Christians believe in the gospel. We believe that we are sinners saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And we believe that the gospel is foundational to the faith. If you lose sight of it, you lose sight of everything else.
In the book of Galatians, Paul calls the wayward church back to the heart of the gospel, to remember what it is, and what is says about who they are to be. The Galatian church was being taught that Christ’s work was not enough for their salvation, and that they had to add in works for their salvation to be complete. They were being preached a "gospel plus".
By teaching us important things about gospel authenticity and gospel authority, the book of Galatians also asks us the question, “have the truths of the gospel dug down deep into our hearts?” Have we, like the Galatians church of old, lost sight of the one true gospel?
(A) Seriousness of Consequence: this gospel is of eternal importance and has eternal consequences (Gal 1: 8-9)
We will look at these 9 verses from back to front in order to see the flow of Paul’s logic. Paul concludes in v9 that anyone who preaches a different gospel should be accursed. The word "accursed" in modern day parlance is literally “damn you to hell”. There is nothing kind, jovial, or light about this message. Its tone is heavy, somber, and charged with fury.
Gal 1:8 brings greater clarity to his charge. Paul pits “we” (Gal 1:8a) right now or in time to come or “an angel from heaven” (Gal 1:8a) against “we” in the past (Gal 1:8b) whom first preached the gospel to them. Paul is saying here that there is an objective and real gospel - the gospel that was preached to them in the past. Even if he or an angelic messenger were to preach them something contrary to what they first heard, these preachers were to be damned to hell! By including himself and even angels into the harshest condemnation possible, Paul shows us that the gospel is of the highest importance.
How do we treat the gospel today? The eternal and utmost significance of the gospel leads to Paul getting riled up to the point of calling down eternal damnation on anyone who dares pervert it. Do we harbour the same attitude towards it today? Paul sees the gospel as important not only for now, but also because it has eternal significance. As people who often shy away from the thought of hell, do we see the gospel the way Paul sees it?
(B) Seriousness of Anger: there is only one true gospel (Gal 1:6-7)
Paul fleshes out the implications of turning to a different gospel in Gal 1:6, claiming that the act is tantamount to deserting God! The addition of our own works to the gospel casts aside God, casts aside His grace, and casts aside Christ! If God is truly the greatest delight and blessing anyone could ever have, then Paul’s intensity of emotion is completely justified. For a false gospel that is less than completely reliant on God’s grace is not only less precious and less sweet, but also a robbery of the only thing that is good and true.
Paul goes on to state there is only one true gospel, but that there are some who seek to seek to trouble them by distorting said gospel. The book of Galatians was written against the circumcision party which sought to layer in traditions from Judaism into Christianity by saying that believers in Christ need conformity with Mosaic law to become “real” Christians and receive “real” salvation. Paul denounces it as complete rubbish! This "gospel plus" is no gospel at all.
It is important for us today - Christian or not - to know what the real gospel is that we may know what to avoid. Any other gospel is not “good news”, for it does not bring life, but rather, drives one away from it! The truth remains that we can’t earn our own salvation, not even by a little bit. Gospel authenticity is essential because it has immediate and direct implications on our eternal wellbeing, and it would do us well to hold onto it.
(C) Seriousness of Joy: grace and peace are free to us because of Christ’s work on the cross (Gal 1:3-5)
We tend to skim over the greetings as they all seem the same in the Epistles, but every word of God is life-giving, and it is to this greeting that we turn our attention to.
Grace and peace comes from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ because Christ gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age according to the will of the Father (Gal 1:3-4). What does this mean? It means that your salvation through Christ was the will of the Father. God willed it, and Christ fulfilled it to deliver us from evil - the evil around us and in us. Christ gave himself because we are sinners. How often do we forget that? The gospel message tells us that we live in a broken world, in sin and with sin. And we need a Saviour. Because God willed us to be delivered through Christ, we now have grace and peace, and therefore we seek to glory God forever and ever (Gal 1:5).
This grace and peace only comes because of the gospel, and Paul’s anger is stirred because there is a deep wealth of joy, peace, and grace that is being robbed by the perversion of the gospel! How do you see the gospel today? Are you still relying on works? Or have you entered into the grace, peace, and joy it promises? What is your salvation contingent on? The burden to meet these needs has been moved away from you and onto Christ! This is the truth of the gospel.
(D) Seriousness of Authority: Paul an apostle through Christ alone (Gal 1:1-2)
Finally, we see that Paul claims to be an apostle not from men, nor through men, but through Christ and God the Father (Gal 1:1). Man did not commission or lead him to his authority. No one is responsible for making Paul who he is aside from Jesus Christ and God the Father.
Paul ends his claim by referencing the facticity of Christ’s resurrection for a very specific reason. Christ’s authority comes precisely because He was raised from the death. He died for the burden of our sins, but we don’t believe in a dead Christ defeated by the end that sin brings. In knowing and remembering the very resurrection of Christ, Paul reminds us that all authority over the bondage of sin has been given to Christ because He has been raised from the death, and there is therefore no other authority that we need to submit to in fear that our sins might not be forgiven.
C.S Lewis famously said that you have one of 3 responses to Christ - lunatic, liar, or Lord. The same thing can be applied here to Paul, a man who was famous for persecuting the church with great fervency and passion. But here we see him fighting for the gospel and for Christ. Paul is either a lunatic, a liar, or a messenger of truth. If Paul is a messenger of truth, then these words are true. And if these words are true, our response should be the same as Paul’s! We should treat the gospel the way that Paul treats the gospel, for the truth of Christ’s resurrection is as real for us as it was for Paul! Is this gospel as true to you as it should be?
The message here is precious and of eternal consequence. All around us exists a terrifying slew of false gospels that beguiles people we know, love, and care for. How do we treat evangelism? If the gospel is the good news that it claims to be, why aren’t we as excited about sharing it as we should be? How true is the gospel to you this very moment? Do you really believe in it?
The gospel isn’t a passive, idle, and unobtrusive piece of news. It calls us to respond to it as people who have received true grace and peace. Let us live as people who have received true grace and peace, who have been redeemed and loved in such a way that we cannot help but submit all of our lives to be shaped and directed by this great truth.