No Other Gospel

Introduce the Text

Read the Text

Preach the Text

Introduce the Text

Paul’s letter to the Churches in Galatia is believed to be his earliest letter. Not only is it considered his earliest letter, it is the second earliest book of the New Testament. James was written first. When Paul writes this letter he is writing with the mutual consensus of the other Apostles. What is the issue? The issue is that a false teaching has been presented to the Galatian church and this false teaching has perverted the message of the gospel. Paul along with the other Apostles are in agreement about this issue, so Paul writes this letter. Another significant part of Galatians is what we will see here today. Paul says if anyone teaches another gospel they are cursed. This is significant because this is one of the earliest books in the New Testament and the message of this book does not contradict any of the other book in the New Testament. This testifies to the reputation and the efficacy of the Gospel

Read the Text

Galatians 1:1–10 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 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, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 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.

Preach the Text

Outline

Introduction

I. What is the Gospel

a. Euangelion

b. The Person and work of Jesus Christ

II. Proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ

a. We must proclaim with our mouths and show with our actions

Exegesis

I. Verse-by-verse exegesis

False Gospels Today

I. Prosperity

II. Progressive

III. Positive Affirmation (MTD)

Paul’s Response

I. Reminds them the truth of the gospel

II. Reminds them of their life before the gospel

III. Assures them of the salvation that come from faith

IV. The paternal Paul

The Gospel

I. Victory is already won

II. Liberty from the law

III. All inclusive, contingent upon their justification by faith alone

IV. Salvation

V. Radical Grace

Introduction

As we begin I want you to think about the gospel. More specifically, what is the gospel? The word gospel comes from the Greek word euangélion. This word means good news. The Latin rendering of the word is evangelium. From this word we get evangelism. As we look at the Greek word it is important to understand the context in how this word was used. Suppose we are living two thousand years ago and we are living in the capital of the Roman empire. The time comes for us to go to war. We go to battle and we win. Upon winning the battle a messenger would run to the capital and tell of the victory that has happened and all the people would celebrate and rejoice. Notice the specifics of the events. A messenger who did not fight the battle proclaims to a group of people who did not fight the battle that the battle has been won. In other words, the battle has been won and we did not have to lift a finger. As this pertains to gospel, when we proclaim the gospel we are messengers telling others of the good news that was accomplished by Jesus. In other words Jesus has already done everything and won the victory and we rejoice and tell others. The gospel itself is entirely about Jesus, not us.

Let’s take a different approach and ask the same question, “What is the gospel?” The gospel is simply the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is a simple question with a beauty and glory so wonderful that no one has ever been able to grasp how amazing it it. As we seek to understand the person and work of Jesus Christ we need to look at his teachings and his life. In other words, what he said and did. All of Jesus’ teachings were the product of the loving and holy nature of almighty God. There is nothing he said or taught that was evil or wrong in any capacity. As far as his works go they were all perfect. Obedience, love, mercy, grace, prayer, and devotion were all perfect. Everything he said and did was good and perfect. That is why he won the victory; because he is everything that we are not. He is perfect and we are not. He is good and we are not.

As we think on this Easter season about the significance of the cross, we must remember the perfection of Christ and the victory he has already won.

Exegesis

Galatians 1:1 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

Paul is affirming his apostleship. To be an apostle means to have encountered and been appointed by Christ. It is the highest position there is. He is building a case not, for himself, but for the authority of the gospel by reminding them that the highest position in the early church is going to proclaim to them the same message all the others are proclaiming. This message is Christ’s, it did not originate with him

Galatians 1:2 ESV

2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

These brothers, some of which may have been apostles, are in agreement about the intention of this letter. They agree that the Galatian church has been led astray and that Paul’s message reminds them of the truth.

Galatians 1:3 ESV

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

Paul greets them in a similar fashion he does with all the other letters.

Galatians 1:4 ESV

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

In verse one Paul reminds them that God raised Christ from the dead. Now he reminds them again that he gave himself as the atonement for our sins and is delivering us from this evil age. All this was because it was the will of God.

Galatians 1:5 ESV

5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Paul ends his greeting by reminding them that Christ is to be glorified forever.

This greeting is not much different than all the others, however, he does

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.

Paul is clearly in disbelief. Despite the fact that some have attempted to distort the gospel, there is only one true gospel. Paul tells them that by accepting the slightest distortion that have abandoned the gospel altogether.

He does not say that they are mostly right or they get the idea. He says they have deserted God who has called them in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different 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.

If ANYONE preaches a different gospel, they are accursed. This is why preachers are under great scrutiny. If I tell you what is wrong and false I am cursed. If an angel tells a false gospel the angel is cursed. After all, Satan was an angel and now he spends his existence bringing accusation against God and man in order to lure us into lies and deception.

