary create confusion?
The talk explains that when different worldviews use the same words but assign different meanings, it leads to misunderstanding and conflict. For example, non-judgmental love in the Redemptive Gospel means “not condemning people”, while in the Expressive Gospel, it means “never evaluating actions.” Similarly, authenticity can mean either “being true to my desires” or “being genuinely Christlike.” When core gospel terms are redefined, people may think they are embracing the gospel when they are actually following a counterfeit.
Can people drift away from the Redemptive Gospel without realizing it?
Yes. The talk warns that even those who were originally converted to the Redemptive Gospel may, over time, absorb the values of the world through media, social influences, and personal priorities. This gradual shift can cause people to unknowingly embrace a counterfeit gospel while still using gospel language. The result is a faith that no longer aligns with Christ’s teachings, even though it may still feel religious.
Why do Gospel Counterfeits persist?
The talk explains that Gospel Counterfeits persist because they align with cultural values. They offer comfort, validation, or personal success, which makes them appealing. People often prefer a gospel that promises material blessings, self-fulfillment, or cultural acceptance over one that requires self-denial, sacrifice, and faith in Christ’s grace. This is why Prosperity, Expressive, and Therapeutic Gospel narratives continue to be popular, even when they ultimately fail to deliver lasting spiritual growth.
How can we protect ourselves from Gospel Counterfeits?
The talk encourages cultural vigilance and spiritual discernment. Respect and kindness remain important, but so does clarity in doctrine. The best way to avoid counterfeit gospels is to:
- Prioritize reconciliation with God over self-fulfillment.
- Recognize when gospel language is being used to promote worldly values.
- Measure gospel success by spiritual transformation rather than external achievements.
By maintaining a Christ-centered perspective, we can ensure that our faith remains rooted in the true Redemptive Gospel, rather than cultural distortions.
Apologetic Focus
Jeffrey’s talk provides a theologically grounded apologetic response to misconceptions about the gospel and its role in shaping personal faith. By examining different worldviews and their influence on gospel understanding, he demonstrates how modern distortions—such as the Prosperity Gospel, Expressive Gospel, and Therapeutic Gospel—lead individuals to misunderstand or abandon the true gospel of Jesus Christ. This talk challenges the notion that material success, personal fulfillment, or social acceptance are measures of gospel success and instead reaffirms that reconciliation with God is the core purpose of the gospel. Additionally, Jeffrey exposes how cultural influences subtly redefine gospel vocabulary, leading people to embrace gospel counterfeits while believing they are still following Christ. His message highlights the importance of spiritual discernment and doctrinal clarity in maintaining faith amid societal pressures.
1. Defining Gospel Success
Criticism: The gospel should make life easier, bring financial success, or ensure personal happiness.
Response: The talk refutes this Prosperity Gospel mindset by emphasizing that gospel success is measured by spiritual transformation, not material or emotional rewards. By citing Christ’s suffering and the trials of faithful individuals, Jeffrey shows that God’s greatest blessings are not financial security or social status but rather reconciliation with Him and the refinement of our character.
2. Faith and Life Challenges
Criticism: If the gospel is true, why doesn’t it work for everyone?
Response: Jeffrey provides an example of someone who, due to chronic illness, has missed key life milestones such as missionary service, marriage, and career success. She asks, “Why is the gospel not working for me?” This question assumes that the gospel’s purpose is to ensure external achievements, rather than develop Christlike attributes. The talk clarifies that true gospel living is about endurance, faith, and covenant-keeping, regardless of external circumstances.
3. The Danger of Gospel Counterfeits
Criticism: Different interpretations of the gospel are equally valid as long as they bring fulfillment.
Response: The talk warns against Gospel Counterfeits, which mimic gospel language but redefine its purpose. These include:
- The Expressive Gospel, which elevates self-expression over covenant-keeping.
- The Prosperity Gospel, which equates financial or professional success with righteousness.
- The Therapeutic Gospel, which prioritizes emotional well-being over moral transformation.
These distortions lead people to lose faith when their expectations are unmet because they were following a counterfeit gospel rather than the Redemptive Gospel of Christ.
4. The Redefinition of Gospel Vocabulary
Criticism: Non-judgmental love means never evaluating choices or actions.
Response: The talk explains that cultural influences have redefined gospel vocabulary, causing confusion. For example:
- In the Redemptive Gospel, non-judgmental love means “not condemning people”.
- In the Expressive Gospel, non-judgmental love means “never evaluating actions”.
Similarly, authenticity in the Redemptive Gospel means “becoming Christlike and genuine”, whereas in the Expressive Gospel, it means “asserting one’s unique desires over moral teachings.”
By recognizing these subtle distortions, believers can defend the true gospel and avoid falling into cultural traps.
5. Cultural Influence on Faith
Criticism: Faith should evolve with social and cultural values.
Response: The talk warns that many drift from the gospel without realizing it due to social media, cultural expectations, and shifting priorities. People may continue using gospel language while absorbing secular worldviews, leading them to unconsciously embrace a counterfeit gospel while believing they are still following Christ.
By maintaining doctrinal clarity and spiritual vigilance, individuals can protect themselves from gradual apostasy.
6. The Endurance of Gospel Counterfeits
Criticism: If certain gospel interpretations don’t work, why do they persist?
Response: The talk explains that Gospel Counterfeits persist because they align with cultural values—offering comfort, validation, and self-fulfillment. People often prefer a gospel that promises social acceptance, prosperity, or emotional well-being over one that requires self-denial, sacrifice, and faith in Christ’s grace.
The endurance of these counterfeits demonstrates the need for a firm doctrinal foundation to resist cultural distortions.
7. Defending the True Gospel
Criticism: Why does defining the gospel matter so much?
Response: The talk emphasizes that a distorted gospel leads to disillusionment, while the true gospel of Christ leads to eternal reconciliation with God. To defend the true gospel, believers must:
- Prioritize reconciliation with God over personal comfort.
- Recognize when gospel language is being used to promote worldly values.
- Measure success by spiritual transformation rather than external achievements.
Through doctrinal clarity and spiritual vigilance, believers can ensure that their faith remains rooted in the true Redemptive Gospel rather than cultural distortions.
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