Sermon: No Other Gospel

Alright, lemme take a moment and pray for us before we open God's word together this morning.

Our Father, we quiet our hearts and our spirits before you this morning and we pray that you would speak to us. We pray that this word that is read and that is preached, that it would indeed be living and active. It would be sharper than any two edged sword that it would pierce each of us as we have need that we would find that we have heard from our Father in heaven.

Christ, we pray that even now as you have promised, that you would intercede on our behalf before the Father, the Spirit that you would work in us and you would work among us and work through us. Pray that you would help us to be attentive to your voice, our triune God, speak to us, we pray in Christ. Holy name, amen. Galatians one verse six through 10, this is a holy er, sufficient word of God.

I'm 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 preach to you, let him be cursed 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 cursed for. Am I now seeking the approval of man or of God or am I trying to please man, if I were still trying

to please man, I would not be servant of Christ? Well, the grass withers and the flower fades, the word of God is forever. Thanks be to God. Amen.

This letter is quite an interesting letter in all the corpus of the Pauline letters that we have in the New Testament, in that in Paul's letters as he writes them, we have them all pretty much begin the same way that we saw last week. They begin with an introduction, a greeting from the Apostle Paul, and then in every letter besides this one, he immediately goes into some kind of thanksgiving thanking God for them or thanking God for the work

that he sees happening in them. But here in Galatians, he doesn't do that. Paul immediately kind of after the greeting, he, he just kind of erupts and he erupts because he has received news about these Galatians and it has moved into such sorrow and it's moved into such disappointment and such concern for them that he kind of erupts. And he says at the very outset, I am astonished a very strong word, astonished. I think maybe I jaw dropped and it hit the floor.

Astonished. What is he astonished by? What is it that he hears about them that he is so astonished by? Well, he says how quickly they're aban abandoning the gospel they recently received. You remember Paul had gone through this region and he had preached to these Galatians and if you go to the book of Acts, you will see that there was a great response to his preaching. Many, he came to saving faith. They willingly and rejoicing received what he was preaching this gospel

that he was proclaiming. And after they had received it with such joy, now they've just kind of, they, they've cast it aside. They've thrown it off into the corner, seen this maybe a, a child maybe on their birthday, they're opening a gift and that little girl, she gets that baby doll that she's always wanted and then she's, it's, it costs a lot of money to get it and, and it is a costly possession and it is something she's so desired

and now she's carrying it around and she won't let it go. And, but then the next present comes, she opens it up and ah, she receives it with even more excitement. But this thing was bought at the dollar store and off goes the baby into the corner. He, he's saying, you received it with, with such joy now you're treating it like it's nothing. Here's the context. After Paul left Galacia, what today is modern Turkey and he left that area after his missionary journey there.

And so many of them had received this gospel after he left. There were people that came in, new teachers, there were Jewish Christians that came up from Jerusalem. They were Judaizers, they were saying to those that were there, they were saying, look, there there is more that you need than the gospel that Christ that that Paul offered to you. It's good that you've received that, but it's not actually a free offer of grace

as Paul mentioned it. And they have credentials. They're Jews, Jews who have converted to Christ, they have believed in the God of the Bible and they come along saying, yes, Paul gave you the gospel, but there is more. Didn't you know the people of God? They, they've always recognized God's covenant by being circumcised. And not only that, but they have always obeyed the law.

And so you must first be circumcised and you must first be a adherent to the law. And then that grace of God, which Paul spoke about then it's yours,

Galatians, they've tossed aside the gospel that wonderfully beautifully given gift that costs so much for, for this

may uh, be astonished like Paul was astonished. And you say, well, who would cast aside the gospel? Who would turn away a gift like that? Maybe that was just an anomaly. Maybe that was just something that hmm, happened in glacier in that ancient world in the very beginning of the church. But it's not an anomaly. It happens over and over and over again. And it didn't just happen in that church, it happens in this church.

So let's see, as we look at the text, maybe test our own hearts this morning and see what maybe we each personally have to be reminded of it. It's a good reminder that the great threat of the church is not opposition to the gospel outside the church. It is a false gospel that arises inside the church. It, it's much more subtle but it's much more treacherous. It consumes people first. Turning from the gospel is desertion of God.

Turning from the gospel is desertion of God. Paul does it mince words. He, he says at the very beginning, right outta the box, he says, you are deserting God the Father. His warning comes so quickly because the circumstances are so dire that the threat is so great. They are in the process. He says, notice he says that not that they have deserted God, but that they are deserting God, that is the int sealed. They've embarked upon a, an awful path, a deadly path,

but they haven't yet sealed their fate, if you will. And so he is warning them you're deserting God And that word deserting, it's a good word because when you and I hear the word deserting, we immediately think of soldiers who leave the army that they are in and they join the other army on the battlefield and and that's very much what Paul is saying here is you're betraying God, you're deserting and they're on very dangerous groan.

