Is There Another Gospel?
Is There Another Gospel?
Dr. J. Mike Minnix, Editor, www.pastorlife.com
Introduction
As Paul begins his letter to the Galatians, he seems to be whipped into a frenzy of irritation. The issue in these opening words is the Gospel of our Lord. The Galatians were being led astray by what Paul called, "another gospel." I must admit that the modern church is also being led astray by believing that there is another gospel - a gospel message of salvation available through a path other than through our Lord Jesus Christ alone.
To be sure, there are some false gospels out there but you can be assured that they are false, empty and Satanic. In fact, it has been reported in these modern days that a great number of so-called professing Christians believe that people who do not believe in Jesus Christ may get to heaven by merely adhering to a set of beliefs. This is in direct contradiction to the teaching of our Lord.
In John 14:1-6 we read, "'1 Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.' 5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, ëI am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"(NKJV)
There is no doubt that Jesus taught that He is the only way to forgiveness of sin, the single means to the new birth, and the exclusive door to eternal life. Jesus stated clearly that, "No one comes to the Father except through me."
Jesus began the words of John 14 by stating that He was telling the truth - He said, "If it were not true, I would have told you." Of course we know that Jesus is the truth and that He never said anything that was not true. Yet some people who claim to know Christ today have somehow been persuaded, I suppose through political correctness, that they do not have to believe or profess that Jesus, exclusively, is the "only way" to salvation. They are embracing "another gospel" - a false gospel that is filled with lies and defames the nature and work of our Lord.
When Paul saw in his day that some Galatian Christians were committing the error of leaving the true Gospel, it was like striking a match in his heart. He flamed up inside and said that anyone who would preach any gospel other than the Gospel of Christ is accursed. We may not like the language in this text, but we must either reject the entire Gospel or accept ALL of the Gospel. In other words, we can't have it both ways. Either Jesus is the only way or He is not the way at all. Every true believer knows that Christ alone offers eternal life and salvation.
Now, how did the false teachers in Galatia attempt to lead the people away from the true Gospel? They did so by attacking Paul's authority. When Paul heard this, he sat down with pen in hand to write what we can say is the most vehement, fervent, intense letter he penned in the New Testament. It is true that Paul defended his apostleship in this letter, but that was not his main purpose. In fact, in an antithetical move Paul postulated that it was not his apostleship which verified the gospel, but rather it was true Gospel of Christ that verified his apostleship! Beneath all this there were some things that motivated Paul to become a faithful servant for God in the face of people who were embracing another - false - gospel. The elements that moved him to be stirred to action and excitement for Christ, can do the same for us today - if we will apply them.
We need Christians today who are faithful and true to Jesus. A Christian - a true Christian - must stand for the true Gospel. I don't mean that our spirit is to be arrogant, or that we are to act in anger toward others, but we must STAND for Christ or we will FALL FOR ANYTHING!
Now, let's read Galatians 1:1-10
"Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), 2 and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert[a] the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be [b]accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ."
Why was Paul so adament regarding the true gospel? Look first at ...
I. The Magnanimous Nature of Calvary
Paul recalls the cross in this letter. Dear friends, if the Cross of Christ is not a divine sacrifice for sins, there is no sacrifice for sins. In that case, we are all lost.
Look at Galatians 2:21, "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (NKJV)
Paul goes on to point out that no one can be justified before God through the Law. That is, no one ever becomes right in the eyes of God through doing good things. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not, "Do," but rather the Gospel of Jesus is, "Done." Why? The work of salvation is "done" because Christ paid it all. He gave His perfect life for imperfect sinners like us that we might be made right in the eyes of God. There is nothin I can do to be made right with God. I must accept what Jesus has done for me, and that alone makes me right with God.
Note ...
