No other Gospel

INTRO

If you have your Bible this morning you can turn to Galatians chapter 1 where we are continuing our study that we started last week. If you were not with us you missed out, but don’t worry I’ll give you a really simple review

Paul, the apostle is writing to house churches in Galatia that he planted on his first missionary journey. After a couple years of leaving them, some jewish leaders had crept into these churches and started bringing a different Gospel. They were saying, sure Jesus is good, but you still need to follow these rules. You still need circumsision and you still need to follow the law. Basically, you the Gospel to them is Jesus and works. And Paul is not happy about this. So much that he writes a letter to them with not blessing, no prayer, just straight up aggression that this false Gospel is not only being preached in these churches but that they are actually believing it.

So Paul gave them a one word summary of what the Gospel is to help them remember what God has done through Christ Jesus has done. Does anyone remember? Deliver/Rescue. From what? This present evil age which is not people who smoke, drink, chew, or kiss girls that do. This present evil age is the selfishness, condemnation, shame, and sin. It is anything contrary to the age to come or the kingdom of God.

How was that for a review? If you want more you can listen to it later, but for today we are going to look at what is the true Gospel and how to tell if you are hearing a false gospel.

Let’s pray.

BODY

English Standard Version Chapter 1

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—

I know we did not get far but there are three words here that I want to point out to help us understand what is being communicated by Paul to the churches in Galatia. If you have a Bible that you underline in I would encourage you to underline these three words too.

Three Words to Help Understand the Gospel

Astonished. This is the same word that Jesus would use when he saw or did not see people’s faith. He was astonished at people’s faith, or their lack of faith. Paul is like a parent walking in on his kid coloring on a wall. What are you doing! This is important for us to see because the Gospel is not something to treat lightly. It is not something we should be relaxed on. It is important and essential for believers. This is where you say, no duh! But, remember, if Christians that had the Gospel shared by the apostle Paul could be lead astray, so can we. So we need to humbly check ourselves and say, is this important to me? Am I becoming lax on what the Gospel is? Or am I doing what Paul said these Galatians were doing, whic is the second important word.

Deserting. This word is the image of someone switching allegiance. Going from one army, to the enemy army. It’s not just a, whoops I forgot about the Gospel. It is deserting the truth and going to another “Gospel” that is adding on and distorting the Gospel of Jesus. Which is important for us too because there is a difference for us believers if we forget the Gospel. We forget or become absent in the Word and forget the words of Jesus but then turn back to him. That’s not what Paul is saying, he is saying you are deliberately turning away from this Gospel to follow a different way of believing. It is simply saying, ya Jesus is good, but I think I should add this too just in case. Because, in simplist terms, if you are sitting here and thinking, well what is the Gospel? What is this thing that Paul is so adamant about?

Him. The Gospel is Him. It is Jesus. It is the Father. It is the Holy Spirit. It is not a theology or a doctrine. Don’t hear me wrong, those things are not bad or wrong. However, the Gospel is not a statement of faith. It is believing in a real person named Jesus Christ who walked this earth, lived a perfect life, died a grusome death and was raised again. He now sits at the right and of God the Father and anyone who believes in Him, trusts in him has forgiveness of sins, accepted in the family of God, filled with his Spirit so you can be delivered from this evil age and walk in love, joy, peace and the kingdom of God. And one day, the kingdom of God, the age to come, will come with Jesus and you will be forever in his presence. It is all about Him. Not a list of do and do not’s. Not about how much good you do and do not do. Not even how much church you attended or did not attend. But did you believe? Did you believe in Him who loved you and gave his life for you? That is the Gospel.

Paul then gives a sharp rebuke to the people that are spreading this false Gospel.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

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.

Wow, Paul is angry. He says that these people that are sharing the different Gospel, not that there is another one, are accursed. Cut off from God. Under a curse, they are under God’s judgment. Not just that they are being mean, or they should just avoid these people, but they are cursed and cut off from God because of what they are doing. That is some strong language. And just so that everyone hears this, he says it one more time, if anyone preaches a Gospel contrary to the Gospel of Jesus, they are accursed. But did you also see the two indicators of how a false Gospel could come? IF Paul himself comes with a different Gospel or even an angel from heaven. Paul is so convinced in this Gospel that even if he comes back and tries to change it, he believes he will be under a curse. That’s some confidence. And then he also says, even if an angel comes down from heaven, which Jews believes Moses received the law through angels, are cut off from God if they try to preach a different Gospel.

