The Road to Ruin (Galatians 1:6-10)

Pre-Introduction

Great singing

If you have your Bible, please turn to Galatians 1:6-10.

Let’s pray

Introduction

[Show funny “God’s Commands” video]

Post-Introduction

That, Paul will argue, is a false Gospel. That is the Road to Ruin.

That is replacing the Gospel of Jesus-Only with the false Gospel of Jesus-Plus.

If the pathway to peace that we saw last week in verses 1-5 is delighting in the Gospel of Grace

(Big Idea:) The Road to Ruin is distorting the Gospel of Grace.

Let’s read our passage this morning as we continue our study of the Book of Galatians.

Galatians 1:6–10 (ESV)

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.

**Big Idea: The Road to Ruin is Distorting the Gospel of Grace.**

This morning, I want us to see Three Ways To Avoid Distorting the Gospel of Grace.

Three Ways To Avoid Distorting the Gospel of Grace

1. We need to KNOW the Gospel (vv.6-7)

Galatians 1:6–7 (ESV)

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.

Illustration -

During World War II, the Nazis came up with Operation Bernhard as an attempt to destabilize and cripple the British economy. The plot involved using very skilled forgers to replicate British pound notes with incredible skill. In order for that to be convincing, though, they needed to really study up on

the specific paper that was used for currency

the ink

the serial numbers

and the nearly invisible watermarks.

The Germans had prisoners with dirty hands repeatedly rub and fold the notes to give them the feel of real money.

To the casual observer, the bills looked official; they looked like the real thing.

But ultimately, the plot failed.

They tried to keep track, but eventually the counterfeiters re-used a serial number from an authentic note, leading to the first counterfeit being detected in 1943. When the Bank of England realized what was happening, they took protective measures, like withdrawing from circulation any note with a face value higher than 5 pounds.

In the end, no matter how convincing the forgeries might have been to the casual observer, those who really knew what the real thing should look like and feel like and how the details of the serial numbers should work — they weren’t tricked.

If we want to avoid distorting the Gospel of Grace, we first need to KNOW the Gospel!

We need to KNOW what it looks like, what it feels like, what the details are, how it works. We can’t be casual observers, we need to KNOW the Gospel from the inside out.

Explanation

After the opening in verses 1-5, we hear why Paul is writing the letter: to combat the false gospel of the Judaizers.

This is first we’ve heard of the Judaizers, and we’ll learn more about them in the coming weeks.

What we need to know now is that they are professing Christians — they believe in Jesus — but they also insist that being part of God’s people in good standing requires Christians to obey the Mosaic Law.

The Galatians are being duped. They think that the so-called gospel of the Judaizers is the real gospel.

Here in his opening salvo, the Apostle puts all his cards on the table. He doesn’t hold back.

As clear as day, He says “if you accept the gospel of the Judaizers, you’re turning away from God and turning to a different gospel.”

It’s a false gospel. A counterfeit gospel. But you think it’s the real thing.

You’ve been duped by spiritual counterfeiters who are luring you away. And instead of seeing that you’re in danger, you’re going along with it!

Galatians 1:6 ESV

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ.

This is a pretty stark wake up call.

This is the language of adultery

A spouse deserting their first love for someone else. And oh, so quickly, Paul says. “That didn’t take long!”

Just like in the Old Testament when the people of Israel make a golden calf and call it God and start worshipping it, basically right after God had delivered them from Egypt and provided for them.

Those who accept the Judaizers false gospel are deserting God, abandoning their first love.

Listen to verse 7.

Galatians 1:7 ESV

7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

These are the counterfeiters, the “troublers” and “distorters,” his way of talking about the Judaizers.

They are spiritual predators, luring God’s people away and tempting them to come after them.

From the outside, these counterfeiters have a good game. They’ve got a good message. For casual observers, it even sounds legit.

But it’s not real. It’s fake.

The Counterfeit

So what was this counterfeit gospel of the Judaizers? What about it was so tempting?

In basic terms: *The counterfeit Gospel is Jesus-Plus; the real Gospel is Jesus-Only.*

Jesus-Plus, not Jesus-Only.