A. The Enormous Sacrifice
What a sacrifice Jesus made for us. Why did Jesus come to this earthquake and suffer the death of the Cross, unless it was a requirement for our sins? Paul knew and spoke often of the terrible price Jesus paid for our iniquities. If a person could get to heaven by some circuitous route that did not involve the death of our Lord, then the cross of Jesus would not be necessary. When anyone says that a person can go to heaven by some "dole" other than Jesus, that person is belittling the awful death our precious Lord endured for our sins. Shame on anyone who would dishonor His enormous sacrifice for sin. No wonder Paul was so upset as he wrote this letter to the Galatian Church.
We see also ...
B. The Empty Sepulcher
In the first verse of Galatians, Paul mentions that Jesus was raised from the dead. He is pointing out that only did Jesus die for our sins but that Jesus rose from the dead. He is our risen Lord.
Let us be sure of this, we are not serving a set of beliefs, a religious denomination, a cultural religious experience or some code of ethics. Christians, we serve a LIVING LORD! He is risen. He alone can justify us before God.
- Christianity is not a religion; Christianity is a relationship.
- We come to Christ, He redeems us
- We do not stand before Father God alone; Jesus stands with us.
The empty tomb testifies that our faith is not in some religious leader but in a risen Lord. Ethics and false beliefs can never take the place of God's Son who died, rose and is now representing us before the Father in heaven.
Secondly, note the ...
II. Magnificent Nature of our Calling
How did we come into the salvation we possess? God spoke to us through the Holy Spirit and His Word, through these He called us to His Son. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You and I are not saved because we turn over new leaf or decide to live better lives. We were called by the Spirit of God to accept the Son of God that we might be made right with the Almighty God thourgh Christ. It is not our work, it is HIS work.
We are ....
A. Called Into Something
Paul points out that he was called believers into something, for he (Paul) was called into the Christian faith "through Christ." He also points out that he was called into a family of "brothers" in Christ. In other words, being a Christian means being born again into a spiritual family. Salvation is not found through some higher moral lifestyle. Sure, those who are saved are called to live in a biblical moral manner but that moral lifestyle comes after we are saved and not as a means of being saved. After all, if you could be saved through a moral code, whose standard would you follow? No one has ever kept God's standard. Look at Romans 3:23 - we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. So, how do you get rid of your sin? If you began to live right this very day, and even if you could live perfectly (which no one can), what can you do about your past sins? Nothing. You need a Savior - you must have Someone to pay for your sins and that is what Christ did. We are called to Him that we might be forgiven and redeemed.
You are called by God through the Spirit to come to Christ. Don't ever let anyone intimidate you into accepting anything less than Christ and Christ alone.
Also, we see that we are ...
B. Called For Something
You were not just called "into" something, you were called "for" something. Paul points out that he was called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. We are all called to serve our Lord. We are called to know the Lord, have eternal life, and to tell others about Him.
To water down the message of Jesus and offer people some false, dead-end road to heaven, is to be a traitor to Christ. Look at Matthew 28:18-20. Dear Christian, the world will seek to intimidate you and embarrass you into weakening your message regarding the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus alone. Remember, that the Cross is foolishness to those who do not believe. They will try to make you feel foolish, but you are only foolish when you don't take a stand for Jesus. HE IS THE ONLY WAY. He called you to Himself. He will call others through our testimony if we will but be true to Him and His Gospel.
Then, note that we are ...
C. Called From Something
Look at Galatians 1:4. He has called us from "this present evil world." Now listen carefully to what this verse says. Jesus came to die at Calvary to "deliver" us from this evil world. You can't deliver yourself from evil.
In the Lord's Prayer we are taught by our Lord to pray for God to "deliver" us from evil. Why pray for God to enable you to do something you can do for yourself? You cannot deliver yourself through good works, religious activities, kind acts, sacred rituals, etc. Christ and Christ alone is the Savior of the human soul. He called us out of our sins and into His glorious salvation. He takes out of the kingdom od darkness and places us in the kingdom of light. He changes our behavior and our eternal home.
Then, see ...
III. The Magnified Conclusion
I want to place a magnifying glass over two important conclusions that Paul makes in our text.
