There's Only One Gospel

Galatians 1:6-12, 18; Ephesians 2:8-9

Introduction Please, take your Bibles, and turn to the Book of Galatians 1. In a moment, we're going to begin reading in verse 6. But, I want to tell you, Church, that there's something the devil had rather do than deny the gospel. You say, "What on earth could that be, Pastor?" Well, rather than denying the gospel, the devil would like to distort the gospel. The devil would like, somehow, to pervert the gospel, so that people who feel the need of a gospel will take a substitute gospel—which is not really another gospel—and they will never see their need for the genuine and the true gospel, and, therefore, be eternally lost. You're going to see that in the message that we're about to bring, entitled, "There is but One Gospel."

I want to tell you we don't need a new and a modern gospel for a new and modern age. Church, if it's new, it's not true. If the old gospel is not absolute, it's obsolete. But, it will never become obsolete. I want you to begin reading with me, in verse 6—read what the Apostle Paul said: "I marvel"—the word marvel here means "I am amazed; I am astounded"—"that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ."

Now notice—The devil does not deny the gospel so much as he does pervert, or change, the gospel of Christ: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:6-12).

Now, there's an astounding thing happening in the world today in the realm of religion. We have all kinds of esoteric cults, sects, and interpretations in variegated things, that are sometimes called the gospel, that have no relation whatsoever to the gospel. And, in America, if you want to have religion, and you don't find what you want right away, just keep looking and you'll find it. It's like a great big cafeteria line. You just keep moving and you will find it. And, there are a lot of people who have the philosophy that, it really doesn't make any difference.

You witness to some people, and they'll say something like this: "Well, I'm looking for a religion that suits me." If somebody says that to me, I think, "When did you become God?" I mean, if you are looking for a religion that suits you, you'd better find one that God has given. You'd better find one that pleases God. And then, you find out what God has said, and line up with God.

Now, when you say that there's only one gospel, that sounds bigoted; it sounds prejudiced; it sounds narrow-minded. But, church, I want to tell you there is but one gospel, and it's not the Baptist gospel, it's not the Methodist gospel, it's not the Presbyterian gospel, and it's not the Catholic gospel. It's the Bible gospel. And, if you have any other kind of gospel, it is not the true gospel. There is but one gospel.

Now, I hope that doesn't sound narrow-minded to you; but, listen, you know, I believe in narrow-mindedness in a lot of areas. When I go to the bank, I want my banker to be narrow-minded. When he's counting my money, I want him to believe that two and two is four and not three. I like a banker that's narrow-minded. When I'm flying on an airplane, I really do like a pilot who is narrow-minded. You know, I just like a pilot who believes he's going to be narrow-minded, and he's going to go by that little checklist, and he's going to obey the rules.

When I go to a doctor, I really do like a narrow-minded doctor. I don't want to go to a doctor who says, "Well now, there's something wrong with you, but we don't want to quibble about it, and we certainly don't want to be narrow-minded about it. It could be your big toe, or it could be your esophagus; so we will amputate your liver." I don't want that kind of a doctor to be my doctor.

When I go to the pharmacist and get medicine, I really do want a narrow-minded pharmacist. I mean, if he's got all those things on his shelf that could do me damage, or harm or help and heal me, I want him to be extremely narrow-minded. But, isn't it strange that, in the most important realm of all, that deals with our relationship to Almighty God and our eternal destiny, there are some people who think that we have no right to be narrow-minded. Folks, if there was ever a time that we ought to be narrow- minded, ever a subject that we ought to be concerned about, it is this subject called the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now, many folks don't know the gospel; they don't have the foggiest about what the gospel is. They'll talk about the gospel. They'll tell some yarn, or some story, and say, "That's the gospel truth." They wouldn't know the gospel truth if the gospel truth came walking down the road with a sign around its neck that says, "This is the gospel truth." They wouldn't recognize the gospel; they don't know what the gospel is, really. The word gospel means "good news," and it's primarily the good news concerning Jesus Christ.

One man asked one of those giddy women, "What do you believe?" "Oh," she said, "I believe what my church believes." He says, "Wonderful, what does your church believe?" "Oh," she says, "my church believes what I believe." "Well," he says, "What do you and your church believe?" "Oh," she said, "we all believe the same thing."

Now, that's the way a lot of folks are. They don't have any idea what the true gospel is. Now, I want to talk to you about the gospel, the true gospel, and I want to show you, this morning, there is only one gospel. Now, if you want to find out what the gospel is—and the true gospel is—I'd like to give you three tests this morning.

