A Different Gospel Is No Gospel At All

Galatians 1:6 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.

            I think we have all been misunderstood or at the very least misquoted. My communications professor in college used to always say, “It is not so important what you say, but what the other person hears.” We have to be so careful that we clearly communicate with people. However, there are times when we say exactly what we mean, but the other person simply twists our words to fit their own thoughts, convictions, etc. In Galatians Paul is combating the latter. The Galatians have clearly heard the gospel, but they have begun to twist the truth of the gospel. They have begun buying into another gospel. Paul sets out to defend the true gospel.

           

            Sometimes I feel like I should change my name to Joseph from Galatia. If I am not careful I too will take off to a different gospel… that is no gospel at all. I see two prominent pseudo gospels that crop up if we are not careful.  On the one hand we have legalism. On the other hand we have licentiousness. Both of these are equally bankrupt.  However, if we are not careful we will twist the truth of the gospel into one of them.

            The sad truth is that churches are filled with people who cling to legalism and who have never experienced the gospel. Many people are brought up thinking that if they are a “good person” then God will accept them. They think if they can do more good than bad then they will be okay. Many world religions teach variations of this. However, Scripture teaches us that we are totally and completely sinful to our cores. Our best deeds are “filthy rags” to God. We can never work our way to God. That is one type of legalism.

There is another type of legalism. This type of legalism would say that it is “by grace” that we are saved, but it is by our own works that we are sanctified. Many people have been taught that Jesus saves us, but then we better get to work if we want God to accept us. This is not the gospel! The gospel shows us that we are completely justified by Christ (Rom. 8:1). This shows us that our standing with God is not based on what we can do, but what Christ has done. Many people in church will spend a lifetime trying to please God, never knowing that they are already accepted if they have Christ!

The great shortcoming of legalism is that it teaches the imperatives (what we should do) of Scripture without the indicatives of Scripture! For example, legalism would tell you that Galatians 5 teaches that we should be more loving, or more kind and that the way we achieve that is by trying harder to do those things. However, what Paul is actually telling us is that if we “walk in the Spirit” we will bear the fruit of the Spirit. The text is not teaching us to “try harder.” The text is actually teaching us that through the gospel and the work of the Spirit HE will transform us and HE will cause us to truly bear fruit. This fruit is not mustered up out of our own volition, but rather it comes from the transforming nature of the Spirit inside us! So it is clear to see that many are trapped in legalism. There is no joy in that place. There is only fear and despair. That is not the gospel!

            An equally sad truth exists both inside and outside the church. There are some who think the gospel teaches licentiousness. These people think that the gospel saves us from hell, but what we do here on earth doesn’t matter (God will forgive us anyway). This is what many call “fire insurance.” A person says a prayer at summer camp for example, and then they go on with their life as if nothing happened. This is terribly sad because many people assume that they are saved when they are in fact lost. Paul dealt with this in Galatians. People wanted the riches of God, but they did not want God. This is no gospel at all. This still leaves people broken and cursed.

            The truth of the gospel is neither legalism nor licentiousness. However, if we are not careful we will go too far in one direction or another. We will either think that our standing with God is based solely on our works or we may think that we can simply do whatever we want. Both of these are bankrupt, because both of them make much of us and make nothing of Christ! Legalism and licentiousness are fueled by selfish ambition. They are broken. We need the gospel! The gospel frees us from the chains of legalism and the prison of licentiousness. The gospel makes much of Jesus and in the process we are transformed! So today let’s make much of Jesus and His gospel. Legalism and licentiousness are pseudo gospels, which are truly no gospels at all! Let’s cling to the truth of the gospel!