THERE IS NO OTHER GOSPEL
Galatians 1:1-24
Key Verse 1:6-7a
[6]“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- [7] which is really no gospel at all.”
Paul wrote Galatians to teach the freedom in Jesus Christ. Most Jewish Christians were bound by Moses’ law such as circumcision. But Paul preached that we are justified by the grace of Jesus alone and we are free from any obligation to the law and Jewish traditions. The gospel gives us complete freedom – freedom from death, freedom from sin, freedom from customs, freedom from traditions, freedom from law, and many others. Our nation America is founded based on the truth of the gospel. It is no wonder that we value freedom the most.
Now in today’s passage Paul is talking about the gospel of Christ and a different gospel. Once I was looking for an apple notebook on ebay when I want to change my laptop from IBM to Macbook. One day I found exactly what I wanted after spending many hours. Furthermore the price was cheap. So I was very happy. But when I read the description of it more closely, I realized the laptop was made in China; this did not bother me because these days most merchandise is made in China. But soon I found that the laptop was run by windows rather than Macintosh. It turned out that it was an imitation. People like Apple computers so much that they even made imitations. The gospel is far more precious than an apple computer. It is in fact the most precious gift of God. So it is no wonder that there can be many imitations. Now when you are surrounded by imitations you want to know how to find the genuine product. In order to do so you need to know the difference between the genuine and the fake. It is the same with the gospel. In today’s passage Paul talks about ‘the gospel of Christ’ and a ‘different gospel’. If you do not want to be confused between them you need to know the difference. To know the difference determines your destiny.
Paul and the gospel he preached (v.1-5)
Look at verses 1 and 2. “Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead-- [2] and all the brothers with me, To the churches in Galatia:”
These verses show who is the sender and who is the recipient. Who was the sender? The sender was apostle Paul and all the brothers with him. The recipients were the churches in Galatia like Pisidian Antioch, Iconinum, Lystra and Derbe.
Who is Paul? Paul is not an ordinary man, but an apostle. Who is an apostle? An apostle is called by Jesus and he has Jesus’ authority. Paul emphasized that he is an apostle not sent by men but by God because his enemies tried to discredit the gospel he preached by challenging his apostleship. So he claimed, ““Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—“
Paul said that he was an apostle sent by God. Paul insisted that he was sent by God because some Galatian believers began entertaining human thoughts about Apostle Paul and their faith in the Gospel which Paul preached became shaky. Man can only be saved by believing the Gospel firmly. So Paul told them that he was sent by God so that they may believe that the message of the Gospel was from God and not Paul himself.
Now verses 3-5 reads, “[3] Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, [4] who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, [5] to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Grace and peace belongs to God. Sinful men cannot offer grace and peace. They only produce condemnation and war.
Now Jesus gave himself for our sins. What Jesus did shows that Jesus is God. No sinful man can give his life for other’s sin. Only Jesus Christ, who is God, gave his life for our sins. He paid the price of our sins. So in him we have forgiveness and eternal life. In him we are free from condemnation of God. In him we have grace and peace.
Jesus gave himself for our sins. Why did he do so? He did so in order to rescue us from the present evil age. “The present age” is in opposition to “the age to come.” “The present age” is “the age where we live” until Jesus comes again. “The age to come” is the age which will be fulfilled when Jesus comes again.
The gospel of Christ saves us not only from our sins but also from the present evil age. And God is glorified through all of our salvation in Jesus.
In short Paul introduces himself as an apostle sent not from men but from God. The gospel he preached came from God because it is about Jesus Christ who is God. It is about Almighty God who raised Jesus from the dead. It is about Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins. These are the signs of the gospel of Christ. It is the gospel Paul preached.
There is no other Gospel (v.6-24)
Now in verses 6-10 Paul reveals a different gospel which is no gospel at all. Verses 6-7 reads, “[6] I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- [7] which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.”
Paul was so surprised at the speed in which the Galatians turned to a different gospel. In doing so they deserted God who called them by the grace of Christ because God is the giver of the gospel. When some people came to their churches and preached a different gospel they quickly turned to it. That is because a different gospel appeals to man’s reason and visible things.
For example circumcision was given as the sign of righteousness given through faith. So when faith is missing in the circumcision it does not mean anything. But Jewish Christians believed that the Gentile believers should be circumcised in order to be saved when some came and preached a different gospel. The genuine gospel of Christ comes through faith but the different gospel does not come through faith. When Galatians believed the necessity of circumcision for their salvation the gospel they believed was perverted and it was no gospel at all.
