A. In the apostle Paul's letter to the Galatian churches,
he very quickly and strongly stated the theme of his letter in Galatians 1:6-9:
I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who
called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not
another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the
gospel of Christ. But even though we, or
an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have
preached to you, let him be accursed. As
we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a
gospel contrary to what you received, let him be accursed.
B. Presently, let us consider what had happened among the
Galatian Christians to provoke Paul and the Holy Spirit to write such a strong
message. Furthermore, let us learn the
principle of this letter for ourselves so that we may not be accursed.
II. WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM IN THE GALATIAN CHURCHES?
A. The particular problem in the Galatian churches begins
to become apparent in the first two chapters.
1.
After giving his
denunciation of those who preach a gospel contrary to the gospel preached by
the apostles and other inspired men, Paul defended the gospel he preached by
defending his ministry.
a. In Galatians 1:10-24, Paul recalled the events of his
conversion and explained that the gospel he preached came directly from Christ.
b. In Galatians 2:1-10, Paul declared that his preaching
was accepted and approved without alteration by the other apostles.
c.
In Galatians
2:11-21, Paul recalled a time when he had to rebuke Peter for showing
favoritism to the Jews.
2.
The specific
issue that emerges from these two chapters is the error of compelling Gentile
Christians to observe Jewish customs.
a. Concerning his meeting with the other apostles at
Jerusalem, Paul said, "But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a
Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.
But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had
sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring
us into bondage" (Gal. 2:3-4).
b. In his rebuke of Peter, Paul had said, "If you, being
a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel
the Gentiles to live like Jews?" (Gal. 2:14).
c.
If these matters
had been resolved already by the apostles through the Spirit (see Acts 15),
then the Gentile Christians in Galatia should not have been compelled to
observe Jewish customs.
B. The problem is made clearer by a series of questions
in Galatians 3:1-5.
1.
These questions
are rhetorical, and their unstated rhetorical answers show the foolishness and
pointlessness of believers in Christ performing the works of the Law of Moses.
2.
The specific
evidence cited by Paul was the work of the Holy Spirit that came with the
preaching of the gospel.
a. The presence of the Spirit and the working of miracles
had not come with the teaching of the Law of Moses, but rather it had come by
hearing the gospel with faith.
b. This outpouring of the Holy Spirit was a divine
endorsement of the gospel Paul had preached.
This gospel was complete, sufficient, and even worthy of their
suffering.
C. The problem is resolved in the remainder of the
letter.
1.
In Galatians
3:6-4:31, Paul explained "that it is those who are of faith who are sons of
Abraham" (Gal. 3:7) rather than those who of the Law of Moses.
a. Just as Abraham was justified by faith long before the
Law of Moses came, so also his spiritual descendants are justified by faith
rather than the Law today.
b. Abraham's inheritance was not based on the Law but on
a promise (Gal. 3:18). This promise was
given to Abraham and his seed, which is Christ (Gal. 3:16).
c.
The Law "was
added because of transgressions...until the seed should come to whom the promise
had been made" (Gal. 3:19). Now that the
seed, Christ, has come, the Law has been taken away.
d. Therefore, the inheritance of Abraham is for
Christians, for "if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring,
heirs according to promise" (Gal. 3:29).
2.
The last two
chapters give the practical application of Paul's message, which was to walk by
the Spirit and the gospel rather than the flesh or the Law.
a. Notice Galatians 5:4 -- "You have been severed from
Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace."
b. The application is stated plainly in Galatians 5:16 -- "But
I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh."
3.
Finally, the real
motivation of those who attempted to compel Gentile Christians to keep Jewish
customs is given in Galatians 6:12-13:
Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh
try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted
for the cross of Christ. For those who
are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you
circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.
III. THE LESSON: LET NO ONE PREACH A CONTRARY GOSPEL
A. Before we consider the principle lesson, notice that
misuse of the Law of Moses is still a problem today.
1.
It may seem that
the long discussion of the Law of Moses in Galatians is not immediately applicable
today, but there are many who misapply the Law.
This discussion in Galatians allows us to understand the Law's proper
place in history and its proper use today.
2.
The Law of Moses
is still very useful to us today, for 1Timothy 1:8 says, "But we know that the
Law is good, if one uses it lawfully." Therefore,
we must be careful to use the Law lawfully.
B. The more needed lesson is the utter sinfulness of
preaching distorted and contrary gospel.
1.
In the churches
of Galatia, the gospel was being distorted and contradicted by a false
application of the Law of Moses. Today,
the gospel is often distorted and contradicted by the false teachings of men. In both cases, such teaching is condemned.
2.
Consider Galatians
1:6-9 again and notice the grave error and offense of teaching a gospel
contrary to that which is preached in the New Testament.
a. To turn people away from the pure and true gospel to a
contrary gospel is to cause them to desert God (Gal. 1:6). It is the root of apostasy.
b. A contrary and distorted gospel message is really not
the gospel at all, for there is only one gospel (Gal. 1:7).
i.
If such a message
is not the gospel, then it has no power for salvation, for only the gospel is
God's power for salvation (Rom. 1:16).
ii.
Many men now
think they are saved by distorted messages that are contrary to the gospel and
devoid of salvation. They are sadly
deceived.
c.
Those who teach a
contrary gospel are cursed in Galatians 1:8-9.
i.
The word
"accursed" is from the Greek word anathema,
which means "a thing devoted to God without hope of being redeemed." In other words, it is a person or thing
doomed to destruction.
ii.
This is the worst
thing that can be said about a person, for it means that he is doomed to
destruction by God Himself.
iii. Indeed, to add to or take away from God's word has
always brought a curse from God (Deut. 12:32; Rev. 22:18-19).
3.
Let us have a
firm and practical grasp of what this means.
a. If it was a cursed deed to incorrectly mingle the
gospel with the Law of Moses, which was originally from God Himself, then it is
an even more cursed deed to mingle the gospel with doctrines and creeds of men.
b. Those who teach a gospel with any degree of distortion
from the New Testament are completely robbing the message of its saving
power. They are not actually teaching the
gospel at all, and they are turning men away from God.
c.
No one who
teaches a distorted gospel is excluded from the curse. Paul did not exempt himself, the other
apostles, or even angels from the curse.
Therefore, all preachers of messages that are contrary to the gospel
stand condemned.
IV. CONCLUSION
A. The message of Galatians 1:6-9 must be taken
seriously. Tampering with the gospel is
a damnable offense.
B. Therefore, let us be careful that we are preaching and
receiving only the pure, uncorrupted gospel of Christ.
