This is part 2 of a 3-part series taking a critical look at recent trends in Christianity towards revising the grammar of faith. For part 1, see: Faith as Trust, Not Pledge, pt. 1: Faith is obsolete now?

What I need first of all is not exhortation, but a gospel, not directions for saving myself but knowledge of how God has saved me. Have you any good news? That is the question that I ask of you. I know your exhortations will not help me. But if anything has been done to save me, will you not tell me the facts? (J. Gresham Machen)

Last time I showed how faithfulness and allegiance simply don’t work as appropriate glosses for pistis-words — historically translated in English as faith or belief — by trying to plug them into several passages in the NT. In each case they made nonsense of the passage, or at least made them read incredibly awkwardly.

In this post I will spell out my second and greatest concern with changing faith to allegiance or faithfulness: Redefining the pistis-words muddles gospel clarity.

One question we should be asking when considering redefining a concept as integral to the Christian life as faith, is: Will this give greater clarity to the Gospel, or muddle it?

We should not want to make the gospel more complicated.

At its heart, gospel clarity means knowing exactly what the gospel is — and what it isn’t.

The gospel is:

The good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived a sinless life, died for our sins, rose again, and reigns as Lord — and that through Him, by grace through faith, we are reconciled to God.

More on this as we go along. For now, it’s enough to notice how simple the contours of the gospel proclamation are on this model: It is a summary of the good news of what God has done in Christ to save sinners. And it is available by grace through faith, for whomever believes.

So that’s what I would argue the gospel is, and the Church-at-large has generally been agreed upon this for two millennia. [1] What the gospel is not is:

• A call to moral improvement
• A political platform
• A vague message of love or hope
• A list of spiritual disciplines

A quick and dirty way to check for gospel clarity is simply to recall: If you are doing the verbs, it’s not the gospel. Clarity means keeping Christ’s finished work at the center.

Gospel clarity also means being clear on how a person receives the benefits of the gospel:

Not by works, merit, or religious performance — but by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

When that gets muddied (for example, by implying we earn or maintain God’s favor), gospel clarity is lost.

Gospel clarity also maintains a clear distinction between the gospel and the implications or consequences of the gospel.

The gospel produces love, justice, holiness, and obedience — but those things are not the gospel.

Put another way, gospel clarity rightly divides the root and the fruit. The root = the saving work of God in Christ. The fruit = the life that’s transformed by the gospel.

Indeed, there is no more important question than: Does this clarify the gospel or muddle it?

Scripture says: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:9 ESV). As the gospel is received through faith (Romans 10:17; Ephesians 2:8); and that through-faith nature of receiving is vital to the gospel itself (Romans 1:16-17; Romans 1:12-13; 3:16-18; 5:24); if we define faith as something it isn’t, we will be guilty of preaching a gospel contrary to the one received, and therefore accursed. 

Gospel clarity is what’s primarily at stake in this conversation. It’s not just the redefinition of faith as faithfulness or allegiance that we’re seeing in play in these conversations. Back of this yen for updating what Scripture means by pistis is really a drive to redefine the terms of the gospel itself. 

Let me give you a flavor of the kinds of tweaking of the gospel that’s behind the faithfulness / allegiance revisions we’re seeing. I’m not going to name names, because this is not a matter of personalities or who-said-what. It’s a matter of gospel fidelity. 

Here’s one example. Let’s see what we notice. 

In Mark 1:14-15, we find Jesus’ first reference to “the gospel.” 

Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15, NASB) … 

Surprisingly, we don’t find any mention of sin, forgiveness, or how to get to heaven. Neither did Jesus say anything about dying on a cross. Reflecting on this passage, I wondered why these cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith are so conspicuously missing from Jesus’ preaching. [2] Could it be that Jesus’ use of the term “gospel” doesn’t primarily refer to salvation as we know it or even the means of going to heaven?

From examining these verses and many others, it’s apparent that Jesus’ gospel has everything to do with recognizing the arrival of something He called the Kingdom of God … Nearly all of Jesus’ parables are stories describing the nature and attributes of God’s Kingdom… [T]he euaggélion that Jesus preached was not simply … a collection of abstract theological propositions about how God accomplished salvation. From surveying the Gospels, we must humbly concede that Jesus never … produced a doctrinal statement of faith, or even explained how to become a Christian. The early apostles never did these things, either. But they consistently spoke of the arrival of God’s kingly reign and described it in detail … According to the New Testament, the gospel is about a divine King who has arrived to lay claim to what is rightfully His. The euaggélion [Greek word translated gospel in English, J.M.] is the royal summons for all to come under His rule. As a conquering King, Lord Jesus called for complete surrender in exchange for enjoying all the power and extraordinary benefits of living under His benevolent Reign―both here and in the coming age.

