The Only Gospel From the Only God
Galatians 1:6-10
"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 if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to 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, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ."
It is truly shocking for someone to "give up the faith." But of course, there are many in the world who would ask "Why?" After all, one is freed from obligation to please another, and can therefore strive to please themselves. What is so bad about that? There are plenty of people who abandon the "restrictions" of Christ and think they're the happiest people in the world. They couldn't be happier in sin, and have probably asked themselves the question, "What's so bad about sin anyway?" But they throw away a great deal when they throw away Christ. To better understand this, one must first call to mind Who the person of the Christ is, and why He did what He did. A Christian full well knows the results of being saved, and what they are saved from, but nonetheless, there is little that can describe the true life of a true Christian better than the Scripture.
Here, the Galatians were not only abandoning the Truth, but were doing so to run to a new, and yet false, "gospel." And Paul was in awe of this, as they were not merely moving away from the Faith, but were moving to something that was both subjective and a lie. And they were doing so quickly!
The Truth found in Scripture is not so much subjective as it is objective. That is, unlike what these Galatians were moving over to, the Truth of Scripture is focused upon living for God, not self. The Jews (namely those in the early church who were trying to get people to subject themselves once again to the Law) were attempting to get people who were living for God to change and focus on being subject to the Law once more, despite the knowledge that Christ had fulfilled the Law in full already. Paul later goes on in Galatians to show that the whole point of the Law was to aim at Christ, not our own ability to full it.
But nonetheless, the church of Galatia was trying to subject itself once again to the Law, thinking themselves saved also by works in the Law. They were steadfast in the Truth only briefly, and quickly changed the God they were taught into a "god" of works and subjectivity, not mercy. And oddly enough, they were deserting the Father for what they thought to be godly and true. People rarely make the error that these Galatians had without thinking themselves to be doing what is right. After all, back in the time of the early church, and even before that, living by the Law was the whole focus. Righteousness was seen in one's ability to keep the Law, and so the Pharisees and Scribes were seen as the righteous and holy ones. And yet this could not have been further from the Truth.
The church of Galatia was, in other words, opting for a different "good news," which as Paul clarifies is certainly not another true "good news," but nonetheless, there were some in the church who were disturbing them and leading them off track.
There is no other Gospel- there is no other good news. There cannot be, as Christ said that He is the Way and the Truth and the Life, and no man comes to the Father apart from Him. This church was believing the lies that Christ had no fulfilled the entire Law, and that they still had to do something to save themselves. In fact, the main reality found in the Gospel of Christ is that He fulfilled the Law, which is what makes it the good news, and so for this other professing "gospel" to come in and deny that is already proof that it is a fake. They were throwing away, as it were, the very fulfillment of the Law. How could that be good news in any sense?
And yet despite the blunt and clear reality of the Truth, a "certain person" or "persons" had come into their midst and were disturbing them concerning the entire and complete work of Christ. This is certainly not absent from the church today, as you see many professing Christians declaring that Christ did not complete the entire work of Salvation. They preach that He did most of it, but we still have to make the choice. Without the choice, God is powerless. And yet it goes further. They grab the promises God made to Israel, and apply them to the church, claiming that we have nothing to do with the Law, but somehow earned the right through Christ to take what was given to Israel for ourselves (except the curses of Israel, of course). The Catholic church is certainly putting itself back into the position of subjectivity, and the professing "modern" church is doing just the same, subjecting itself to the desires of people. Robert Schuller attempted to find a way to preach Jesus without bothering anyone about the whole topic of hell and sin, as people already know they sin, and only need encouragement. One way or another, most miss the entire point of the Law. In the church of Galatia, a specific person or group of people had come in telling these people that, somehow, Christ did not complete everything. They had to do something else to be saved. They had to be circumcised according to the Law, not made holy through the work of Christ.
The reality of the errors of the Galatians is seen throughout the entire book, as Paul constantly puts the focus on the true reason for the Law. Paul says so clearly in the second chapter "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified." (vs. 16) Paul already states this in Romans 3:20 and 3:28, and this is made clear throughout the New Testament.
Paul puts a great deal of pressure on the false teachers who had said these things, and yet at the same time, he says so little to them. He is not addressing them in this letter, but rather is addressing the church itself, apart from those who claim to be saved. Paul uses graphic language in chapter 5 when speaking of these people (vs. 12), and yet before that, he seems to shrug them off as a non-important pest (vs. 10). We see throughout the writings of Paul that he was never fond of the false teachers, and surely found them as a great threat to the church (as opposed to persecution and government), and yet his counter is never to discredit the teachers, but to point back to the Truth. He begins the letter to the church of Galatia with the Gospel, not a rebuke, and puts the emphasis on the fulfillment in Christ.
