Galatians 1:6-11

Paul’s Burden for the Galatians

Paul had planted the church in Galatia on his first missionary journey that we read about in Acts 13.

When he got to Galatia: He preached the gospel. People came to faith. We know that it was Pauls habit to stay in a town as long as it took to make “many disciples” (Acts 14:21). He strengthened them and encouraged them. He went through sufferings and trials with them. He worshipped with them, laughed with them, cried with them, ate with them, …He was their pastor and their friend...

Paul wasn’t a drive by evangelist…he didn't just preach the gospel and then bail...

He spent time laboring with the people…he was after quality…not quantity...

Paul loved all the churches that he had planted…

Like any good pastor...he wanted to see them flourish in every way...

So when He heard about one of his churches that was in the process of departing from the most important elem of the Christian faith…He was heart broken...

Look at what he writes here in verse 6:

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.

He doesn't land-blast them…he isn't using abussive language that is intended to shame them.

Think about it this way…imagine that God called you to me a missionary to a foreign land where there were no Christians. Imagine that you go there, you preach the gospel…people believe…you disciple them…you form a church… after years of working with this church you appoint pastors over the church…and then you pray over the church to go do it in another place…and then imagine that you get word in the course of the next couple of years that the people in that place have gone back to some of their old ways...

how would you respond? Would you be dissapointed? Saddended? Heart broken? Frustrated? Confused?

I bet we would respond like Paul did…we would just be astonished...

Look at why Paul is astonished:

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...”

The reason why Paul is astonished is because the church in Galatia is deserting the message of the gospel.

The word that we get this word “deserting” comes from the same word that we use for the word “repentance.”

It literally means to do an about-face or to turn around…and it is a present active verb, just meaning that it is something that they are in the process of doing.

What Paul is literally saying is that the church in Galatia is in the process of turning their back on the God that called them into the grace of Christ...

How are they turning their back on Him?

He tells us… 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.”

The way that the church is abandoning the gospel is by looking to another way that they can be saved...

Here is what Paul is saying…that to turn your back on the gospel…IS to turn you back on Him who called you into the grace of Christ.

To turn you back on the gospel is to turn your back on God...

A lot of times we talk about turning our back on God…we think of people who are failing from lifestyle decisions.

We think about kids who go off to college and fall away...

And while lifestyle decisions can be a way that folks turn their back on God…Paul isnt talking about lifestyle decisions…he’s talking about belief here. He is talking about doctrine and theology.

They have turned their back on God because of what they are believing...

Look at the context of what Paul is talking about here in this passage

Acts 15:1 ESV

1 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

The church in Galatia are wrestling with this question… “How can a person really be saved?”

to put it another way… “How can a sinner really be made right with God?”

We saw Paul’s view of salvation last week in verses 3-4...

Galatians 1:3–4 ESV

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,

But there were others who came after Paul who preached a different message

Acts 15:1 ESV

1 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

This is what the church in Galatia was beginning to believe...

They were beginning to believe that there was more to the gospel than simply believing that a person can be saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

They were believing that it was Christ PLUS living under the customs of Moses...

Effectively…it was Jesus + Religious Performance…

You see, the devil is shrewed in the way that he fools people into believing a false gospel.

He doesnt come at you and say the work of Christ meant nothing…He comes at you and says that the work of Christ was great…but that the only way you can obtain the work of Christ is if you earn it…and then he hands you a list of rules.

And before long…you dont trust in Christ…you trust in your observance to that list...

I love the way Martin Luther said it, “The devil knows better than to appear ugly and black. He prefers to carry on his nefarious activities in the name of God.”

And this is what the christians in Galatia were falling into…because they were turning away from the gospel message.

The people in Galatia were believing a counterfeit gospel…and because of that they were turning their back on God...

Paul’s Defense of the Gospel

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.

Counterfeit Gospel’s are anything that that distorts the message of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ Alone.

Paul says in verses 8-9 that the message of the gospel is so important that even if He or an angel of light preaches a different one… “Let them be accurrsed.”

The word cursed here is the word “Anathama” and it means to suffer the eternal wrath of God.

So effectively, Paul says even if and angel or even if I myself come to you preaching a different gospel… “May we experience the full, eternal, wrath of God.”

This is an intense warning to me…as a preacher…it means that if I ever stop preaching the gospel…I will face God’s wrath.

And heres the truth of the matter…it’s easy in church world to move beyond preaching the gospel.

We in Christianity care about a lot of things...

We care about marriage…we believe that marriage is important.

We care about parenting.

We care about stewardship.

We care about the sanctity of life...

We care about issues of justice...

We care about a lot of things…even good things…but we have to care about the message of Jesus dying for sinners the most.

The thing that we have to be willing to fight for above everything else is the message of the gospel.

Paul’s Ambition for all of life

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.

Paul preaches the gospel because he doesnt care about what people think about him.

He says that if he was trying to please man he would preach a gospel that would be more pleasing to people....

How do we know if we have bought into a counterfeit gospel?

If you have ever found yourself feeling to ashamed of you sin be loved by God…you’ve lost sight of the gospel…

If we believe that God is disappointed with us…we've lost sight of the gospel… (In Christ…God is proud of u…Have you ever thought about this…the day you walk into Heaven God will be more proud of you being there than you will be? In Christ....when you walk into Heaven God will be more happy to see you than you are to see Him...)

If we find ourselves dwelling more on our successes or failures than on the success of Christ…we have lost sight of the gospel.

If we pay more attention to CNN or Fox News than we do to the hope we have in Jesus…weve lost sight of the gospel.

If we allow the current state of the world or nation to affect our joy…weve lost sight of the gospel.

It we refuse to forgive people for offending us…weve lost sight of the gospel.

If we allow the opinions of our friends, family, bosses, or co-workers to steal our joy in life…we’ve lost sight of the gospel.

If we get impatient with our spouses, kids, family, or friends…we’ve lost sight of the gospel.

If we get overly anxious over the number in our bank account, the grade we made on the last test, or how many likes we’ve got on social media…we’ve lost sight of the gospel.

If we refuse to hold people accountable for their sin…we’ve lost sight of the gospel.

If we dont have compassion for those who wrong us and for those that have been wronged…weve lost sight of the gospel.

If we know that through Christ…God is pleased with us…even though we sin…it should affect every aspect of life.

And when it fails to affect every aspect of life…it means that we have turned our back on the gospel…weve forgetten it.

So whats the answer for us if we find ourselves beliving in a counterfeit gospel this morning?

It’s to turn back to the gospel again....