No Other Gospel

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed." --Galatians 1:6-9

Looks like the church in Galacia was believing a false Gospel.

You can bet Paul's apostolic heresy detector is going off like crazy when he hears this. He uses very strong language and repeats that strong language for emphasis. "Let him be accursed," he says.

I read this passage this morning in my quiet time. It reminded me of the message preached at my church last Sunday. We had the privilege of hearing Dr. Al Mohler speak on The Da Vinci Code. He said this:

"Friends, what we have on our hands here is another in the long line of false gospels."

False gospels...from Galacia to the Da Vinci Code, the church has been presented with them. What's the big deal about them? What was Paul so riled up about? What's the church all in a stir over with the Da Vinci Code movie days away from release? I'll tell you what the big deal is. A false gospel claims a different means of salvation than Jesus Christ and his atoning death. Pretty simple - but with dire consequences. The true Gospel leads to eternal life. A false gospel leads to eternal death. You've heard of this pair before: heaven and hell respectively. If the people who believe false gospels only knew how I pray for them to recognize the truth of the authentic Gospel…

We all had a false gospel at some point, something we like better than the truth, something that suited our preferences, personality, or lifestyle better. No one wants to hear that there is a holy God presently reigning in heaven, and he does lay claim to their life, and he will judge them for every word and action. Even when all this is followed with that same God having created a way to become his own child, thus abolishing the fear and consequences of that final judgment, people still don't want to accept it.

Well, this isn’t a new attitude, just like false gospels aren’t a new thing:

"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." --2 Timothy 4:3-4

This is Paul again, writing to Timothy, his apprentice. He’s warning Tim that there will be a time when people will tailor make their own gospel and thus wander away from the truth – literally saying they’ll believe whatever scratches their itch. From where I sit, Paul was a pretty apt guy.

Friends, the truth is out there, and it isn’t hidden. It’s a little hard to swallow at first – but isn’t that usually how the truth is? I’d rather have it all up front than be surprised later – because this surprise is eternal. Ask yourself if you’ve given the true Gospel of Jesus Christ enough consideration to dismiss it with confidence. If you have even the slightest glimmer of doubt in your heart, explore it further. You’ll be glad you did.