Paul uses a Jewish writing device here. He uses verbal repetition to emphasize the importance of the severity of presenting a false gospel. Repetition was used by Jesus when he preached. When he wanted to emphasize something important he would say, “Truly, Truly” or, “Verily, Verily”. This was a way of showing its importance. There is only reason that a verb is repeated three times. In Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4. This repetition takes it to the superlative degree to say that God is holy, holier, holiest; that he is the holiest being and nothing will ever even come close to comparing with him.

The word that is used here, “Accursed” comes from the Greek word anathema. Another way of saying this is they are damned. “Let him be damned…again I say let him be damned” That is the severity of preaching a false gospel.

What is the false gospel they are embracing? There were a group of people who considered themselves to be Christians, but were telling others that you had to keep the Old Testament law. These people are called Judaizers The specific issue was circumcision. At this point Christians were severely persecuted by Jews. We read all about it in the book of Acts, and we remember also that Paul was at one point persecuting the Christians. These Christians had embraced this false teaching so they would not be persecuted and were telling others to do the same.

We see here that false teaching and the biggest threat to the church and the gospel has always arisen from within. The biggest threat is what is taught in studies and proclaimed from pulpits in churches all over the world. Paul uses this instance to inform there is only gospel, everything else is false and everything else leads to hell.

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.

A servant of God is not concerned with what people think. This is certainly true for Paul. He was persecuted, arrested, whipped, stoned, and eventually beheaded. All the other apostles suffered a similar fate. This is not new either. This was the life of the prophets. Jeremiah 15, we see that he is being attacked for telling Judah what exactly what God says, and God tells him to continue to speak that which is good he will be safe. He is eventually locked up and later thrown into a cistern. The promise of Jeremiah is true today, that the servants of God who speak what is true and lovely will be persecuted, however they will be preserved and they will be preserved for eternal glory.

False Gospels Today

There is one thing that every false teaching and false religion in the world has in common: works. Every other religion in the world tells us that we are saved by what we do or do not do. Jews keep the law. Muslims hold to the Koran. Buddhist believe you have to become free of desire to reach nirvana. The irony is that you must desire to be free from desire. Christianity is the only religion that tells us we are saved because of what someone else has already accomplished. What false gospels are we faced with today? We can narrow almost all false teachings down to three specific false teachings today.

Prosperity gospel

Progressive gospel

Positive affirmation - Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD)

Prosperity Gospel: Luke 4:1-13

We see when Jesus is being tempted by Satan in the wilderness he is tempted with food, authority and glory and by having authority and glory, power, and he wants him to test God to send him angels. He uses Scripture to tempt him so it is compelling. What we see is that Satan offers Jesus the very same thing that the prosperity gospel offers today. Jesus was hungry and weak so Satan offers food and power. He was helpless and Satan offers divine help. The prosperity gospel offers money to those who seek money. Health to those who seek healing. Opportunities to those who are not satisfied. And the list goes on.

As if this wasn’t bad enough it changes the meaning of faith and turns faith into a work. So, they will tell you that if you want to be blessed you have to muster up enough faith so please God. Biblically speaking, faith is a gift from God. He uses this faith to justify us and the faith which he has given us grows us and matures us. The prosperity gospel makes faith out to be an innate part of humanity and if you want to be blessed you have to muster up enough faith or serve God enough so he will bless you. The Bible tells us in Psalm 32:1-2 that we are blessed because are sins have been forgiven. It is because we are blessed that we are compelled to go out and serve and love our neighbor.

They also redefine sin. Scripture says we were brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin Psalm 51. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God Romans 3:23. That is why we must be born again so that sin is no longer our master. They turn sin into a conscious choice and teach that your sin is what keeps you from being blessed. The Bible says we are blessed despite our sin.

The Progressive gospel: Genesis 3:1 (Did God really say)

The progressive gospel builds upon the idea that the Bible is a human book; that is fallible and has errors, that is already a problem. This is basically what Satan does in the garden. He comes to Eve and says did God really say… Did God really say that homosexuality is a sin, did God really say abortion is a sin, did God really say that the transgender agenda is sin… yes, in case you are wondering.

They also redefine sin. Sin is not something that is innate to us, rather it is the result of the power structure. That only those who are classified as oppressors are typically viewed as sinners. Most do not believe in hell so sin is not about eternal consequence it is more of a hindrance that keeps the world from being equal and free.

