No other gospel
Gal. 1:6-10
No Other Gospel
INTRO
There is only one Gospel. There is no other gospel of grace of Christ.
Conspicuous by its absence is Paul’s usual expression of thanksgiving to God for his readers. Instead he vented his astonishment and anger over the Galatians’ defection. When compared with the opening of 1 Corinthians this is even more striking, for despite the Corinthians’ deep moral defection Paul nonetheless expressed commendation. But here in the face of theological departure he did not express thanks, thus emphasizing the more serious nature of doctrinal apostasy.
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (2:590). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Paul is stunned by their
I. Desertion!, v.6, 7
A. Their desertion from God- the one who called them
I am stunned that you have so quickly switched from the ONe who called you by grace of CHrist to a completely different Gospel
thaumazo- amazed, wonder, awed, surprise at something reprehensible, Mark 6:6 Jesus surprised at their unbelief; John 4:27 the disciples marvelling that Jesus spoke with a Samaritan woman.
quickly- rashly
metatithesthe- turn away, remove, to transfer from one to another, to desert from one side to another, to change parties.
Present tense- they were still in the process, they had not fully and completely turned yet.
IN classical greek it was used of a turncoat, desertion or revolt.
The Mayor of NYC Bloomberg switched from Democrat to Republican and ran for Mayor. Now he has switched to independent.
the one who called= God
They were turning away from God Himself not just a system of theology.
B. Their desertion from the message- the grace of Christ
heteros- another of a different kind, class or nature. It is false in doctrine. It is not good news at all. They were embracing a different, false gospel, a gospel of legalism that adds works to faith.
ill. buddhism and Christianity both religions, but different kinds entirely
Which is not another gospel of the same kind. But some are desiring to trouble you by turning the gospel of Christ into something else.
allos- another of the same kind
Arabian horse and Quarter horse both equines/horses but different kinds of horses.
cf. 1 Cor. 15:40, 41 as another illustration of the differences between the two words.
II. Devotion!, v.7
Their devotion to a false gospel.
tarasso- trouble, to cause inward commotion, to take away calmness of mind, to stire up or agitate water, John 5:4; or to trouble the emotions, Matt. 2:3 Herod; or the city leaders Acts 17:8
present tense - they were still troubling them as he writes to them.
metastrepho- to pervert or turn around, to turn one thing into another, like the sun, Acts 2:20; attitude James 4:9 joy to mourning.
It is no gospel at all but a yoke of bondage, a doing away of grace. It is not a message of grace but of good works. having nothing in common with the gospel of the grace of Christ.
III. Anathema!, v.8,9
The false gospel: anathema
But if we or angel from heaven preach to besides what we preached to you let him be cursed.
The strong language here indicates the seriousness to which Paul views this false teaching. The people were confusing the two distinct messages not being able to distinguish the differences.
angel= messenger,
besides - more than against or besides but beyond, as in overstepping a limit. The message of the Judaizers was of an entirely different character.
The if here is a hypothetical case for it is absurd to think that Paul or a messenger from Heaven would preach another gospel.
v.9
As we said before and now I say again, if anyone preaches to besides what you received, let him be cursed.
The if here presents an actual case. The reason Paul is so strongly reacts to this is that someone was actually minimizing the work of the Cross, for if works were necessary for salvation, then the work of Christ was not sufficient, Gal. 2:21. ON top of that, when the way of salvation is confused because of false teaching, then people are in danger of being eternally lost.
They had in fact embraced the true gospel. Paul wants them to hang on to it and add nothing more to it.
IV. His motive challenged, v.10
For Do I now persuade men or God? Or Do I seek to please men? For I now please men, I am not a servant of Christ. If Paul were trying to please men he would have stayed a Pharisee, but he is inclined to please God and Him alone. Now the dynamics of what is expected and how he acts changes. He must do what he does to please the Lord, alone.
Conclusion:
Paul wants them to reject the legalism and hang on to grace. So what he does is to move into his own personal experience demonstrating grace. He will explain salvation by faith later on. but for now he wants you and me to remain fixed on Jesus, salvation by grace through means of faith in Jesus.