The Word of God

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:6-9

Since becoming a Christian, the Apostle Paul's letter to the Galatians has been one of my favorite books of the Bible. The Lord used the important truths of this book at a crucial time in my young Christian life to help me understand that salvation from the penalty of my sins is a gift of God's grace, received by faith alone...completely unearned and undeserved. Though Paul specifically addressed the distorted "gospel" of that day that required circumcision for salvation, false teachers throughout history have added works to the message, therefore adulterating the gospel of Christ. Our righteousness is found in Christ alone, not in good works, baptism, church membership, offerings, etc.

I recently had the opportunity to hear the above verses taught, and I was reminded of the exclusiveness of the gospel of Christ. Not everyone who professes to be a follower of Christ follows him to the end, as Jesus explained in the parable of the soils (Matthew 13). And as we read in the gospels, the longer Jesus taught his followers, the smaller the crowds became. His hard teachings weeded out the unbelievers, but the true believers pressed on...quite a different methodology than we see in the current church growth movement.

Another sad reality is that sometimes true believers stray from the truth, as was the situation with the Galatian Christians. Paul was astonished that they were so quick to turn to a different gospel after they had been running so well (Gal. 5:7). If Christians are not diligent to guard the truth, we can easily lose our grip on the message. How do we avoid being deceived by false teachers? Foremost, we must know the gospel. We must understand man's problem of all being guilty sinners before a righteous God, deserving eternal judgment. There is nothing in ourselves that we can do to earn God's favor. We must trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross alone. Secondly, we should place ourselves under the teaching of elders that know the gospel and are able to rebuke those that contradict the gospel, because the church will always be under attack by false teachers. Finally, we must reject all anti-gospel religious authority, anyone who proposes a system of earning your way to heaven. Any message that adds to the finished work of Christ on the cross is a damnable heresy.