Galatians 1:6-10

In his early travels, Paul ‘’founded a series of churches in the Roman province of Galatia. A few years later Paul learned that religious leaders of the old school had come into those churches, called his views and authority into question, and were reintroducing the old ways, herding all these freedom-loving Christians back into the coral of religious rules and regulations. Paul was, of course, furious. He was furious with the old guard for coming in with their strong-arm religous tactics…But he was also furious with the Christians for caving in to the intimidation.’’ Eugene Peterson: ‘Introduction to Galatians.’

In this letter Paul ‘gets down to brass tacks’ straight away. The gospel of ‘’grace’’ was at stake and Paul was at pains to defend it. The gloves are off. He is at white heat. He doesn’t spend a lot of time on niceties and pleasantries. He wasn’t a slave to people-pleasing (10). The Galatians might not like his approach. Some people might like him less for his frankness. But that wasn’t the issue for him. He remembered whose servant he was and concentrated on pleasing Him. Desperate times can require desperate measures. He doesn’t even commend them for anything (contrary to his normal pattern). He gets straight to the point: ‘’I can’t believe your fickleness – how easily you have turned traitor to him who called you by the grace of Christ by embracing a variant message! It is not a minor variation, you know; it is completely other, an alien message, a no-message, a lie about God. Those who are provoking this agitation among you are turning the Message of Christ on its head.’’ The Message. Paul actually uses the language of military desertion in (6). He was facing a grave situation, and urgently needed to address it. It wasn’t simply a case of abandoning the teaching of the gospel, but the Person of the gospel: ‘’the one’’ (6) who is at the heart and centre of the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the embodiment of the ‘good news’ (See also 5:4)

This is the second mention of ‘’grace’’ in just a few verses (6; see also 3). It is the key theme of Galatians. We are not saved by God’s grace plus anything, but by grace alone, through faith. The ‘Judaizers’ who regularly dogged Paul’s steps, were teaching that in order to be saved you must believe in Jesus and be circumcised. If someone ‘perverts’ (7) the ‘’gospel of Christ’’, changing its truth and meaning, they create a ‘’different gospel,’’ (6). Such a man-made ‘gospel’ is ‘’no gospel at all’’ (7). It is bad news not good news and it creates ‘’confusion’’ (7). I was talking with someone recently about the confusion that must exist in our nation because there is no clear note of truth sounded from the traditional churches. While some churches preach the gospel uncompromisingly, and we thank God for them, others spoon out poisonous deviations that can ‘kill’ people spiritually. It’s not politically correct to say this, but error destroys people. We have a responsibility to point it out and resist it and do all we can do correct it.

Truth matters! (8, 9). No-one can read and understand Galatians and think that it doesn’t. Paul said, ‘Even if an angel from heaven should stand in your pulpit and preach a gospel other than the one you heard from us ‘’let him be eternally condemned!’’ This is an incredibly strong statement, and Paul uses it twice. It refers to God’s own curse. ‘’All readers of this letter are confronted with matters that affect their eternal destiny.’’ Moises Silva, ‘New Bible Commentary, p.1209.

‘’The gospel is neither a discussion nor a debate. It is an announcement.’’ Paul S. Rees.

Prayer: Help me Lord to always stay true to truth, as truth is true to you.