If I say the word “Gospel”, what do you think about?
Or if I were to ask you “What is the Gospel?” What would you say?
Do you think of:
Finished work of Christ on the cross,
His sacrificial and atoning death – the price paid for our sins
His burial, His resurrection
Do you think of Faith alone, in Christ Alone?
If that is our answer, if that is what we think of when we talk about the Gospel, then we are in line with scripture and we have a biblically accurate picture of the Gospel.
To understand the gospel is to understand salvation.
To understand the gospel is to understand our need for a Savoir -
Our complete lack of ability to have a right relationship w/ God apart from Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross.
What do you think? Do you think that the majority of the people in our community have a solid grasp of the Gospel?
How about the people in our churches? Do you think THEY have a solid grasp of the gospel? Of what it means to have a saving faith?
I’m afraid it’s fewer people than you might think.
As human beings we have this almost irresistible urge, this tendency to put ourselves in the center of the universe.
We make everything MAN Centered – its all about ME ME ME
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO ME
In a MAN centered world, everything can shift and change depending on who you are.
This scripture might mean one thing to you, but something else to me –
whos to say what is right and what is wrong.
Can there really be any absolute, objective truth
Not in a man – centered world.
In a man-centered world there can’t just be 1 way – can there? That’s too narrow minded
In a man-centered world, everyone can claim his or her own truth
When we put man at the center of our thinking,
When we focus on ourselves instead of focusing on HIM,
All of the sudden its about what I can do
WHAT CAN I DO to have eternal life – What Can I do to become righteous?
Give me a formula to follow, Give me an aisle to walk down
Give me a prayer to say, some rules to obey, some good deeds to do
Follow these rules, be a good person, or at least better than your neighbor,
Do some good deeds, and you are on your way – RIGHT?
OR if Jesus is the way to salvation – I can at least Add to my salvation with good deeds, or with tradition and obedience to laws , RIGHT?
We see it every where these days – People trying to add something to salvation
That is where we are in the book of Galatians.
The new Christians in Galatia are being mislead, they are being convinced that in order to be good Christians, they have to follow Jewish laws and traditions. The problem is, When you add an extra requirement for salvation, you are saying that the suffering of Christ on the Cross was not enough, that the work of Christ on the cross was not sufficient to pay our sin debt. – to save you
That is a serious error – not just a diff. Of opinion on a secondary issue
Paul is so focused on getting to the point and correcting the error that he skips his usual praise and thanks to God for the people he is writing his letter to.
Instead, he jumps right in with his rebuke for those in Galatia who are in the process of deserting the Gospel
Gal 1: 6-10 (NIV) 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
PRAY
Deserting the Gospel
Distorting the true Gospel
Declaration about the false teachers
Distinction of the true Gospel
Desertion: V6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel
Paul astonished
Deserting – they are in the process – not complete – There is still hope
Not just what, but WHO
Deserting Who? – the one who called them by the grace of Christ - God
To desert the true gospel is to desert God Himself– that’s how serious it is
Paul says they are turning to a different gospel
In fact – v7, no gospel at all – Anything other than true gospel = no gospel at all
The gospel? =Good news
Good news of Christ – That Christ has solved our sin problem
Problem that our sin separates us from a Pure and Holy God
Good news is Christ – His work on the cross on the behalf of sinners
Anything less is NOT good news
Gal. substituting BAD news of a works-based salvation for the GOOD news of Christ
What was being passed off as the gospel in Galatia betrayed the whole concept of the gospel
The need for the gospel comes from the fact that our sin has made us an enemy of God
It is only when the hostility and ugliness of our sin is removed from the picture - only then can we be reconciled to God and brought into a saving relationship with Him
And that only happens through Christ and his work on the cross
The law, and trying to keep the law never saved anyone. The Jews should have learned that from the hundreds of years they tried it.
Divine intervention and the Grace of God is required.
Now these false teachers want to return the Galatians to this same dependence on the law for salvation, which is really a dependence on one’s own abilities to solve the sin problem.
It has never worked! It never worked before, and they were deceived to think it would start working now.
If our sins are paid for by Christ on the cross, and
If when God looks at me he sees the righteousness of Christ, who is perfect
How can anyone think they can add to their salvation with their own works of righteousness?
If we can add to our salvation, even a tiny little bit, then the Cross was unneccessary
Gal 2:21 “if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
That is Distorting the true Gospel – it is a Perversion of the true gospel
V7 Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.
These false teachers – start with the true gospel but then they twist it, add to it
Just a slight manipulation to make it more MAN – centered instead of GOD centered
Does that sound familiar?
Satan - Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve
Satan tried to in the desert tempting Christ
And Satan is at work in this twisting of God’s truth also – it is one of his favorite tactics
Like a lot of what Satan does, it is very subtle as it moves us away from
Christ Alone
By Grace alone
Through Faith Alone
Moves us toward
Dependence on the flesh,
on What we can do,
on External things like techniques, formulas, organizations
And also like a lot of what Satan does, it is devious – he can come as an angel of Light
These false teachers tried to undercut the authority of Paul, but they didn’t just come right out and say – Paul is all wrong, here is a completely different way to salvation
No – it is likely that they agreed with Paul’s preaching
BUT – they added what they considered to be what he had left out
The idea of the false teachers was that while Christ did die for us,
and it was a wonderful gesture and a great beginning,
you need the law of Moses to complete the gospel
Just a small addition, just a little tweak, that is the plot of the Devil, and it undoes the security we have in the FINISHED work of Christ on the Cross
Does the gospel get distorted today? Does it get twisted, perverted?