But the false teachers were not the only ones to receive a correction. The church itself would not escape the notice of error, and Paul even calls them foolish in 2:1. Paul had to reemphasize the fact that the Gospel is from God, not man, and warns them not even to trust him nor the others if they separate from the Word of God. The goal of the false teachers was to distort the Gospel and disturb the church, and this church more than welcomed these things. These false teachers did not, however, come in saying aloud "You are saved by works!" The wording behind the phrase Paul uses in verse 7 is interesting, in that these false prophets were not tearing apart the Word of God (the Gospel), but were "turning it around." They did not remove the aspects of the Gospel, but rearranged them. Originally, it is something like this:
1. The Law was given
2. Christ fulfilled the Law.
But they had turned it around to look more like this:
1. Christ fulfilled the Law
2. The Law is given to the church.
The error becomes obvious in the resulting actions of the Christians, in that they no longer live in light of the fulfillment of the Law. If the actions of the Law still had something to do with our being saved, then we would have to live by the Law. People constantly quote the ten commandments, and attempt to live by them (or some of them), but in these cases, people were having to subject themselves to the Law once again. The order was simply rearranged, and in that action, they disturbed the church of Galatia.
When you move the Law to a position after the fulfillment of it in Christ, you are then putting the Law as something present in the life of a Christian. Is the Law useless? No, not at all. But we are not under subjection to it. As is, and will be emphasized throughout this study, the entire point of the Law was to condemn people (to show their inability to keep the Law) and thus to point to Christ (who kept the Law in full).
In verses 8 and 9, we see that Paul is saying that not even his own words are trustworthy. But how can that be? How could they trust anything else he said? The false teachers would often attempt to discredit Paul, and in so doing they would discredit his words as well, so how is it Paul could risk his own trustworthiness in telling them not even to trust himself?
For one, we must remember that this is the English language, not the koine Greek that Paul used. But in a more important point, we must remember Where Paul gained his authority. Why did he begin as he did? "Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead)..." As was dealt with in the beginning of this series, Paul gained his authority from Christ, who was given all authority from the Father. These words were not the words of Paul, nor Peter, nor John, nor anyone else. These are the Words of God, not man, and that is key in understanding these things. Paul is saying in these verses, "Trust no man, but God alone." How do we know what to trust and what not to trust? By doing what the church in Berea did. "...for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." (Acts 17:11) They compared the words of the apostles to the Scriptures to make sure this was the Word of God. Paul spent much time in the synagogues of the Jews explaining and reasoning with them to show them that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah), as these were important things. The apostles also verified their words with signs and wonders, as Christ Himself did, and proved that they were from God, not man.
And so, based upon these things, this is why we never focus upon the man, but upon God who uses him. Many in the Reformed circles quote the Reformers and reference their lives far more than they do the Scriptures, which is a profound error (and an ironic one, considering that the Reformers wanted people to go to God, not them). This is an error in that it is making practically the same mistake as the church in Galatia, who trusted the words of men, not comparing them to the Word of God first and foremost. The Word of God must take center stage, as it is the ground upon which all else must be built.
The church of Galatia was, in other words, opting for a different "good news," which as Paul clarifies is certainly not another true "good news," but nonetheless, there were some in the church who were disturbing them and leading them off track.
There is no other Gospel- there is no other good news. There cannot be, as Christ said that He is the Way and the Truth and the Life, and no man comes to the Father apart from Him. This church was believing the lies that Christ had no fulfilled the entire Law, and that they still had to do something to save themselves. In fact, the main reality found in the Gospel of Christ is that He fulfilled the Law, which is what makes it the good news, and so for this other professing "gospel" to come in and deny that is already proof that it is a fake. They were throwing away, as it were, the very fulfillment of the Law. How could that be good news in any sense?
And yet despite the blunt and clear reality of the Truth, a "certain person" or "persons" had come into their midst and were disturbing them concerning the entire and complete work of Christ. This is certainly not absent from the church today, as you see many professing Christians declaring that Christ did not complete the entire work of Salvation. They preach that He did most of it, but we still have to make the choice. Without the choice, God is powerless. And yet it goes further. They grab the promises God made to Israel, and apply them to the church, claiming that we have nothing to do with the Law, but somehow earned the right through Christ to take what was given to Israel for ourselves (except the curses of Israel, of course). The Catholic church is certainly putting itself back into the position of subjectivity, and the professing "modern" church is doing just the same, subjecting itself to the desires of people. Robert Schuller attempted to find a way to preach Jesus without bothering anyone about the whole topic of hell and sin, as people already know they sin, and only need encouragement. One way or another, most miss the entire point of the Law. In the church of Galatia, a specific person or group of people had come in telling these people that, somehow, Christ did not complete everything. They had to do something else to be saved. They had to be circumcised according to the Law, not made holy through the work of Christ.