Now, this was a somewhat lengthy quotation, but I want us to understand exactly what’s being done. This author is privileging the Kingdom aspect of the Gospel by denying that the message of Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins is the throbbing core of the Gospel and its proclamation! You did notice that, correct? 

But to do this, you absolutely have to ignore so much of the NT! For example, what does St. Paul say was the Gospel he preached? Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved … For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 ESV, emphasis added)

Well, that’s embarrassing to the case that the apostles never taught that the Gospel was about the forgiveness of sins or Jesus dying on a cross! 

Elsewhere in the article cited above the author — again mentioning the death and resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of sins — brazenly declares that this message “describes some of the amazing benefits of receiving the gospel. But is this really what Jesus preached? Did Jesus or any of the early apostles say anything like this?”

Well, we can see above that the apostles did say things very like that! Not just Paul, but Peter: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5 ESV) And John: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17 ESV)

Someone might object: But Peter and John don’t use the word euangelion / gospel in these passages! True enough, but they are summarizing the core of their own message, and it does align with what Paul expressed as the gospel he preached in 1 Corinthians 15. Obviously these apostles were all proclaiming the gospel and highlighting various aspects of it, including the cosmic / Kingdom motif (see, e.g., Romans 8:18-23; 2 Peter 3:13).

Likewise, the author of the article I cited above is simply wrong to suggest that Jesus’ articulation of the gospel didn’t include his death for the forgiveness of sins as its core. Luke’s version of the Great Commission is absolutely clear that this was exactly the message He sent the Apostles out into the world to declare: Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:45-48 ESV)

As stated earlier, this redefinition of faith as faithfulness or allegiance isn’t in a vacuum. It’s in service to this updated “gospel” that replaces the proclamation to all nations of the forgiveness of sins through the death and resurrection of Christ, with a message of surrender to a King and annexation into His Kingdom.

Do you see how one is Good News — we celebrate our King’s victory and share in its spoils; while the other sounds more like … colonialism? Surrender to your King!

Let’s take this a bit further. The movement to subvert faith-as-belief / trust in favor of faith-as-faithfulness / allegiance fits this revisioning of the Gospel as: about a divine King who has arrived to lay claim to what is rightfully His. The euaggélion is the royal summons for all to come under His rule.

The Kingship of Christ is certainly a key feature of the gospel message. This is why Paul, for instance, introduces Jesus as descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead (Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬); and why the Gospels often speak of Him as Son of David (e.g., Matthew 1:1; Luke 18:38). He is the fulfillment of God’s promise to King David: I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Samuel‬ ‭7‬:‭12-13‬ ‭ESV‬‬). Jesus Christ is David’s heir, the Church is His house, and His reign is forever because He is eternal God.

This is all beautifully true, but it only becomes good news for sinners, strugglers, and sufferers if the reign of Christ addresses their sin and shame, their sufferings and struggles.

So, for example, Christ is a King, but He is a particular kind of King. Isaiah 9:6-7 describes exactly this: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. ‭(ESV‬‬)

In Christ we have a Wonderful Counselor who understands our burdens, our pains, and our anxieties (Hebrews 2:14-18), who is willing and able to bear them (Matthew 11:28-30), and who is in fact our wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). In Christ we have God-with-us, Mighty God embodied in humanity (Matthew 1:23; John 1:1, 14; Colossians 2:9) for us and for our salvation, as the ancient Nicene Creed testifies. Like an Everlasting Father He cares for us and protects us, and is our source of abundant and eternal life. He is Prince of Peace because He establishes peace between man and God, between me and my neighbor, and peace within my restless heart.

He is absolutely King, but He is the kind of King who calls His subjects not servants but friends (John 15:14-15). He is the kind of King who, when He arrives, the very mountains break forth into joyful song, and the forest trees clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12).

And why is all this deliciously true? Because He is not just a King. He is Messiah. Christ. Anointed. In the OT, you have three separate offices that would have been anointed: prophets (1 Kings 19:16; Isaiah 61:1), priests (Exodus 28:41; cf. 30:22-33; Leviticus 8:12, 30; Psalm 133:2); and kings (1 Samuel 10:1; 16:13; 1 Kings 1:39). And this is essential to understand: He is called Christ — anointed — because He combines in Himself all three offices. Christ is not only King, but Prophet and Priest.

And one of these does not take precedence over another in His work. He’s not a King who also happens to be a Priest and a Prophet. No: He is all three, simultaneously, and all three of these co-equally. We see this expressed rather beautifully in the opening verses of Hebrews:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son [Prophet], whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world [King]. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature [Prophet], and he upholds the universe by the word of his power [King]. After making purification for sins [Priest], he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high [King]. (Hebrews‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

See how skillfully in these verses the author braids these three offices of Prophet, King, and Priest together in describing the person and work of Christ?

