Galatians 1:6-9

Galatians 1:6-9 Galatians 1:6-9—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. But even if we or and angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. I wish there was some way to simultaneously cast these verses into the hearts and minds of all Christians, especially since the recent uprising of the “Gospel of Judas”. Many questions are being raised about things such as “The DaVinci Code” and the “Gospel of Judas”. This is good in one sense and bad in another. It is good because it is calling us to give an account for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15) which in turn drives us to understand why we believe what we believe. It is bad because most doubts and fears are not coming from the world, but from within the church. There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Evidently, the 21st Century is not the first time that the Gospel has taken fire from false teachers. Paul tells the Galatian church, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you……and are turning to a different gospel”. Paul was astonished at the turning away of the Galatians. Those who are not in Christ are naturally going to turn aside from the true Gospel. It is part of our depravity (Romans 3:12). We have had God’s word for hundreds of years and yet because of our lack of knowing it, we are shaken by the claims of “new discoveries”. Galatians 1:6-9 is a perfect picture of what Paul would have to say to the Church of America. Throughout all of Paul’s letters he is constantly preaching the gospel to the church. You may think that this sounds odd because the church should already know the gospel, right? But for different reasons, we must continue to preach the gospel to each other as believers. Preaching the gospel is not only the means by which salvation comes, it is also a part of the means of our sanctification. The same message that brings us to God is the same message that continues to keep us with God. Steven Curtis Chapman once wrote, “No heart loves greater than the one that is able to recall the time when all they knew was shame.” There are none who cherish the gospel more than those who know the gospel. Paul pronounces a curse to all those who would distort the gospel or preach a gospel contrary to the one that he has preached. The gospel that Paul preached was a crucified and risen lord. The word “accursed” is translated from the Greek word “anathema”. Anathema carries some weight with it. You can see the importance of the gospel when you understand what Paul pronounces over those who distort it. If someone is anathema they are, “cut off from salvation”, or “damned”. This should tell us something about the importance of getting the gospel right, and preaching the gospel to each other. Paul felt so strongly about the power of the gospel that to distort it or to turn to another gospel would be spiritually suicidal. I hope that the recent attention that the media has given to false gospels and fictitious claims would not turn your head. These are neither new findings nor is this the first time these issues have come up. It doesn’t take a historian or theologian to refute these claims. It just takes the church being the church.