The Moralistic Gospel

Part 4 of 8 on Recognizing & Resisting False Gospels

The MORALISTIC Treadmill

Imagine running on a treadmill. You’re sweating, striving, and exhausted—but no matter how hard you run, you’re not actually getting anywhere. The scenery never changes.

Not to diminish the benefits of a good cardio workout, but that spiritual sense of hard work and effort leading to nowhere sums up the Moralistic Gospel.

Moralism reduces Christianity to a set of rules:

Be good.

Do right.

Try harder.

Be different.

Of all the other false gospels, this one often sneaks under the radar in many churches. And that’s because the moralistic gospel often gets baked into conversations around spiritual disciplines like bible reading, prayer, sabbath-keeping, tithing, church attendance, and service. To be clear, all of those activities are right, good, and necessary for our growth and development in Christ.

We should read our bible. We should pray. We should faithfully gather with believers to sing, hear God’s word, and fellowship.

But our disciplines cannot save us. They can only serve as a means to draw us to the one who already has.

When our aim is simply to do good things, Jesus becomes less a Savior and more a role model. The Father becomes like a high school principal looking unhappily at our files and doesn’t know your name, instead of the merciful dad who is ready to meet you on the front porch with a bear hug when you come to Him. With the moralistic gospel, salvation isn’t about grace—it’s about effort. But like running on a treadmill, it never leads to spiritual progress, just burnout and exhaustion.

Dallas Willard rightly said, “The gospel is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning” (Willard, 2014).

Why Moralism Feels So Attractive

On the surface, moralism feels safe. Rules give us structure. Good behavior earns us approval. In fact, research shows this is how many Americans instinctively understand Christianity. A 2017 Barna study found that 48% of U.S. Christians defined being a Christian as “being a good person” or “living by God’s rules” (Barna Group, 2017).

In other words, nearly half of Christians confuse salvation with self-improvement. They know about Jesus, but functionally, they live as though their standing with God depends on their performance.

This “do more, try harder” mindset also explains why so many Christians wrestle with guilt and inadequacy. Moralism tells us we’ll never be enough—because the bar is always just out of reach.

Why the Moralistic Gospel Fails

The danger of moralism isn’t just exhaustion—it’s distortion. When we believe we can earn God’s love, we undermine the cross. If salvation could be achieved through good works, then Jesus died for nothing (Gal. 2:21).

Moralism also breeds pride and comparison. If I believe my good behavior earns me points with God, I’m tempted to look down on others who don’t “measure up.” Instead of producing humility, moralism produces either arrogance (“I’m better than others”) or despair (“I’ll never be enough”).

The True Gospel: Grace That Transforms

The real gospel isn’t a treadmill—it’s a gift. Paul makes this crystal clear:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…” (Eph. 2:8–10, ESV).

Notice the order: salvation is a gift of grace, not a reward for effort. But grace doesn’t make us passive—it empowers us. We don’t work for God’s love; we work from it. Good works are not the basis of our salvation—they’re the fruit of it.

A Healthy Church Frees People from the Treadmill

Churches poisoned by the moralistic gospel often measure faithfulness by checklists—attendance, service hours, volunteerism, and moral behavior. While these are good, they’re not the gospel. A healthy church points people to Jesus, not just to “try harder.” It helps people find rest in grace, not weariness in effort.

We obey God not to earn love but because we’ve already received it. But here’s where it gets uncomfortable: we struggle to accept something that we haven’t earned, don’t we?

The longer I serve in ministry, the more I’m convinced that the simple act of receiving God’s grace is a stumbling block of offense. We’ve placed a premium on the self-made man or woman. In our pride, we believe we can earn our way into being made new. The reality is, we cannot. If we can’t accept that, we can’t receive His grace. However, this is exactly what we must do to be empowered to live a renewed life in Jesus.

The question then becomes: will we keep running on the treadmill of religion, exhausted and empty, or will we step off and collapse into the arms of grace? The truth is, grace is far more demanding than moralism—not because it asks us to try harder, but because it asks us to surrender our illusion of control. Moralism lets us cling to the idea that our performance can keep God happy. Grace requires us to admit our weakness and trust that Jesus has done what we never could.

The treadmill will always leave you weary. The cross will always lead you home.

So maybe the most radical thing you can do today is not “do more, try harder,” but simply open your hands, unclench your jaw, and receive the gift you cannot earn. Only then will your obedience flow from joy, not fear—and your spiritual walk will finally move forward, not in circles.

Grace & Peace,

Mike

References

Barna Group. (2017). The State of the Church 2017. Barna Group.

Wax, T. (2011). Counterfeit Gospels: Rediscovering the Good News in a World of False Hope. Moody Publishers.

Willard, Dallas (2014). The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship. HarperOne.