ABC’S OF THE GOSPEL FIGHT
Text: Galatians 1:6-10
Scripture
Reading : II Corinthians 11:1-6
1. “The Jews say: ‘Uzair is the son of Allah;’ and the Christians say: ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah;’ these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!” (Al-Quran Surah 009.30)
2. “And their saying: ‘Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa, son of Marium, the apostle of Allah;’ and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are not only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure.” (Al-Quran Surah 004-157)
3. There are other so-called gospels out there that we must be aware of and defend the truth against
4. Read Text
5. Paul sees a similar danger creeping into the church that meets in and warns them, and us, that something must be done to protect the sanctity of the Body of Christ from erroneous doctrines that pervert the truth and lead people astray
6. The Gospel was and is in constant battle with forces of evil in the form of false teachers
7. Paul shares the ABC’s of this battle with us in the verses under consideration for today:
a. Amazement
b.
Battle
c. Condemnation
8. Paul is not sitting still in the face of the battle being waged against the precious Gospel of Christ, he is pressing the fight aggressively to defend God’s Holy Word
TRANSITION: Look at his:
I. Amazement
A. He says, “I am amazed…” (V. 6)
1. The KJV has “marvel” the ASV says “am astonished”
2. It was an absolute shock to Paul that they were deserting Him who called them by Grace in Christ
3. More than being taken aback, he is absolutely dumbfounded by the events occurring in
4. To Paul this was just unbelievable
B. Paul knew the power of the Gospel of Christ
1. Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
a. There is immense power in the words God left for us to learn
b. The power of the creative force of the universe is all placed into this book for our learning
2. He speaks of that power in II Corinthians 10:4-5
a. The knowledge of Christ is powerful enough to bring down strongholds
b. His knowledge is the might of the world and nothing can stand against it
3. Romans 8:35-38 teaches us that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord
C. You see, Paul really believed that and so it amazed him when people let something else influence them away from Christ
1. Do we have the same level of astonishment when people fall away from grace?
a. Maybe it is because we do not have the same belief that Paul had
b. He knew of the power of the Gospel and was shocked when others left it
2. His aim was high in reference to others because of his faith in the power of the word of God
a. What do you expect when you talk to others?
b. Do you believe the Gospel is able to change them?
c. When you teach others you should expect the words of the Lord to make a difference
d. Aim high, just at Paul did
e. When you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it
TRANSITION: He was amazed at them, not at their fight because of the constant:
II.
Battle
A. The battle is against The Gospel and simply a gospel
1. The epic battle line drawn
2. The truth vs. falsehood
a. The idea is that there can only be one true Gospel
b. It is literally an either/or situation
c. Many say that this is an impossible situation, that there is not just one answer but a combination can suffice
d. But Paul here affirms that only one is going to do
B. In verse 6 he calls the falsehood a different gospel they are running to and in verse 7 he says that it really is not another gospel
1. By saying that it is not another gospel he is not saying that they are the same thing
a. He is saying that the other message is not the gospel
b. The gospel is the good news of God’s truth for man
c. And if it is something other than that truth then it is not the gospel of Christ
d. And therefore is not good news at all
2. Follow Paul’s progression in this discussion
a. He says that they followed a different gospel in V. 6
i. “Different” here is the word heteros
ii. The same as heterosexual, or of other gender
iii. It means of a different type or kind
iv. They followed a “gospel” of a different nature than that of Christ
b. He calls it in verse 7 “not another gospel”
i. He uses allos in this verse
ii. Allos means another of the same nature
iii. So the different gospel they followed was not of the same nature as the one that Jesus Christ left here for man
C. The battle is between man’s gospel and God’s Gospel
1. The Proverbist tells us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…” (Proverbs 3:5)
2. Jesus says, “In vain they do worship me teaching for doctrines the precepts of men.” (Matthew 15:9)
a. Men substitute their own teachings for that of Christ
b. And they act in vain in the battle
3. Because Jesus says in John 16:33, “I have overcome the world.”
4. And John says that our faith in Christ is the victory that overcomes the world (I John 5:4)
5. We side with the one who has already won the battle when we put our faith in the Gospel of God
6. Therefore if we place our faith in the gospel of men we have sided with the side that has already lost
D. Friends, the word of God is the only way to attain His grace and favor, do not accept any substitute
TRANSITION: Because those other “gospels” bring about:
III. Condemnation
A. Paul says in Vv. 8-9 that the one teaching a doctrine contrary to the Gospel is to be accursed
1. The term accursed literally means set aside for destruction
2. As Christians we are sanctified, that means set aside for salvation
3. The complete opposite of that is the one who is a false teacher and is set aside for destruction
B. And it does not matter who that person is
1. If it is Paul himself then he is set aside for destruction if he contradicts God’s word with his teaching
2. If it is even an angel from heaven then he is accursed if he contradicts the teaching of God’s word with his own
3. The man of God was killed by a lion for listening to another prophet instead of God
4. John tells us not to even give a greeting to a false prophet when he is nearby or else we participate in his evil deed (II John 10)
CONCLUSION
1. Not everyone who speaks of things concerning religion is correct (Matthew 7:21ff)
2. But the Gospel of Christ is filled with amazing power
3. Believe in that power enough to expect to see results
a. Paul was shocked when others decided to leave the truth
b. We tend to get shocked when others decide to obey it
c. Teach it and believe in it enough to expect to see results
4. Know that there are others out there teaching error
a. The only way to know the truth from their error is to study God’s word for yourself
b. Then get involved in the battle, take the truth to others and show them God’s divine word
c. Do not wait until falsehood comes to you and try to fend it off
5. Because if you wind up on the wrong side of the gospel battle, condemnation awaits
a. Even wishing a fond farewell to a false teacher is the same as participating with their evil deed
b. And Jesus has already won the battle we are facing
c. His word is victorious
d. Join in with Paul and the other apostles in standing for nothing other than the true word of God written for our learning
6. After all, it provides for us the “way the truth and the life” and the only passage to the Father is through the word left for us by Jesus Christ
INVITATION
The word must dwell in you if you hope to dwell with Him. If it does not then place it there. If you have never become a Christian become one now If you have drifted away from the Word that makes us free come home We will help you in whatever way you allow as we stand and sing |