Editors Note: This article was originally posted in 2009
The whole Bible is about Jesus Christ and the message of Jesus Christ is good news, or “the gospel.” God took thousands of years to reveal the gospel and it was not until the time was ripe that Jesus appeared on the scene of history (Galatians 4:4). If the gospel is central to the revelation and purposes of God then it cannot be incidental to the lives of His people. Nothing is more important than getting the gospel right.
It has been my privilege for the year to contribute a monthly article to TableTalk magazine, edited by my friend, Burk Parsons. Burk and his staff do an excellent job making TableTalk very useful to serious-minded Christians. I highly recommend it.
Following is the article I wrote for the current (January 2009) issue. It is entitled, “Getting the Gospel Right” and appears on pp. 26-27. It is a fitting theme for the new year and one that I intend to keep central in my own life until I finish my race.
Sometimes what is not said speaks more loudly than actual words. The silence, as we say, is deafening.
In the opening verses of his letter to the churches of Galatia the Apostle Paul employs this communication technique to underscore the seriousness of the subject at hand. As he does in all of his letters, Paul begins by identifying himself as the author (1:1), naming the intended recipients (1:2) and expressing a blessing on them (1:3-5).
It is what comes next that is so uncharacteristic for him. Immediately after his introductory comments and before launching into the body of the letter Paul writes…nothing. He offers no expression of gratitude to God for them or words of encouragement about their spiritual vitality.
When compared to his warm greetings in his other letters (ie. Ephesians 1:15ff, Philippians 1:3ff, Romans 1:8, 1 Corinthians 1:4ff, etc.), what Paul does not say to the Galatians speaks volumes.
He leaves no doubt about the seriousness and urgency of the topic of his letter. His burden is to explain and defend the true gospel of God’s grace. He launches into the subject early and writes with fiery tone employing sarcasm, threats, warnings and rebukes to get his points across.
Like a soldier rushing into battle with guns blazing, Paul immediately begins contending for the truth of the gospel. His purpose is not simply to win a theological argument. Rather, he is determined to fight for the spiritual lives of the Galatian believers.
Getting the gospel right is crucial. It is a matter of spiritual life and death. If you miss this it does not matter what you get, you will miss God.
Paul understands this and therefore strongly refutes the false teaching of those who have begun to undermine the Galatians’ confidence in the simple gospel that he had preached to them.
That message is all about finished work of Jesus Christ “who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (1:4). The gospel that Paul preached to them proclaimed salvation by grace alone received through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
This message is great news for sinners, because it reveals that salvation, from first to last, is God’s work and not dependent on anything in us. It eliminates any basis for pride as well as any cause to despair. Those whom God saves are made right with him not because anything they have done or not done, but because they have been “called…in the grace of Christ” (1:6).
On the one hand the worst of people are genuine candidates for salvation because the only way that God saves is by grace. On the other hand if the most respectable people are to be saved it will not be because of any goodness in them but, again, only by the grace of God.
No wonder Paul was “astonished” to learn that the Galatians were so quickly and easily being led away from the gospel of God’s grace (1:6). The false teachers insisted that trusting Christ was not enough–to be right with God a person must also keep certain Old Testament ceremonies. But adding to the gospel is just as disastrous as subtracting from it. Both “distort the gospel of Christ” (1:7).
Any change in message of Jesus Christ turns it into “a different gospel” (1:6) that keeps people from knowing God. This is why Paul writes with such passion, warning the Galatians never to tolerate anyone–not even an apostle or an angel–who would dare to preach as the gospel any other message than salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, plus nothing.
Twice Paul says that any creature who distorts the gospel should be “accursed.” He literally pronounces “anathema” on such a person. Those who spread false gospels are worthy of God’s damnation.
Paul intends that his use of such strong language should have a sobering affect on us. Misrepresenting the gospel is serious business. Those who believe false gospels will wind up in hell. Those who teach false gospels deserve nothing less.
The churches of Galatia were very young when Paul sent them this letter. Yet, he expected that they–all of the members and not just the leaders–would be doctrinally alert enough to discern the true gospel from counterfeits.
This is the responsibility of every Christian. Like sheep who will follow only the voice of their shepherd, we must learn to recognize the simplicity and fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and refuse to tolerate any teaching that deviates from it.
Our very souls depend on it.
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