The False Gospel
Scripture Reference: Galatians 1:6-10
Preached at Mount Zion Baptist Church on September 22, 2019
Delivered by Rev. John Daniel Johnson
www.mountzionfamily.com
Illustration—A few years ago, I was at our local convenience store and happened to see an old friend. She and I talked for a few minutes and she was commenting about the church where I was preaching at the time. She was a member of another local church and I asked how her church was. She replied, “It’s about time our pastor resigns. He’s been there too long.” That peaked my curiosity and I wanted to find out why. She continued, “All his sermons are exactly the same. I’m thinking about joining your church because I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about your church.” I then asked about the topics of his repetitive messages. She replied, “He’s always preaching about Jesus. He’s always preaching about Jesus’ crucifixion, His death, and His resurrection. That’s all he preaches about!” I then had to break the news to my dear friend. I politely told her, you wouldn’t be happy at my church either, because there is no other topic that should be preached in church besides that one.
Opening—This morning I want to want to give you ‘The False Gospel.” I’m not going to give you a false gospel, but I’m going to preach against the false gospels out there. In this society, there are false gospels or teachings that are being preached from a lot of pulpits by a lot of pastors today. We’re going to be examining what those false gospels are, point out the errors in those teaching, and present what the true gospel is. I’m going to let the LORD lead this morning, but my goal is to preach this whole message today, but for sake of time, it might have to be a two part message.
Read Text
There is a word that is repeated twice in today’s reading that should have stuck out to you. That word is “accursed.” That word only appears 6 times in the Bible, and two times here in today’s passage. God’s Holy Word states that anyone who comes and preaches any other gospels, whether it be a human agent or an angelic agent, besides the true gospel he or she will be accursed.
That is a strong word in the Greek language. It is “ANATHEMA (a-noth-e-ma),” and literally means something that is set apart for complete destruction or cursed. That’s powerful! Another place that word is used is in First Corinthians 16.
“If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.” (1 Corinthians 16:22)
That verse is speaking of eternal judgment. A person, who does not love Jesus, will not see glory. He or she will be cursed. It is used twice in today’s passage. That is doubly cursed. Scripture is telling us that if someone preaches a false gospel, they are going to be destroyed and cursed! That is why preachers and teachers of God’s Word need to take His Word so seriously, because there is a judgment for teaching or preaching something that is in violation against the true Gospel.
These will be the one who will say to Jesus in the last day…
“‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:22-23)
I really like the way the Apostle Paul begins this letter to the Galatian church. He doesn’t beat around the bush. He preaches it straight. He begins this letter by telling stating his name, then who the audience is, then jumps right into this declaration about being cursed for preaching a false gospel and allowing these false teachings into the church. Paul was truly one of the early “Hell, Fire, and Brimstone” preachers in this text.
Do you know why God is so stern on the punishment for allowing a false gospel into the church? Because the salvation of souls is at stake. Countless people will face the reality of Hell because preachers are afraid to preach the true word. I fully believe that there are people in Hell today that sat under the teaching of a pastor their whole life. I even believe that there down there wondering why their pastor didn’t tell the truth. Don’t worry, that pastor will be punished, but it is also the persons fault. Because the Bible tells us that people will seek out teachers and preachers that will tell them only what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3).
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;” (Matthew 25:41)
A.W. Tozer once said, "Tens of thousands, perhaps millions have come into some type of religious experience by accepting Christ and they have not been saved.” The true Gospel needs to be preached because salvation is at stake. It is our job to teach the truth because Hell is expanding its borders daily because of watered-down, scared-to-tell-the truth, people-pleasing preachers.
This is not the first time Paul has told a church this. Before telling the Galatian church, he told the Corinthian church. There he writes…
“For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.” (2 Corinthians 11:4)
Here’s what Paul is saying. He’s telling the Corinthian church that there are preachers in their church preaching a false gospel, a false Jesus, a false Holy Spirit, and the members are beautifully tolerating it. They are putting up with it.
