Paul warns the Galatians of believing a Perverted Gospel
Galatians
1:6-10 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the
grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some
that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an
angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again,
If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received,
let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please
men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. KJV
Paul does not spend any time commending these
Galatians or thanking God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ for them at the
beginning of his letter as he did with the Philippians and the Colossians (Philippians 1:1-11 & Colossians 1:1-12), but instead he
rushes into the very heart of this entire epistle and that is the denunciation
of anyone that would pervert or change the meaning of the Gospel of Christ in
order to deceive and mislead others. Paul is very grieved over the Galatians
giving credence to these Judaizing men by believing what they are teaching, but
he is also angry with them because he cannot believe that they allowed this to
happen so quickly upon hearing the Judaizing men teach. Paul is in wonder,
amazement, and even shock that the Galatians were regarding the many spurious
(that is plausible but false) teachings on what the Gospel of Christ truly was
as handed down from the first Apostles who were eyewitnesses of our Lord Jesus
Christ’ character and His Gospel He entrusted to them. This is no doubt why God
the Holy Spirit anointed Dr. Luke to write his account at the opportune time he
was inspired, in order that the apocryphal books of the New Testament be
disputed as false accounts with a false gospel message.
Paul is here declaring the Galatians to be defectors
from the true faith in Christ and it is his sincere desire with the entirety of
this letter to “bring them back” from their defection. Paul saw them as being
in the process of giving themselves over to complete apostasy. This is why he
uses the English word “removed” translated from the Greek word metatithemi which means to pervert; to
transfer or transport; to exchange or for one to change sides. Paul seeks not
the good will or favor of men when it comes to his declaration by speaking or
writing the truth of the Gospel and the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). Paul bore (within his
heart and soul) great grief to those in the Galatian Churches who were being
led away from the truth and at the very same time (as if with the very same
breath of soul) he pours out vehement/violent indignation that was marked by
extreme intensity of emotions or convictions against the instruments (Judaizing
teachers) that were perverting the Gospel of Christ troubling these new
believers “in Christ” and even in the process of leading them into their error
as Korah’s rebellion caused the death of many (Numbers 16).
Korah and Dathan’s rebellion not only cost them
their lives but that of their wives and children also. Likewise the sin of
Achan cost the death of all his children (Joshua
7:16-26) and with the historical facts of both these judgments of God, Paul
writes with deep conviction of mind very concerned that many in the Galatian
Churches will fall prey to those in their congregations that give themselves
over to this perverted teaching of salvation and be proven to be apostates. Paul
wants them to understand the extreme severity of believing a false gospel.
Therefore, he paints a picture that is impossible for them to misinterpret.
Paul declares emphatically that there is “no other Gospel” but the one he
preached to them from the beginning as he declared with these words to the
Corinthians Church, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you,
which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved,
if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that
He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
Paul wants them to know soundly that anyone
preaching anything that deviates or that is different in any way from what he
preached to them, then that person (even an angel from heaven) is too accounted
by God as accursed or clearly to mean, they are to be eternally damned to hell.
This is why Paul was so quick to rush into the meat of his letter right off the
top because of the severity of the consequences of any soul listening to and
then (God Forbid) believing a perverted Gospel message. The true Gospel means
“good news” while (as we see here with Paul’s declaration) a false gospel means
“eternally bad news” for every one of its recipients. Paul even repeats this
declaration of the damnation of those preaching a false gospel message, so that
there will be no misunderstanding among the Galatians of his meaning. Paul’s
complete and supreme confidence in making such a brash and bold statement comes
from the fact that his life’s goal is to “please God” and not men. Paul uses
here the English word “persuade” that comes from the Greek word peitho a primary verb which means as he
uses it here in this discourse to pacify or conciliate by causing men to think
good or well of him or to gain favor with men. Paul’s immediate response to his
own question is of course not, he desires solely and only to please God. This
English word “please” is translated from the Greek word aresko which means to be agreeable with. Paul’s only goal is to be
“agreeable” with and to God the Father and not any man who perverts what God the
Father declares to be truth. This is what made the Apostle Paul a true
“bond-servant” or the Greek word doulas meaning
voluntary slave of the Lord Jesus Christ.
My own Personal Note: The Apostle Paul would not mince words or hold back the rumbling in his own soul, when he perceived those that he had been God’s instrument in bringing them the True Gospel of Christ and of Grace being led away or astray into apostasy because the consequences are dangerous, serious, and ultimately eternally life-threatening as declared by another Apostle with these words, “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties” (Jude 1:4-8).
“These words were well calculated to startle the Galatians out of their levity. They are like a lightning-flash which shows one to be standing on the edge of a precipice. We see at once the infinite seriousness of the Judaic controversy, the profound gulf that lies between Paul and his opposers. He is for open war. He is in haste to fling his gage of defiance against these enemies of the cross. With all his tact and management, his readiness to consult the susceptibilities and accommodate the scruples of sincere consciences, the Apostle can find no room for conciliation here. He knows the sort of men he has to deal with. He perceives that the whole truth of the Gospel is at stake. Expositor’s Bible Commentary
“No heavier loss than this could be conceived for any human being. Nearest to our passage is the imprecation at the end of 1 Corinthians: ‘If any man love not the Lord, let him be anathema,’-a judgment proclaimed against cold and false hearts, knowing His love, bearing His name, but with no true love to Him.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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