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6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! (Galatians 1:6-9)
One of the many results of the Fall of Mankind is: we look to define ourselves by comparing ourselves to others. The Jews of the Old and New Testaments used the gift of the Law to socially stiff arm the Gentiles. Instead of following the Law as a way of being defined by God and pointing others to Him, they used it legalistically.
The Jews created a caste system even in their own culture. Those who followed the Law the closest were treated as true believers and those who didn’t obey the Law as well were treated as less than. By the time Jesus came on the scene, certain people had become professionals at this. These were the Pharisees of Jesus' day.
When Jesus came on the scene, He changed everything. He didn’t take notice of the “in” group. In fact, he criticized them. And, He wasn’t bothered by the “out” group. In fact, He genuinely love them. Jesus redefined life and He offered all mankind eternal life, including the Gentiles.
This background helps us understand what was going wrong in the Galatian churches. Jews and Gentiles were worshiping together as a result of responding to the free gift of eternal life from Jesus Christ.
But after Paul left, someone else came in to teach Jesus' death and resurrection wasn't enough to make us right with God. They taught Jesus plus good works equals salvation. This is why Paul wrote this letter ... to address this problem.
In today's text, the main idea is: there is only one true gospel. In v.6, the Apostle Paul says that he is astonished or shocked or perplexed that the Galatians were turning away to a “different gospel.” The mind blowing part of their departure is they were turning away from the One who is Jesus Christ, the One who laid down His life for them.
The “different gospel” in the churches of Galatia was not a religion from a foreign place, it was a close counterfeit to the real thing. Those in v.7 who were perverting or reversing the gospel were professing Christians. They reverse the order from grace changes us to obey in order to get grace. They were deforming that which reforms us. These distorters were probably from the church in Jerusalem.
While the church in Galatia was turning to a different gospel, they were turning away from the grace of God. In v.8-9, Paul writes, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!"
These believers were turning away from the One who was abandoned by His father, the one who demonstrated His love for them while they were His enemies. They had lost sight of the fact that Christianity does not overestimate human goodness nor does it underestimate human need. No it screams God came to our rescue when we were at our worst.
The word repeated here for "cursed" is "anathema" in the Greek describes us as doomed to eternal punishment. Paul is announcing a terrifying prospect because of the torment and never ending permanence.
Someone once said, "grace can only be received with open hands." It is the fallen human nature that causes us to revert to the idea that I have to earn God's favor, but this is not correct theology. In the book of Galatians, Paul sets out to correct this.