Specifically, the Judaizers claimed that the way you became a member of God’s people in good standing was through faith in Jesus plus obeying the requirements of the Mosaic Law.

Specifically, in this case, through ritual circumcision of all of the male Gentile converts in the Galatian churches.

How was that a convincing counterfeit?

It might surprise you, but the Judaizers had a few Bible verses on their side! It’s a pretty straightforward argument:

(1) Passage #1 - Genesis 17:9-14

Genesis 17:9–14 ESV

9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

#1 - Circumcision is necessary for men to be part of God’s people; if they don’t, they’ll be cut off from God’s people and not experience covenant blessings

(2) Passage #2 - Matthew 5:17-20.

When Galatians was written, likely in AD 48, this section of Matthew’s Gospel was likely not yet in written form, but the Sermon on the Mount would have been memorized word for word by Jesus’ disciples and already become bread and butter for following Jesus.

We have a written copy in Matthew’s Gospel:

Matthew 5:17–20 ESV

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

#1 - Dt 17 says Circumcision is necessary for men to be part of God’s people; if they don’t, they’ll be cut off from God’s people and not experience covenant blessings

#2 - In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said not to relax any of the commands

So, Paul, — the Judaizers said — you’re going around not requiring Gentile believers in Jesus to follow the clear commands of God’s Word.

Belonging to God’s people means you have to obey all of God’s commands, which include all the men being circumcised.

Seems pretty straightforward, Paul.

These Judaizers weren’t denying the deity of Christ or even Jesus’ death on the cross.

They had Bible verses.

Side Note:

Let this be a good reminder to us that every heretic and every heresy quotes Bible verses.

There is not a heresy in Church History where the false teachers don’t cite the Bible.

The crucial test is not if they are quoting the Bible, but if they’re quoting the Bible rightly.

It doesn’t matter if they say they believe in Jesus and His gospel, what matters is which Jesus and which Gospel?

Quote

“There is one Gospel on which I stand

For all eternity...

There is one Gospel to which I cling

All else I count as loss...

There is one Gospel where hope is found

The empty tomb still speaks...

And in this Gospel the church is one

We do not walk alone...”

There Is One Gospel (CityAlight)

1. We need to KNOW the Gospel

Application

How well do you KNOW the Gospel?

How well do you understand what Jesus came to do, in light of all of God’s promises?

Do you know how the Bible fits together? How the Old and New Covenants relate to each other?

How physical circumcision was always intended to point forward to the circumcision of the heart — spiritual circumcision — performed not by people but by the Holy Spirit?

Can you detect counterfeit gospels? Or are you like the spiritual children described in Ephesians 4:14:

Ephesians 4:14 ESV

14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Are you taken in by a slick Instagram video or a popular Facebook post, stirring the waters of skepticism?

Do you KNOW the Gospel well enough to smell out a counterfeit?

Or are you vulnerable for being duped?

Brother, Sister, We need to KNOW the Gospel.

2. How confident are you that your standing with God is based not on Jesus-Plus but Jesus-Only?

Maybe you haven’t fallen into the specific error of the Judaizers (requiring observance of the Mosaic Law in order to be a good Christian) but you have created your own elaborate web of rules and laws and standards that you’re depending on for being in good standing with God.

Jesus-Plus or Jesus-Only. Those are the only two options.

How confident are you in Jesus-Only?

Not Jesus-Plus the right politics

Not Jesus-Plus the right parenting

Not Jesus-Plus the right social activist cause

Not Jesus-Plus the right kind of music or TV shows or movies

Jesus-Only.

1. We need to KNOW the Gospel (vv.6-7)

2. We need to GUARD the Gospel (vv.8-9)

Don’t just know the Gospel: Guard it. Keep it. Defend it. Hold the line.

Illustration -

May 10, 1940 was the day Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of Great Britain at the age of 65.

On the same day, Nazi Germany launched a full-scale invasion of the Low Countries and France.

This invasion pushed the British Expeditionary Force, along with French and Belgian troops, back to the French port of Dunkirk, where they were evacuated in a dazzling and dangerous operation called Operation Dynamo from May 26 through June 4.

The situation was dire.

