The Gospel (Part 3 of 5)

The Gospel of Christ

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:6-7).

Paul was writing to the Galatians because they had turned away from the Gospel of Christ. These Gentile believers had heard the Gospel directly from the Apostle Paul. But later it seems that some other teachers had come to the churches in Galatia with a different message. These Jewish teachers, who claimed to be Christians, told the Galatians that simply believing in Jesus, as Paul had taught them, was not sufficient for acceptance with God. These teachers told the Gentile Galatians that they had to be circumcised, as the law of Moses had commanded. While this specific issue of circumcision seems a strange and remote issue for us, for the early Church it constituted a major obstacle. God had made it clear, first to the Apostle Peter, and then by Paul, that the Gentiles needed to hear the Gospel. God intended to include the Gentiles in His Kingdom, which to the Jews was a new and difficult development. The first Christians were also Jews who were quite zealous for keeping the Law of Moses. This included such things as circumcision and also the dietary restrictions. It was the conviction of many of these Jewish Christians that if Gentiles were included they must also submit to the commandments of the Law to then become Christians. But the leaders of the early Church, including Paul, met in Jerusalem to consider this question and the clear result was that the Gentiles were to be accepted into the fellowship of the Church purely on the basis of their faith in Jesus (See Acts 15). Faith in Jesus is what Paul had taught the churches in the region of Galatia, but they were turning from this pure Gospel of Christ to another Gospel.

There is only one, true Gospel. Paul makes this point very clear in the introduction of his epistle to the Galatians: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8-9). There is absolutely no ambiguity here! Paul does not tolerate anyone who distorts the Gospel. To distort the Gospel is to actually preach a completely different message. There can be no tampering or modifying of the Gospel. Clearly the Gospel is not a matter of interpretation or personal opinion. Paul goes on to say to the Galatians that he received his Gospel directly from God (Gal. 1.11-12). The Gospel is a revealed message, not a message devised by men. Paul did not claim to have developed his own version or interpretation of the Gospel. All of this sounds very intolerant and narrow to the modern mind. Modern people are proud of having their own thoughts and opinions. Many modern theologians even speak of reinterpreting the Christian faith so that it is relevant to the culture of today. I believe that Paul’s words to the Galatians are especially relevant for our times: “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” There is only one Gospel and no man has the right to tamper with it!

The Gospel does not need to be modified because it is always relevant. God’s message addresses the deepest needs of the human race. There need not be any confusion about the human condition because God has clearly defined what is wrong with the human race. Sin is the problem. And to develop this point, God made a covenant with Abraham’s descendants and gave them His Law. The Law was really an extended commentary on the nature of sin, its effects, and what must be done to remove it. Paul has an extended treatment of this subject in the epistle to the Galatians. Like the Galatians, many people today do not understand the purpose of the Law. The Law was never meant to bring salvation or justification. The Law was meant to teach us about the nature of sin and our need for salvation. The Law prepares us for the Gospel. To try to be justified by the Law is to miss the whole purpose for it! The Law is about sin and is preparation for hearing and believing the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news about Jesus Christ. Everything in the Law pointed us to the coming of the Savior. The Gospel is good news to someone who really understands the message of the Law and has been taught by it. It seems that many people today have not been taught by the Law about sin and are therefore not prepared to hear and believe the good news about Jesus.

All false Gospels add something to Jesus. In other words, the false gospels convince people that having faith in Jesus cannot be enough – there is something else in addition to faith in Jesus that is required to be justified in the sight of God. The Galatians had heard and believed the Gospel. Paul reminds them that they had then received the gift of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 3.2). What more did they need? If God had already given them His Holy Spirit what could they possibly be lacking? I do not think that the teachers that came to Galatia were against Christ or faith in Christ. They were simply adding an additional requirement, which happened to be circumcision. Circumcision is not the issue today, but there are still teachers adding to the Gospel of Christ. The implication of adding to the Gospel of Christ is that Jesus Himself is not sufficient. There are still those who insist that keeping certain aspect of the Law of Moses is a requirement for believers in Christ. This is adding to the Gospel of Christ. We are justified by faith, this principle of faith being well-established by Abraham. (See Paul’s extended argument concerning Abraham and faith in Galatians 3.6-29.) Our faith in Jesus is the basis of our acceptance with God and adding any other requirement is adding to the Gospel of Christ.

There is a tremendous danger today of believers deserting the true Gospel of Christ. Paul made it clear that the Galatians were in grave danger! After beginning in faith the Galatians were taking a dangerous detour. If salvation is through faith in the Gospel of Christ, then leaving the Gospel for another message is tantamount to the sin of apostasy, for which there is no recovery (See Heb. 6.4-8). Salvation is found only in the Gospel of Christ (Acts 4.12). There is salvation in no other message. It should be noted here that we are not saved by believing a doctrine, but by personal faith in Jesus Himself. The Gospel of Christ is the message about Jesus and we place our trust in Him as our Savior and Lord. Those who preach the Gospel must preach Christ and no other message, which is no gospel at all. Believers must not be turned away from simple faith in Jesus. We must stay on the Narrow Road that leads to Life (Matt. 7.13-14). Jesus IS the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14.6). Everything that we need for spiritual life and acceptance with God is found in Jesus.