-2-
A Different Gospel?
Ga 1:6 ¶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel
The first 5 verses present a very warm greeting. But no sooner does he pen these words, he makes a very abrupt switch. He says, “I am astonished!” ...
The Apostle Paul could have said something like, “I am horrified that you have switched to a ‘new’ gospel.” But he does not issue a strong negative word. Instead he says, “I am amazed!” Why does he say this? Likely because he has never seen it before. This is a first.
Paul had sowed the seed as Jesus also commands us to do. Some of Paul’s seed no doubt landed on the wayside. When the ‘birds of the air’ picked up the seed … Paul was not amazed. When some departed because of persecution … he could understand that . As for some falling away because the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches were so overwhelming … he probably would have understood that … although because of the difficult times and the extreme poverty which were prevalent then, he probably did not see all that many wealthy believers.
But when some of the seed that obviously had sprung up on good soil … went bad, well, he had just never seen that before. His experience was, that when good seed took root in good soil … growing just seemed automatic. It is what he came to expect. But not this!
Ga 1:6 ¶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--
When did you first hear the gospel? Were you attracted by it? Was it the best thing that you ever heard?
Here is what Jesus says about the gospel.
He said it was liking finding a treasure in a field Mt 13:44 ¶ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
A treasure!
The thought here, is not that this person found a buried treasure chest filled with immense riches, but more that he found a field that needed to be mined to unearth the great potential wealth. To this man … buying this field was worth every penny that he had. And he sells EVERYTHING in order to buy the field.
Immediately following this parable of the treasure in a field, Jesus adds another one.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Mt 13:45, 46
Do these parables sound similar? They are similar in that the treasure and the pearl are worth everything. But they are very different in their discovery. In the case of the man who discovered the treasure in the field, notice that he is not described as a treasure-seeker. It appears that he stumbled upon the discovery. In the second example Jesus tells us that this pearl merchant has been keeping his eyes opened for that one pearl that is like no other.
Jesus is talking about the kingdom of heaven … and we are talking about the gospel. Is there a difference? I guess the answer is yes and no.
We could say the gospel has a basic ‘core’. Here it is: This is Paul speaking:
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, …”
I Corinthians 1:3
This is about as basic as it gets. Three things: (1) Christ died for our sins, (2) He was buried, (3) He was raised back to life.
We see the gospel stripped down to its barest essentials in the account of Philip talking to the Ethiopian dignitary who was traveling from Israel to Egypt. Here is the conversation.
Ac 8:36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
Ac 8:37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
This man’s confession of faith sounds quite simple, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ Notice there is no mention that Jesus died for his sins. No mention of the resurrection at all. But we have to assume that Philip had accurately presented him with the whole story. As a matter of fact, when Philip first caught up to his ox-cart, he overheard him reading the book of Isaiah. And he was reading the part about a person being led like a lamb to the slaughter. Philip used that very passage to fill him in on the whole story.
But again ...if we try to strip it down to the bare minimum, it has to do with believing that Jesus, the Son of God, died for your sins, and was raised back to life.
But in the parable of the treasure in the field it implies something more complete.
Believing that Jesus died for you assumes the other belief … that you were a goner. You needed saving. You were a condemned sinner. Jesus bought your pardon.
Realizing that the life you had was really not life … that you were condemned and headed for hell, is another way of saying … “I sell everything I have for this. I trade my worthless life for His priceless treasure.”
And this assumes that you realize that from that point forward … you don’t have your old life anymore. The life that you now have is His … a gift. And you are now His. He bought you.
Paul said this to the Corinthians: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1Co 6:19, 20
No longer 'our own'. In other words, we no longer own our selves and our lives. We discovered that we were actually dead, and the life we now have is His. He bought us … everything that we are and have are His.
So the gospel and the kingdom go together as a package. You have been placed in a new life. And that life is an ongoing experience of gold mining the kingdom life. No wonder Paul was amazed that anyone could give it up.
So why did they? Paul charges them with listening to the words of false teachers.
He accuses them, not of quitting Christianity … but of replacing it with another gospel. But he adds these words;
Ga 1:7 not that there is another one, …
They had not simply deserted the gospel … they had replaced it for a different set of beliefs. But in so doing they had adopted a system of beliefs that Paul claims, was not a gospel at all.
Everybody believes something. And I think most people are happy (or at least satisfied) with their beliefs.
People adopt a belief system that seems 'right' to them. There is an old proverb that goes … “There is a way that seems right to a man … but its end is the way of death” Proverbs 16:25
A vast number of people have pushed God out of their thinking. And they feel OK about it. They think they are right in their thinking.