Back home in Great Britain, the newly installed Prime Minister faced a crisis in his Cabinet. The British Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, reacted to Germany’s rise by insisting the best way to save lives and British power was by exploring peace talks with the Nazis. Churchill disagreed. And, in a dramatic few days, Churchill found support for his position.

On the day Operation Dynamo was complete, with the British people amazed at the salvation of the troops, Churchill gave what might be the most memorable speech of the century, warning and inspiring the British people for what was yet to come.

“Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

Winston Churchill (June 4, 1940)

Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.

It would have been easy for the British government to settle for peace. But in so doing, they would have allowed the Nazi regime to flourish unchecked.

It would have been easier to fold. Easier to surrender. Easier to live and let live, but in the end that way would have only brought more pain and more suffering and more death.

Explanation

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul articulates very clearly how important it is to get the Gospel right.

And he explains how much compromise Christians are to allow regarding the message of the Gospel.

None. No compromise. No retreat. No surrender. Stand your ground.

This is not a scare tactic. This is real. This is as weighty and intense as anyone speaking for God could muster.

Listen to these words again:

Galatians 1:8–9 ESV

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.

That word “accursed” is the Greek word ἀνάθεμα.

The old Wycliffe Bible from 1382, the first English translation of the Bible, says “Cursid be he!”

The NET Bible translates this: “Let him be condemned to hell.”

This is warning. Don’t lose the Gospel. Know the Gospel. and Guard the Gospel.

And notice what he says. He says even if one of the Apostles comes back and preaches another message OR, even if an Angel from Heaven comes and tries to give you a different Gospel, if its a different Gospel than the one they’ve already received, Don’t buy it! Don’t accept it. Don’t let them in. Don’t give them a seat at the table. Don’t give them a platform to peddle their wares. If their Gospel is wrong, the only thing they have coming for them is God’s wrath.

Illustration -

You might think if an angel showed up saying God gave him a message, that would be all the “proof” you’d need. Many a skeptic has said, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” But God’s Word is true — if He said it, you can count on it. You can believe God’s Word because He is always trustworthy.

But if you rely on your own spiritual experiences, watch out!

The Scriptures warn us.

2 Corinthians 11:14 ESV

14 . . . even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

This isn’t just an old Bible tale.

In September 1823, Joseph Smith claimed to have seen an angel named Moroni three times during the night. In the visit, the Angel Moroni told Smith that God had sent him to instruct him about restoring the true gospel of Jesus Christ, which had been corrupted and lost. The Angel told Smith about a book written on gold plates that contained the Book of Mormon, which would help him learn the true gospel. The angel assured him that he would be God’s instrument to restore and spread the true Gospel. And thus began the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Galatians 1:8 ESV

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.

Paul doubles down on the warning. Not just an apostle. Not just angels. Anyone. If anyone tries to mess with the Gospel, they’re asking for God’s wrath.

At the end of the Book of Revelation there’s a similar warning. If anyone tries to add or take away from the Book, they’ll face God’s wrath.

Application

Are you willing to GUARD the Gospel?

What would that look like in your life?

Notice this warning here isn’t just given to the elders or pastors of the churches. It’s given to the whole congregation, all of the gathered believers have an obligation to guard the Gospel.

Certainly, other passages tell us the Elders of the church are the tip of the spear in guarding the Gospel, but this passage is for the whole church.

Every member has an obligation to Guard the Gospel.

(A) That means you should take your role as a member of this church very seriously.

If we are going to be a faithful church that proclaims the true gospel 5 years from now, 10 years from now, 30 years from now, 50 years from now, 100 years from now, it will only happen if our whole church is completely committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with ZERO compromise.

That means when we add new Elders and Pastors, you aren’t passive in that process — you’re active in getting to know them.

That means when we add new members, you aren’t passive — you’re active in getting to know them

That means in our life together, you aren’t passive in just attending — you’re active in each others’ lives in life on life so you can guard the gospel!

If a brother or a sister claims to be a Christian but persists in unrepentant sin, part of guarding the gospel is graciously calling them to turn from their sin and not letting them float away or drift away!

(B) Guarding the Gospel also means we need to be very careful about not elevating everything to the level of a Gospel-issue!

