GALATIONS 1:6-10
Gospel Perversion/ ONE TRUE GOSPEL
There is only one saving gospel, the gospel of grace by faith in Jesus Christ alone. This is the only gospel that is of divine origin. It is a gospel of the grace of Christ offered as a free gift. There is nothing any man could ever do to gain the approval of a just and Holy God. Man can not gain God’s salvation but must wholly fling himself upon the love and mercy of God in one great act of faith.
Still now as then people try and attach something to grace which means it is no longer free grace and no longer the true gospel which means it no longer saves. God and God alone must save man, for man, even the best and best intentioned of men cannot save themselves or anyone else.
I. EXPRESSED AMAZEMENT, 6-7.
II. EXPOSED ADVERSARIES, 8-10.
The first section of Galations [there is no thanksgiving that normally follows the greeting] is urgently introduced as astounding news in verse 6. I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;
Paul does not continue his greeting as he normally did with words of thanksgiving. No, he moves with a bang directly into this most important of issues, gospel perversion. Normally Paul is very tactful using words of praise and encouragement before words of correction and reproof. But not here, the very essence of the gospel was at stake. There are some things that cannot be tolerated if Christ is to save and Christianity is to stand.
Nonetheless this is not an outburst of indignation but of astonishment, of amazement, rather that of resentment. Though Paul rebukes he does not reject. He is convinced that even though they are in the process of quickly deserting the One who called them that they would repent.
Before new or immature believers are solidified in the true faith, cult members often prey on them just like the Judaizers did these ungrounded believers. They want to move people from grace to law, from liberty to legalism by imposing their manmade standards. Man moves in and places their interpretation above the Word and the interpretation of the Holy Spirit. They infatuate people with the thought that they have what they are missing, that they need something else, that they did not get it all when they received Christ, that they need something else and they and their group alone have it. The unstable follow just like little children are lead astray by the stranger who offers them candy.
These people had accepted the call of the Holy Spirit to salvation full and free and this is the only way salvation is offered, as a free gift. The grace of Christ is a basic theme of this letter (1:3,6,15; 2:9,21; 5:4; 6:18). Grace is simply God’s favor to undeserving sinners. The grace of God is what saves and what saved them. These Galatians were not simply changing churches but were accepting a different gospel (heteros not allos) different in kind and character. This gospel differed radically from Paul’s "that a man is not justified by law /works, but only through faith in Jesus Christ" (2:16, Rom. 3:24; Eph 2:8, Titus 3:4-7). They substituted one that proclaim faith plus something else is the way to salvation. This is a shocking and serious matter. When people set up additional requirements or experiences for salvation, they deny the sufficiency of Christ’s death on the cross (3:1-5). It is apostasy just as surely as Israel’s worship of the golden calves "who brought them out of Egypt" (Ex. 32:8f).
The thought of a different gospel and its different direction continues in verse 7. - which is really not another [not the same gospel at all], only [except] there are some who are throwing you into confusion and want to distort [pervert] the gospel of Christ.
The reference is clearly to the self-righteous Judaizers who abandoned the Jerusalem church and followed behind Paul to throw new believers into confusion about the truth. Literally this verb throwing (para- assortes an unusual construction from tarasoo) means to shake, stir-up, trouble, agitate. It is pictured by the ocean caught up in the midst of a violent storm. This agitation expresses the condition the Judaizers caused in the church at Corinth.
The word distort or pervert is a strong word used only two other places in the N.T. (Acts 2:20, James 4:9). It means to turn about, to turn upside down the gospel which centers in Christ and glories only Him. No wonder they were troubled. Accepted grace leads to peace. Grace deserted leads to distortion.
A twisting of the truth is more difficult to spot than an outright lie. The Judaizers were twisting the truth about Christ. They claimed to follow Him, but they denied that Jesus’ work on the cross was sufficient for salvation. There will always be people who pervert the Good News. Either they do not understand what the Bible teaches, or they are uncomfortable with the truth as it stands.
How can we tell when people are twisting the truth? Before accepting the teachings of any group, find out what the group teaches about Jesus Christ. If their teaching does not match the truth in God’ s Word, then it is perverted.
Having Explained his Authority, and Expressed his Amazement, Paul now- Exposes his Adversaries.
II. EXPOSED ADVERSARIES (8-10).
In verse 8 a curse is invoked on those perverting the gospel of Jesus Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you he is to be accursed!
Even if we, God’s human representatives or an angel from heaven one who descends in the radiant blaze of holiness, should preach (or evangelize; Aor. mid. subjective) anything else than that which brought you salvation, let them be eternally doomed. [If + aor. subj.; a third class or more probable conditional statement. Expresses some doubt but with a good possibility of coming to past.]
