Gauge theories are characterized by the Slavnov identities which express their invariance under a family of transformations of the supergauge type which involve the Faddeev Popov ghosts. These identities are proved to all orders of renormalized perturbation theory, within the BPHZ framework, when the underlying Lie algebra is semi-simple and the gauge function is chosen to be linear in the fields in such a way that all fields are massive. An example, the SU2 Higgs Kibble model is analyzed in detail: the asymptotic theory is formulated in the perturbative sense, and shown to be reasonable, namely, the physical S operator is unitary and independent from the parameters which define the gauge function.