If everything is a gospel issue, nothing is a gospel issue.

In other words, if we elevate level 2 or level 3 Bible or theology questions to the level of a gospel issue and we start handing out “anathemas” on every kind of disagreement, we will water down our ability to defend against genuine gospel compromise.

It’s like the boy who cried wolf.

By all means we should pursue biblical convictions and conclusions, but not at the expense of Christian unity.

But, if there beliefs and convictions that undermine and erode the Gospel, we can’t let those beliefs and convictions into the church.

Jude 3 ESV

3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

1. We Need to KNOW the Gospel (vv.6-7)

2. We Need to GUARD the Gospel (vv.8-9)

3. We Need to SHARE the Gospel (v.10)

Galatians 1:10 (ESV)

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.

Explanation

This is beginning of Paul’s defense of his apostleship.

For much of Paul’s ministry, there was a crowd of people who never accepted that he was really an apostle.

After all, he didn’t walk and talk with Jesus during his earthly ministry. He was one of the bad guys. He was one of the most zealous oppressors of the early church.

It was easy for Paul’s opponents to attack his character and attack his apostolic credentials.

And, that’s what the Judaizers are doing among the Galatians.

The Judaizers had heard that Paul was not strictly enforcing the circumcision requirement in Dt 17 for new Gentile converts, like Titus.

So they began spreading the rumor that Paul wasn’t standing for the truth of God’s Word, and he was compromising God’s commands in order to not offend people or scare people off.

They started to accuse Paul of people-pleasing. He wasn’t willing to stand for truth and stand for righteousness — as they saw it — because he was a people-pleaser.

Paul’s response is characteristically matter of fact.

Galatians 1:10 ESV

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.

So Paul has stood up and said if he or anyone else (even an angel) ever preaches a different gospel — which he says the Judaizers are doing — they will literally go to Hell.

And then, right after he says that, he says, “Do you still think I’m a people pleaser?”

“Do you still think I care more about making people happy than about serving Jesus?”

“If I was really trying to make you all happy — if I was people-pleaser — no way I’d talk about God’s wrath. And no way I’d confront you like this.”

It would be much, much easier and more comfortable to not have to confront you like this. To not have to go here.

But as a servant of Jesus, one who takes my orders from Jesus, not from you, I don’t really have a choice.

Serving Jesus is more important than making you happy.

1 Corinthians 9:16 ESV

16 . . . Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

In verse 10, Paul says how can you say I’m a people-pleaser when I’m willing to say what I just said, even when its hard?

“If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Whose approval do you care about most? The approval of God? Or the approval of others? If you care about God’s approval more than the approval of others, that will manifest itself when you Share the Gospel.

Illustration

A young African mother, just 22 years old, had just given birth to a baby boy, when the Governor decided to enforce the new law.

Two years earlier, the Emperor, Septimius Severus, had announced a new policy, forbidding citizens of the Roman Empire to convert to Christianity and Judaism.

In 203, the Governor of Carthage (Modern day Tunis in Tunisia) began to enforce the policy.

The young mother, Vibia Perpetua (pronounce: Per-Pay-Too-Ah), was from a prominent family, but had converted to Christianity. As she was taking classes to prepare for Christian baptism, she was arrested along with several others, including a pregnant slave girl named Felicity.

Right away, the guards had separated her from her baby boy, leaving her in a dark dungeon consumed by anxiety for her baby and the physical pain of not being able to nurse.

Eventually, she was able to reunite with her baby boy, who was in the prison with her.

Her father, a man of some social standing, had been pleading with her to renounce her new faith.

On one occasion, her father begged her to renounce her new faith.

Perpetua pointed to a vase and asked her father if he could call it anything other than what it was. “Of course not!” was his reply.

Perpetua then said, “Just like this vase cannot be called anything other than what it is, so I cannot be called anything other than what I am, a Christian.”

After her arrest, before her sentence was carried out, He came and pleaded with her again to recant:

‘Have pity my daughter, on my grey hairs. Have pity on your father, if I am worthy to be called a father by you. If with these hands I have brought you up to this flower of your age, if I have preferred you to all your brothers, do not deliver me up to the scorn of men. Have regard to your brothers, have regard to your mother and your aunt, have regard to your son, who will not be able to live after you. Lay aside your courage, and do not bring us all to destruction.”

