6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel -
7 not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell!
9 As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell!
Paul wastes no time jumping into the issue troubling the churches in Galatia.
vs. 6 “I am astonished” - Astonished is ‘amazed’ in some translations. When Jesus calmed the sea, his disciples were ‘amazed’. (Matt. 8:27) When Jesus expelled demons, the people were ‘amazed’. (Matt. 9:33). Paul likewise is amazed and stunned at the Galatians!
“you are so quickly deserting” - It has only been a few years, perhaps less than 10-15 since Paul and Barnabas spread the gospel throughout the region. Satan was working to blunt the effect of the church from the beginning. Read through the “Acts of the Apostles”. Are you not impressed at the hate and opposition Paul and Peter and the other apostles experienced? Satan tried to stamp out Christianity as soon as the Pentecost message was preached - and he is still working today.
“the one who called you” - God, by the Holy Spirit, calls us to believe in Jesus. See: John 6:44, 12:32; Titus 3:3-5.
“following a different gospel” - Someone is preaching a message of ‘hope’ that does not involve Jesus’ sacrifice. I am confused along with Paul by this. What gospel exists other than “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”? (1 Cor. 2:2)
There is always someone out there who has the ‘secret’. Whether it the secret to power, or secret knowledge that one needs for success, there are always charlatans who lead you to believe the way is made easy. In almost every case, the secret involves “Christ plus”! It is seldom stated blatantly, but the basis is “Christ is not enough”. Think about that. The sacrifice on the cross, that horrible crucifixion, is insufficient to please God, the Father! What blasphemy! No wonder Paul was astonished.
Sometimes the ‘different gospel’ is the result of ignorance - i.e., the preacher/evangelist simply does not have all the facts. Look at the account of Apollos - Acts 18:24-19:7 - he was an effective evangelist, but had not heard of the Holy Spirit, perhaps didn't know of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior! This is a case of someone who just doesn’t have all the information needed. See: Mark 12:29. There is no malice or evil intended.
Then there are those who see the opportunity to make a buck. These are charlatans who do not have salvation in mind at all. They see a way to take advantage of others and make money. See: Acts 13:6-10.
Most of the opposition in the early church, during the apostolic time, came from the Jewish religionists. Think on this: was Jesus a blasphemer? Some Jewish leaders were convinced that Christianity was an affront to Judaism. They could not see Jesus as the Messiah and therefore considered Him and His followers as attacking Judaism.
Paul is addressing teaching that is an admixture rather than a pure message of hope and salvation from sin. The source of ‘a different gospel’ was probably not out-and-out opposition. The Jewish Christians just wanted it corrected. They felt a person must become a Jew in order for the Salvation to be viable. Outright opposition came from other sources, as it does today in our society. People who oppose Christianity today do not want to improve the faith or make it easier to follow - they want us stopped.
vs. 7 “not that there really is another gospel” - Paul is adamant. There is only one gospel. Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father but through Christ. John 14:6 There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12 Christ came into the world to save sinners. 1 Tim. 1:15, 16
See also Peter’s sermons after Pentecost - Acts 2:22-39, and Acts 3:12-26. Christ crucified as payment for our sins. 1 Cor. 1:23, 2:2.
One of my favorite verses is a ‘compact gospel’: For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received - that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. 1 Cor. 15:3,4
“disturbing you… distort the gospel of Christ.” - Paul knows accepting Christ as Savior is the way to peace with God, and attaining the peace of God. “Let your mind dwell on these things… and the God of peace will be with you.” Phil. 4:9 The opposite is also true, rejecting Christ has consequences - “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God's wrath remains on him.” John 3:36 This is on Paul’s mind - he knows that rejecting Christ does not lead to peace, but a troubled mind. Teaching any path to peace with God that is not Christ alone is a distortion of the truth - it is a lie.
vs. 8 “let him be condemned to hell!” - Paul pulls no punches. No whiny complaint, “You really shouldn't say that.” Nor, “That wasn't very nice.” He stands and shouts it out, “To Hell with you!” Paul is serious, because he knows the stakes are so high! A false gospel believed and acted upon means eternal damnation! A teacher/preacher spreading a contrary gospel is leading his followers to death. He knows this is a spiritual battle, and includes Satan and his angelic followers working to destroy the efficacy of the gospel. See also: Eph. 6:12. Whether it is a spiritual being or a human - anyone who distorts the gospel is condemning himself to Hell. (If a human repents of this sin, believes and confesses Jesus as Lord, he will be saved.)
vs. 9 “now I say again” - Just in case you thought Paul might not be serious about this… Anyone. Condemned. To. Hell. This is theologically important. This is not Paul’s personal animus. God is speaking through Paul. This is important to God.
We live in a culture that is very afraid of judging others. One common statement “You can’t judge me”, usually follows a comment against an action or lifestyle that is morally deficient. People want to do whatever they please with impunity. They treat sin and the need for salvation lightly. So condemning someone to Hell, for ‘nothing more than what they teach’ is offensive to them.
They are not looking at this from God’s perspective.
- From the beginning, God has been a jealous God.
(Exo. 20:5, 34:14) - He has warned that rejecting His instructions would lead to death.
(Gen. 2:15, 16) - There would be no other gods worshipped other than God Almighty.
(Exo. 20:3) - He warned the Jews that following after other Gods was the same as adultery, unfaithfulness to Him. (Jer. 3:6)
- When the Jews wanted a king, God told them it would end badly because He was to be their king. (1 Sam. 8:6-9)
- The last message of Moses to the Israelites before they went into the promised land is about 20 verses of blessings if they follow God. (Deut. 28:1-13, 29:1-17, 30:11-16)
- There are about 100 verses of calamity that will befall them if they reject Him. (Deut. 28:14-68, Deut. 29:18-29, 30:19-20)
- God laments, “If only you would have followed My instructions,”
( Isa. 48:17-18 ) - He said, clearly and plainly, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)
- Peter emphasizes this in one of his sermons. (Acts 4:12)
No comments:
Post a Comment