Customer Reviews

Getting the Gospel Wrong

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I really enjoyed reading this book. I am encouraged that J. B. Hixson has enough courage to expose the numerous wrong "gospels" people believe today. I have been involved in Christian ministry for almost 40 years. I am amazed so few people realize the inconsistencies among churches and various ministries regarding what they either do (or do not) tell people about how to go to heaven. I wholeheartedly concur that, as the subtitle of the book states, it is "the evangelical crisis no one is talking about."

Chapters 4-8 are outstanding in dealing with what the author calls "The Purpose Gospel," "The Puzzling Gospel," "The Prosperity Gospel," "The Pluralistic Gospel," and "The Performance Gospel." I could relate to being influenced by each of these wrong gospels to some degree, but especially to the last one. My wife and I spent many years working with a Christian organization that falls into the "performance gospel" category.

It is rare to find a church or Christian ministry that believes eternal salvation from the penalty of sin is REALLY a "free" gift, and by faith "alone". "Free" has been redefined (with numerous strings/conditions attached) and "faith" has been redefined as "commitment" and/or "obedience." Sadly, people are told the wrong way to go to heaven, as a result. It's no wonder that our nation is no longer a Christian nation. So few believe that Jesus guarantees eternal life to those who simply believe Him for it (John 3:16). I fear that, because of an erroneous understanding of the Gospel, many religious leaders and church members may not even be born again. Regardless, the shepherds have certainly led their sheep astray.

Perhaps this is the meaning of Jesus' words in Matthew 7:21-23. Even though people call Him "Lord, Lord" and do all kinds of good things in His name, Jesus says He "never knew" them. Why? Jesus says they failed to do "the will of My Father"--the most important thing. The will of the Father is for people to simply BELIEVE--to trust in the person and work of Christ ALONE for their eternal destiny. This implies that people must stop trusting in everything else, including their "commitment" to give their life to Christ, to surrender control of their life to God, to turn from their sins, to put Jesus on the throne of their life, and to the numerous other wrong gospels which are commonly heard today.

The author explains that the problem with so many wrong gospels is with the "content" of the gospel. Saving faith must have the right object (i.e., the right facts). In contrast, the problem is not with the "wrong kind of faith" (i.e., a "spurious faith"). Hixson concludes that a person must believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God (that He is God the Son) who died and rose again to pay his personal penalty for sin and the One who gives eternal life to all who trust Him and Him alone for it.

I also appreciated the author's emphasis on the fact that many "gospels" today ONLY relate to this life, and not to eternity. Many churches have been influenced, at least to some degree, by the social gospel and drawn away from helping people understand how they can go to heaven, and not hell. Instead, their priority is mainly an attempt to help people have a better life on earth.

I encourage people to read this book. It may mean the difference between heaven and hell for yourself, as well as for others you seek to influence.

This is one in several responses to the 'crossless gospel' or reductionist salvation, minimalistic salvation as promoted by Zane Hodges [now deceased], Bob Wilkin, and other writers of the GES (Grace Evangelical Society). Not all members agree with this view, but the leaders (Hodges and Wilkin) do. Hixson does a good job of establishing the traditional, biblical view of what the gospel is with example after example in over 400 pages. One negative is the publisher's many typographical errors,i.e."Foreward" for "Forword" which is to be expected from any publication, but a good proofreader would have caught those, so there is no excuse for the same error over and over.
Overall, I would highly recommend this exposure of "the crisis no one is talking about" so that many will be warned in an age of lack of discernment by professing, and even genuine, Christianity. Only the Spirit of Christ can show us the truth, but Dr. Hixson has done a great work for the cause of Christ and I wish his book to have a wide circulation even with its typos.
James Gray
Waynesboro, GA

I read this book through in less than one week. I appreciated the author's insights and ability to clearly define the content of faith and object of faith one needs to have for eternal life. I also found it gave an excellent overview of many of the heresies being promoted by "Evangelicals" today. After reading this, I no longer want to refer to myself as an Evangelical. We need a new name for those who continue to hold to a Literal/Historical/Grammatical Hermeneutic, sola scriptura and sola fida in Christ alone. Well worth reading.

This book is a must for every Believer in the world today. It is easy to read and understand. It explains what is happening to the Christian faith throughout the world. It explains and backs with scripture the error in many circles of Believers. It arms the Believer with the signs to look for and how to recognize when deviation from scripture takes place. A hard book to put down once you start.

Getting the Gospel Wrong, I believe is a must read for all Christians.It is very thought provoking and forces you to think about what your trusting in for your salvation. With all the many false gospels out there this is a sound easy to read study help. Like I said, a must read.

The late, great Zane Hodges said this about this "book":

"A recent book entitled Getting the Gospel Wrong[1] prescribes five core essentials that one must believe to get eternal life. If a person fails to believe even one of the five, he has believed a gospel that cannot save him. But at this point obvious problems emerge. Who determines which theological doctrines are necessary for eternal salvation? The Bible, we are told. But where in the Bible? No single place, we are told. Who then determines what the definitive list contains? The answer, of course, boils down to this: the theological legalist himself! Because if the legalist himself doesn't tell us, no one will ever figure it out!"

This guy posted an unapologetic response on his website. You should not have quarreled with the honorable Bob Wilkin. You should not have quarreled with the honorable Zane Hodges. I won't be getting this FILTH! GES forever! Don't call yourself "free grace"! Your a hop and a skip away from free grace at this point boy. This book is "theological legalism."