I. The Source Test - Where Did the Gospel Come From?

The very first test is the source test: Where did that gospel come from? Well, the source test is this: It must come from God or it's not the true gospel. In, Galatians 1:11, Paul said, "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man." That is, I didn't receive it from some man: "For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11-12). That is, this is not something that man cooked up. It is something that God has sent down. This gospel that we preach comes by divine revelation.

Today, we have, as I've already said, a lot of people who want to substitute, "thus saith the mind of man," for "thus saith the Word of God." We have, in theology, a kind of thought that's called existentialism. That's a big double-jointed, obtuse word. You may have never heard it before, and may never care to hear it again. But, what does the existentialist do? What does he believe? Well, he says that the Bible is not necessarily the Word of God, but that it contains the Word of God, and that, as he reads the Bible, he sees those things in the Bible that seem to bear witness with his heart.

And, God speaks to him out of the Bible, and what God says to him out of the Bible is true; so, he affirms what his heart and his mind feels is true. He has what he calls an existential-relationship with God, and with truth.

Church, let me tell you what it really boils down to is subjectivism, and he just takes the Word of God, and parades it past the judgment bar of his mind. And, if that seems good, he accepts it; and, if it seems bad, he rejects it. And, if he says, "Well, it doesn't seem to be rational and fair that Jesus Christ should be the only way to God; so, I just reject that." Or, "It doesn't seem right to me that men should suffer eternally in Hell; so, I just reject that." Or, "It doesn't seem right to me that you're saved by grace, and not by works of any kind; surely, man must do something." You know, this idea of salvation by grace is always an insult to human pride and mans dignity. So, he just parades those things past the judgment bar of his mind, and he accepts some things, and rejects others.

We had a little saying, many years ago: "God said it. I believe it. That settles it." And, that's a pretty good saying, until somebody upgraded it even better:

"God said it. That settles it, whether you believe it or not." Amen? I mean, it is the Word of God. And, what the Apostle Paul said is this: that "the gospel that I preached to you, I didn't receive it from man. I didn't learn it from any man. The source of the gospel is God. It came down to me from, or by divine revelation. And, it is not to be changed, not at all" (Galatians 1:11-12). You can't change the gospel.

Listen, I want you to learn this: It is not the messenger that validates the message; it is the message that validates the messenger, when it comes to the gospel. Now, what do we mean by that is this: Look, if you will, see what the Paul said here. It's a very strange thing here; it sounds so narrow. But look, he says in verse 8: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8).

Now, take a look at that word accursed. The word accursed literally means, "let him abide under the judgment of God." Let him be anathema. That is something or someone that one vehemently dislikes. J. B. Phillips, in his translation, translates it this way: "let him be damned." If a man preaches any other gospel, the curse of God, the wrath of God, is upon him.

Now, again, I want to say, it is not the man that validates the message; it is the message that validates the messenger. Suppose a man comes with a double Ph. D.—he's very learned, he's very charming, he's very intelligent, and very logical. And, he says, "I've got a new gospel for you." The Bible says, the curse of Almighty God is upon that man (Galatians 1:8). The curse of God is upon him.

Why, the Apostle, says it strongly — "Well, now, suppose later on I were to come to you, and I were to say to you, 'Look, I've changed my mind. Remember that gospel that I used to preach to you? Well, I've gotten an update on the gospel, and now God has changed the gospel; there's a new gospel, there's a different gospel.'" Paul says, "Even if I, the Apostle Paul, tell you there's a new gospel, let the curse of God be on me."

And then, he says something very strange. He says, "If we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you." Now, just imagine an angel stepping in from Heaven, and standing on this platform this morning; I mean, an angel—no ifs, and’s, and buts about it; anybody can see he's an angel; I mean, a bright, shining, glorious angel just materialized right here on this platform. Everybody would say, "Ahhhh, an angel."

And, suppose that angel were to say, "Pastor, I have been dispatched from Heaven to tell the people at Saint John Baptist missionary church that the gospel is now being changed; it is being moderated; it is being amended. There is a new gospel, a different gospel, a new and modern gospel for a new and a modern age." The Apostle says, "Let that angel go to Hell." Let him go to Hell; let him be damned; let him be accursed. "If we or an angel from God preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8).

What I'm trying to say, ladies and gentlemen, is this: that, when it comes to the gospel, you lay your intellectual pride in the dust, and you see what God has said. Paul said, "I didn't learn this from man. It's not of man; it's a revelation from God. And, it is settled; it is fixed for all eternity." And, the Bible says, we contend for the faith (that) was once for all delivered to the saints”(Jude 1:3).

