A Different Gospel – Galatians 1:6-10

Topic: A Different Gospel

Reading: Galatians 1:6-10

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel– 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed. 10 Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ.

Introduction and Overview

In these words we see the reason why Paul was writing to the Galatians church. They were succumbing to false teachings and were accepting a different gospel. They were moving away from the gospel of truth as delivered to them by Paul, and were looking to a different gospel that was founded upon the teachings of men rather than the teachings of God.

This was a trap and is a trap of which every Christian and every church today needs to be aware. There is false teaching everywhere, and the particular teaching that was afflicting the Galatians church was that they were reverting back to a distorted version of Judaism. They were seeking to establish righteousness by works of the law, rather than receiving the only true righteousness which comes by faith. But they were mixing up this righteousness by works of law with aspects of the Christian gospel to create a mish-mash of the two and thus they were succumbing to a different gospel.

And this different gospel is still a major part of the teaching of the church today. Most of the church today talks about being set free from sin, and being set free from the law, but in the next breath they tell people that they are sinners and bound to keep the laws and commandments. And if they fail to keep the laws and commandments, they are sinners.

But Jesus came to take away our sins once and for all (See: John 1:29, Romans 6:1-7). Furthermore, in the death and resurrection of Jesus we have been set free from the law (See: Romans 7:4-6, Colossians 2:13-14). And finally we are no longer condemned by God or anyone else because He has removed all of those things that condemn us; sin and the law (See Romans 8:1-2).

These things are true because the scripture is the inspired words of God. God has set us free from the law and sin so that He can give us the Holy Spirit to work transformation in us to change us into the image of Jesus Christ. Sin and the law had to be dealt with so that God could help us and save us because it is only when we are cleansed of our sins that God will do the work of restoring us to the way we were meant to be. He made man perfect in the beginning and He is restoring His Creation in man back to where it and we are meant to be.

But under a different gospel that returns and keeps man under sin, under law, and under condemnation, this transformation cannot occur. And this is what Paul is trying to tell the Galatians. Under a different gospel to the gospel of truth, the Galatians were beginning to accept wrong teaching. And it is the same today. There are many a different gospel today with many false and misleading teachings that are designed to keep us under condemnation. They reject the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ who removed sin, removed the law, and removed condemnation so that we could be transformed into His image.

So we must be careful not to accept a different gospel than the words of truth.

Key points from reading:

1. By accepting a different gospel the people were deserting Christ and turning away from the truth.
2. Anyone, including supposed angels from heaven, who preach a different gospel from the truth of Jesus Christ is doing an accursed thing.
3. Those who accept a different gospel from the truth of Jesus Christ will not be at peace, but will be troubled because peace is found only in the truth. The different gospels today cause people trouble and confusion because they are at odds with what is written in the scriptures, and anyone who listens to what is being taught and then sees the opposite in the scripture will be troubled and concerned over this mismatch.

Discussion:

1. Scripture: Galatians 1:6
   • In this first verse Paul states his astonishment at the people because they are turning to a different gospel. Paul finds it incredible that they could have been so duped into believing there was a different way. And in their accepting this different and false gospel, they are deserting Christ, rejecting the only true Saviour, and separating themselves from the grace of God, which Paul will explain later in his letter.
   • When you stop and consider his words, this is a very serious situation. It is the difference between finding salvation, or not. Any variance from the truth means that they are accepting a lie. By accepting this lie they have separated themselves from the truth of Jesus Christ and the salvation that is attainable only by and through Him.
   • Stop a moment and think about this. There is no place where the truth and a lie can co-exist together. A lie will always dirty and soil the truth, making it less than it should be. And in this case we see Paul astonished that the Galatians church were accepting the lies they were being told by false teachers, and so were rejecting and deserting Christ and the truth of the gospel of salvation.
   • Any gospel that is not the truth, is a lie. A different gospel from the gospel of truth in Jesus Christ is a lie and it will not lead to salvation. And there are many different gospels in the modern church, none of which have any basis in the truth. Some teach prosperity is the way, some preach a different Jesus, some actually worship a different God than the one true God, some claim sickness is sin, some preach the need to follow the law, some claim there are many different paths to God, including the teachings of Buddha, Hindus, and many other false religions. And all of these are false and the worst of these are those where the teachings have penetrated and led astray Christians and the church.
   • Paul was astonished that people could accept such false teachings. Today, I am also astonished that people still accept some of these things, many of which are in direct opposition to what the scriptures say, but are held onto by many Christians to the point where to preach against such things is to be called a heretic.
2. Scripture: Galatians 1:7
   • There is no other gospel that will lead a person to salvation. The only true gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ, as delivered by Him to His disciples, and as preached and written down for us by those He spoke with and to. Following a different gospel from the truth of Jesus Christ is to follow a false gospel. There are not many true gospels. There is only one gospel of truth. The rest are lies designed by evil men, often led by devilish influences, to deceive and destroy the people of the church.
   • And these false gospels and false teachings have the effect of perverting the truth and causing trouble and confusion for the members of the church. The truth is not confusing, but provides clarity, understanding, and growth. By contrast, the lies of a different gospel cloud the truth, confuse, and lead to wrong beliefs. And we should remember the words of the scripture that say,
     
