There is Only One Gospel
“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; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert 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.” Galatians 1:6-8
The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to all the churches in Galatia, a Roman province in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). The reason for the letter was to caution the believers in Galatia about false teachers who had crept in and had refuted the gospel by claiming that Christ wasn’t enough for salvation, and that the believers must be followers of the law of Moses which included rituals, particularly that of circumcision. Not only was this a hindrance to the preaching of the gospel, but it was also hurtful to the character and reputation of Paul. Imagine all of his effort being overturned by a few liars and people who were working to destroy what God had brought about through Paul. It didn’t take long for Satan to attempt to disrupt the truth that had been taught. Paul could not ignore this attack upon Christ, His gospel, and Paul’s own character. Anytime that the gospel is making headway, Satan will sow doubt, confusion, and envy in an attempt to thwart the good news of Jesus Christ.
Paul was actually shocked that these believers in Galatia had fallen so easily for a false gospel. Knowing what I know about Paul and his dedication to preaching the gospel clearly, he was a preacher who was intent upon preaching Christ and Christ alone, the only way of salvation, “not of works lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Before his conversion, Paul, known then as Saul, was a Pharisee who was captivated by the law so much that he persecuted those who were turning to Christ. However, when he met Christ, he was convinced that the law which he had so diligently followed could never make him righteous before a holy God. He was determined to convince all to whom he preached of that fact. Thus, his surprise and dismay to learn that so many had turned from the true gospel of Christ to what they believed was another gospel. He made it clear, though, that what they were being taught by these infiltrators was not another gospel because there was and is no other gospel. What these false teachers were doing was perverting Jesus’ gospel. To pervert is to change the truth into a lie or cause someone to turn from the truth–Satan’s MO.
Paul was determined that the true message of the gospel had to be preserved. It did not matter who brought the message. What mattered was the message itself. Should Paul, or any of his associates, or even an angel from heaven have stood before any congregation and preached anything contrary to the gospel of Christ, then that person was to be cursed. We know that Paul would never change the gospel, and neither would an angel, one of God’s messengers. Paul would not have allowed any of his co-workers, Barnabas, John Mark, Timothy, Silas, and the rest to co-labor with him if he had any doubt in his mind that they were changing or watering down the gospel. No matter who perverted the gospel, Paul called on God to curse them.
The blame was being laid strictly on the false teachers. The church members were not being excused for succumbing to the lies of these false teachers, but Paul was letting them know that he was aware that these false teachers were cunning and knew how to trick people into believing a lie. His warning to them to be alert and careful was important because if they weren’t careful, they could also be accused of perverting the gospel by sharing the teachings that were against the true gospel, and thus be included in the curse. One who spreads falsehoods concerning Christ and salvation, even unknowingly, could be guilty of causing a sinner to forfeit his or her soul for a lie. Some folks say that it doesn’t matter what you believe so long as you believe something, but that, too, is a lie. It does matter what one believes. It is dangerous to stake one’s eternity on a lie. I fear there are millions of people who are doing just that.
Why is it so easy for some folks to be deceived? Many people are always looking for the easy way out. Following Christ and obeying the gospel is difficult. It takes a person to walk away from their pride and submit to a life lived for Christ and not for self. Jesus said that if we are to follow Him, we must deny ourselves, love our enemies, love Jesus more than we love our families, have a pure heart, be merciful, and surrender completely to Him. The majority of the world’s population will not submit to Jesus’ commands. People are also deceived because they do not know the truth. Just today, I answered my phone, and it was a man who said he was with Medicare and told me that he would send me a new plastic Medicare card, but he had to have information from my current card. Because I know the truth about scammers, I told him that I wasn’t interested. Some unsuspecting folks get deceived by scammers because they don’t keep alert to the ways that they can be tricked out of their hard-earned savings or have their personal information used fraudulently by these crooks. While these deceptions can have overwhelming results regarding people’s lives, they are nothing compared to not knowing the truth of the gospel. Whenever we hear someone make a claim about scripture, Jesus, salvation, heaven, or hell, we need to verify the truth of their words with God’s word, the Bible, the only book that God ever wrote. We need more preachers and witnesses today who will not be intimidated by the “woke” crowd and therefore stand for the true and unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ.