"No Additives" Series

THE COURSE OF THE GALATIANS (Vv. 6-7)

"I marvel that you are turning away so soon..."

I think it is safe to say that at least, part of the Galatian Christians were believers (v. 9), but they were being led astray by false teachers; We read in (Acts 18:23-28) that Paul had preached the Gospel to them and that they had believed, he also told them to beware of the false teachers that would come unto them; and that it had only been a short time since then. Although Paul is astonished and heartbroken, he has full confidence that those whom God has saved will come back to their right minds (5:10) "I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is." Although it is possible for a child of God to turn away for a season, it is never possible for them to be turned away totally from the one who saved him by His grace. If salvation is truly a work of God, then how can man overthrow it? (Isa. 14:27) " For the Lord of hosts has purposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?" It is not possible for a believer, though he be deceived for a season, to be separated from the love of God in Christ. (Rom. 8:38-39). "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

"Turning away... From Him who called you in the grace of Christ..."

They were turning to a gospel which seeks justification by obedience to the law rather than by the righteousness which comes from God by faith in Christ. It seeks to save by adding to the one true gospel such items as: circumcision and the keeping of the law, of the Jewish feasts and holidays, and of the observing of the traditions of men. This is what Paul means when he said that they had fallen from grace in (5:4) "You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." They had fell (turned) from trusting in justifiction by grace to justification by works.

"To a different gospel... Which is not another..." (Eph. 4:4-6) "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." There is only one Gospel and no matter how many other false beliefs arise, it will always be the "Good news" from God to man. Anything other than God’s free grace to man is not "Good news"

"But there are some who want to pervert the gospel..." (Acts 20:29) "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock." It is imperative that every preacher/teacher of the Word, be on the look out for any type of false doctrine/prophet within the congregation. All who purposely aim to pervert the gospel will be utterly condemned; as we will see in our next two verses.

THE CURSE OF THE FALSE PROPHETS (Vv. 8-9)

With all authority from God as an apostle of Christ, Paul states not once, but twice that any who pervert the gospel will be in danger of being under the curse of God. I believe that there is a difference between those who teach in ignorance and those who pervert the gospel. The former is one who teaches above what he has been taught himself and the latter is a teacher who teaches in order to twist what is known to him, for his own purposes. One is in danger of being chastised for irresponsibility and the other is in danger of being accursed. One, when shown the truth, will not continue to teach what is contrary to it; but the other will fight against the truth all the days of his life. (Jude 4, 12-13, 16, 19) "For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." "These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;" "raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever." " These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage." "These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit."