One Gospel Only

“As we have said before, I now say again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!” (Galatians 1:9 CSB)

Strong words. Paul wrote with impact. He wrote that way because his priority interest was in serving Christ and representing Him as His apostle. He viewed himself as a slave of Christ whose first desire was to please Christ. Based on that life value, Paul sought to undo some damage that had been done in the Galatian churches.

Some men had gone to those churches and were preaching a gospel that was different from what Paul preached. Their message was one of legalism, a belief that all new believers were required to observe all the laws of Judaism, including circumcision. They considered this part of the salvation process, a requirement for salvation. So why would they do this? Well, probably because: 1) that is what they believed, 2) they wanted people’s loyalty to them rather than to Paul, 3) they wanted to keep this Christian “movement” under control, 4) all of the above, or 5) other reasons in addition to the above.

The gospel of Jesus Christ, this message of fundamental truth, is central to everything else in our faith, and it is a simple message. God loves us with an indescribable and indestructible love that is without comparison, although we do not deserve it. In love, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take the penalty of our sins upon Himself, to die on the cross, to be buried, and to be raised from the dead on the third day, so that all who turn to Him in faith might receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Jesus set us free from the domination and power of sin and its dark tyranny. He defeated the power and influence of evil and the evil one in our lives. He completed all of the demands of the law, so that now the full intent of His law is written on our hearts – that we might love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, and so that we might share that good news message with a lost world. He set us free to live, to really live.

Father, May we each day live the gospel and share it by both word and deed. Help us to fulfill our responsibility to ensure that the message of the gospel is kept pure and simple. Amen.