The reality of the errors of the Galatians is seen throughout the entire book, as Paul constantly puts the focus on the true reason for the Law. Paul says so clearly in the second chapter "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified." (vs. 16) Paul already states this in Romans 3:20 and 3:28, and this is made clear throughout the New Testament.
Paul puts a great deal of pressure on the false teachers who had said these things, and yet at the same time, he says so little to them. He is not addressing them in this letter, but rather is addressing the church itself, apart from those who claim to be saved. Paul uses graphic language in chapter 5 when speaking of these people (vs. 12), and yet before that, he seems to shrug them off as a non-important pest (vs. 10). We see throughout the writings of Paul that he was never fond of the false teachers, and surely found them as a great threat to the church (as opposed to persecution and government), and yet his counter is never to discredit the teachers, but to point back to the Truth. He begins the letter to the church of Galatia with the Gospel, not a rebuke, and puts the emphasis on the fulfillment in Christ.
But the false teachers were not the only ones to receive a correction. The church itself would not escape the notice of error, and Paul even calls them foolish in 2:1. Paul had to reemphasize the fact that the Gospel is from God, not man, and warns them not even to trust him nor the others if they separate from the Word of God. The goal of the false teachers was to distort the Gospel and disturb the church, and this church more than welcomed these things. These false teachers did not, however, come in saying aloud "You are saved by works!" The wording behind the phrase Paul uses in verse 7 is interesting, in that these false prophets were not tearing apart the Word of God (the Gospel), but were "turning it around." They did not remove the aspects of the Gospel, but rearranged them. Originally, it is something like this:
1. The Law was given
2. Christ fulfilled the Law.
But they had turned it around to look more like this:
1. Christ fulfilled the Law
2. The Law is given to the church.
The error becomes obvious in the resulting actions of the Christians, in that they no longer live in light of the fulfillment of the Law. If the actions of the Law still had something to do with our being saved, then we would have to live by the Law. People constantly quote the ten commandments, and attempt to live by them (or some of them), but in these cases, people were having to subject themselves to the Law once again. The order was simply rearranged, and in that action, they disturbed the church of Galatia.
When you move the Law to a position after the fulfillment of it in Christ, you are then putting the Law as something present in the life of a Christian. Is the Law useless? No, not at all. But we are not under subjection to it. As is, and will be emphasized throughout this study, the entire point of the Law was to condemn people (to show their inability to keep the Law) and thus to point to Christ (who kept the Law in full).
In verses 8 and 9, we see that Paul is saying that not even his own words are trustworthy. But how can that be? How could they trust anything else he said? The false teachers would often attempt to discredit Paul, and in so doing they would discredit his words as well, so how is it Paul could risk his own trustworthiness in telling them not even to trust himself?
For one, we must remember that this is the English language, not the koine Greek that Paul used. But in a more important point, we must remember Where Paul gained his authority. Why did he begin as he did? "Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead)..." As was dealt with in the beginning of this series, Paul gained his authority from Christ, who was given all authority from the Father. These words were not the words of Paul, nor Peter, nor John, nor anyone else. These are the Words of God, not man, and that is key in understanding these things. Paul is saying in these verses, "Trust no man, but God alone." How do we know what to trust and what not to trust? By doing what the church in Berea did. "...for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." (Acts 17:11) They compared the words of the apostles to the Scriptures to make sure this was the Word of God. Paul spent much time in the synagogues of the Jews explaining and reasoning with them to show them that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah), as these were important things. The apostles also verified their words with signs and wonders, as Christ Himself did, and proved that they were from God, not man.
And so, based upon these things, this is why we never focus upon the man, but upon God who uses him. Many in the Reformed circles quote the Reformers and reference their lives far more than they do the Scriptures, which is a profound error (and an ironic one, considering that the Reformers wanted people to go to God, not them). This is an error in that it is making practically the same mistake as the church in Galatia, who trusted the words of men, not comparing them to the Word of God first and foremost. The Word of God must take center stage, as it is the ground upon which all else must be built.
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