I preached a revival service at a church on the east coast a few years back. While there I was visiting with a few members of a neighboring church. They were telling me about their pastor and sometimes they would just sing the whole service. They said that the service will get started and they’d just sing and “the Spirit would hit” and the whole service would be just praising. Nothing wrong with praising Jesus, but faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God. One dear lady said that when the preacher does get to preaching, some things he speaks on don’t quite sound right. I then politely told her, that if the preacher’s not preaching sound doctrine, they either need to get rid of the preacher or she needs to find another church. Her face turned a little angry and replied, “I’ve been a member of that church for nearly 40 years. No body’s going to run me off. I’ve just learned to live with his beliefs.”
That’s the same thing Paul said. The Corinthian church was happily tolerating false teachings and did nothing about it. It was a problem in the church back then, and still is a problem in the church today.
The problem in the Corinthian and Galatian church was two-fold. First, there were Legalists proclaiming a false gospel, and secondly there were Gnostics teaching a false gospel. These Legalists were saying that faith in Jesus plus something else. They’d say that Jesus was important, but so is circumcision. If one was a true Christian, they’d do this. They’d keep the sacrificial laws. They’d still eat the clean foods only. Their theology was Jesus plus something, instead of faith in Jesus alone.
That same teaching is in many churches today. I’ve preached in churches that teach that unless one has the gift of tongues, they are not true believers. Some believe dancing is wrong. Others believe women wearing pants is wrong. It is faith plus works. That is deadly. That’s not the true gospel. Then the Gnostics would say that it is perfectly okay to sin. We’re free in Christ to do anything would be their slogan. While we are free in Christ, it is not a license to sin.
So what is the true Gospel? The word “gospel” means “good news,” and the good news is that Jesus Christ, came to this Earth born of a virgin. He was fully God and fully human. Even though tempted and tried in every way, He lived a sinless life. To pay the punishment for sin, He offered His life as a sacrifice for my sin. He bore the cross. He bore the pain and suffering so I could be forgiven for my sins against God. He hung and died on that cross to take away my punishment. Then He also defeated the grave for me. He rose again from the grave and promised that He would return one day. He’s promised that if I place my trust in His work on the cross and the grave, confess and repent of my sin and place my faith in Him alone, then I would be saved. He’ll start preparing me a room in Glory and when the time is right, He’ll come back to get me to take me there! He’s asked us to make ourselves ready and to make sure that we stay holy until He returns. That’s the good news. Not just the Messenger, but the Message He gave us is the Good News.
Because of Jesus, I’m a new creation. My old sins are gone. I’m proud to be a child of God. I live my life differently than I used to because I want to try to be as holy as my Holy God. I want to share with you this truth: A gospel that hasn't changed you hasn't saved you.
So, how do we learn what to guard against? This morning I want to present to you some ways we can know if it the teachings are biblical are not. I want us to look at these false teachings traits.
1st False Teaching—The Man-Centered Gospel
The description of this current generation is found in 2 Timothy 3:1-9, and could be summed up in three words found in those verses: “lovers of self.”
This man centered approach will focus on your destiny, your legacy, your gifts, your breakthrough, your potential, your worth etc. You determine your future through your creative words that contain inherent power. False teachings will meet your ‘felt needs’ instead of addressing your real needs. Your emotions will be tickled, your conscience ignored.
2nd False Teaching— The Prosperity Gospel
In the prosperity gospel, also known as the “Word of Faith Movement,” the believer is told to use God, whereas the truth of biblical Christianity is just the opposite—God uses the believer. Prosperity theology sees the Holy Spirit as a power to be put to use for whatever the believer wills. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a Person who enables the believer to do God's will.
3rd False Teaching—The Quick-Fix Gospel
4th False Teaching—The Untroubled Gospel
5th False Teaching—The New Age Gospel
6th False Teaching— The Glitter Gospel
7th False Teaching— The New Experience Gospel
8th False Teaching— The Politically Correct Gospel
www.mountzionfamily.com