He is the Prophet who not only speaks the word of God, but is God’s living Word, come in the flesh, revealing God to us in high-definition, high-resolution (John 1:1, 14, 18). He is the King through whom and for whom all things were made, and by whose will and word all things hold together (Colossians 1:15-17). He is the Priest who has given Himself as the once-for-all atonement for the sins of His people, and now intercedes for us with the Father (Hebrews 7:25; 9:11-14; 10:10, 14).

All of that, you see, is what’s behind the summary of the Gospel as the Incarnation — Life — Death — Resurrection — Ascension of Christ. It connects the work of Christ in its fullness — His Prophet-work, Priest-work, and King-work — to the vital concerns of every human.

What happens after we die? We have a Christ who died and lived to tell about it! And He says: I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live (John‬ ‭11‬:‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬). Because Christ has been raised, those who have believed in Him will also be raised to eternal life: immortal, imperishable, incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:20-22, 51-56).

Where can I put my sin, guilt, and shame? And the Scripture says: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬). On the cross, Christ took our sin, guilt, and shame upon Himself. When we place our faith in Him, as He offers Himself to us in the gospel, He takes those raggedy burden from us and clothes us in His own righteousness: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

Things aren’t going so great down here. Where can I find hope? And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭ESV‬‬). But how can I know He will be able to carry this out? Because He is the Almighty who declares the end from the beginning, and to whom all authority on earth and in heaven has been given (Isaiah 46:10; Matthew 28:20). And what will the good He has promised look like? What am I hoping for? Scripture says this: For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬) But what does this mean? Paint a picture. But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

And I can really have this by grace through faith? Yes! For He says: Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price (Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬). You have earned nothing but hell. You can bring nothing but your sin and misery. You must come in faith — as a beggar — or you cannot come at all!

So when you see the gospel summarized as St. Paul does in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, as the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ according to the Scriptures; or you hear it expressed as we observed at the beginning: The gospel good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived a sinless life, died for our sins, rose again, and reigns as Lord — and that through Him, by grace through faith, we are reconciled to God … That’s not a departure from the NT presentation of the gospel! It’s a thumbnail sketch, or a drop-down which contains all the beauties and riches described above.

It’s clear. It’s crisp. It’s clean. Gospel clarity.

Meanwhile, the so-called King Jesus Gospel, which redefines faith as allegiance … now, that is not so clear. Why should that be good news for suffering, struggling sinners?

How is the royal summons for all to come under the rule of the conquering King, good news exactly? How is it good news that Lord Jesus calls for complete surrender in exchange for enjoying all the power and extraordinary benefits of living under His benevolent Reign?

That’s mighty fuzzy to me.

But think back to what I broke open for you from the Scriptures above. It is undeniably good news that the Prophet-Priest-King has come and defeated Satan, sin, and death so that I am now free to serve God and love my neighbor without fear. And that He is God-with-Us, and God for me. It’s undeniably good news that I never again have to worry about FOMO in this life, because there is eternal life to come. It’s deliciously good news that I don’t have to sit around trying to calculate if my bad outweighs my good. (Bad news: It does, and so does yours.)

It’s all such devastatingly wonderful news that no one has to tell me to surrender to Him, I do it gladly (if ever imperfectly).

The King Jesus / faith as allegiance approach does not give me clarity. It does not give me assurance.

Again, I will not name names, because this is not about personalities, it’s about ideas. But consider this: Present justification declares, on the basis of faith, what future justification will affirm publicly … on the basis of the entire life.

How is on the basis of the entire life not leading us back to trying to calculate our moral credits to debits? We’re always gonna come out deep in the red! And the only red I want to be deep in when I stand before the Lord is the blood of the Lamb!

And again, another advocate of this model states: The final judgment for eternal life will be based at least in part on the allegiance-based quality of the works we perform with our bodies.

This performance review dimension of final judgment gives neither clarity nor assurance.

Why so? Because the Bible never indicates the quality or quantity of faithfulness or allegiance necessary for a sinner to stand before God.

Seriously, let’s break this down. If final judgment is based at least in part on our works, what part is that? What’s the percentage? 25%? 10%? 75%? Less than half, more than a quarter? How would one ever know how they’re doing on achieving that magic at least in part? Does the Holy Spirit come down and put us on a PIP if we’re failing to meet KPIs?

And that’s just thinking about quantity. But this author also speaks of the allegiance-based quality of the works we perform. Again, how do we determine that? By successful outcomes? By searching out our internal motivations for sufficient purity of heart? Are we even qualified for that?

