Don't Desert the Gospel!

Reflection: Today we start out with one of Paul’s most quoted and read epistles, the letter to the Galatians.  We know that Galatia is province in Asia, near modern day Turkey.  Paul opens his letter with some strong words to his disciples there:

No Other Gospel

⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! ⁹ As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

Among all of Paul’s letters, usually his greatest concern in one shape or another is expressed in the above words.  Paul does not want them to desert the Gospel.  Why?  Because from beginning to end, the Christian life begins with grace through faith, and ends by grace through faith.  As Paul says in Philippians 1:6, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”  Notice who is the principal actor, God.  God began the work in you and He will be faithful to complete it.  This is why when Paul is talking about living the Christian life it always in response to what Christ has done for us.  Even in his most famous verse about the Christian life, Romans 12:1-2 Paul says, “Therefore in view of God’s mercy offer your selves as a living sacrifice.” 

I think if you would do a thorough research of Paul’s call to a holy life you will always find it is a response to God’s mercy in Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.  When Paul will talk in Galatians 5 about not living a life dominated by the flesh what does he say, “So live by the Spirit so you will not gratify the desires of the flesh!”  Paul is concerned about this because it is relatively easy to start with the Gospel and then start to make it all about us. 

We are always tempted to take credit for God is doing.  Why?  Because this is basic human nature to want to justify ourselves and take credit for our righteousness, when it is only through Christ’s righteousness we can shine like stars in the sky!   So the good bible interpreter is never lessening the call to the Christian life, but it is always in response and empowered by the Gospel.  The Gospel doesn’t save us and then we somehow conjure up holiness, which can lead to many problems in the church, as we will see in this book like “legalism:.  From beginning to end we are freed to live a life worthy of the calling and from start to finish it is Good News!  Hear the Good News this morning as you get out of bed and go serve your neighbor in love and freedom in Jesus’ name!  Amen!

Psalm 77:1-9

¹ I cried out to God for help;
    I cried out to God to hear me.
² When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
    at night I stretched out untiring hands,
    and I would not be comforted.

³ I remembered you, God, and I groaned;
    I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.
⁴ You kept my eyes from closing;
    I was too troubled to speak.
⁵ I thought about the former days,
    the years of long ago;
⁶ I remembered my songs in the night.
    My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

⁷ “Will the Lord reject forever?
    Will he never show his favor again?
⁸ Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
    Has his promise failed for all time?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be merciful?
    Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

Song of Solomon 1:1-2:7

1 Solomon’s Song of Songs.

She^[a]

² Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
    for your love is more delightful than wine.
³ Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
    your name is like perfume poured out.
    No wonder the young women love you!
⁴ Take me away with you—let us hurry!
    Let the king bring me into his chambers.

Friends

We rejoice and delight in you^[b];
    we will praise your love more than wine.

She

How right they are to adore you!

⁵ Dark am I, yet lovely,
    daughters of Jerusalem,
dark like the tents of Kedar,
    like the tent curtains of Solomon.^[c]
6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
    because I am darkened by the sun.
My mother’s sons were angry with me
    and made me take care of the vineyards;
    my own vineyard I had to neglect.
⁷ Tell me, you whom I love,
    where you graze your flock
    and where you rest your sheep at midday.
Why should I be like a veiled woman
    beside the flocks of your friends?

Friends

⁸ If you do not know, most beautiful of women,
    follow the tracks of the sheep
and graze your young goats
    by the tents of the shepherds.

He

⁹ I liken you, my darling, to a mare
    among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.
¹⁰ Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
    your neck with strings of jewels.
¹¹ We will make you earrings of gold,
    studded with silver.

She

¹² While the king was at his table,
    my perfume spread its fragrance.
¹³ My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh
    resting between my breasts.
¹⁴ My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
    from the vineyards of En Gedi.

He

¹⁵ How beautiful you are, my darling!
    Oh, how beautiful!
    Your eyes are doves.

She

¹⁶ How handsome you are, my beloved!
    Oh, how charming!
    And our bed is verdant.

He

¹⁷ The beams of our house are cedars;
    our rafters are firs.

She^[d]

2 I am a rose^[e] of Sharon,
    a lily of the valleys.

He

² Like a lily among thorns
    is my darling among the young women.

She

³ Like an apple^[f] tree among the trees of the forest
    is my beloved among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
    and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
⁴ Let him lead me to the banquet hall,
    and let his banner over me be love.
⁵ Strengthen me with raisins,
    refresh me with apples,
    for I am faint with love.
⁶ His left arm is under my head,
    and his right arm embraces me.
⁷ Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.

Galatians 1:1-12
1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— ² and all the brothers and sisters^[a] with me,

To the churches in Galatia:

³ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

No Other Gospel

⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! ⁹ As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Paul Called by God

¹¹ I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. ¹² I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Amos said, “I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’" Amos 7:14-15

Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” Luke 5:10

Dearest Lord Jesus, there’s a lot of risk involved in leaving our boats by the lakeshore. Help us to know your strength as we share your love with others. Amen.