Dwell in the Word: Galatians 1:1-10

Think on these questions as you dwell in Galatians 1:1-10:

1. How does Paul's fervent language in Galatians differ from his approach in other letters, and why is he so emphatic about the Galatians turning to a "different gospel"?

2. Why does Paul adamantly emphasize that there is only one true Gospel and issues such a strong warning against any deviation from it, even if proclaimed by an angel?

3. In what ways does Paul's unwavering commitment to the pure gospel challenge us in our own understanding and proclamation of the gospel today?

Transcript:

Here we land in the Book of Galatians. You’ve got to love the way the first few verses start out and then the transition that happens. We see here this great statement by Paul, Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present and the evil age according to the will of our God and Father to deliver glory forever and ever. Amen. Now, that looks a lot like a lot of the introductions to Paul's letters in the New Testament, doesn't it? Business picks up real quick, for a lack of a better way to say this. Paul gets right down to it, and he gets to the nitty gritty of why he is writing. And his language is very forceful. We're going to see that here through the whole Book of Galatians. He's definitely pastoral, but he's using a different type of voice. He's saying this in a much more forceful way. And you can see this here as he says, I am astonished. He is coming at them right away. There's none of this stuff we see happening in some of the other letters of Paul, where he refers to them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

 There is stuff going on in these churches, but he's still leading into the letter in a much more, I guess, diplomatic way. There's no real diplomacy here. I'm astonished that you were so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and returning to a different gospel. This is why Paul is upset. While Paul was concerned about issues in his other letters regarding sin and disobedience, this is a real reason for him to be upset because they are turning to what he says is a different gospel. So, let's remember what's going on here. They are mixing the gospel of God's grace in Christ with the law. By doing that, what I mean by that, is that they are requiring people to be circumcised to follow that part of the law, that in order to be saved, they would have to do this Old Testament ritual of circumcision. That is mixing grace with works. That's why Paul says that this is a different gospel. This is why he's upset. The Gospel that he's been proclaiming about God rescuing people for Himself by the work of Christ on account of grace alone, through faith alone, that is being pushed aside by this idea that they have to be circumcised.

 You notice what he says here. There isn't another Gospel. There isn't other good news. There is not another alternative to the Gospel of Christ and him crucified. That's just how he's referring to it. This is a different story. This is a different idea than what he is proclaiming. And then he makes it clear they're distorting the gospel of Christ. And then, we see his really forceful language here. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one that we preach to you, let them be accursed. So, if anyone at all, even an angel comes and says that you need to mix works with the grace of God, don't listen to him. In fact, Paul takes it even further. Let him be accursed. Let him be anathema. Let me put this in a way that we can really get the force with which Paul is speaking. If someone preached to you a Gospel, contrary to the one that we preach to you, let him go to hell. Let him be punished with the ultimate punishment, right? When we hear the word curse or accursed, we don't think of ultimate judgment. We think of maybe something bad would happen to them.

 What Paul is saying here is if someone comes to you with another Gospel, let them receive ultimate punishment from God. As we have said before, Paul says, so now I say again, he's driving this home. Notice that Paul absolutely wants us to understand that the church in Galatians needs to understand. If anyone, when he was preaching, gave you a gospel, contrary to the one that you received, the one that you believed by faith, let him be accursed. This is that important. Paul is driving this home without a doubt. And then as our passage today finishes up, he said, Am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Am I looking to do what people want me to do is say what people want to say? Am I trying to mix the ideas of man with the ideas of God? Which should he want to do? And Paul flat out says, If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of God. If I was trying to do what man wanted, I wouldn't be serving Jesus. That's a good reminder for us. There are good reminders in here for us. We need to make sure that we, first off, understand the of the gospel, getting it right.

 We need to make sure that we understand what it is, and we understand that what we believe is essential to how we view God and how we view salvation. We also need to understand that we want to make sure that we don't tolerate false teaching. Not that we're going to be mean, not that we're going to attack anyone for this, but we want to make sure that we don't let false teaching slide. We want to make sure we get it right. We want to make sure that what we hear is correct. Notice Paul even said that if he says something different here, they shouldn't listen to him. If he changes his mind, don't listen, because the reason is this is the true gospel. This is what God has revealed to be the source of salvation. So may we understand the urgency of what Paul is saying here. May we desire to hear the pure gospel? May we desire to proclaim the pure gospel? May we desire not to please men, but to please Christ to be His servants, to be faithful to His gospel as we live and serve the world.