They begin with a basic belief. They believe … that there is no God. And what follows is a belief system that is very dear to them.
For example, they believe that people should not be judgmental of others. Minorities should be respected. Cultures should be maintained. The planet should be cared for. Everyone should have equal rights, especially women, who have rights over their own bodies and can terminate a pregnancy if they should so choose. The over-population of the planet is a concern and they see it as their responsibility to control the numbers. And aborting babies is only a small part of population control.
These are their beliefs and there are others that I have overlooked.
In addition, they believe that people should not be criticized for their beliefs … as long as you agree with all of the above. If you should happen to speak out against any of the above … you will be severely criticized, or worse. They accept everyone except bigots. If you stand against their beliefs, you are a bigot.
With this set of 'beliefs', these individuals are well pleased. They are totally happy with them. Little do they realize that they have chosen the way of death.
They have left out the admission of sin and guilt. Repentance is not part of their experience. And admitting that God exists and His Son came to bear their guilt on the cross is totally foreign and rejected by them.
But such is their gospel.
Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father without Me.
Here in Galatians Paul warns us as he talks about the gospel.
Ga 1:7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
So I have to ask, would you recognize a distorted version of the gospel?
The gospel, as given to us in scripture is absolutely beautiful. But it can be distorted in two ways. Number one, it can be oversimplified. Or two, it can be over-complicated. Both are dangerous. Both rob the gospel of its power to save.
The oversimplified version has been referred to as ‘easy believe-ism’ or 'cheap grace'. A well meaning ‘soul-winner’ will use a little four step pamphlet or tract and attempt to bring a person to pray and ask Jesus into their heart, without giving them any idea of what they are getting into, who Jesus really is, and what their prospect is if they fail to respond to the gospel. These are the ones who fall away when persecution arises. These are the ones who to whom the salvation prayer had so little significance that the business and stress of daily life takes it right out of their conscious minds.
And the other perversion is to add extra requirements to the gospel that the bible does not add. When people add to the gospel, what they are really saying or implying, is that the blood of Jesus alone is not enough to save you; There are things that you need to do. And these things can range from physical initiation deeds to ongoing efforts to become worthy of heaven. And this is what was happening to the Christians of Galatia.
In case you are wondering, ‘So what is really so bad about making the gospel simple … or on the other hand, what is so bad about adding a few initiation rites and emphasis on human effort? … Paul adds this,
Ga 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. Ga 1:9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
These are incredibly strong words. We are likely familiar with the word that was used in the original Greek scriptures … it is the word anathema. Among other definitions, it means ‘doomed for destruction’. Paul, as he thinks about the Galatian Christians having been led astray by so-called Christian ministers who have come from the Jerusalem church … actually suggests that these preachers should be cursed to hell.
Make no mistake … adding or taking away from the gospel renders it useless. It is the Devil’s work. But stating the gospel in clear and accurate terms produces eternal life in those who believe.
Paul said to the Romans,
“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation” Romans 1:16
The churches of Galatia have been led astray. People who had accepted Jesus and committed their lives to following Jesus, had been approached by some ‘bible teachers’ who discredited Paul’s gospel, discredited him as a minister and an Apostle and inserted their own version of the gospel.
The Christians of the Galatian churches swallowed this new gospel. Was it that they were fickle and easily swayed … or was it that the ‘teachers’ were really that good?
I lean toward believing that it was the ‘abilities’ of the false teachers that had a lot to do with it. I think they were convincing and smooth.
But the fact remains … no matter how good these so-called bible teachers were, Paul clearly holds the Galatian Christians responsible for being gullible. You and I are also responsible for what we believe and who we listen to. It is our responsibility to compare anything we hear with the Word of God. But, you may be thinking, it is so much easier just to 'trust somebody'. And it is. But that is why I place so much emphasis on focusing on the Word to such a point that anyone can 'see' it.
For the record, Satan is still at work. He still hates God. He still has his own set of ministers, dressed with a cloak of holiness and he still is deceiving Christians. Please don’t think that, while he might deceive others, that he would never deceive you. You have one defense. And that defense is not your IQ. Your defense is hinged upon your having familiarized yourself with God’s word to such a degree that you immediately recognize the error in false bible teaching.
In the next verses the focus changes a bit. From the seriousness of altering the gospel and the audacity of so-called bible teachers that would do this, Paul now elaborates on their underhanded method of destroying him and his reputation.
