No Other Gospel

Intro

- Telephone game-

but sometimes the change is deliberate

maybe we don’t like what we heard- we think it’d be better our way

- Authorial intent- what the author meant when it was written- who wrote the story of the gospel?

o We don’t have the right or the authority to change it to fit what we want it to say.

o Our culture today doesn’t do well with this- Jesus’s statement “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” Seems too exclusive- Who are you to say there is only one way?

- The Gospel is the good news of Christ’s sacrifice for us and his free gift of forgiveness and eternal life. When we add or take away from this simple message of truth, we distort the message of life and hope God has given to us in his grace

- Read Gal. 1:6-10

The Danger of Losing Sight of What Matters Most (6)

A. The Galatian’s were forgetting the Gospel

1. They were turning away, deserting

a. The present tense implies that this was just beginning, it was not to late.

b. This is why Paul is so urgent in his pursuit of them

2. How quickly they were turning away

a. They were newly saved- the honeymoon period- they should have been excited!

b. I should be praying that God would “restore unto me the joy of your salvation”

B. Paul’s rebuke reveals the seriousness of what was happening

1. Illustration- did you even do something as a kid and you really didn’t know how serious it was until you got in trouble for it?

2. Last week we looked at Paul’s greeting to the Galatian churches. In his other letters he would then typically launch into a section of thanksgiving for his readers, but we don’t see that here

a. Even in his first letter to the Corinthian Church, he had a whole section on thanksgiving and praise for the church- remember this is also the book where he had to confront all sorts of sin in the church- divisions, sexual immorality, church discipline, spiritual immaturity

b. But in Galatians Paul doesn’t waste any time- it shows again how serious this really was

3. Paul’s rebuke is not out of anger or contempt, but out of love- he genuinely cared for the Galatian Christians and did not want to see them abandon the truth of the gospel

a. Proverbs 27:5-6- An open rebuke is better than hidden love! Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.

4. In our culture of “who are you to judge me” we often fail to see the benefit of a loving rebuke

Transition- we are talking about losing sight of what matters most- so what is it that matters- the gospel, yes, but more importantly Christ

C. They were turning away from Christ himself

1. As we will see, the teachers didn’t deny Christ’s part in salvation

a. John Calvin “They were removed from Christ; not that they entirely rejected Christianity, but that the corruption of their doctrines was such as to leave them nothing more than an imaginary Christ.”

2. Paul wasn’t upset that the Galatians were turning away from him

3. The magnificence of God’s grace and Christ’s sacrifice makes turning away from him and relying on the law all the more outrageous

a. After all God has done to save us, to offer a way of salvation, for us to turn around and rely on our works makes no sense!

Transition- the Galatian Christians were losing sight of what mattered most and were turning to what Paul calls another gospel

The Danger of Another Gospel (7-9)

A. A counterfeit gospel- close to the real thing- but empty

1. Satan often uses deception to lure people away from God

2. Many times, the deception comes through religious leaders- men who are supposed to be leading people to God

B. A self-centered gospel

1. They were convinced that their standing before God was based on their identity or their actions- it was about them

2. The ironic thing is that the Galatian’s pursuit of spirituality was leading them away from truth

a. Just because we want to have a spiritual experience or we pursue something with the right motive doesn't mean it's right

3. There are so many people searching for a spiritual experience that search can either lead people to God or away from him. The key difference being the source of that experience- based in feeling or man's teaching, or based on the truth of God's word

C. There is only one Gospel (7)

1. We must understand the importance of being anchored to the truth

Omekulel a Biblia illustration

2. The only way to spot a counterfeit is to be familiar with the real thing

3. The teachers in the Galatian church were not taking anything away from the gospel, they were just adding to it- supplementing, in their minds, completing Paul’s teaching

4. Anything that you hear that contradicts, adds to, softens, or subverts this gospel that we know from God’s Word must be rejected

a. Paul says, even if I say something different or an angel came from heaven and said something contrary to God’s Word do not believe it!

Transition- here Paul is making sure the churches know that it is not about his authority or about anyone else other than Christ

The Danger of People Pleasing (10)

A. The teachers were trying to discredit Paul by saying he was watering down the gospel to gain favor with the Gentiles

1. Making it easier for them to be Christians

2. It’s not strict enough

B. Paul makes it clear in this letter that he is not here to please people

1. He rebukes the Galatian Christians, but his strongest condemnation is reserved for those teaching the false gospel (9)

a. Following after a different Gospel is a serious matter, but leading someone away from the truth will most certainly bring God’s judgment

b. We must be careful we don’t inadvertently do this in our lives

Illustration with kids

C. As Christians, we must live for God’s approval

1. Many of us are naturally people pleasers- we want people to feel good, we want them to like us, we don’t want confrontation

a. If we’re not careful, we can easily get sucked into living for the approval of other people

b. Now we should seek to show kindness, understanding, and deference to others

(1) We see Paul speaking to this very thing in Rom. 14-15 (live to please others and build them up) and 1 Cor. 8 (giving up certain liberties in deference to others)

c. But when it comes to the authenticity of the Gospel, there is no room for flexibility

(1) John 14- Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me

d. This definitive stance will not always be popular with people, but that is not what we are called to do- We are called to share the truth in love

(1) 2 Tim. 4:3-4 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

Conclusion

- The Good News of the Gospel is a life altering, world changing, supernatural, gracious gift of God. For many of us, it has radically changed the way that we live and view the world. We must be careful that we do not get sucked into believing a different gospel. There is no shortage of those who distort the true message of Christ’s sacrifice for us. We must know what is true and authentic if we are to recognize the counterfeit.

- But we must also be careful that we do not add anything to gospel when we share it with others. This is easy to do. We see it in missions all the time

Illustration of African churches meeting in red brick buildings with crosses on top and wearing white shirts with ties

o We are not trying to make people look and act like us or our culture, we want them to look like Jesus and to know and follow him

§ “Follow me as I follow Christ”

So What?

- Do you know the Gospel?

- Are you trusting in that Gospel alone for your salvation?

- Does the Gospel you give to others line up with the truth of God’s Word?

- Are you seeking to please God over anyone else?