Heresies: Robb Moser

Genesis to Revelation Bible Blogs

Modern heresies often rebrand ancient errors, focusing on self-empowerment, material gain, and the dilution of core doctrines like the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, and the necessity of grace. Major contemporary examples include the Prosperity Gospel, universalism, moralistic therapeutic deism, and various forms of modern Gnosticism or legalism.

• Prosperity Gospel: Teaches that God promises health, wealth, and success to believers, treating faith as a tool for material gain rather than a relationship centered on the cross.

• Modern Gnosticism/New Age Movement: Emphasizes spiritual experience over scripture, often holding that humans are inherently divine, the physical world is unimportant, or that reality is personally created.

• Universalism/Inclusivism: The belief that all people will be saved regardless of faith, or that all religions are equally valid paths to God.

• Pelagianism & Legalism: The belief that human beings can initiate their own salvation or that strict adherence to rules (rather than grace) is the basis of righteousness.

• Modalism: A modern resurgence of an ancient heresy, this claims the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not distinct persons but merely different “modes” or roles of one God.

• Moralistic Therapeutic Deism: Often cited as a subtle modern heresy, this view reduces faith to being “nice” and feeling good, with a distant God who only intervenes to help when needed.

• Hyper-Grace: An overreaction to legalism that disregards the need for repentance, claiming that because of grace, obedience to God’s moral standards is unnecessary.

• Modern Cult Movements: Groups like the World Mission Society Church of God, which preaches a “God the Mother” figure, distorting the biblical definition of the Trinity.

These movements often avoid deep, historic, or orthodox doctrine in favor of "vague clichés" that prioritize personal comfort over scriptural truth.