This is where we will pick it up in the next section.
The first 5 verses present a very warm greeting. But no sooner does he pen these words, he makes a very abrupt switch. He says, “I am astonished!” ...
The Apostle Paul could have said something like, “I am horrified that you have switched to a ‘new’ gospel.” But he does not issue a strong negative word. Instead he says, “I am amazed!” Why does he say this? Likely because he has never seen it before. This is a first.
Paul had sowed the seed as Jesus also commands us to do. Some of Paul’s seed no doubt landed on the wayside. When the ‘birds of the air’ picked up the seed … Paul was not amazed. When some departed because of persecution … he could understand that . As for some falling away because the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches were so overwhelming … he probably would have understood that … although because of the difficult times and the extreme poverty which were prevalent then, he probably did not see all that many wealthy believers.
But when some of the seed that obviously had sprung up on good soil … went bad, well, he had just never seen that before. His experience was, that when good seed took root in good soil … growing just seemed automatic. It is what he came to expect. But not this!
Ga 1:6 ¶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--
When did you first hear the gospel? Were you attracted by it? Was it the best thing that you ever heard?
Here is what Jesus says about the gospel.
He said it was liking finding a treasure in a field Mt 13:44 ¶ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
A treasure!
The thought here, is not that this person found a buried treasure chest filled with immense riches, but more that he found a field that needed to be mined to unearth the great potential wealth. To this man … buying this field was worth every penny that he had. And he sells EVERYTHING in order to buy the field.
Immediately following this parable of the treasure in a field, Jesus adds another one.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Mt 13:45, 46
Do these parables sound similar? They are similar in that the treasure and the pearl are worth everything. But they are very different in their discovery. In the case of the man who discovered the treasure in the field, notice that he is not described as a treasure-seeker. It appears that he stumbled upon the discovery. In the second example Jesus tells us that this pearl merchant has been keeping his eyes opened for that one pearl that is like no other.
Jesus is talking about the kingdom of heaven … and we are talking about the gospel. Is there a difference? I guess the answer is yes and no.
We could say the gospel has a basic ‘core’. Here it is: This is Paul speaking:
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, …”
I Corinthians 1:3
This is about as basic as it gets. Three things: (1) Christ died for our sins, (2) He was buried, (3) He was raised back to life.
We see the gospel stripped down to its barest essentials in the account of Philip talking to the Ethiopian dignitary who was traveling from Israel to Egypt. Here is the conversation.
Ac 8:36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
Ac 8:37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
This man’s confession of faith sounds quite simple, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ Notice there is no mention that Jesus died for his sins. No mention of the resurrection at all. But we have to assume that Philip had accurately presented him with the whole story. As a matter of fact, when Philip first caught up to his ox-cart, he overheard him reading the book of Isaiah. And he was reading the part about a person being led like a lamb to the slaughter. Philip used that very passage to fill him in on the whole story.
But again ...if we try to strip it down to the bare minimum, it has to do with believing that Jesus, the Son of God, died for your sins, and was raised back to life.
But in the parable of the treasure in the field it implies something more complete.
Believing that Jesus died for you assumes the other belief … that you were a goner. You needed saving. You were a condemned sinner. Jesus bought your pardon.
Realizing that the life you had was really not life … that you were condemned and headed for hell, is another way of saying … “I sell everything I have for this. I trade my worthless life for His priceless treasure.”
And this assumes that you realize that from that point forward … you don’t have your old life anymore. The life that you now have is His … a gift. And you are now His. He bought you.
Paul said this to the Corinthians: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1Co 6:19, 20
No longer 'our own'. In other words, we no longer own our selves and our lives. We discovered that we were actually dead, and the life we now have is His. He bought us … everything that we are and have are His.
So the gospel and the kingdom go together as a package. You have been placed in a new life. And that life is an ongoing experience of gold mining the kingdom life. No wonder Paul was amazed that anyone could give it up.
So why did they? Paul charges them with listening to the words of false teachers.
He accuses them, not of quitting Christianity … but of replacing it with another gospel. But he adds these words;
Ga 1:7 not that there is another one, …
They had not simply deserted the gospel … they had replaced it for a different set of beliefs. But in so doing they had adopted a system of beliefs that Paul claims, was not a gospel at all.
Everybody believes something. And I think most people are happy (or at least satisfied) with their beliefs.
People adopt a belief system that seems 'right' to them. There is an old proverb that goes … “There is a way that seems right to a man … but its end is the way of death” Proverbs 16:25
A vast number of people have pushed God out of their thinking. And they feel OK about it. They think they are right in their thinking.
