No, the Gospel Is Not Woke—It’s Righteous

In recent days, headlines have lit up with a troubling message being circulated in the name of the Pope: “Woke is not an insult, but rather a reflection of the gospel.” Although it has been deemed not associated with the pope, it's still being circulated and believed.  

Let’s be clear: that statement is not just misleading—it’s dangerous. It confuses the holiness of God with the tolerance of man. It replaces conviction with comfort. And it rebrands the gospel of Jesus Christ into something culturally acceptable but spiritually powerless.

The true gospel is not woke. It’s not progressive. It’s not about virtue signaling, identity politics, or the affirmation of sinful lifestyles. The gospel is about repentance, redemption, and resurrection. It doesn’t mirror the culture; it calls it to die.

1. The Gospel Is Not a Mirror of Culture—It’s a Call to Come Out From It
The woke agenda wants to drag the church into a place where sin is normalized and conviction is called hate. But the gospel of Jesus Christ doesn’t affirm our identity in sin; it confronts it with the truth.

“Therefore ‘Come out from their midst and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘And do not touch what is unclean, and I will welcome you.’” (2 Corinthians 6:17, LSB)

When the church starts echoing the language of woke ideology, affirming every lifestyle, championing self over surrender, and prioritizing feelings over faithfulness, it stops being salt and light. It becomes compromised.

2. Wokeness Seeks Affirmation—The Gospel Demands Repentance
Wokeness preaches acceptance without accountability. It says, “You’re perfect as you are.” The gospel says, “You’re dead in sin—but Jesus can make you alive.”

“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4, LSB)

The kindness of God is not expressed in tolerance. It’s expressed in truth that transforms. Any message that removes repentance from the gospel is not good news—it’s a lie dressed in religious language.

3. The Gospel Doesn’t Bow to Public Opinion
The Apostle Paul warned about this kind of thing. He said there would come a time when people would “not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires.” (2 Timothy 4:3, LSB)

That’s what woke theology does, it trades in the eternal Word of God for cultural applause. But the gospel doesn’t evolve with the times. It remains unchanged because truth never expires.

Jesus didn’t come to build a movement of tolerance. He came to build a kingdom of righteousness.

4. Love Does Not Mean Approval
One of the biggest lies in the woke gospel is that love is equivalent to affirmation. But biblical love is far more powerful, and far more honest.

“Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:6, LSB)

Jesus didn’t love people by leaving them in sin. He loved them by calling them out of it. He told the woman caught in adultery, “Go. From now on sin no more.” (John 8:11, LSB)
That’s not condemnation, it’s compassion with a call to transformation.

5. The Real Gospel Is Offensive—Because It Saves
The woke movement wants a gospel that never offends. But an unoffensive gospel is a powerless gospel. The real gospel offends the flesh so it can awaken the soul.

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18, LSB)

The cross isn’t a symbol of tolerance. It’s a symbol of death, death to self, death to sin, and life in Christ alone.

When even religious leaders start promoting ideas that twist the gospel to fit cultural trends, the church must stand firm.

We are not called to be woke. We are called to be watchful.

“But examine everything; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21–22, LSB)

The true gospel doesn’t tell you to be yourself. It tells you to die to yourself and follow Christ. It doesn’t condone your sin. It offers a Savior who died to free you from it.

The gospel is not woke. It is holy, eternal, and unmatched in power.

Jesus didn’t come to affirm us. He came to redeem us.

Let’s preach that gospel. And let’s not be ashamed of it.

In Love,

Pastor Jody