You had better believe it
If someone says you have to be baptized in order to be saved – That is a perversion of the gospel
If anyone says that good works are required in order to be saved, that is a perversion of the true gospel
When a person asks – “What must I do to be saved?”
I have heard people told – “Just pray this prayer with me” then the person is led to repeat some words that end in Amen, and its supposed to be a done deal.
There are preachers who lay out the gospel in a beautiful way during a sermon, only to throw it away in the last 5 minutes when they say “If you want to be saved, then walk down this aisle right now.”
Now I am not saying that there is anything wrong with the sinners prayer or with inviting people to come forward to profess their faith,
But saying some words that end in AMEN never saved anyone
Walking down an aisle never saved anyone
Being baptized – NEVER- SAVED- ANYONE
Its all in how it is presented and it is all in where the FOCUS IS
Its not the prayer that saves you , it is the one you are praying to
Its not some external act, like walking down an aisle, or being dipped in water,
It is what happens in the heart of a person – inside
And the FOCUS IS NOT on us, it is on Christ
The emphasis of the gospel is never on what we can do, or what we have done,
It is on Christ and what he has done for us on the cross
So what ARE WE supposed to do – What must we do to be saved?
When the Philippian jailer asks this very question in Acts 16:30, how do Paul and Silas answer.
Acts 16: 30-31 “...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They replied Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved”
They didn’t say Pray this prayer, or walk down this aisle, they said Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.
Now right after he was saved, he and his whole family, they were baptized. That was part of their confession of faith, it was proper for them to be baptized, but they were already saved when they did it.
At Pentecost, what did Peter say when the masses began to ask, in Acts 2:37 “Brothers what shall we do?”
2:38 “Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
This passage confuses people. To read it properly, the forgiveness of your sins goes with Repent, not with being baptized.
Again, the baptism is a step of obedience that a believer takes in professing his Faith in Christ, who does the saving
Repent – to repent is to turn away from our sin, from our self-centeredness
And to turn toward Jesus Christ, seeing our need for him as our savior
Repent and believe: Believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that He is God come in the flesh
Believe that Jesus paid the price for your sin on the cross
Believe that God raised Jesus from the dead
Belief, Faith, Trust, trust Jesus for your salvation – it is all about Him
And it HE IS ENOUGH
WHO – or WHAT have you placed your faith in
IS your faith in Christ Alone?
Have you stopped trusting in what you can do?
Are you resting in Christ, trusting Him alone, trusting Christ and Him crucified on your behalf?
Or are you trying to add to your salvation, are you trying to add to the work of Christ, placing your trust in Christ PLUS something else.
This is a warning to you – REPENT of man-centered ideas of salvation
And throw yourself at the feet of Christ and trust in what HE has done.
It’s not about you – its about HIM
Paul makes a declaration about those who would preach a false gospel in vs 8-9
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
This is a heavy statement. The consequences of what the false teachers are doing is very grave. Eternal condemnation – eternity in hell apart from God.
And Paul includes himself. He makes sure that the Galatians know that he is not just upset that they have other teachers.
It doesn’t matter who you are – if an angel from heaven comes down and preaches a false gospel – let him be eternally condemned.
I want you to know that I take this scripture very seriously.
I am not up here to collect a paycheck, to make a living, the stakes are too high for that
I am up here because I have to be up here. I am up here because God put me up here.
If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be here.
To preach for personal gain or to preach a false gospel, is playing with fire- so to speak.
Paul reminds the Galatians that the true gospel is the gospel that He and his ministry partners preached to them, and it is the gospel that they themselves had Accepted.
Acts 10:17” faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
The gospel is Sent – and the gospel is RECEIVED
But not everyone receives it, not everyone accepts it
You can hear the gospel over and over again
But until you receive it by Faith, Faith in Jesus Christ, then it is just a bunch of words
Some people can be lulled into a false sense of salvation because they have been around good gospel preaching
They hear the gospel preached, they don’t disagree with what is being said, they don’t argue with it, so they come to the conclusion that they are all set.
God does the saving – and God deserves the glory for it, but you do have a part in your salvation.
Your part is in receiving the gospel, in Repentance, and in Believing, putting your Faith, your trust in Christ and the work he did on the cross on your behalf.
But before you go and get a big head, your ability to respond to the gospel comes by the Grace of God. IT is still all about Him
In v10 Paul asks; 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Here we have the distinction of the true gospel.
Every other religion, every other gospel, gives a person something to do in order to earn their salvation. That fits with our natural self-centeredness –What can I DO to be saved
But the true gospel takes that away. It is NOT about what I Can DO
It is about what CHRIST HAS DONE for me.
That’s why Paul says what he says. IF he were trying to please men, then he would be preaching a man-centered gospel, like he did before he was saved, and he would not be a servant of Christ.
The true gospel will not win you any popularity contests. The true gospel is offensive to people.
The true gospel leaves a person empty handed and naked before a Perfect and Holy God.
With nothing at all to offer to make things right with God.
That is uncomfortable, that is offensive. – But it is also reality
That is why there is only one way to gain eternal life
That is why we cannot compromise when it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ
That is why we must stand on our Rock, We must stand on the word of God
And proclaim the one true gospel.
Repent and Believe
It is Faith Alone, In Christ Alone, by the Grace of God Alone
