No Other Gospel

No Other Gospel | Galatians 1:10-10 September 3, 2023 We begin a new series this morning, called "No Other Gospel," from the Book of Galatians. Galatians is one of Paul's letters in the New Testament, the ninth book of the New Testament, after 2 Corinthians and before Ephesians. Coincidently, our sermon title today is also "No Other Gospel." Commentator Herschel Hobbs defines Gospel as "the good news that God by grace through His Son has provided salvation to all people who believe in Jesus." One of the key words there is "salvation." According to Britannica, Christianity remains the "top religion" in the world with over 2 billion people who identify as such. Next is Islam with 1.8 billion followers, then Hinduism with 1.1 billion followers, and that's followed by several other religions, including Judaism with 14 million followers. Of the countless religions, each have a different understanding and "way" to salvation. In Judaism, for example, much has to do with being Jewish and following the laws and customs. Islam has their 5 pillars that must be followed; Hinduism requires purification from evil in life, after life, after life. Even in paganism, it requires some sort of appeasing the gods and spirits for a reward. All of these have one thing in common - the burden is on the person, all but Christianity which clearly teaches that salvation is a free gift from God, through the work of Jesus Christ's substitutionary death on the cross, followed by His resurrection and ascension to His rightful place in heaven. As one bible teacher put it, "Christianity is the only religion where the offer and the burden for accomplishing salvation rests solely with God, and man can do nothing on his own to deserve or accomplish his own salvation." In a way, this is the backdrop of our sermon series, and the first 10 verses of chapter one, in which we will look at this morning. I want to begin with the first 5 verses, in order to provide some background to this book, then we'll answer some questions. Following along in your bibles or on the screen as I read Galatians 1:1-5: 1 PAUL, AN APOSTLE-NOT FROM MEN NOR THROUGH MAN, BUT THROUGH JESUS CHRIST AND GOD THE FATHER, WHO RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD- 2 AND ALL THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH ME, TO THE CHURCHES OF GALATIA: 3 GRACE TO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD OUR FATHER AND THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, 4 WHO GAVE HIMSELF FOR OUR SINS TO DELIVER US FROM THE PRESENT EVIL AGE, ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF OUR GOD AND FATHER, 5 TO WHOM BE THE GLORY FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN. Paul identifies himself as the writer of this letter. Paul is first introduced as Saul at the end of Acts 7, and from that point forward in the book of Acts, he is the primary person to which we hear about. We read of Paul's conversion from persecutor of the church to apostle, evangelist and missionary in chapters 9, 22 and 26 of Acts. Chapter 9, of course, is where we read of his encounter with Jesus. Fast forward to chapters 13-14, Paul and Barnabas travel into the gentile and Roman region of Galatia and bringing the good news to Antioch in Pisidia, Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe. These are the churches that are commonly believed that Paul is addressing in this letter when he states at the end of verse 2, "TO THE CHURCHES IN GALATIA." Aside from - what appears to be - a common greeting, Paul adds some details that are worth discussion. First, we see: PAUL'S DEFENSE: Paul defends two things as soon as he opens this letter: * Defends his apostleship o First, an Apostle means "one who is sent with a commission." The Jewish Christians recognized his title as one who was a special messenger with his authority from God o Jesus Himself appointed and called twelve Apostles. We read of this in Luke 6:13 and in Mark 3:14. o Paul will discuss this a bit more through chapter 2, verse 21, but it is noteworthy that he begins the letter with a defense as well. He does this by first stating that he was not appointed by men. This is important because a true apostle was appointed by Christ Himself, which is why Paul makes it clear here and elsewhere that his appointment was through Christ. o The Apostle was to go and proclaim the Good News - the Gospel. Which is why Paul next: * Defends "his" gospel o If the Apostle was appointed, and sent out from Christ, then his message was that of Christ. o Paul, by default, had to defend his message. What was his message? o Let's turn back a handful of pages to 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: 3 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, o Or, as he wrote to the Ephesian churches in Ephesians 2:8-9: 8 FOR BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED THROUGH FAITH. AND THIS IS NOT YOUR OWN DOING; IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD, 