Session 7 – Steve Lawson

“GUARDING THE GOSPEL”
GALATIANS 1:6-10

Every generation of believers has had to fight for the purity and exclusivity of the gospel of Christ.  Starting in the 2nd century, Iranaeus, Polycarp, Ignatius, then Cyprian in the 3rd century, Athanasius in the 4th C., Augustine, Wycliffe, Hus, and Luther against the RC church, Calvin against Rome and the libertines, John Rogers and the 284 Marian martyrs, Thomas Cranmer, Ricley and Lattimer, Edwards, Whitfield, Nettleton, Spurgeon, and so it goes in every generation — all had battles over the gospel.  Every Christian leader has had to fight for the gospel and so must we.

This is what Paul is doing in these verses.  He is fighting for the gospel, and it is a hill worth dying on.  Here he contends against the Galatians and Jewish legalism.  It would prove to be one of the most demanding conflicts of his life.  He is arguing with the Judaizers, who were seeking to put believers and unbelievers both under the Law of Moses — sanctification is achieved through works of the flesh.  This is Paul’s response.

This letter is Paul’s most passionate.  This letter he took pen in hand and wrote it himself.  He minces no words — he breathes holy fire.  He is shocked that the Galatians had so quickly fallen for a false gospel.  It is time for Paul to speak directly to the issue at hand.

Beloved, we live at such an hour as well.  The gospel is coming under attack again and again.  There are many hits on the integrity of the gospel…

It falls on each and every one of us to act like men and defend this gospel.  We must protect this gospel.  It is incumbent on each and every one of us to maintain the high ground of the gospel at any cost.  We must heed the warning of Paul, have our hearts gripped by the words again.

Four truths

1. Paul’s Amazement (vv. 6-7)

Paul is completely astounded and amazed.  Why?  That they should abandon the gospel so quickly that he had brought to them.  To abandon meant to go AWOL — they were deserting at this very hour the person of Christ Himself.

They are not only deserting the gospel, but note that he says they are deserting God Himself.  They were deserting God who Himself is the gospel.  There is solidarity between God and the gospel.  This is God’s message.  To abandon the message is to abandon God Himself.  Every attribute of God is seen in the Gospel most brilliantly.

If God’s glory is put on display in his creation, it is put on even greater display in the gospel.  At the cross we see sin, holiness, Christ in all His glory, the torment of the damned in the cry of Christ, the righteousness of Christ in the life and obedience of Christ, the grace of God providing righteousness for sinners, the immutability of God in one unchanging way of the gospel, the power of God to save the chief of sinners, the truth of God, the sovereignty of God saving all His elect — God is the gospel and to depart from the gospel is to depart from God Himself.  All the lines of theology proper intersect with the gospel itself and the person of Christ who is the gospel for us.

“…who called you by the grace of Christ” = You are deserting Him after He has done this???  After making them trophies of His grace, they are doing this???

“You are turning to another gospel” = there are only two kinds of gospel — the true gospel and the false gospel of human achievement.  This different (heteros) gospel denotes another of a completely different kind.  It is non-saving and non-sanctifying.  It was a rip-off religion to which they were turning.  Any other message apart from Christ is a soul-damning message.

To desert this gospel is to be removed from the only way of salvation.

Paul was amazed that the Galatians were deserting this one true saving gospel.  And we too should be amazed when people sign ECT and pretend there is no distinction between Rome and the gospel.

2. Paul’s Adversaries (v. 7b)

There are some (Judaizers who are trying to bring legalism into the church) — are disturbing the church — they are shaking up the allegiance of the believers to God Himself.

You take away the gospel and you have taken away everything.

“Distort” = to change something into its very opposite.  They were perverting the gospel and tampering the message and its purity.  These false teachers were teaching Christ and faith were good as far as they go but they are inadequate to save.  You have to keep the Law, they said, to achieve righteousness — you are sanctified by Christ and the deeds of the flesh.

Paul in 2:21 will say that if righteousness comes through the Law then Christ died needlessly.  If we can achieve it ourselves then Christ died needlessly.  There are many such opposers today.  (“Faith and…”)

They claim that works are necessary for salvation and they damn their hearers.

If we believe this, then our sermons will be filled with Jesus Christ.  What is the gospel?  Look at vv. 3-4 — this whole planet is going to hell and the Lord (eternal name) Jesus (saving name) Christ (anointed name) came to save us from that very damnation.

The truth of justification by faith is the truth on which the church stands or falls. (Luther)  Paul directly speaks to the churches and us — to guard the gospel at all costs.

3. Paul’s Anathemas (vv. 8-9)

The Judaizers sought to undermine Paul, so Paul puts out an extreme hypothetical situation — Paul, or any of his companions (Barnabas, or Timothy…) or any of the elect angels, if any should preach a gospel apart from grace through faith alone is anathema — consigned to the flames of eternal hell below.  They should go to hell before they take anyone else with them!

Wise is the man who is worked up over that which works up God Himself.  There is no room for neutrality and passivity and indifference.  This is the time for Paul to speak and write.  How can it be otherwise?  The glory of Christ and the salvation of men are at stake.  The cross is empty of power if this false gospel is true.

Those who corrupt the one true saving gospel contribute to the damnation of souls.

Paul says it again in v. 9 — he is bull-dogmatic!  We’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — if any man is preaching (present tense — ongoing problem) another gospel — he is to be cursed.  He is emphasizing the severity of what awaits him.  The hottest place in hell awaits those who have distorted the gospel and taken others with them.

This issue is on the front porch of this letter.  Paul is not thankful for this church (this is normally where he would give thanks), because the only saving gospel is being corrupted and is at stake in this church.

Jesus warned against false religious leaders (wide way vs. narrow way).  Beware of the false prophets — they are ravenous wolves (Mt. 7).  Paul’s anathemas are rightly spoken.  This is no time for dialogue.  It is a time for declaration.

4. Paul’s Aim (v. 10)

This must be our aim too.  We must own this aim.  Paul gets to the bottom line and gets to the chase — who is he trying to please?

Every preacher must deal with this question.  Am I seeking to please men or God?  There are only two possibilities and no other.  Are we playing to the applause of the crowd?

If Paul was seeking the favor of men he would certainly tone down his rhetoric, but he is not courting the churches or the world.  He is writing to seek the Amens of heaven.  This confrontive language was hardly calculated to win the approval of men.  Paul sought to please God.

If we seek to please God it does not matter whom we displease.  And if we displease God, it doesn’t matter whom we do please.  We must seek the approval of almighty God.  Pleasing men and pleasing God are mutually exclusive.  It is an either-or not a both-and proposition.  It cannot be both ways.  Cf. Mt. 6:24 — no one can serve two masters…

Jesus understood we can have only one master and as slaves to Christ we seek His approval alone.  Cf. Paul in 1 Thess. 2:4 — we speak as pleasing men and not God.  We will be judged not by men but by God and it is God whom we must please.  And there is one message alone that pleases God — salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

On John Knox’s tomb — “Here lies a man who never feared the face of man.”

Where are these kinds of preachers today?  The problem with preachers today is that no one wants to kill them. (Adrian Rogers)

“Rise up o men of God…”
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