Perversion of the Good News

Intro: A farmer went to his banker and said, “I have good news and bad news.” The banker asked for the bad news first. “Well,” said the farmer, “I can’t make my mortgage payments. And that crop loan I’ve taken out for the past 10 years—I can’t pay that off, either. Not only that, I won’t be able to pay you the couple of hundred thousand I still have outstanding on my tractors and other equipment. So I’m going to have to give up the farm and turn it all over to you for whatever you can salvage out of it.” Silence prevailed for a minute and then the banker said, “What’s the good news?” The farmer said, “The good news is that I’m going to keep on banking with you,”

That’s not good news at all is it? That’s a perversion of good news...... the Gospel apart from Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone is not good news at all but a perversion of it.

False teachers called Judaizers came to Galatia after Paul left teaching a perversion of The Gospel of Christ Jesus, they added some religious rules that makes salvation not an act of God’s grace but of man’s work.

There are people today doing the same thing. So called churches today doing the same thing. Society calls us to be tolerant and to make compromises but the Bible teaches us not compromise on the Gospel truth!

CPS: We must understand the true Gospel of Christ ourselves and stand up to the false teachings in this world lest people die and go to hell.

I. The Perversion of the Gospel 6-7

Those false teachers who came brought with them a perversion of the Gospel. Pervert is the Greek verb metastrephō it means to distort or turn into something different.

ILL: When I was a little kid, perhaps in the 1st grade I made a bad mark on my report card, this is back when the grades were hand written by each teacher, so I wouldn't get in trouble With my pencil I added a line to one side of the letter grade turning it into an “A.’ I had distorted the truth and this is what happened in Galatia.

A. The Perversion of the Gospel

In Galatians the word Circumcision is used 7 times and Circumcised is used 6 times. There was obviously a problem with the addition of Circumcision. Gal. 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. Gal. 6:13 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.

After the Paul’s 1st Missionary Journey a discussion arose in Jerusalem over circumcision; Acts 15:1 Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.

They Deserted Grace

Removed (desert) from him that called you into the Grace of Christ unto another Gospel, (vs.1) They were in the act of abandoning God who called them into Salvation and His glorious grace! Grace means the undeserved favor of God, one preacher said “Grace is everything for nothing to those who don’t deserve anything!”

2. They Embraced an addition of Works

Circumcision is an act of man, the removing of a man’s foreskin. (History, what the Jews thought about it) The Judaizers” looked to improve on what the Grace of God gave them. Martin Luther once said, “if the devil cant ruin people by wronging and persecuting them, he will do it by improving them.”

3. Today’s Popular Beliefs

The Additions

(church attendance, church membership, Baptism)

ILL: Lady at Chic filet in Alabaster..... and Baptism, we argued by text over the next 24 hrs

2. The Conditions

Good works (doing the right thing) Being a good person.

ILL: Rick’s Question to dude the past two Weds. nights

B. The One and only Gospel

Gospel (Euangelion) it means good news! Paul’s Gospel is the good news of salvation in Jesus! It relies on God’s grace and It is the only Gospel! It was given to Him directly from the Lord Jesus (12).

1 Cor. 15:3-4 “For I delivered 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.”

Eph. 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

ILL: When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award—yet receives such a gift anyway—that is a good picture of God’s unmerited favor. This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.

Salvation is simply a matter of Grace that is imparted to you upon faith. The Bible says there is no other Gospel period!

II. The Penalty of Perversion 8-10

There is no compromising on the Gospel. There is a special place for those who pervert it! Paul uses strong langue and repeats himself in regards to this. He says the person who preaches ANY OTHER Gospel “let him be accursed(8)” let him be accursed (9)”Accursed is the noun anathema - it is the idea of God’s judgment in hell. Paul is saying let that BEING whoever it is be damned!

Hell is a real place, the word hell is used 12 times in the NT. It is the place of God eternal wrath. Rev. 21:8 refers to it as a lake that burns with fire and sulfur, Jesus calls it the 2nd death. Many don’t believe there is a hell but It is a real place!

ILL: A new believer was on a plane beside her was an intellectual who sneered at her reading the Bible. He asked if she believed it? “Yes.” “Jonah and the whale story?” “Yes.” “How did it happen?” “Don’t know, but I’ll find out when I get to heaven.” “What if Jonah isn’t there?” “Then I guess you’ll have to ask him for me.”

Paul’s strong langue is a warning because he nor God desires anyone to go to hell. Not the false teacher or the one he leads astray. He is giving solemn warning not to follow those people or to be one of those people and today I warn you.

A. To believe the Gospel of Grace.

B. To stand up for the Gospel

There is a popular old saying, “make love not war,” but this isn't always feasible! As Doctors make war against disease and death, sanitary engineers against filth and pollution, legislators against crime and injustice, we Christians war against false teaching and teachers!

Why? Because we fight for what we love! “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil (Ps. 97:10a), Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” (Rom. 12:9)

We do not live to accommodate sinful man but to please Holy God! As it was His pleasure to crush His Son on our behalf it is to be our pleasure to serve Him and advocate His cause!

Conclusion: The Gospel is good news, that in Jesus anybody can be saved! It is a matter of God’s grace and grace alone!