DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- ANOTHER GOSPEL OR NO OTHER GOSPEL

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – ANOTHER GOSPEL OR NO OTHER GOSPEL?

"I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ." (Galatians 1:6-7)

The believers in the churches of Galatia had received the Gospel and put their faith in it. However, there were some who were perverting the Gospel of grace that Paul preached, saying that they had to obey the Old Testament law in order to be saved. This letter to the Galatians was written to correct this heresy.

Is there more than one Gospel? If so, which one is correct? There is only one Gospel. It is the Gospel of grace. This is emphasized in the greeting of this letter: "Grace to you" (vs. 3). This Gospel of grace is based on the fact that Jesus gave Himself for our sins (vs. 4). When He died on the cross, He paid the total price to purchase our salvation, and there is nothing we can add to it. We can only receive it by faith.

There is no other Gospel. Anything else is spurious. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

So if anyone tries to tell us of another way to be saved, no matter how good a preacher he is, or even if he claims to be an angel or messenger from heaven, Paul said, "Let him be accursed" (vss. 8-9). The Greek word for "accursed is "anathema," someone who is doomed. To emphasize the gravity and importance of this curse, Paul says it two times. He repeats himself – "Again, I say, let him be accursed....."

It is no small thing to mess with God's revealed plan of salvation. There may be differences between true believers regarding peripheral doctrine, but there can be no straying from the Gospel of Grace: Christ died for our sins, and we receive the gift of salvation by placing our faith in that sacrifice. There is no other Gospel.

Love, Dad