And so, many months later, I arrive at the next installment of my notes on Paul's letter to the Galatians. I have no real clue how I want to format this, so expect little to no consistency for the next few posts on Galatians. I am trying to find a format that is easy to follow and that works for me. Also, disclaimer: I am not a theologian. I don't know Greek. I'm not a Bible scholar. I am a young man just trying to understand the word of God, and share that understanding with anyone who comes across this site. If I have said anything that you don't think is right, email me please, we can discuss it. So, without any more delay, I present you with my notes over Galatians 1:6-10!
"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." - Galatians 1:6-10
Verse 6 gives us context for what Paul is going to be addressing in regards to the churches in Galatia. It's also interesting to note that this letter differs from the majority of Paul's letters (save 2 Corinthian). If you read through Paul's letters you will see that he usually, upon greeting, will give a prayer of thanks for the respective church he is writing to. However, in his letter to the churches in Galatia, we see Paul immediate begin to address an issue that the Galatians are facing. The issue of the gospel is so important that Paul needs to address it quickly. This is purely speculative, but it is an intriguing thing to note about this letter.
Verse 7 completely removes the notion that any other religion, "god", or philosophical system can lead to salvation. For some modern day evangelicals this could be a very disheartening thing to hear. There exists a certain sect of Christians who truly believe you can get to Heaven through Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, etc. "Christianity works for me, maybe it'll work for you! If not then try Buddhism!" I'm sorry, but if this is how you handle spiritual conversations you are giving people a free pass to eternal damnation! If you truly believe the gospel, and hope in Christ for your salvation, but then turn around and provide an alternative path of salvation, you are contradicting God and your faith. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16) and there is only one gospel. Christ's gospel. There is no other option to give people. It's Christ, or nothing. "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13).
"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
"Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 5:20-21
There are too many false gospels in this world to even list them all and point out the fallacy in them. But a good rule of thumb to determine the legitimacy of said gospel is to ask, "where is salvation found in this gospel?" The prosperity gospel says salvation is found in living your best life now. The new age gospel says salvation is found in self-fulfillment. The hyper-charismatic gospel says that salvation is found in how filled with the spirit you are. Christ's gospel says that salvation is found in the saving works of our Lord Jesus, through His death and resurrection- and nothing else! Praise God that He was gracious enough to provide such a salvation that is not dependant upon anything except Christ! Satan has so greatly deceived so many people with these false gospels. I can't even begin to express my anger and anguish over it. There isn't enough lamenting and weeping I could perform over this. Salvation is through Christ, and if anyone tells you otherwise all that is needed of you is to point them to Christ and pray.
I am lumping these verses together because it is a repetition. And you know what repetition denotes? Importance! What is so important that Paul has to emphasize? The gospel! I only pray that I could have the same reverence of the gospel as Paul did. Paul exclaims, twice, that if he (Paul himself) or an angel preaches to us a gospel different than the one he originally preached, let them be accursed! Man... if this doesn't cause any trembling in us, I pray that it would. There is only one gospel. And Paul says anyone who preaches differently than the gospel he has already given, they should be cursed. Look around in this world. Look at how many different gospels there are. We need discernment when we choose who we listen to and follow. If they aren't preaching the gospel, they are preaching death, and a curse upon themselves and others. We need churches to treat the gospel with more reverence than we currently do. No more changing it around to appeal to culture because that is not the gospel. No more watering it down to bring people into our building, that is damnable. If you are changing the gospel to appeal to the culture, you are akin to Peter when he denied Christ.
And now we approach the last verse I am going to touch on! Here in verse 10 Paul brings up a truth about pleasing man versus pleasing God. He says that pleasing man is in contrast to serving God. That's something I know I need to understand. I can so easily choose the route of pleasing the people around me rather than obeying God. Paul lets us know that behavior as such is in opposition to following Christ. Seeking to please man leads to sin, no matter how we look at it because we are seeking something more than God. The sin of idolatry is already gripping our hearts when we choose to please man over God.
These 4 verses are steeped with truth, and I believe that I have only touched the surface. A sermon could probably be given on each verse alone! I hope that you find this beneficial and insightful. As I look closer at each verse I can't help but continue to find more and more depth to these verses. Verse 10 in particular really hits me hard. I can't tell you how many times I've had the opportunity to share the gospel but I just end up passing it by because I don't want to make a relationship or interaction awkward. Clearly I have too high a view of others and myself. But I know that by God's grace I can conquer my selfishness and choose to please God in every circumstance! Have a blessed day!
Thanks for reading :) (Edited by Anna Fields!)
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." - Romans 1:16