They begin with a basic belief. They believe … that there is no God. And what follows is a belief system that is very dear to them.
For example, they believe that people should not be judgmental of others. Minorities should be respected. Cultures should be maintained. The planet should be cared for. Everyone should have equal rights, especially women, who have rights over their own bodies and can terminate a pregnancy if they should so choose. The over-population of the planet is a concern and they see it as their responsibility to control the numbers. And aborting babies is only a small part of population control.
These are their beliefs and there are others that I have overlooked.
In addition, they believe that people should not be criticized for their beliefs … as long as you agree with all of the above. If you should happen to speak out against any of the above … you will be severely criticized, or worse. They accept everyone except bigots. If you stand against their beliefs, you are a bigot.
With this set of 'beliefs', these individuals are well pleased. They are totally happy with them. Little do they realize that they have chosen the way of death.
They have left out the admission of sin and guilt. Repentance is not part of their experience. And admitting that God exists and His Son came to bear their guilt on the cross is totally foreign and rejected by them.
But such is their gospel.
Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father without Me.
Here in Galatians Paul warns us as he talks about the gospel.
Ga 1:7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
So I have to ask, would you recognize a distorted version of the gospel?
The gospel, as given to us in scripture is absolutely beautiful. But it can be distorted in two ways. Number one, it can be oversimplified. Or two, it can be over-complicated. Both are dangerous. Both rob the gospel of its power to save.
The oversimplified version has been referred to as ‘easy believe-ism’ or 'cheap grace'. A well meaning ‘soul-winner’ will use a little four step pamphlet or tract and attempt to bring a person to pray and ask Jesus into their heart, without giving them any idea of what they are getting into, who Jesus really is, and what their prospect is if they fail to respond to the gospel. These are the ones who fall away when persecution arises. These are the ones who to whom the salvation prayer had so little significance that the business and stress of daily life takes it right out of their conscious minds.
And the other perversion is to add extra requirements to the gospel that the bible does not add. When people add to the gospel, what they are really saying or implying, is that the blood of Jesus alone is not enough to save you; There are things that you need to do. And these things can range from physical initiation deeds to ongoing efforts to become worthy of heaven. And this is what was happening to the Christians of Galatia.
In case you are wondering, ‘So what is really so bad about making the gospel simple … or on the other hand, what is so bad about adding a few initiation rites and emphasis on human effort? … Paul adds this,
Ga 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. Ga 1:9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
These are incredibly strong words. We are likely familiar with the word that was used in the original Greek scriptures … it is the word anathema. Among other definitions, it means ‘doomed for destruction’. Paul, as he thinks about the Galatian Christians having been led astray by so-called Christian ministers who have come from the Jerusalem church … actually suggests that these preachers should be cursed to hell.
Make no mistake … adding or taking away from the gospel renders it useless. It is the Devil’s work. But stating the gospel in clear and accurate terms produces eternal life in those who believe.
Paul said to the Romans,
“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation” Romans 1:16
The churches of Galatia have been led astray. People who had accepted Jesus and committed their lives to following Jesus, had been approached by some ‘bible teachers’ who discredited Paul’s gospel, discredited him as a minister and an Apostle and inserted their own version of the gospel.
The Christians of the Galatian churches swallowed this new gospel. Was it that they were fickle and easily swayed … or was it that the ‘teachers’ were really that good?
I lean toward believing that it was the ‘abilities’ of the false teachers that had a lot to do with it. I think they were convincing and smooth.
But the fact remains … no matter how good these so-called bible teachers were, Paul clearly holds the Galatian Christians responsible for being gullible. You and I are also responsible for what we believe and who we listen to. It is our responsibility to compare anything we hear with the Word of God. But, you may be thinking, it is so much easier just to 'trust somebody'. And it is. But that is why I place so much emphasis on focusing on the Word to such a point that anyone can 'see' it.
For the record, Satan is still at work. He still hates God. He still has his own set of ministers, dressed with a cloak of holiness and he still is deceiving Christians. Please don’t think that, while he might deceive others, that he would never deceive you. You have one defense. And that defense is not your IQ. Your defense is hinged upon your having familiarized yourself with God’s word to such a degree that you immediately recognize the error in false bible teaching.
In the next verses the focus changes a bit. From the seriousness of altering the gospel and the audacity of so-called bible teachers that would do this, Paul now elaborates on their underhanded method of destroying him and his reputation.
This is where we will pick it up in the next section.