Perpetua responded, saying in her diary, “I grieved over the grey hairs of my father, that he alone of all my family would not rejoice over my passion. And I comforted him, saying, ‘On that scaffold whatever God wills shall happen. For know that we are not placed in our own power, but in that of God.’

On the day of her sentencing, her father stood up on the stand one more time, holding her baby boy in his arms and begging her, ““Perform the Sacrifice; have mercy on the child.”

Then the Governor said to her, “Spare your father’s grey hairs; spare the infancy of the boy. Make sacrifice for the Emperors’ prosperity.”

She replied, ‘I will not do so.’ So the Governor said, ‘Are you a Christian?’ And she replied, ‘I am a Christian.’

Her fate was then sealed. Several months later, she and Felicity --who has since given birth to her baby --were led into the public area to face execution by a wild bull, because they would not renounce their faith in Jesus.

The one who compiled Perpetua’s diary wrote:

“The day of their victory shone forth, and they proceeded from the prison into the amphitheatre, as if to an assembly, joyous and of brilliant countenances; if perchance shrinking, it was with joy, and not with fear.”

Revelation 12:11 ESV

11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

3. We need to SHARE the Gospel (v.10)

Application

Whose approval do you care about most? The approval of God? Or the approval of others?

The reality is, to the extent that we care more about God’s approval than the approval of others, it is to that extent that we are freed from the slavery of what other people think about us, and we are freed to serve God by telling others the good news of Jesus Christ.

Gospel Call

Because the good news doesn’t make sense if there’s no bad news.

The bad news is that though we were created to enjoy God and glorify God, but we sinned against God by pursuing our own agenda. We wanted to define the terms of our life without God.

And so our first parents Adam and Eve turned against God, and we have turned away from God ever since.

We are sinners by birth and sinners by choice. Doomed in our self-centeredness, deserving of God’s righteous verdict against us. Guilty. Condemned. Cut off.

To be accursed, like Paul warns those who reject the Gospel, is a terrible thing.

The Book of Revelation describes the same fate when it describes those who reject God by being symbolically marked:

Revelation 14:10–11 ESV

10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

Facing God’s wrath is a terrible fate.

My only hope of being delivered from God’s curse for sin is for someone else to take the curse in my place, and replace it with blessing.

And God has made a way in Jesus Christ.

Remember Paul’s reminder in Galatians 1:4

Galatians 1:4 ESV

4 [Jesus] gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

Jesus lived the life we should have lived. He never sinned and always only ever did what was good and right. He fulfilled all of the obligations of God’s Law in our place, and he went to the cross to suffer and die in our place. He “gave himself for our sins to deliver us” to save us.

And on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead proving that God the Father accepted His sacrifice on behalf of anyone who would ever turn from their sins and trust in Jesus.

1. And God is inviting you, right now, to turn from your sin and trust in Jesus today, so you can have your sins forgiven and experience the hope of everlasting life with God. World without end. If you need help doing that, come talk to me after church, I’ll be right up at the front and happy to answer questions you might have and help you take your next step.

2. For those of you who are trusting in Jesus,

When was the last time you initiated a gospel conversation with an unbeliever?

The question is, are we too afraid of what other people will think about us if we tell them the hard truth that if they get the gospel wrong, they’ll face God’s wrath forever?

Paul wasn’t afraid to bring up that horrible reality because he loved them too much and he loved God too much

Vivia Perpetua and Felicity weren’t afraid to testify to the Gospel of Jesus Christ by their life of commitment and their unwillingness to bow the knee to the Emperor.

What about you? Whose approval do you care about most? The approval of God? Or the approval of others?

Conclusion

*The counterfeit Gospel is Jesus-Plus; the real Gospel is Jesus-Only.*

May God help us in our time avoid distorting the Gospel of Grace from Jesus-Only into Jesus-Plus.

May God help us Know the Gospel, Guard the Gospel, and Share the Gospel

For the glory of God and the good of others.

Let’s pray.