The Grace of God 103 There could not be another “gospel.” Change, modify, the grace of Christ by the smallest degree, and you no longer have a gospel;;i A gospel is “glad tidings” ; and the law is not glad tidings. “What things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God” (Rom. 3 :19 ), and surely that is no good news. The law, then, has but one language; it pronounces “ all the world”—“good”, bad, and “goody-good”—“guilty”. But you say: What is a simple child of God, who knows no theology, to do? Just this: to remember that any so- called gospel which is not pure unadulterated grace is “another” gospel. If it proposes, under whatever specious guise, to win favor of God by works, or goodness, or “character,” or anything else which man can do, it is spurious. That is the unfailing test. But it is more than spurious, it is accursed—or rather the preachers of it are (Gal. 1:8, 9 ) . It is not man who says that, but the Spirit of God who says it by His apostle. This is unspeakably solemn. Not the denial of the Gospel even, is so awfully serious as to pervert the Gospel. Oh, that God may give His people in this day power to discriminate, to distinguish things which differ. Alas, it is discernment which seems so painfully wanting. If a preacher is cultured, gentle, earnest, intellectual, and broadly tolerant, the sheep of God run after him. He, of course, speaks beautifully about Christ, and uses the old words—redemption, the cross, even sacrifice and atonement— but what is his Gospel? That is the crucial question. Is salvation, perfect, entire, eternal,—-justification, sanctification, glory,—the alone work of Christ, and the free gift of God to faith alone? Or does he say: (Dr. Abbott) “Character is salvation,” even though he may add that Christ “helps” to form the character?
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