II. The Salvation Test - How Do We Know We are Saved?

There's a second step that you would put if you would want to understand what the true gospel is. And, not only the source test but, the salvation test. How does the gospel teach that we're saved? You see, the gospel message is always salvation by grace. Look, if you will, in verse 6. Paul says, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another" (Galatians 1:6-7).

On the one hand is the grace of Christ; on the other hand is a false gospel, "another gospel, which is not another." Any gospel that is not a grace gospel is not a true gospel. That's what we're saying. Church, the gospel that I'm talking to you about is the gospel of grace. And, it is the gospel of salvation by grace, not of works.

In the world today most all of the false religion know absolutely nothing of the gospel of grace. Now, what do we talk about when we say grace? What is grace, anyway? We have a little acrostic that we use here, and we say that grace means, "God's Riches At Christ's Expense." Grace means, it is what God has done for us, through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is God's unmerited favor, freely bestowed upon Hell-bound, meriting sinners, who deserve and merit only Hell. But, God loves us by his grace; as we said earlier, He just simply loves us. Church, He doesn't love us, because we're valuable; we're valuable, because He loves us.

A. It is Seeking Grace

And, what kind of grace is the grace that saves us? Well, we see right here, first of all, it is seeking grace. Note, in verse 6: "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ" (Galatians 1:6). Underscore that phrase: "that called you into the grace of Christ." Look, if you will, in verse 15: "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace" (Galatians 1:15). Now, what does that tell us? It means that salvation is so much in the heart and mind of God that it begins with God calling you to be saved. You see, God calls everyone to salvation. We did not get saved because we sought God. We got saved because God first sought us. The Bible says, "We love him, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

Don't get the idea that God saved you, because you went out and sought Him one day. The Bible says, in Romans 3:11: "There is none that seeketh after God... no, not one" (Romans 3:11-12). Not one. "Well," you say, "I sought Him." Well, the reason that you sought Him was because He first sought you. He took the initiative.

And so, really, what you call your seeking Him was really His seeking you, because God put it in your heart. Do you understand that?

You see, you get thirsty, and when you get thirsty, you drink water. Now, you know you would not drink water, unless God made you thirsty. I mean, you wouldn't sit around intellectually, and say, "Well, you know, I've got to put some liquid in me, lest I get dehydrated and die." No, God knows that, if He wants you to have water, first of all, He must build a thirst in you. Now, spiritually, God built a thirst for God in you. And, that thirst for God has made you thirsty for God. And, you love Him, because He first loved you. You respond to Him, because He first called you. That's grace. That's amazing grace. It is seeking grace.

B. It is Saving Grace

And, not only is it seeking grace; therefore, it is saving grace. Ephesians 2:8, 9—you know that: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Don't try to work your way to Heaven.

I don't work in order to be saved; I work because I've been saved. "By grace" it means that it is all of God and none of man.

There are three kinds of religion in the world: two of them are wrong, and one of them is right. One kind of religion is spelled do—do. If you'll do this, and do this, and do this, then maybe you'll be good enough, and God will save you. But, the Bible says it's not by works of righteousness that we have done (Titus 3:5). The other kind of religion is spelled don't—d-o-n-'-t. Don't do this, and don't do this, and don't do this, and maybe God will save you. But, I want to tell you, Bible religion is spelled done—done. Jesus, when he died on the cross, said, "It is finished" (John 19:30). And, that means, it is paid in full. There is nothing you need do except receive the finished work of Calvary.

C. It is Sufficient Grace

Church, it is seeking grace; it is saving grace; it is sufficient grace. Paul was told by our Lord: "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:9). I mean, church, it's the grace of our dear Lord and Savior.

I wrote down a verse of Scripture for you today; I want you to put it in your margins as we think of the sufficient grace of God. Some of you, today, are having some problems and some heartaches. Listen to this; "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8). Boy, that's a great verse! That's the grace of God.

D. It is Surviving Grace

You see, it is seeking grace; it is saving grace; it is sufficient grace. And, oh, church, it is surviving grace. You know, in the book of Ephesians 2:7, God says, "That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Jesus Christ" . Up in Heaven, in all of the ages to come. John Newton, wrote:

When we've been here ten thousand years

Bright shining as the sun.

We've no less days to sing God's praise

Than when we've first begun.

Why? Because of his amazing grace that goes on endlessly, timeless, dateless. Listen—the grace that saves you is seeking grace; it is saving grace; it is sufficient grace; it is surviving grace; it is securing grace; it is amazing grace. It is the gospel of grace. If you're going to be saved, that's the way you're going to be saved. You're going to say,

In my hand no price I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling. (Augustus M. Toplady)

Years ago, I read a story that touched my heart of a woman that lived in Europe many years ago. She had a daughter, she was a poor woman, and the daughter was sick. She was emaciated, anemic, very weak, and very sickly. This woman had to go to work every day, and come back and care for her sickly daughter. They lived on a threadbare budget. But, the daughter said to the mother one morning, "Mother, I just wish I had some fresh fruit, maybe some grapes to eat."