How are they quickly deserting the God the Father? He says verse six, by churning to a different gospel, he makes it clear they were extended the grace of Christ that that was extended to you. Gospel simply means good news. And he's saying, this is the good news. We, we preach to you the good news. The gospel is Christ, that God the fathers sent God the Son into the world, that God the son became flesh and that God the Son died for sinners

and was raised on the third day. This is the grace that has been extended to you. It's Christ.

It's that simple. And he's telling them, and he's telling us, when you turn from the simple gospel grace in Christ, we desert God. So let's try and be clear about this. To have God, you must have Christ.

If you don't have Christ, you don't have God. It's not possible. As Paul says in another book, there is only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. There's no other mediator. It's impossible to come to God. It's impossible to even enjoy God apart from this one mediator apart from Christ, God is not our father. He's our enemy apart from Christ, God is not your friend, he is not your protector, he is not your defender.

But in Christ, he's our father, he's our provider, he's our fortress. He's our friend in Christ.

To reject Christ is to reject God, but to embrace Christ is to have God. Second, there is no other gospel. There is no other gospel. Now what matter what people say or what they argue that there is no other good news. Not like this eternally good news. There's nothing like this,

but all will present their teaching as good news. You'll notice the enemies of the gospel, they seldom, if ever fly the flag of being opposed to the gospel. They don't do that. They almost always use the same terms. They almost always use the same phrases and they almost always call what they are teaching the gospel. This is what you need. This is good news.

Most obvious example that in our cultural context, it's a low hanging fruit. Pretty easy to say, ah, see it there. It's the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They talk of Christ, but it's not the Christ of the Bible. They talk of grace, but it's not grace. They talk of God, but it is not the God of the scriptures.

But it can be much closer than just a Mormon showing up on your doorstep. Can happen in the church happen here. It's happening in the churches that Paul helped to begin our adversary. He, he's the father of lies and he, he is crafty. He, he doesn't deal often with the blatant where ah, it's just so easy. Boom. That's so different. No, he just makes a subtle change. Again, he, he just makes it a degree off. Just have a little bit of the wrong tincture,

just likes to distort it a little as Paul says here. 'cause a little distortion of that which is pure and right makes it filthy and it makes it wrong.

Let's say we were baking a cake and we go and we get out the recipe for the cake and ah, there it is. Get out my, we get out our eggs and we get out our milk and we get out our flour and we get out, ah, let's make it a chocolate cake. We get out the cocoa powder, we get out the butter, you realize, ah, I forgot the sugar. And so you run to the pantry and you get those white crystals in that container and bring 'em out and you start dumping it in four cups it

calls for and someone says, ah, stop. It's not sugar that's sold. Ah, it looks like sugar. We'll call it sugar, you can call it by the same name. But it is drastically different and it ceases to be the thing that it is. It's no longer a cake. These false teachers, they don't seem to be adding much. It's not much. They're not really messing with grace and the gospel that much from what we'll see later in the book. All they're doing is saying, look, you need

to be circumcised. You, you need to obey. The feast stays in the calendar that the Jews have always obeyed that that's it. It's really not that much. Isn't it just a small thing? Isn't it a small thing that could actually be helpful. They just added a little law, but by adding a little law, it's no longer grace. It's not grace.

Remember when he said in verse six, he said, God called you in the grace of Christ. It, it's just a little law ceases to be grace.

If I offered you a slice of cake with just a little bit of gasoline in it, you wouldn't want to take a bite

just as you wouldn't want to take a bite of perverted cake. So you don't want to swallow a perverted gospel.

Hendrickson said it this way, he said A beverage may be very healthful and refreshing, but when a drop of poison is added to it, it becomes deadly. Grace with a touch of law is deadly kills.

Now most false teachers in the church, almost without fail, they think they're actually helping God's people. It's not like they're, they're aimed at undoing the church or somehow just hate Christ. Usually what happens is they just, that they just make a small adjustment. They just make a, a small change because they think that somehow it will take away a little bit of the offense of the gospel or it will make the gospel

a little more appealing. But as soon as you begin to mess with it, just ah, tune it in just a little bit differently. You've changed it. It's law. It's not grace

when we do that, we think we know better than God and we think we have something pure to offer God in and of ourselves. You remember that account in the Old Testament scriptures that occurs both in one Chronicles 13 and two Samuel six of Za. It's a story that I think undoes a lot of people when they first read it and many ways, rightfully so. Remember, David and his warriors have defeated the Philistines and so 30,000 of them will go, go down

to finally retrieve the Ark of the Covenant. And the Ark of the Covenant by God's law was only to be moved by poles and it was only to be Levites that held the Ark of the Covenant as they moved it. You remember David goes down with his, his warriors and instead of using poles to move the Ark of the Covenant and instead of having the Levites move it, they put it in a cart. It's a new cart. They want to honor the Ark of the Covenant.

