Galatians 1 - Watch Out for the "Perverted Gospel"!

Galatians 1 - NIV

Enduring Word Commentary

Today, we begin Paul's letter to the Galatians. The province of Galatia was in Asia Minor, which is in modern day "Turkey".

Here are some other historical details about the book of Galatians.

The Book of Galatians, often called the "Magna Carta of Christian Liberty," is a New Testament letter written by the Apostle Paul to a group of churches in the Roman province of Galatia (modern-day Turkey).Written around 48–49 AD, it is likely Paul's earliest surviving letter. The letter serves as a passionate defense of the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone, directly countering false teachers who insisted that Gentile Christians must follow the Mosaic Law to be saved. (Fuller Seminary, Christopher Scott)

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.

We often use the word gospel, but do we really know what it means? You probably know it means "good news". The Greek word for "gospel" is the word from which we get the term "evangelism". The purpose for Paul's letter to the Galatians was that he feared they had "deserted the gospel". And not only this, but they were "turning so soon". It was an abrupt change. Having received a free gift that set them free, they quickly returned to slavery. 

In addtion, some people had infiltrated the church and were "perverting the gospel". Another term might be they were "distorting" the gospel. They were making into something it was not. They had so perverted the gospel that Paul says it was, "No gospel at all". There was no good news in this perverted gospel. Why? Because instead of the gospel being about the free gift of grace God has given us in Christ Jesus, it went back to our earning our salvation through works.  

"The Crisis: After Paul left, false teachers known as "Judaizers" arrived. They convinced the Gentile converts that they needed to undergo circumcision and follow the Mosaic Law to truly be saved." (esv.org)

This issue was deeply personal to Paul, as he was as passionate about keeping the law as anyone. He was a "Pharisee of Pharisees", zealous for the Law, and even studied under the famous Rabbi, Gamaliel. But on his way to Galatia, where he went to hunt down new Christians, Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. His life was forever changed, as he experienced the grace of God in Christ Jesus. He was given a freedom, he had never known before. He was freed from the ruthless and relentless demands of the Jewish Law. 

Therefore, the rest of his life was dedicated to sharing this life giving gospel with others. So when he saw these new Christians being tempted to go back to the old way of the Law, it made him furious. In fact, he warned those who preached this false and perverted gospel that they would be under God's curse for doing so. Think about it, by preaching a different gospel, it ripped out the core of the Christian faith. It took out Jesus' innocent suffering and death on the cross. Paul will say it clearly in the next chapter, 

"If righteousness could be obtained by obey the law, then Christ died for nothing." Galatians 2:21 

If I could earn my salvation by winning God's approval through good works, I don't need Jesus. Or, what he did for me on the cross. It renders the cross unnecessary.

Earning one's salvation by doing good works makes sense from a human perspective, because we usually have to do things to get things. It puts us in control. We take pride that anything we have, we earned it. It also miminizes my sin. If I can earn my salvation, then my sin doesn't really matter. God will excuse my sin if I can make up for it by winning his approval. 

In what ways does a "perverted gospel" make its way into our churches? How can we make sure that we preach the "pure, undiluted gospel"? Do you feel like you have truly accepted the one, true gospel of Jesus Christ? How would you know? 

One way you can know is if you know the difference between doing good deeds to get God's approval, or doing good works because you have God's approval? 

Jesus, you are the Good News. You came from heaven to earth and lived a perfect life. Though you were sinless, you died on the cross for our sins, past, present, and future. Help us to receive your gospel by faith and live out our lives in gratitude for all you have done for us! Amen. 

  



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