Scripture does not answer these questions [3] because they are muddled questions that arise from a murky “gospel.” Scripture simply doesn’t give us the option of final judgment for eternal life based at least in part on the allegiance-based quality of the works we perform. It’s rather the opposite.

In fact, those who rely on the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law.” Clearly no one is declared righteous before God by the law, because “The righteous will live by faith.” The law does not say “by faith.” Instead it says, “The one who does these things will live by them.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭EHV‬‬

Let me explain what brother Paul means here: You can be justified through faith or by works. But those works had better amount to perfect, perpetual obedience. (Which of course, as he notes elsewhere, is exactly why no one will be declared righteous by their works, Romans 3:20, 28). No one is given the option of being judged at least partly on the basis of their works. That’s not a thing. [4]

Once again, I’d like to try the exercise we did in the last post, substituting faithfulness or allegiance for pistis-words in some familiar passages.

Now allegiance is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1, sort of). Oh dear me, where to even begin? This is not the bold, trembling trust of a sinner clinging to grace. This reduces living trust to dead duty. It drags the soul away from the awe of the mercy seat, and sits her bored behind a bureaucrat’s desk.

Allegiance is too sterile of a word to receive the gospel. It commends your ability to be loyal, dutiful, and make good choices. Faith receives, rests, and is delighted to be chosen.

Faith reaches out empty hands to cling to promises in the dark. Allegiance stiffens its spine and vows to perform well.

Allegiance salutes the King. Faith flings herself onto the mercies of Christ.

Or what about this update of Romans 10:17? So then faithfulness comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The way it’s actually written — faith comes by hearing — describes a miracle. As the gospel is proclaimed, faith is kindled in the heart. A Spirit-wrought trust erupts in a miserable sinner, and with it comes repentance. The soul turns around, and reaches out her empty hands to the fullness of Christ — grace upon grace.

Substitute faithfulness, and you’ve now moved from miracle to merit. Faithfulness is a word about your own reliability; faith is a word about relying on God.

I’ve written long, longer than I anticipated. But I feel I have barely scratched the surface. Perhaps I have buried the lede.

So if you’ve read this far, here’s your reward. Here’s what I’ve been getting at in this post: This newly revised King Jesus / faith-as-faithfulness / allegiance brand of “gospel” offers no clear path by which we can know how grace comes to sinners.

And that’s not good news at all.

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[1] So, for example, notice how the fourth century Nicene Creed declares of Christ that: for us men and for our salvation, [He] came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried;
and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures. I often hear the recent revisionists complain that the ancient Creeds don’t draw attention to Christ’s teachings. I can only respond that this wasn’t what the creeds were seeking to protect. The facts about the Triune God and person and work of Christ that make the gospel good news were what was under attack. The heretics weren’t arguing that we shouldn’t love our enemies or share with the poor. They were undermining the Gospel.

[2] J. Gresham Machen a century ago discovered this precise revisioning of the gospel among the theological liberals. The whole shebang: gospel of the Kingdom, minimizing of the atonement, elevation of human effort. To this he replied:

Let us not deceive ourselves. A Jewish teacher of the first century can never satisfy the longing of our souls … But, says the modern preacher, are we not, in being satisfied with the “historical” Jesus, the great teacher who proclaimed the Kingdom of God, merely restoring the simplicity of the primitive gospel? No, we answer, you are not, but, temporally at least, you … are really returning to a very primitive stage in the life of the Church. Only, that stage is not the Galilean springtime. For in Galilee men had a living Savior. There was one time and one time only when the disciples lived, like you, merely on the memory of Jesus. When was it? It was a gloomy, desperate time. It was the three sad days after the crucifixion … The truth is that when men speak of trust in Jesus’ Person, as being possible without acceptance of the message of His death and resurrection, they do not really mean trust at all. What they designate as trust is really admiration or reverence. They reverence Jesus as the supreme Person of all history and the supreme revealer of God. But trust can come only when the supreme Person extends His saving power to us.

J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, 42, 43, 45

[3] Technically I suppose Scripture does answer the question, Are we even qualified for that? And its answer is a resounding, unqualified, No! The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure, observes the prophet. Who can understand it? To which God replies: I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve. (Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬) That’s why, I am sure, St. Paul once humbly said: My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. (1 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

[4] I am not arguing that believers don’t stand before the judgment seat of Christ. We certainly will (2 Corinthians 5:10). And we shall do so without fear of condemnation (Romans 8:1; John 5:24). I’m also not saying that God will not reward the (Spirit-wrought!) good works of believers. I am saying that He rewards believers for good works done in faith in eternal life, not with eternal life.