They so they get a new cart and put it in that. But God had said that no, it was to be moved by poles and nobody was ever to touch the Ark of the Covenant. You remember that as the Ark of the Covenant is being moved in that cart, that one of the oxes that is pulling the cart stumbles. And when the ark, when the oxen stumbles, the cart gets jostled and when the cart gets jostled, the ark of the covenant becomes dislodged.

And as it becomes dislodged, it begins to tip or it begins to fall. And there is za, he reaches out the brace of the ark of the Covenant touches it,

and instead of the ark of the covenant falling to the ground, God strikes za dead. He falls to the ground.

Say, what? What? What kind of God is that?

That seems awfully harsh for what Za did in humility,

RC Sproul said it well once always stuck with me. When he was talking about that passage, he said, za made the mistake of thinking his heart was more clean than the mud.

I have nothing to offer. God.

My heart is desperately sick apart from Christ.

My life is, is dictated by his word and the grace that he extends in Christ.

I I don't have something to offer him because my hands are unclean. My heart is unclean, my life is unclean. I'm a fallen sinner.

I need grace. It's grace got nothing to offer.

And we add to the gospel, we a high hand thinking that we are something other than sinners. What you started in Paul telling them, you must continue in, you started in Christ, you must continue in Christ.

He makes it clear. In fact, verse seven, not, not that there is a another gospel, they, they're, they're receiving this other teaching as if it's another gospel. He said, look, there, there isn't another gospel. Salvation is tied up with Christ. The gospel is not a, a rare jewel among many. It's the only jewel of salvation. Christ is the only way, the only way to be reconciled to my father is simply with my hands. Nothing I bring and simply to his cross, I cling. That's it.

Just receiving it.

Think through the ages and we could do this all mourning. There is no other gospel n gnosticism, arianism, pianism, morphism, donatism universalism, romanism mysticism, legalism easy believism, the social justice gospel, the prosperity gospel, the self-help gospel, the therapeutic gospel. They are no gospels. There's only one gospel. Jesus. That's it.

Third, thus a preacher bringing any other message is no small danger to your souls. A preacher bringing any other message is no small danger to your souls. Paul wants to make it crystal clear. He repeats what he has said to them before verse nine, as we have said before, this is something we're saying again and again. And he says, even if we, he includes himself, even if we, and he's referencing, no doubt the brothers

that are writing this letter with him, but more than that he's, he's referencing all of the apostolic band. If John or James or Thomas or me preach you a different gospel than that which you received from me, let him be a cursed. Wow, that's strong Paul, that he wants them to know that the stakes are that high. His lives are in the balance. Notice it. It's not the messenger that that is all important. It's the message. It's not his position.

It's not his charisma, it's not his humor, it's not his knowledge. It's not his intellect, it's not his likability. It's not it him. It's the message, not the messenger that is all important. And the message that you need and that I need over and over and over again is Christ. Paul will say, I preach Christ and him crucified. That's what he preached. Just the grace that is in Christ

and he wants to make it even more clear, even if it's not a man, but it's an angel that comes as a messenger. He says in verse eight, and so you aren't confused. This is not a demonic angel. He says, even if it's an angel from heaven, from even if it is an angel from heaven that comes preaching to you a different gospel, let him be cursed. Why? Because even if he comes from heaven, he does not come from God. God has spoken to his messages. Christ.

Right? Or if Hebrew Hebrews, we'll say it this way, right? He begins a whole book this way long ago at many times, and in many ways God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets, but in these last days, he has spoken to us in his son. That's it. Are you trying to add to it? Why are you acting like there is something more that can be done? Something more that is needed? He, he spoke to you in his son. He gave a son

a gospel that Paul preaches, that the Bible proclaims

and I'm here this morning preaching Jesus,

that the Father sent the son, the son who eternally dwelt with him and the son became flesh and that he lived a perfectly righteous life for us. That he was tried and he was beaten and he was condemned for us. That he was hung upon that tree, the cross. And he bled for us that he became sin for us. That he bore the wrath of God the father for us. That he died for us, that he was buried in the ground for us, that he was raised on the third day for us.

And he ascended to the right hand of the Father, who he now intercedes at his right hand forever for us. Been given everything, just receive But I just receive it. But wouldn't it, you just receive it. It's just Christ. Just Christ.

You offer just a few quick applications. First, be an expert of the gospel. Be an expert of the gospel.

