What Galatians Teaches Us About the Gospel (No Other Gospel #23)

The keyword of Galatians is “Gospel.” And as we look at the book as a whole, there are three points specifically that stand out about the gospel.

First, Galatians clearly emphasizes the importance of the Gospel. Paul didn't see the situation in Galatians as something trivial or a side point. What was happening here was a major problem and Paul brings all his force and authority and influence and scholarship to bear on trying to bring the Galatians back to the Gospel.

Some people will tell you that theology and Bible knowledge aren't that important--that all that matters is that our heart is right with God. Obviously, there is a danger of theology and knowledge that is separate from our heart and life. One can know all about God and the gospel without being a Christian. But that doesn't change the fact that knowledge matters. Doctrine matters. If the church had fallen under the sway of the Judaizers, it wouldn't have been a trivial thing. It would have been catastrophic. False teaching has consequences. As Paul said, whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. That applies to thoughts as well as to actions. If the church had accepted a false gospel, it would have become a false church.

That's why we also have to make sure that we are holding onto the One True Gospel. Of course, it's not enough simply to believe the gospel and Paul does make a point of talking about living out the gospel. But still, holding onto the gospel, holding onto the truth, matters. The gospel is supremely important for, without it, we are not the church. It is the gospel, the good news that sets Christianity apart.

Second, we see that the gospel is miraculous. Paul spends a good chunk of time emphasizing the fact that the gospel was not of human origin. Paul wasn't a great thinker who came up with the gospel out of his own head. Nor did he learn from the other apostles; and the other apostles didn't make it up themselves or learn it from Paul. The apostles were not creative thinkers or pioneers of thought. They were receivers--men who had received a revelation--an unexpected and even unwelcome revelation in Paul's case. The gospel came straight from God. And the essence of the gospel is a miracle. The Judaizers gospel was founded on our own efforts and the things we do and are. But the one true gospel is founded on the actions of God--on the miracles wrought in the life of Christ and on the miracles which God does in the heart of believers. And I know you can debate about the term miracle and whether salvation should technically be called a miracle, but I think it is in this sense: that it is something that only God can do. Like the birth of Isaac, it is by a promise not by the flesh. Human effort can never create new life; that is the gift of God.  That is why this issue is so important. To someone on the outside, the difference between Paul's gospel and the Judaizers might seem small. They both talked about the same scriptures; they both confessed the same Christ; they both believed in the same God and followed (assumably) the same code of ethics. This point of whether salvation is by faith or works might seem unimportant. But we can calculate the difference between these two gospels with some simple math. Take the measure of God's power and find the difference between it and the measure of man's power--and that difference is the difference between what the true gospel can do and what legalism can do. Legalism is only as strong as a given legalist, but grace is as strong as God.

Francis Schaeffer said that some liberal Christians wanted to push the miraculous and the supernatural out of religion so that they would have a religion that would still work even if it turned out there was no God. Because they lacked faith, they wanted a religion founded on man's effort and not on God. But this is not the true gospel which is founded solely on the miraculous power of God for those who are just shall live by faith.

Finally, Galatians teaches us the indestructibility of the gospel. Remember the words which Paul spoke near the beginning of the epistle: “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.” The gospel is God's plan of salvation. It has always been God's plan for even the Old Testament and the Mosaic economy were aimed it bringing it into play. It is God's plan now. And it will always be God's plan. The Old Testament served its purpose for a time, but now that purpose has been served and the New Testament is here. God is never going to say, “Let's try something different.” God is never going to revoke this new covenant and go back to the old one. Man had different ideas in Paul's day, and some men have different ideas now, but then (as now) God's word remains constant and unchanged. Theological trends come and go, but the plan of salvation does not altar. There are other doctrines and other creeds--but there is NO OTHER GOSPEL.