The mother knew how expensive fresh fruit was where they lived. But, as she set off to go to work, she passed a very high wall, and there was a gate. And, she looked through the gate, and she saw the most beautiful garden, and grape arbors, and huge, big bunches of grapes. She counted her pennies. She thought, "Maybe I could buy just a few grapes. I know it would be extravagant." But, she pushed the gate open, and she went into this magnificent garden.

And, she was just observing those great clusters of purple grapes, and a voice behind her said: "Madame, what are you doing in here? You have no business in here. This is private. This is the king's garden." "Oh," she said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was the king's garden." About that time, another voice said, "Who is it?" he Said, "Well, it's a lady, she's come into the garden, Sire; but I'm putting her out." He said, "Wait a minute. Why did you come in here, Madame?" "Well, I'm sorry. I just wondered if you could sell me a few grapes." And, she told her story.

The king took the knife, and began to cut those big clusters of grapes, and said, "Lady, hold out your apron." She held out her apron, and he filled that apron with those luscious grapes. And then, she said, "Oh no, I can't, I can't afford all those. That's enough. Here, sir, here's the money." He said, "Madame, put up your money." "Oh, but," she said, "no, I cannot take them as a gift." And, he said, "Madame, if you take them, you must take them as a gift. The king's grapes are not for sale."

Church, I want to tell you that, if you receive salvation, you'll receive it as a gift, or you won't receive it. These gospel grapes are not for sale. You'll never get God indebted to you. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).

III. The Subject Test - Is the Subject Jesus Christ?

And, I am telling you, that’s the true gospel, the Bible gospel, the gospel that saves, is identified, first of all, by it's source: it's of God; by it's salvation: it is by grace; and then, I want to say one third thing, and that's there is a third test for the gospel. And, that is not only the source test, and the salvation test; but, it is the subject test. Would you look here with me, for just a moment, here in verse 7?

Now, the Apostle speaks of that false gospel which is not another. And then, he says, "But there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ" (Galatians 1:7). What he calls the gospel is this: "the gospel of Christ." The subject of the gospel is Jesus, folks. You must understand this. "Well," you say, "everybody understands that."

No, they don't. A lot of people don't understand that. They don't understand that the subject of the gospel is Jesus Christ. He is the gospel. His death, His burial, His resurrection, for our sins: is the gospel. The Apostle says, "This is the gospel which we have preached unto you: how Christ died for our sins, how that He was buried, and how that He was raised again the third day" (1 Corinthians 15:2-4). That, ladies and gentlemen, is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now, so many people miss the gospel, because they think the gospel is a creed. Or, they think the gospel is a code. Or, they think the gospel is a cause. Or, they think the gospel is a church. It may impinge on all of these things, but none of these things is the gospel. The gospel is Christ. It is receiving Christ, believing Christ, knowing Christ, loving Christ,and having Christ. that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Do you know why so many churches are filled with unsaved people today? Because they've met a church, but they haven't met Jesus; because they have believed a creed, but they haven't met Jesus; because they serve a cause, but they haven't met Jesus; because they try to live by a code, but they haven't met Jesus.

Conclusion

And, the test of the gospel is the source test: Where did it come from? It came from God. The salvation test: How are you saved? You are saved by grace. The subject test: Why are you saved by grace? Because of Jesus, who loved you and gave Himself for you. Do you know Jesus Christ? Has there been a time when you said,

In my hand no price I bring,

Simply to thy cross I cling. (Augustus M. Toplady)

Jesus is not the best way to Heaven, friend, He's the only way. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

These early Christians believed in the religion of no other name. Many of them could have saved their lives, if they had been willing to offer just a little pinch of incense to Caesar, to say, "Caesar is Lord." You know, back in this time, people had many gods. They had little shelves in their houses, little niches. They had a god for fertility; they had a god for farming. They had a rain god, and all of these things, and a war god. And, these Christians could have saved their lives, if they had just made a little niche for Jesus, and put Him on a shelf. But, they said, "No, there is one Lord; His name is Jesus."

It is the gospel of Christ. The subject test: Do you know Him? I want to tell you something, friend: If you will open your heart, and say, "Lord Jesus Christ, come into my heart, forgive my sin and save me," He will save you. I promise you, on the authority of the Word of God. And, that's the gospel truth. Let's bow our heads in prayer.