"Make love, not war!" may have been a popular slogan, but it is not always feasible. Doctors must make war against disease and death; sanitary engineers must war against filth and pollution; legislators must war against injustice and crime. And they all fight because of something they love!" [Wiersbe, 684]
The Judaizers had come in and substituted their false gospel for the true gospel and for this sin Paul pronounced them accursed forever. The word he uses is anathema which means "dedicated to destruction, something delivered over to divine wrath for destruction." He asks God to act in judgment upon those who preach a different gospel.
Preaching another gospel is no small sin. Christians need to be aware of how to spot a false gospel. The best way to do this is by becoming completely familiar with the true gospel.
Bank tellers are trained to identify COUNTERFEIT BILLS. They study and handle the original til they know it completely. A key way to spot a bogus bill is by the feel of the paper. Sometimes the ink or color on a counterfeit bill is too light. On our new one hundred dollar bills are raised numerals that can be felt and magnetic strips inside the bill. No one trying to pass a phony bill takes it directly to a bank. It’s usually passed through unsuspecting merchants. Bank tellers work with money daily and can spot a fake quickly.
Paul warned believers to beware of a counterfeit gospel. He was stern and severe about his warning because he knew the difference between truth and half-truth could be life and death. The best way to identify a counterfeit is to know what the real item looks like. We should be intimately acquainted with Christ and His powerful, life-changing gospel. If we are we will spot a counterfeit gospel.
The hypothetical becomes reality in verse 9. As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
The truth expressed in the conditional sentence in verse 8 greatly strengthens what is expressed in verse 9. The guilt of this crime deserves the wrath of God unleashed in all its fury. Paul’s second let him be anathema, is not a mere wish, but an effective pronouncement. The apostle Paul, fully authorized by Christ, is pronouncing a curse upon those who are committing this heinous crime of calling the true gospel false and substituting a ruinously dangerous gospel for the One that saves. There is no more severe condemnation in scripture. Paul uses such language because he was dealing with an eternal life and eternal death issue.
We then are warned in verse 10 of those who seek human approval. For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.
Here one detects an echo of the opponents’ accusation and insinuations. They probably said that Paul is trying win human favor by his gospel rather than divine favor. He tries to please everybody so that everybody will want to follow him. Paul answers: "Would a popularity seeker hurl anathemas at people? Is it not clear that it is not men’s but God’s approval I’m seeking." Paul pleased men only when it did not contradict his pleasing Christ.
When VERDI produced his FIRST OPERA in Florence, the composer stood by himself in the shadows and kept his eye on the face of one man in the audience - the great Rossini. It mattered not to Verdi whether the people in the hall were cheering him or jeering him; all he wanted was a smile of approval from the master musician. So it was with Paul. He knew what it was to suffer for the Gospel, but the approval or disapproval of men did not move him. "Therefore also we have as our ambition to be pleasing to Him" (2 Cor. 5:9, NASB). Paul wanted the approval of Christ.
The servant of God is constantly tempted to comprise in order to attract and please men. When D.L. Moody was preaching in England, a worker came to him on the platform and told him that a very important nobleman had come into the hall. "May the meeting be a blessing to him!" was Moody’s reply, as he preached just as before without trying to impress anybody.
Paul was not a politician. He was an ambassador. It was not Paul but his adversaries that were trying to avoid persecution.
Just a word on relationships before we close. When you enter any relationship, be it romantic, social, business or otherwise, be careful what you permit in the beginning because it’ll come to be expected. For example, if you have to buy someone’s friendship by letting them manipulate you, be prepared to keep paying. And don’t plan on changing them. Just think how difficult it is to change yourself - so what are your chances of changing somebody else? Decide now what you can live with later. And stop living like there’s no tomorrow - because tomorrow always comes! Solomon said, "Fear of man is a dangerous trap" (Prov. 29:25 TLB). Relationships can’t thrive with one person calling the shots while the other struggles for approval.
Paul said he had no interest in "trying to make people accept him." His only interest was pleasing God (NCV). God will never ask you to violate your values or disobey His will just to be in the good graces of another person. In fact, its better to be alone than allow anyone other than God to control you. Let people know up front that while you’d like their approval you can live without it if you have to. Respect others, and make it clear you expect the same in return. Don’t be involved in manipulative relationships where a person does not respect you.
Above all, never let emotion win out over wisdom, or drown out the voice of God in your life. When you’re insecure you can be drawn into wrong relationships. Security is a basic part of your identity as God’s child. Paul says you "are God’s masterpiece... created anew in Christ" (Eph 2:10 NLT) ."God wants you free to be who you are, That’s why when you ask Him to guide your relationships, He’ll help you to form the right ones.
CONCLUSION
The Christian must always be ready to stand up for the Gospel. When the gospel is distorted by anyone adding anything else to it, you must make the choice of pleasing men and letting confusion slide, or pleasing God and standing up for His gospel. Only faith in the authentic gospel message and the grace of Christ saves. Don’t distort the gospel of JC.
What have you chosen to do? Be a man pleaser or a God pleaser? Pray for the courage to seek God’s approval above anyone else’s. Stand up and share the gospel, not your opinions.