A. The Wonderful Affirmation
"Glory!" Amen. Paul speaks of the glory that is rightly due to our Lord because of all that He has done for us. What glory is there in denying the Gospel of Jesus? Yet, that is what some of the Galatians were doing. They had begun to accept other ways of being made right with God besides the Cross and resurrection of Jesus. Paul "shouts" a "glory" for our Lord to remind his readers them that all the glory belongs to Jesus.
I once had a church member who loved the word "glory." Whenever someone sang a song in one of our services that lifted up Jesus, he would say loudly, "Well, glory!" It did not matter if more than a thousand people were in that worship service, he would shout, "Well, glory." In the midst of a sermon, when he heard something that reminded him of how great Jesus really is, he would shout, "Well, glory!"
Friends, Jesus is worthy of glory and praise! Our Heavenly Father deserves for us to give Him glory. How sad it is when we try to take the glory from Him and give it to ourselves or others by claiming that we can be right with God without the Savior. May God have mercy on us if we ever do that.
B. The Woeful Astonishment
Paul was astonished that anyone would ever "leave this gospel," for "another gospel." Are you astonished by this? It is happening today just as it did in Galatia many years ago. The world is trying to pressure us into a corner by making us sound "narrow." That is okay! Jesus said the way is narrow that leads to eternal life.
Larry King, a former talk-show television host, had a Christian leader on his program one night and he asked him this question, "Do you believe that Jews will go to hell if they don't accept Jesus?"
The leader said, "It is not my duty to say who will go to hell. But I will turn to a Jew to answer your question. Jesus was a Jew. And, Jesus said that no one could come to God, and to the heavenly home, without coming through Him, without coming through Christ."
Larry King went on to press the Christian leader and tried to make him look evil and hateful. Dear friends, don't expect less from the world. There is one way to an eternal relationship with God and that is through Christ alone. Those are not my words. Those are the words of Christ.
The Lord called His redeemed people the "Light of the World." We can only give forth light that comes from Christ. We have no light of our own. Just as the moon can only reflect the light given by the sun, we can only reflect light from the Son of God. He is the Light of the Word and He lights every man and woman who believes in Him as Savior. We cannot light the world with the Gospel if we have a smoldering faith and a lukewarm heart.
Why are we not more on fire for Him? Note with me three things which set Paul on fire as he wrote this letter.
Conclusion
I believe you will discover, as you study the New Testament, that three things set Paul on fire - that "got his dander up!" These were his concerns.
A. The Sinner Without Grace
Paul got close enough to the Lord to have the heart of the Lord. Paul grieved to think of a sinner dying without the grace that Jesus offered. We need that same passion today. I promise you that most Christians are much more upset if the line is too long at the restaurant after the Sunday morning service than they are that no one was saved in that service. We need a heart of love for Jesus and a heart of devotion to stand true to Him.
B. The Saved Without Growth
Paul was disturbed to see so many Christians we were still babies in the Lord, even after months or years of being saved. He spoke often of growing in the Lord. It is sad to think that some who claim Christ can so easily be persuaded that there is another way to heaven other than Christ.
C. The Savior Without Glory
This is what troubled Paul most as he penned the letter to the Galatians. He was troubled that the Savior was not being given the glory that He was due. Oh, dear Christian, let us not rob Christ of His glory. He deserves our faithful testimony regarding the fact that He is not just "a way" to eternal life but that He is "the Way." He is the "only Way."
I once served as a chaplain for the fire department in the city where my church was located. I learned that three things are necessary for combustion to take place.
First, one must have something that will burn.
Second, one must have air.
Third, one must have a spark or source to ignite the fire.
As Christians we have three things in our lives that can create a fire of devotion to Christ.
First, we must have a heart of love for Jesus. We must never forget what He did for us at Calvary.
Second, let's have a desire to see every Christian grow and to see growth in our own lives for Christ.
Lastly, let's have a deep compassion for those who do not know the Lord.
If these things are real in our lives, a fire will be kindled in us and that fire can explode in a spiritual revival we so desperately need.
There is no other gospel - no other name - whereby one can be saved - no name but the name of JESUS!