     For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. (1 Corinthians 14:33)
     
     And;
     
     31 Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31-32)
     
   • A different gospel than the gospel of truth in Jesus Christ will not do what these scriptures are teaching. And we see that in the Galatians church. Paul was showing that they were falling back under the bondages of sin and the law, which is the opposite of “The truth will make you free. And we see in these words of Galatians 1:7 that they were troubled by this different gospel because it was not in accord with the gospel of truth.
3. Scripture: Galatians 1:8-9
   • Anyone, and it doesn’t matter who it is, if they are preaching a gospel other than the truth of Jesus Christ and His gospel of salvation is and should be accursed. They are leading people away from God and into lies. We saw Jesus Himself speak about those who did similar things under Judaism when He said:
     
     “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. (Matthew 23:13-15)
     
   • These scribes and Pharisees went to the ends of the earth to make proselytes or disciples, and then led them into hell rather than heaven, by indoctrinating them with false teachings. This is no different to preachers, teachers, ministers, and priests in the church today who go out and make disciples, then teach them the handed down traditions and lies that have no basis in the truth. They teach a different gospel, just as those scribes and Pharisees taught a different Judaism that had no basis in the truth of God’s words.
   • Jesus basically said they were accursed, saying “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites…” And if you read all of Matthew 23 you find there were many false teachings that the scribes and Pharisees were teaching that was not in accord with the truth of God. They were preaching a message of hypocrisy. They had the appearance of the people of God, but their was no match between what they taught and what they did.
   • And it is no different today. Those who preach a different gospel from the gospel of truth may appear sincere in their teaching, but their words are lies and lead people away from the truth. Some of these preachers and teachers don’t even realise they are perpetuating a lie. They are following the message that they were taught in their Bible schools, believing it to be right. But then there are others who distort and twist the scriptures for their own purposes, usually power or financial gain. This second group are worse because they are following the passions, lusts and desires of the flesh. The first group may be persuaded that what they are teaching is false and change, since they are preaching from a lack of understanding. One can only hope they will find the truth and then teach it.
   • As for you and I, we have a responsibility to seek the truth for ourselves. This is a call upon every person in Christ as we all will have to stand before the judgement seat of God, and there will be no-one else to act as counsel on our behalf in that day. So, we had better make sure we are seeking the truth and questioning everything we are taught and told to ensure we are not following a different gospel.
4. Scripture: Galatians 1:10
   • In this final verse we find Paul showing that by preaching the truth, he is not trying to please men, but to please and do right by God. In fact those who do preach the truth will often be ridiculed and rejected by those who accept a different gospel and are trying to please men.
   • Look around at the state of the modern churches. Many of them, including the traditional, conservative churches have changed their message to try to attract more people. It is common to see worship bands and more youth-orientated messages to attract people to the church. But are such things necessary?
   • I have no issue with worship bands. I am a musician myself, and was a working musician when I was younger. But when the music becomes more important than the ministry, then it becomes an issue. The truth of God is not about making great worship music and selling recordings, as some ministries do. The truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is about salvation, love, joy, compassion, mercy, and living the life of worship in Spirit and truth.
   • The word of Jesus Christ and the gospel of truth in Him is sufficient for everyone. It is His word and His teachings that will lead us to His kingdom and salvation, not great worship music or a great “experience” at church whenever it meets. Good music, no matter how good it is, will not give you salvation.
   • Now, I am only using music as an example because in many places it seems to be more important than the message. But the same can be said with many other aspects of the modern church. Whenever something in the church becomes more important than the message of Jesus Christ, then it becomes a problem. And it can be anything. Some other examples that come to mind are things like overseas missionary work, building churches, establishing bible schools, building and running Christian elementary schools, and so on. All of these things may be good in greater or lesser degrees, but they are not what Jesus requires of those who follow Him. We are first called to find the truth of the gospel for ourselves and not be distracted by the kinds of issues all of these other things can and will bring.
   • Almost all of those other things, and I am sure there are more, are designed to please men. Some of these are designed to feed the egos of men rather than following the truth of the gospel. For instance, building physical church buildings is not called for anywhere in the gospel. The early church met in houses, and when they got big, they met in the existing halls or even stadiums that existed. They did not build churches or wood, bricks, and steel. To do so just creates distractions around maintenance and upkeep, requiring financial obligations, none of which leads to salvation, growth and maturity in Jesus Christ.
   • We are not called to please men, but to please God. And we cannot do that by following a different gospel.

Prayer Points

1. Pray and ask the Lord to help you seek and find the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. Pray and ask the Lord to show you where there is error in the teachings you may hear or experience, and to identify why they are incorrect and how to reject those things to find and follow the truth.
3. And finally, pray and ask God to teach you the true gospel. The gospel of truth that exists only in Jesus Christ.