10 Things that Distract you from Christ

The best lies are the ones that have a little truth mixed in. They sound convincing, they make sense, but like medicine mixed with poison, they can be deadly.

This is why you need a clear and undistorted view of the gospel. Not a vague idea, but a solid one, lest you end up like these poor fellows:

I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:6–7)

I am sure the Galatians didn’t intend to desert the Lord or fall from grace. But that’s what happens when you heed those who distort the gospel of Christ.

To distort means to corrupt or turn around. A corrupted gospel can corrupt you. A turned-around gospel can turn you around until you are walking away from Jesus.

Not good.

The Apostle Paul was prepared to give his life for the gospel of grace because he knew the grace gospel is the only gospel with the power to save. He vigorously opposed those “dogs” and “evil workers” who sought to distort the gospel by adding things to it (see Php. 3:2).

Here are ten things that can distort the gospel of grace. See how many you recognize:

1. Preaching the Ten Commandments, a.k.a. the ministry that brought death (2 Cor. 3:7). God hid these inside the ark under the blood-stained mercy seat but you want to hang them on the wall?! Don’t you know that living under the law is cheating on Jesus (Rom. 7:1–6)?
2. Pushing rules and regulations (Col. 2:21–23). “Don’t dance, don’t smoke, and wear a tie on Sundays. Keep the rules and you’ll be as pure as the driven snow.” Uh-huh. Vaping is bad for you, but unbelief is worse. Working on the Sabbath may wear you out, but Jesus still loves you.
3. Human effort a.k.a. the flesh (Gal 3:3). Think performance-oriented Christianity. “Gotta get busy for Jesus. Gotta work for my salvation. Gotta start producing fruit or he’s going to lop me off.” Except that you don’t and he won’t.
4. Lifeless traditions (Col 2:8). “That’s the way we’ve always done things around here.” Nothing invalidates the word of God like a manmade tradition (Mark 7:13). Nothing extinguishes grace faster than DIY religion.
5. Hollow and deceptive philosophy, a.k.a. “big words and intellectual double talk” (Col 2:8, MSG). “He sounds smarter than me, so he’s probably right.” Not if he’s distracting you from simple and pure devotion to Christ he isn’t.
6. Myths (1 Tim 1:4). Did Adam have another wife? Were the Nephilim angel-spawn? Where do demons come from? Where is Sheol? Does it matter?
7. Angel worship (Col 2:18). God told you the name of the angel watching over this church/city/heavenly court? Okay, but let’s get back to Jesus.
8. Endless genealogies (1 Tim. 1:4). You think you broke your leg because your grandfather was a freemason/slave owner/tarot-card reading gypsy? Weren’t you adopted into a new family when you believed? Didn’t Christ redeem us from the curse so that we might inherit the blessings of Father Abraham?
9. Sin consciousness (Heb. 10:2, 22). Your guilty conscience won’t let you accept grace? You think your sin is greater than God’s grace? See the cross and repent for your unbelief. Get your mind off your badness and focus on God’s goodness. His best is greater than your worst and his grace is more than enough.
10. Foolish controversies (Tit. 3:9). You think the president is controlled by who? You gave how much to that gloomy prophet/end time’s preacher/QAnon? That’s time and money you could’ve spent telling people the good news.

These things can be dangerous if they distort the good news and distract you from Jesus. They may be wrapped in gospel ribbons, but they are not good news. They may have appearance of wisdom and they may appeal to your flesh, but being worldly or demonic in origin, they have no life in them.

Consider yourself dead to these distractions and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Learn to abide in his love and you will never put a foot wrong.

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Learn more about the dangers of mixture.

Read Paul’s latest update on the state of the Grace Commentary.