Will The Real Gospel Please Stand Up! Galatians 1

After finishing up both of Paul's letters to the Corinthians, we turn to Paul's letter to the Galatians.  Galatia was located in Asia Minor, or modern day Turkey.  Here is map if you would like to see where Galatia was located in Jesus' day:

https://www.google.com/search?q=where+is+galatia+today&rlz=1C1CAFA_enUS925US926&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=iheHHo3UaJLpTM%252CpKF-LnJ1-btQQM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQnsm5TmLBsRwHfPnJpmf90szSdWg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiv_IvL1bDtAhUIrZ4KHcxTCYEQ9QF6BAgNEAE#imgrc=UknwqxURU8flNM

The main issue in the Galatian church was that instead of sticking to the pure gospel, the Galatians were slipping back to legalism, or teaching that a person was justified by keeping the Law.  

"Galatians has been called the “Declaration of Independence of Christian liberty.” The great reformer Martin Luther especially loved this letter; he called Galatians his “Catherine von Bora” after his wife; because, he said, “I am married to it.” Leon Morris wrote, “Galatians is a passionate letter, the outpouring of the soul of a preacher on fire for his Lord and deeply committed to bringing his hearers to an understanding of what saving faith is.”

Let's find out over the next six days why Luther was so passionate about this particular letter. 

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.

It is interestingly that Galatians is the only letter where Paul doesn't start out by giving thanks to the church he was writing to. The directness of the approach shows the severity of the problem. (Guzik)

Importantly Paul distinguishes between turning away from a person (Jesus the One who called them) to a different gospel (one that was false).  There were people among them who were trying to pervert the gospel, or twist it.  Some people today might be seemingly preaching the gospel, when in fact they are perverting to be really no gospel at all.

How?  There is a popular movement today that says, "If you follow Jesus your life is always going to go to well in your life. Jesus came to make you happy."  Now let me clear, following Jesus does bring the "abundant life" he promised, but that doesn't mean things are always going to "go well" in your life.  I.e. Suffering.  No where does Jesus, or Paul for that matter, ever promise things are always going to go well for a Christ follower.  In fact, the bible says quite the opposite, and teaches us not to be surprised when all kinds of trials and temptations come our way.  See 1 Peter 4:12 and James 1:2-4

Another way we pervert the gospel is that we make it a kind of "transaction", where if we accept Jesus in whatever perfunctory way, we are going to get a free ticket to heaven.  Importantly it really doesn't matter what we do after that.  Again, of course when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we ARE going to go to heaven, because of what he did for us on the cross, yet the gospel is about this life on earth too.  The gospel is about, having received Christ by grace through faith, offering our lives back to him as a holy and living sacrifice. Not being conformed to the world but being transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:1-2)  Paul will say this quite explicitly tomorrow in chapter 2.

Paul is very serious about this matter and says that whoever is communicating this perverted version of the gospel better be forewarned of the seriousness of what they are doing.  Paul states he might too be tempted to "cave" and preach a gospel that would be well received and would boost his approval ratings, but God did not call him to do that.  God called him to preach the pure gospel of Jesus Christ.  There is no other gospel by which human beings can be saved.  To dilute the gospel into having to do more works, or adhere to the Old Testament laws for Paul would have destroyed the very essence of the Gospel.  And to cheapen the gospel by saying all we need to do is accept the gospel for salvation, and then do whatever we please is equally as bad.

How would you define the gospel?  When you go to church do you think you are hearing the real gospel or a perverted version of it?  How would you know?  Is the gospel more of a proposition for you to get to heaven, or a way of life following Jesus?  This is important to think about because Jesus died for our sins and to cheapen and pervert the gospel is a direct offense to him.  We learn more about that tomorrow!

Extra Credit: If you want to watch a great documentary on how the gospel is being perverted in many ways in the US, rent this on Amazon Prime.  It was on NetFlix but got taken off for some reason.  It is pretty cheap to watch/rent, and a great discussion starter for small groups!

https://www.amazon.com/American-Gospel-Christ-Russell-Berger/dp/B07M67QPSZ







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