I've been told that us federal agents will not study all of the different counterfeit monies. They will just study the US bill because they get to know it so well and want to know it so well that they can immediately identify the counterfeits. They're numerous. You so know the real McCoy that when you see any alternative out there, it just jumps out at you. You want to be such gospel people, you know the gospel so well that you hear anything

that faintly sounds of something else. Counterfeit an expert in the gospel. Second, I wish I'm astounded. We even have to say this, but we have to say this because we are so tempted this way. Second, don't get bored with the gospel. Don't get bored with the gospel

or prone to have the spiritual attention span of a 3-year-old on their birthday casted to the corner.

I forget bored with the gospel. I found over the years that the most mature Christians I know, they are increasingly, increasingly amazed by the gospel.

It's a never ending pursuit for them. They, they want to know more and more of Christ and the more they know of Christ, the more they want to know of Christ.

And I found that the most immature Christians

are those who are no longer amazed by the gospel.

You'll know it because of what they talk about and what seems to animate them.

Now, don't make a mistake. It's almost always something in the Christian faith. It it's one of the parts or loci or one of the practices or one of the, of the convictions of the Christian faith. But it's not Christ they've got, they've mastered that. They're on to the next thing. No, you realize you're gonna spend all of eternity in heaven meditating upon the gospel, and you're going to grow in increasing understandings

of Christ for all of eternity to light in Never allow yourself to become bored with the gospel. Third, recognize wolves and treat them as enemies. Recognize wolves and treat them as enemies. Paul said in verse seven that there are some who trouble you. No doubt these teachers believe they were helping. Here's A, a better, here's a more mature, here's a higher view of the Christian life. And Paul warns these are enemies.

It's right to warn sheep of a wolf in their myths. It seems harsh that he would say, let them be a curse. But sheep are being devoured. Eternal souls are being consumed. And so you don't reason with a wolf. You don't pat a wolf. You, you drive a wolf off to recognize wolves and treat them as enemies. Finally, no sound preaching, no sound preaching.

Notice what Paul identifies as the focus of sound preaching the gospel. He says, if anyone is preaching you to you, a gospel contrary to the one you receive, the essence of preaching for him is the gospel. It's, it's Christ. That's the good news. And to be proclaimed, there's a lot that passes for preaching our day that is not preaching because it's not Christ. When Paul thinks about preaching, his mind immediately links it with the gospel.

We preach Christ and him crucified.

And as he says in these final verses, this is what it means to be faithful to God as a preacher. If he wanted to please men, he would preach differently. But, but he's he's not about popularity. He's about faithfulness. It's not hard to please men, it just isn't. As a speaker, you can watch this just from reflecting over the last few weeks. Think about the Republican national convention or Democratic national Convention.

Every single speaker that stood up was simply seeking to please men. There was nothing, nothing in either convention that was said that not everyone in the room already believed or wanted to believe. It's easy to please men. But Paul says, we preach Christ and him crucified. And he goes on in one Corinthians to say this, we preach Christ a stumbling block to Jews and he's folly to Gentiles. That is, he's taking everyone on planet earth

and he is saying, look, Christ is an offense to everyone, but we preach Christ. Why? Why preach Christ? Because he's what everyone needs. He's the great answer.

He's what I need. He's what you need. It's what your neighbor needs. He's what your fellow students in class need. What your professors need. He's what your coworkers need. It's what we need.

Let's never think we can please men and still please God denying Christ at our dinner tables and in the classroom and conversations at work so we can compromise a little Right, just a, just a little to make, make him a little more appealing, a little less offensive. No, we preach Christ. Isn't it loving though? No, it's not. It pleases men, but it does not please God. What I need, what you need, what the world needs is the unadulterated Christ.

And it's only that Christ that we find grace in. We don't dress him up. We don't dress him down. It's Christ

alone. It's good news for the sinner. And he is abundantly good news.

You understand why Paul was so astonished. He, he's looking at the great predicament that all mankind is in. He went to these people when they were in darkness and they were lost and they were without hope in the world. And he preaches to them Christ. He just, he just hands out Christ to them. All they have to do is receive it. And they received him rejoicing. They, they seemed to understand this is just something you receive.

It's just grace upon grace upon grace. And now all of a sudden they've taken this great, beautiful gift and they've set it aside,

pose astonished when what should happen is we should be astonished by the gospel that he would give his son for me and he would take a sinner like me who has nothing to offer and just save me by his sheer grace, sheer grace.

What a Christ. What a gospel. Be astonished by that He pray for us.

Father, we are thankful for so great salvation.

We're thankful that it is all of grace and not a result of work so that we have no reason to boast. We're thankful that all of this grace is found in Christ. Not on different paths, different avenues, different tricks, different machinations, different ploys, different teachings.

There is one place to run, one thing to receive Christ.

What a gift you have given to us. We be astonished at your kindness and your goodness. And this abounding grace. May we all know it. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus Christ, the one mediator between God and men. Amen.