9 NOT A RESULT OF WORKS, SO THAT NO ONE MAY BOAST. o You see, his gospel was one of grace and of peace. So, when we look at verses 3-4 of our text this morning, we can see that it was not simply a greeting, rather it was a proclamation. This is clearly seen in verse 4 when Paul preaches Christ and Him crucified. o Obviously, when I say "his" gospel, it was the Gospel of Christ that he was given to preach. Paul's Gospel - the Gospel of Christ - is that light in darkness. The hope in the "present evil age" Paul identifies in verse 4. Probably the best explanation of this phrase describes the present age in which Satan is called the prince and god of this world. Finally in verse 5, Paul emphasizes that the glory belongs to God. Paul's setting the stage for the rest of the letter. God's glory, not Paul's. Now, let's explore: THE GALATIAN PROBLEM: We'll begin by reading verses 6-10: 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- 7 NOT THAT THERE IS ANOTHER ONE, BUT THERE ARE SOME WHO TROUBLE YOU AND WANT TO DISTORT THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 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. 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. 10 FOR AM I NOW SEEKING THE APPROVAL OF MAN, OR OF GOD? OR AM I TRYING TO PLEASE MAN? IF I WERE STILL TRYING TO PLEASE MAN, I WOULD NOT BE A SERVANT OF CHRIST. The Bible contains 13 letters from Paul. And with some exceptions, he has a certain style for his letters. You'll see an example of this general Pauline letter outline on the screen. You may have noticed that this letter is missing something (hint: one can assume Timothy is one of the "brothers" mentioned in verse 2). Do you see what's missing? Right! The "I thank God for you" part. Why do you think this is? Well, there are three primary problems that Paul must address immediately. First problem is that the Galatians: * Quickly turned from Christ (6-7) o Paul says at the beginning of verse 6, "I AM ASTONISHED" o This was actually a strong statement. The word used there means that he was dumbfounded, in a sense of disbelief. One writer described it as the calm and peaceful mother who all of a sudden slaps you across the face. It's unexpected. It's shocking. o That's how Paul felt when he heard that these believers were so quickly turning from the Gospel of Christ. o Now, when Paul says they were turning away, it does not mean that they completely left the faith, but they were beginning to turn away. o That's what he's talking about when he says they DESERTING HIM WHO CALLED them. The phrase means they were beginning to change their alliance, following after the false gospel that was being preached. o That leads us to the next point, in which we expand on this thought, the Galatians ... * Followed after a distorted Gospel (6-7) o The second issue is that they followed after a false and distorted gospel. The word DISTORT in the ESV is translated elsewhere as "perverted" and literally means "reversed." o Returning to the idea of grace and peace as part of the Gospel message, Paul here contents that they were distorting the Gospel to the extent that they were trying to replace it. o Now, the question is, what were they trying to replace it with? o We'll dig into this deeper when we get to chapter 3, but there was a group, presumed to be the Judaizers, that were preaching that gentiles needed to become Jewish to be saved. o By the time this letter was written, it is believed that the Jerusalem council from Acts 15 had already made it known that salvation was Christ alone, not Christ plus Judaism or any other system of works. o So, when Paul jumps right into this section of his letter, it is because the gospel message was at stake, the souls of these believers were at stake. o Paul, next delivers a strong warning, where we see that ... * Those who bring a distorted Gospel will face consequences (7-9) o A distorted message is bad enough. o But notice in verse 7, Paul says that these false teachers were troubling them. o This idea of troubling indicates an agitation, a shaking up. o We saw already that they were trying to discredit Paul and his message, so effectively they were saying that Paul was wrong, therefore you are not saved. o They were confused by a different message. The term "DIFFERENT" in verse 7 alludes to something that is not of the same kind. It's like saying a chicken sandwich is the same as a fish sandwich. They're both sandwiches, but they are not the same. o This is to say, there is one true gospel. Because, as we saw earlier, there are many ways - according to the world's religions - that one can be "saved." However, only one can be true. Paul says, "the Gospel given to me, by Christ, is the true Gospel. It is a Gospel of grace and peace." o What are the consequences of this? * I'm reminded of two things. In James 3:1, the Lord's brother states: NOT MANY OF YOU SHOULD BECOME TEACHERS, MY BROTHERS, FOR YOU KNOW THAT WE WHO