⁶ 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— ⁷ not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
Writing from a place of love and deep concern, Paul asserts to the Galatians that there is no other gospel than the one that he preached to them. That’s quite a bold claim!
In our day wherein it seems that saying there is only one of anything is considered offensive, we can be easily put off by Paul’s statement. Why only one gospel? Can’t we accommodate different points of view? Don’t all roads lead to God? Don’t be so intolerant, Paul!
But Paul was not being intolerant for intolerance’s sake. Nor was he misguided. He was speaking truth. As he goes on to say, he is a servant of Christ and he’s not trying to please man (v10). There is no time to mince words, souls are at stake!
And why, exactly? As we saw last week, the Galatian churches were being swept away by a false teaching that demands that one must become circumcised and follow the Law of Moses to be accepted by God. But Paul’s gospel says that one is accepted by God by grace – God’s undeserved favor – through faith in Christ . . .plus nothing! Alone!
Yet this message of grace through faith in Christ alone isn’t merely “Paul’s gospel.” In fact, it’s not man’s gospel at all (v11). It was given to him by none other than Christ himself (v12) and also confirmed by the Apostles who were with Christ (v18). It was the message of the gospel, not the person who brought it, that must be protected and preserved at all costs. In fact, Paul says that if even “we” (which would include himself) or an angel preaches anything else, let him be accursed!
This language may seem strong but it is not misplaced. The gospel is the message that saves our souls, empowers us to live the Christian life, and preserves churches from apostasy. If you compromise the gospel, distort the gospel, add to the gospel, or preach an entirely different gospel – it will have deadly results.
There is one gospel, and it is the good news that God gave his Son Jesus Christ to die on behalf of sinners, rise again to defeat death, and reign forever and ever to save those who come to him by faith. This gospel is applied to us by grace through faith in Christ alone. Let us be determined to protect, preserve, and promote this glorious gospel!