SPIRITUAL DEFECTION

A defector is someone who transfers their allegiance from one entity to another. During the Cold War Era there were many Soviets who defected to Canada or the U.S. Of course we tend to see that in a positive light.

Over recent years there have been many American citizens who defected to Islam — many of whom stayed in the U.S. and have worked with sleeper cells to rake havock on our nation by means of terrorism.

During the time of Martin Luther and John Calvin — the 16th century Reformation, the Roman Church considered that these men had defected from the church. They were considered to be heretics and false teachers. But the fact of the matter is that it was the Roman Church who defected from the true gospel. The defection was a gradual one but it lead to what has been referred to as the Dark Ages, which was an entire thousand year period in which very little light of gospel truth was being offered.

In our text for this morning, Paul addresses the issue of spiritual defection or desertion. Sometimes spiritual defection is very subtle; it may not even be observed by the naked eye. In his commentary on Galatians (pg. 14) Pastor John MacArthur wrote:

The most destructive dangers to the church have never been atheism, pagan religions, or cults that openly deny Scripture, but rather supposedly Christian movements that accept so much biblical truth that their unscriptural doctrines seem relatively insignificant and harmless. But a single drop of poison in a large container can make all the water lethal. And a single false idea that in any way undercuts God’s grace poisons the whole system of belief.”

This morning as we look at we will look at Paul’s amazement, the gospel which was being distorted, the double curse which the apostle pronounced, and the seeking of favor.

First let’s read the passage together.

THE AMAZEMENT vs. 6a

What it Means to be Amazed

The Objects of Paul’s Amazement

The Reason for Paul’s Amazement

“Deserting” is a military term that brings a sentence which was punishable by death

The Greek term is reflexive, indicating that the defection was voluntary

The present tense of the verb indicates that the defection was either still being contemplated or in the process of happening

“To desert the gospel of grace that Paul had taught them was not simply to desert a doctrine but to desert Him, the God who had called them to salvation” (MacArthur pg. 13)

John Calvin wrote that “the corruption of their (the Galatians) doctrines was such as to leave them nothing more than an imagnary Christ.” When either add to the gospel or take away from it then we create an imaginary Christ. Calvin went on to say that in his time, the Roman Church, has chosen to worship an imaginary Christ and in so doing they were not worshiping Christ at all. Instead they had defected from the gospel. “They are full of superstitions, which are directly at variance with the nature of Christ. Let it be carefully observed that we have desserted Christ when we fall into those views which are inconsistent with His mediatorial office; for light can have no fellowship with darkness..”

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 10: Romans through Galatians B. The Reason for the Letter (1:6–9)

Embracing legalism means rejecting God, according to Paul’s reasoning, because it means substituting man for God in one’s life.

A DIFFERENT GOSPEL

THE GOSPEL vs. 6b-7

A Different Gospel

There are two Greek terms for “another” that are used in theses verses. The first is heteros which means another of a different kind. That is found at the end of verse 6 where the NASB translates it as a different gospel. The Galatians were in the process of defecting to a different religious system altogether

Not Another Gospel

The second term that is translate not another in verse 7 is allos, which means another of the same kind. Paul is saying: "You are defecting to another gospel of a different kind, which isn't the exact gospel “ or — “to another gospel which is not the same gospel." 

The Distorted Gospel

The term translated “distort” carries the idea of turning something into its opposite, of reversing and thereby perverting it.

There is only one true gospel, and that is the gospel of grace. If we add anything to it, or take anything away from it, then we distort it, and it is no longer the gospel

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 10: Romans through Galatians B. The Reason for the Letter (1:6–9)

To tamper with the gospel is to trouble the Church.… Indeed, the Church’s greatest troublemakers (now as then) are not those outside who oppose, ridicule and persecute it, but those inside who try to change the gospel.… Conversely, the only way to be a good churchman is to be a good gospel-man. The best way to serve the Church is to believe and to preach the gospel

Live in Liberty: The Spiritual Message of Galatians Distorting the Gospel: Opposing Christ

Those troubling the Galatians were saying, “You need Christ; you need to be on that team. But what really makes the whole thing work is how hard you yank on your bootstraps. It’s what you do for God that counts.”

When we over tighten our bootstraps they tend to break prematurely. Legalism causes believers to break because they can never live up to the high standard that is set for them.

THE DOUBLE CURSE vs. 8-9

Anathema — something dedicated to destruction — suffering the judicial wrath of God

The Objects of the Curse

We — as in Paul and his associates (possibly a stylistic device that is a specific reference to Paul

An Angel from Heaven — sometimes associated with the giving of the law — probably a hyperbolic reference

Any Man preaching a contrary gospel

Douglas Moo stated: (pg. 81)

“Whether it be he himself or the most significant and spectacular messenger he could name that preaches a false gospel — they will suffer God’s curse for their error.”

In regards to the charges that were brought against the Catholic Church from this passage, by the Reformers, stating that the Church had added to the gospel, the Roman Church’s answer was to say that not every kind of addition was forbidden, but that other gospels only are condemned. In other words, they did not recognize that they themselves had deffected from the gospel and were teaching a gospel that was in fact not a gospel at all. They did not understand that they were under the curse that Paul had mentioned in our text.

Understand that it is not just the ancient church that was in error of adding and taking away from the gospel. The modern church is in grave error on this as well. What are some of the modern errors within many so-called evangelical churches?

The Prosperity Gospel

The Social Gospel

Legalism of many shapes and sizes

Modalism

Certain form of Armenianism

Anything that minimizes grace

THE SEEKING OF FAVOR vs. 10

Live in Liberty: The Spiritual Message of Galatians Defending the Gospel: Serving Christ

Preaching the gospel to ourselves—and to each other—is serving Christ. To be as unbending as Paul over the nature and substance of the gospel is not intolerance, it’s service to Christ. To defend the gospel isn’t to push the law on each other but to lead each other to Jesus. To defend the gospel is to fight against the subtle tendency to confuse law with grace. Luther said, “The law says, ‘do this,’ and it is never done. Grace says, ‘believe in this,’ and everything is already done.”

“Consider what the gospel says. It does not tell us what we have to do to please God. Instead, it announces that God is already pleased with us through the death and resurrection Jesus Christ. God is as pleased with us as he is with his own Son. This liberates us from seeking the approval of others. At the same time, it frees us from striving for God’s favor. We already have the tender affection of his eternal love. What more do we need? Nothing more, which is why the one true gospel is such amazingly good news (Ryken, pg. 25).”

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Closing Song: No. 526 — THE SOLID ROCK