If somebody claims that we must be baptized in his church in order to be saved he is perverting the gospel of Christ. Others may claim all religions are the same and people can be saved as long as they accept any religion. They claim that there are many ways to be saved as if there are many ways to reach the summit of a mountain. Their gospel is a different gospel and it is no gospel at all.
The story of general Naaman shows the difference between the Gospel of Christ and a different Gospel.
He was a great general of the Aramian army, but he had leprosy. One day he heard that there was a prophet in Israel who could heal him of his leprosy. So Naaman went to the land of Israel. Let’s read 2 Kings 5:9-14 responsively, “So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. [10] Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."
[11] But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. [12] Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.
[13] Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" [14] So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.”
Naaman’s own idea was "to come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.” Figuratively it was like a different gospel that came from his own idea. But the gospel of Christ was "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan and be cleansed. The difference between the two is the difference in the result. With Naaman’s own idea he could not be healed. He was only cleansed when he accepted God’s Word given through the prophet, which is the Gospel of Christ.
There is another story about a man who wanted to be completely obedient to God. If God helped him to fully obey God he vowed to give his life to God. Several decades passed. But still the man found himself to be disobedient. He wondered what was wrong. He thought about the gospel of Christ many times. But still there was no clue. But one day he realized that he was not seeking the gospel of Christ but his own idea of the gospel which is no gospel at all.
There is a story of one woman who lived in the 14th century named Agnes. She was a daughter of a wealthy merchant. At the age of 18, her father died; then she made a decision to dedicate herself to God; she did not want to sin in her body so she had herself entombed in a small cell within the church walls with only a small opening in which to breath, eat and hear the mass. She lived that way for 80 years until she died. That was not the gospel of Christ, but a different gospel.
Indeed the fundamental difference between the gospel of Christ and all other gospels is faith in the sufficiency of the salvation through Jesus’ sacrifice.
Perverting the gospel is a serious crime because it blocks God’s way of salvation for men. So Paul proclaims God’s condemnation against those who perverted the gospel of Christ. Verses 8 and 9 reads, “[8] But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! [9] As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Paul said that even he cannot change the gospel he preached. There is no other gospel than the gospel of Christ that comes from God. Paul was proclaiming a harsh judgment on those people who perverted the gospel because he was not pleasing men but Christ. [10] Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
All other ideas and theories and philosophies that are different from the gospel of Christ are different gospels. Indeed whoever preaches a different gospel in our own generation will also be condemned.
Look at verses 11and 12, “[11] I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. [12] I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”
The gospel he preached is genuine because it came from God instead of men. His gospel was not something that man made up. It belongs to God and it comes from God. How can we know his claim is true?
In the following verses Paul proved his claim. First, Paul was ignorant of the gospel. Not only was he ignorant but he also opposed it ferociously.
Verses 13-14 reads, “[13] For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. [14] I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.”
Here “Judaism” is the Jewish way of life with their religion and customs. “Tradition of my father’s” refers to all the traditions of the Pharisees because Paul was a Pharisee. Paul must have kept all of Moses’ laws including circumcision and special days and months. He was so zealous for the traditions of his fathers that he intensely persecuted the church of God. He was not satisfied with just persecuting the church of God. He was determined to destroy it by any means. It shows how much he was ignorant of the gospel. Certainly the gospel he preached did not come from him.
Now to Paul an amazing thing happened. Verses 15 and 16a reads, “[15] But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased [16] to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles,”
What happened to Paul here is recorded in the book of Acts. Paul was on his way to Damascus to destroy the church of God. Acts 9:3-5 reads, “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. [4] He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" [5] "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied.”
When Paul asked, “Who are you Lord?” he heard the most shocking message in his entire life. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Paul was so ignorant of the gospel that he was persecuting Jesus Christ. But Jesus showed himself to Paul in his grace. In this way Paul came to know the Gospel.
Secondly, Paul’s claim that he received the gospel from Jesus Christ is true because he did not consult anyone after the gospel was revealed to him. Look at verses 16b-21 reads, “I did not consult any man, [17] nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. [18] Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. [19] I saw none of the other apostles--only James, the Lord's brother. [20] I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. [21] Later I went to Syria and Cilicia.”
Indeed it is true that Paul did not receive the gospel from any man nor was it taught to him. He received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
When the Gospel was revealed to Paul he was completely changed. Paul’s changed life brought praise to God. Verses 23 and 24 reads, “[23] They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." [24] And they praised God because of me.”
The gospel of Christ has power to change men. The change of men is God’s demonstration that the gospel of Christ has enough power to save men.
In conclusion, what is the major difference between the gospel of Christ and a different gospel? It is to believe the sufficiency of the salvation through Jesus’ sacrifice. We cannot add or subtract any other thing from the gospel of Christ in order to be saved.
One word: There is no other gospel
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