Most people in the world believe that they are “basically good.” This false version of Christianity simply tells people what they want to hear about themselves. Some scholars have called it “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism,” with the central idea being that everyone is basically good but needs some therapy, that God wants everyone everywhere to be happy and to be nice to each other, and that almost everyone will end up in heaven.

From the beginning of His earthly ministry, Christ had to fight misconceptions. His own Apostles consistently misunderstood His mission, conceiving of the kingdom of God as an enhanced version of David’s reign, with the Christ as a political leader who would subdue all gentile nations with military power. They did not understand the Messiah as both the Son of David and the Son of God. They had no conception of a salvation worked by Christ’s bloody death on a Roman cross. Even after His resurrection, His closest followers were downcast as they walked with the risen and hidden Lord on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–27). They called Him a prophet and expressed their dashed hopes that He was the One who would redeem Israel. They were completely confused about the reports of an empty tomb and a risen Lord. Jesus called them foolish and slow of heart to believe what the prophets had spoken. He remedied their confusion by teaching them from the Word His true nature and mission in the world.

If Jesus’ closest followers were consistently mistaken about His identity and purpose, how much more is the world? Scripture says that the people of the world walk in darkness, are enslaved to sin, and are hostile to God in mind and heart. So when confronted with authentic Christianity’s proclamation of the incarnation of Christ, justification by faith alone apart from works, progressive sanctification as the believer works out in his life what the Lord is working in him, and glorification at the end of life by the direct action of God, the world has consistently twisted or rejected the truth. The devil has for centuries sowed skillful seeds of confusion in human hearts.

Church history has tragically borne this out as well. There is not time to trace out the history of heresies that have arisen within the church. Outsiders added to the confusion in the Roman era by claiming that Christians were atheists (because they didn’t believe in the pagan gods), traitors to the empire (because they refused to burn incense to Caesar), incestuous (because they called each other “brother” and “sister” and referred to their worship as “love feasts”), and cannibals (because they partook in the body and blood of Christ in communion). During the Middle Ages, nominally Christian barbarian kings in Western Europe led their warriors in the Crusades, doing damage to the reputation of Christ through their violence against Muslims and even other professing Christians in the East.

What about in our generation? How is Christianity misconceived of by the world today? Here are some main categories.

1. Legalism or license. On the one hand, many see Christianity as a bunch of moralistic dos and don’ts, laws that we must keep to be right with God. Exactly opposite is the perception of Christianity as immoral, whose doctrine of forgiveness by faith alone apart from law-keeping is a free pass to live any way that you want with no ultimate consequences at all.

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