TEACH WILL BE JUDGED WITH GREATER STRICTNESS * Then, In Revelation 22:18, John records these words: I WARN EVERYONE WHO HEARS THE WORDS OF THE PROPHECY OF THIS BOOK: IF ANYONE ADDS TO THEM, GOD WILL ADD TO HIM THE PLAGUES DESCRIBED IN THIS BOOK, o Paul affirms here, just as these two verses do, that those who bring a false gospel and leads people astray will be subjected to the wrath of God. o The phrase "let him be accursed" is the term "anathema" which is a severe curse of deliverance to God for destruction. It is a powerful condemnation. o Paul was careful not to point fingers, however, he made it very clear that if anyone brought a different gospel, they too were destined for this curse. o That "anyone" included him, his brothers from chapter 2, and angels. o We don't have a lot of time to dive into this, but I don't believe Paul realized he was being prophetic when he wrote verses 8-9. o Several religions were started with a vision or word from an angel - each of which brought a different gospel or added to the gospel - which we'll see is characteristic of these false teachers. A different gospel, of course, means a "different Jesus" as well. Now, with this background and context in mind, we can identify the main idea of Paul's opening to this letter: To abandon the Gospel is to abandon God. I know, it's not typical to come to the main idea towards the end of the message, but context and content of the first 9 verses really leads to this truth. It may be hard for us to see how this applies to us today, but I assure you that it does. There are no shortage of false teachers in the Christian world today. In fact, many of them are celebrities and have millions of followers. They tend to tweak the gospel a little here, then a little there, then next thing you know, they too are perverting and distorting the Gospel. So, as we close, let's discuss: HOW TO GUARD AGAINST FALSE TEACHING * Trust that Christ is enough (4-5) o We mentioned earlier that the theme of this letter is that there is "no other Gospel." o Paul clearly lays this out in the opening verses. It is clearly drawn all throughout the New Testament. o This has to be enough. o Pastors and Bible teachers are challenged with this every day, especially when Easter and Christmas come along. How do we make the Word of God come alive? How do we make the Bible exciting and interesting? o But that's not our "job." Ephesians 4 tells us that our "job" is to equip you for ministry, to build up the body of Christ, to attain unity in the knowledge of Christ. We are to illuminate the Scriptures, not add to them to make them exciting. They are exciting enough, if you ask me. o That means for us, we need to return to the Gospel daily, or as Pat would say, "re-gospel ourselves" every day. o Christ is enough. Next we must, * Test everything against the Scriptures (8) o A good example of this is the prosperity gospel. The false gospel message that promises health and wealth for your faith. o Or the cute little sayings like, "follow your heart" and "God helps those who help themselves" * Those aren't biblical. * So, when we hear something that sounds attractive, we must use the Scriptures to test it. o This will help us to identify false teachings and distorted gospels. o Finally, we are to ... * Aim to please God, not man (10) o Paul makes this point to conclude this section. o Think about how strange the gospel message is. o You're a sinner. Because you are a sinner, you can't get to heaven on your own. Jesus was sent to take on the sins of those who believe, then they will be declared forgiven of all sin, and they will be saved. o Because it is strange, people want to add to it in order to make it sound more realistic. And that is when people distort the message, in order to please the masses. o Other times, people give the people what they want, and declare it as God's Word. o Jesus was the perfect example of humility. He gave His life, so we can have life. o The Apostles, to include Paul, gave up their lives for the spread of the Gospel. o Why? As Paul reminded us back in verse 5, "to God be the glory" There is no other Gospel. The Bible, from cover to cover, tells the Story. These opening verses helped us to see: To abandon the Gospel is to abandon God. I want to challenge you this morning to stay close to the Word of God daily. I firmly believe that this letter is just as applicable today as it was then. The amount of information available to us, from countless sources, at a touch of a button makes it easy to be led astray. So, if we are not clinging to Jesus, His message of salvation, and the Word of God that reveals it, we too can be trapped. But, if you are a follower of Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit that comes along side you, helps you to understand, helps you to make the right decisions, and intercedes for you. Will you commit to Jesus and His Gospel today? Jesus is the Way. Period. For that, I am grateful. Let's pray. 2