The Pull~Galatians 1.6-10
11/25/2009 12:14:26 AM
Galatians # 3 in series
Take another look with me at these verses:
“I am amazed that you have so quickly deserted him who called you by the grace of Christ, and that you have so soon gone over to a different gospel, a gospel which in point of fact is no gospel at all. What has really happened is that certain men are upsetting your whole faith and are aiming at reversing the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven were to preach the gospel to you, other than that which you have received, let him be accursed. Is it men’s favour I am trying to win, or is it God’s? Or am I seeking to curry favor with men? If after all that has happened to me I was still trying to curry favour with men, I would not be bearing the brands of the slave of Christ.” Galatians 1.6-10
Good Day~
In most of Paul’s letters, he begins by expressing his appreciation and warmth to the people—to the Galatians, however, he let them know they were headed in the wrong direction. What they were ‘buying’ was not the gospel! The gospel was strictly the message of grace—grace made possible through the saving work of Jesus on the cross…period. Anything else, that is to say, anything-plus—i.e., the Cross + the Law—was not the gospel. Clear back then, the gospel was free, and could not be earned; fast forward to 2009, and the gospel is still free, and may not be earned.
Who was peddling this ‘different gospel’? The Judaizers had a Jewish version of the gospel, saying that Christ alone was insufficient. Notice with me, they were not challenging the facts of the gospel—that is to say, the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord—no, they couldn’t because too many people were still alive who had been witness to these. The Judaizers were telling the new converts, (the Jewish Christians) that they could have Jesus, but they still had to keep the Law.
Why did they want to make it difficult—yea, even unachievable? Indeed, this was why God was rescuing us from being under the Law! Whenever folks add to the simple message of the gospel, there is trouble. Religious leaders can even start out on the right track, and then veer away from truth. “Every cult and every “ism” has something for you to do in order to be saved.” (revered preacher J. Vernon McGee) Do we not see this today? Mormonism has a strict code, some of it even secret, to get to higher levels in Heaven, and it never stops! Even after a loved one passes, those left behind can participate in baptism by proxy—or baptism for the dead—to raise the deceased’s position in the hereafter. (In order to gain access to the Temple to do such a thing is not inexpensive, and you must have your tithing records in good order as well.) Then there are the deluded adherents of Scientology who work like crazy to reach higher levels, paying an auditor who sits across the table from them, watching the e-meter read the responses of the follower, all in an endless effort to be ‘clear’. Jesus + n o t h i n g = salvation.
For many Christians today, it is not the ‘isms’ that attract us, or pull us away from the gospel. . . I believe there are several other things that, in Paul’s words, cause us to ‘desert Him who called us by the grace of Christ, causing us to go over to a different gospel.’ We live in the culture of Me—so any new trend that elevates ‘me’ and what I might get, is attractive. New Age thinking has permeated society, so much that we don’t even recognize it as false teaching. Popular DVD and book, “The Secret”, is no secret at all; it is the gospel of the New Age—we are all gods, who can attract the good of the universe to us by putting out positive thinking. (Meanwhile, the author herself as well as all her ‘expert teachers’ have grown rich, while misleading people, and even twisting Scripture to fit their message) Notice what Paul says about those who preach a different gospel. . . they will be ‘accursed’.
So, let’s be prudent, shall we? Let’s maintain and guard the simplicity of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and not be pulled away by anything!
Grace and Peace to you~
Christine