So why is Paul using such strong language? Because the Gospel of Jesus is that you are not accused, you are not cut off, because of what Jesus has done. So if you add to that, then you are saying Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection was not enough. That’s why he is so harsh here, because that is what these false Gospel’s were saying, that Jesus was not enough. We need more.

So let’s pause for a moment and just talk about how this affects us today. Because there are a lot of religions out there today that have angels that have brought special revelation to a prophet (Mormons) and religions like Jehova’s witness that have said they believe that Jesus is God’s salvation but he is not fully God, and the Holy Spirit is just more of an energy that God has. And that religon came about in the late 1800’s from a guy that had special revelation. So is it mean for us to say from today’s scripture that they are cut off from God? No, because they are not believing that Jesus, the son of God, was enough. They thought that they had the true revelation. I guess the best way to portray this is to show you this quote from Tim Keller

Keller quote

Christianity is the opposite of every other religion because God came to man, not man trying to get to God. He made the way. And if you think that this is me bashing others, it is actually me just hoping you see the beauty of the Gospel. That these other religions need us to be astonished about people forsaking Him, not with anger, but moved with compassion to share what God has done for them and pray that their hearts would be open to believe.

Okey let’s look at one of the evidences that you are believing the Gospel according to how Paul is living.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

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 jewish leaders were accusing Paul that what he preached was just pleasing people because he didn’t have the backbone to tell them they had rules to follow. He was just preaching grace. And he just proved that he is not here to get anyone’s approval because he just said they were accursed. He isn’t here to make friends, he is here to hold firm the truth of the Gospel. And the reason why he is able to say this in compassion and with passion, is because he understand this evidence of believing the Gospel.

EVIDENCE THAT YOU ARE BELIEVING THE GOSPEL

You are not seeking the approval of man. Do they like me? Did they see my post? How come they didn’t like it? Did that person say hi to you today? Why? Oh they probably hate you. Did you not text that person? Oh my gosh they didn’t respond to you? They probably don’t like you anymore. Approval is a part of the present evil age. A needing to be loved by others, but it isn’t love it is a continual need of approval and affermation that is only satified in the reality that God accepts you. God approves of you, says you are pure, holy, blameless, righteous, accepted, welcomed in, because of Jesus. Is there a forgiveness of sins? Yes, but more! The forgiveness is there so that you can enter into the holy of holies and know that they father loves you as His own beloved son. The moment you catch that revelation there is no need to give into the draw of needing approval.

Or take the other side of this of instead of constantly needing approval, pushing everyone away and not actually loving others. I don’t care what others think, I’m my own cowboy out on my own. I look after myself. All you are doing is trying to mask the fear and insecurity in hardening your heart. You can fool others but you are not fooling God. He sees that you were made in his image and that facade of looking tough and you don’t need anyone is just a lie of fig leaves. You are accepted, approved of, loved, in Jesus. Not because anything of you can do or will do. Only because of His great love. Oh to know the height and depth and width and length of the love of God!

2. You see yourself as a servant of Christ.

Paul shows how following Jesus doesn’t mean you just do whatever you want. He loves your, accepts you, but he is the Lord of your life and you are now a bondservant of his. You follow after him and what he commands. You have given him your full allegiance. This is the paradox of the Gospel, that you are not obeying to be loved, you are obeying because you are loved. This is an evidence of believing the Gospel because freely you have been given so freely you give away. Your life is not your own, you were bought at a price. You belong to Jesus, the messiah, the king. This is your identity now, not anything else that you can prove, not any failure, not any kind of identiy the age of this world wants to give you. It’s freedom, it’s deliverance to live differently and freely. Because he is the king and you have deserted the world’s ways to claim full allegance to Jesus.