If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.

The saying warns against treating Christian revelation as a menu of agreeable ideas rather than an authoritative message that can challenge the believer. It criticizes a selective, self-confirming approach to Scripture—accepting passages that align with one’s preferences while dismissing those that demand repentance, doctrinal assent, or moral change. In that posture, the “object” of faith subtly shifts from the Gospel to the self: one’s tastes, judgments, and autonomy become the final standard. The line is often invoked in debates about doctrinal integrity and the temptation to remake religion in one’s own image.