They also redefine justice. Biblical justice begins with God, understanding that we deserve to die for our sin. From there it deals with how to treat the poor, the widow, the ones who have been wronged. They redefine it to say that abortion is a women’s right issue so if you oppose abortion you are being unjust. Homosexuality and transgender issues are equality and if you oppose them then you are against equality so it is unjust. Even racism comes into the conversation. If I say that I am not racist, but disagree with their definition of racism and anti-racism I am actually a racist, therefore I am unjust. In order to be good according to the progressive gospel is believe what they believe and prove it though action and advocacy.

Biblical justice is directly related to sin. If it is sin, it is unjust.

Positive affirmation (MTD): Matthew 19:16-17 (Rich Young Ruler)

When the rich young ruler comes to Jesus he asks, “Good teacher, what good deed must I do to be saved” Jesus responds by asking why he calls him good when only God is good. Already, he is trusting in himself for salvation… what must I do… Jesus tells him to keep the commands. He asks which ones… the guy is borderline narcissistic. Jesus tells him the ten commandments and he says I have done that. Jesus says no one is good and ruler turns around a few seconds later and says, “I must be as well I have done everything”. Jesus tells him to sell everything and give to the poor. He walks away sad. Jesus has just showed him that his treasure was his god and not God himself. Not only was he idolatrous but was prideful.

This type of preaching tell you to just do good and be good. They redefine sin as well. Again, they teach that sin is not innate, rather most sins are just mistakes and God knows that we make mistakes so it is okay. So they continue to say be good and do good. Bryan Chapell says this, “ The sermons that just say ‘Be good’ damn people, either to their pride or to despair”. It damns people to their pride because it produces more rich rulers who are trusting in themselves and their good works for salvation instead of Christ. It damns people to despair because you may actually know what they Bible says, that no one is good, no seeks after God; altogether they have become worthless Romans 3:11-12. If you know this then you know that you can never be good or do good because all are good works are filthy rags Isaiah 64:6. The good news of the gospel is that not only is Jesus good enough, he is good for us so that his goodness is credited to us.

Not only do these false teachings rely on works they redefine sin. It is certainly true that the church has a sin problem.

Paul’s Response

How should we respond these false teachings? The same way Paul did. Paul begins by reminding them of the gospel; that Christ has been raised, he has taken away our sins, and is delivering us from the evil age. He assures them that the gospel is trustworthy and true and can be trusted. He reminds them that a person is justified by faith, not by works. He reminds them that the gospel is for all people, not just Jews.

He reminds them of their life before the gospel. He reminds them that those who trust in works are cursed just as those teach works based salvation. He reminds them that the way the lived before was worthless and unprofitable.

He reminds them that they are saved though faith and by faith they are children of the promise made to Abraham and they will inherit eternal life. He assures them that the gospel is liberation from sin, the law, and the curse.

Paul approaches this as would a loving father. Later in the letter he addresses them as children. Imagine a father has raised his son to do what is right and trust and believe in God and this child is sent off to college. Now imagine this child is partying and is not taking life seriously and his grades start to fall and his father hears about this. The Father calls his son and says, “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed and can’t believe that you would do something so dumb”. From there the father assures his son there is no profit in living that life or turning away from those teachings. It is very similar to what Paul does here. Here is a church that he founded, raised up, and helped to mature and shortly after leaving them they mess up. He responds and says he is astonished, he call them foolish, and he is worried that all his efforts were in vain. Paul also tells them that those who have not embraced the false teaching need to be gentle and restore those who have gone wrong.

Love, gentleness, and with full assurance of the beauty and truth of the gospel is how we are to address false teachings.

The Gospel

So what is the gospel?

The gospel is that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone for the glory of God alone according to Scripture alone. The gospel is that the victory has already been won because of what Christ accomplished on Calvary. The gospel is that the curse of the law is gone. The gospel is that the unjust are justified by the just God. The ungodly are made righteous by God. The completed work of the gospel is the full assurance of our salvation. The gospel is that all who have been justified by faith in Christ will be saved.

The gospel is a message of grace and mercy especially when it comes to false teachings. In God’s grace he preserves all in their false teaching till the day they are rebuked and corrected. When we repent of our false beliefs God is merciful to forgive. This grace is radical. We know that where sin abounds grace abounds more Romans 5:20. This grace is scandalous because it tells us that we are saved entirely because of God. Regardless of what we have done in our live, if we truly have been born again and have repented and believed the gospel we will be saved. If Hitler towards the end of his life had truly been born again, repented, and believed the gospel, he would be in the same heaven as the sweet old lady who was born again and went to church all her life and hardly told lies. Where sin abounds grace abounds more. There is a limit to sin, there is no limit to grace. The only thing you have to do is repent and believe the gospel.