Remember The True Gospel?

Remember The True Gospel! (Easter 2019)

Text: Galatians 1:6-9

There are a lot of things that can be forgotten. But not the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The birth and growth of the church brought immense joy to the early believers. Yet within two decades that joy was dying down among the Galatians because the church was being challenged by those teaching a twisted and perverted “gospel.”

Even today we have a similar and serious problem in the Black Church. If you would take a look around you will see that the Christian Church is full of Women and Kids. Where are the men? Why are men turning away from Christianity and turning to Islam?

Many have allowed another voice to capture their attention and hearts. I was reading an article recently which was entitled "Why Black Men Are Leaving Christianity" the article stated that the color of one's skin has suddenly become relevant to religion.

Islam is growing worldwide and it has made its strongest inroads in the African American community. More than 90 percent of the converts to Islam in the United States are African-American men, one of the reasons why they are joining? They are saying,“In Islam I found a stronger ideal of brotherhood and moral discipline and of manhood.”

Our Black Males are looking for something to identify with. Another voice is capturing their hearts.

Muslim activists have been trying to convince African American citizens that Islam is the religion of the Black man. Africa was not the Cradle of Islam.

Islam was born in the 7th century A.C. , in the Arabian Peninsula. Islam went to Africa relatively recently, and is not the predominant religion there. African Americans were most likely either Christians or Animists at the time they were brought to America.

Christianity has been present in Africa since the first half of the first century. St. Mark, the writer of the Gospel of Mark was a North African Jew who preached the Gospel to Egypt. From there, Christianity spread all over North Africa, and to the south of Egypt's borders.

One of the teachers and prophets in the early church, Simeon, was an African from Niger in west Africa (Acts 13:1)

Eastern Africa was converted to Christianity through the ministry of a cabinet member of Queen Candace of Ethiopia who was baptized by Philip, one of the seven deacons in the early church (Acts 8:26 - 40).

With that said, Christianity has been around longer than any other religion except for Judaism.

The only real antidote to false teaching is to remember, cherish, and cling to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus warned, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15)

This is why we need to be cautious when people come to us today with a divine revelation or prophetic word that seems to contradict the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is also why you need to know the word of God for yourself.

An effective antidote against false teaching is both a head and heart knowledge of the gospel. When we truly understand that our righteousness is only in Christ, we will not be deceived by any other gospel. One of the practical ways to ensure that we stay true to the gospel is to join and become involved in a church that proclaims the true gospel.

As we look at our text: GAL. 1:6-7

After a brief and fairly traditional introduction, the Apostle Paul turned to the real issue at hand that necessitated his writing the book of Galatians. This letter is not addressed to a single congregation but to the churches of the province of Galatia. While there is some debate as to exactly what area is meant by “Galatia” (vs. 2), the most common position today is that it was in the southern part of Asia Minor, in what would be Turkey today. It is believed that, this letter may have been sent to churches that Paul founded on his first missionary journey in (Acts 13—14).

The purpose for the letter is quite clear. Paul was distressed and baffled as to how his new Christians could so quickly turn away from Christ.

In this letter, we see Paul at his strongest and most aggressive. There is no room for a gospel that strays from the grace of Christ. As we will see, Paul feels so strongly about the good news that has been preached to the Galatians that he calls down a curse upon anyone who would dare to offer an alternative gospel. (Read v. 9) “As we have said before and I am again saying now, ‘If anyone preaches a gospel to you contrary to that which you have received, let him be accursed’”—Galatians 1:9

The apostle was writing to counter certain teachers (Judaizers) who were “perverting the gospel of Jesus Christ, and … attacking the authority and credibility of the apostle Paul”.