Contending for the Gospel

In this passage Paul is addressing the problem in Galatia: false teachers are spreading a false gospel. And to make matters worse, the Galatians are listening to them!

The Bible deals further with the subject of false teaching and false gospels in the book of Jude. There Jude urges believers to "contend for the faith" (v. 3). The word translated "contend" was an athletic term, meaning to "agonize greatly" or "struggle." Indeed, contending for the gospel is like participating in an agonizing athletic contest, and that is why many do not contend. But all Christians, not just the clergy, are called to be such athletes. Each of us must be ready to give "a reason for the hope that is in [us]" (1 Pet 3:15).

To whom do you talk about the gospel? To your co-workers? Your teammates? Some friends at a restaurant or coffee shop? In our interactions with others, we should always be contending for the gospel—that is, giving a defense of what we believe about Christ. We will, however, all meet challengers as we do. For Paul, the challengers were known as the Judaizers.

Contending is a relevant subject not only for spurring us on to greater witness, but also for reminding us of the importance of knowing what we believe. Many high school graduates go off to college and soon consider abandoning the Christian faith on which they were raised. Why? Among a host of contributing factors is the fact that they simply were never prepared to contend for the faith. As a result, a skeptical 16professor, a group of unbelieving friends, or an unbelieving boyfriend or girlfriend may cause them to doubt the faith altogether—or at least to question its importance to daily life. This trend is a good reminder that every believer must be rooted in the essentials of the faith early on in his or her Christian journey.

Unprepared students make me think of the Rocky film series. In the third movie Rocky Balboa is steamrolling his handpicked opponents, but then he meets "Clubber" Lang, played by Mr. T. Lang is a real challenger, so Apollo Creed decides to train Rocky; his training program is essential if Rocky is to beat such an opponent. Likewise, Christian students must receive theological training before they take a class from that skeptical professor or encounter those persuasive students with worldviews contrary to theirs. If not, their own "Clubber" Langs just might knock them out.

In Galatians 1 Paul is training his audience to contend with their spiritual opponents by showing his hearers how to detect false gospels and recognize the true one. Similarly, good pastors, teachers, and parents will train students to contend for the faith. While we do not train them to knock out their challengers physically, we do want them able to "knock out" arguments and strongholds. In doing so they may ultimately win a person, not just an argument (2 Tim 2:25).

This letter should give all believers "eye of the tiger" inspiration to contend for the gospel of Christ. Maybe your challenger is a friend, whom you love, but he or she does not understand why you insist that Jesus is the only way to God and thinks you are a narrow-minded Bible-thumper. Maybe your challenger is a rebellious teen turning away from God and the church, claiming, "It's all a myth." Maybe you have a co-worker who is reading the works of Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchens and is buying into the new atheist movement, slowly losing all respect for your beliefs. Perhaps a friend at the coffee shop, who just wants to talk about UFOs, challenges you! Maybe you are facing a difficult challenge in trying to explain grace to a religious Pharisee. In any case, allow Galatians 1:6-10 to encourage and educate you.

The Galatians' Departure

The Galatians' Departure

Galatians 1:6-7a

The proper way to begin a letter in Roman times was with thanksgiving. Here, however, because Paul is so burdened by the Galatians' error, he 17offers none. Instead, he is like a parent who sees his kid running into the road and yells, "Hey, there's a car coming! Watch out!" He offers no pious platitudes, only passionate warning.

Paul would not have received an "A" in Quintilian's literature class. Quintilian (ad 35-95) was the day's expert in classical style and rhetoric. He said a man should not "open in such a wild and exclamatory nature"; instead, a sane man would employ "a courteous and natural opening" (Institutio, 509). Paul does indeed open with a wild, exclamatory nature: "I am amazed!" He does so because of the serious nature of the problem. He was not amazed that there were false teachers; he was amazed by the Galatian Christians' interest in them!

The Nature of Turning from the Gospel

Notice in this passage the nature of their "turning" and what we learn about the gospel itself.

Their turning away from the gospel was serious! The Galatians were in the process of switching teams. John Stott notes that the word turning means "to transfer one's allegiance." It was used of soldiers in the army who would go fight for the other side, or of politicians who would transfer to the other political party (Message of Galatians, 21). Can you imagine a Cowboys fan wearing a Redskins shirt, or a Red Sox fan wearing a Yankees cap? That is serious turning. In my world, it is amazing to think that Rick Pitino, former coach of the University of Kentucky, now coaches Louisville. But at an infinitely more important level, it is an amazing thing for Paul to think that the Galatians, who had heard the truth of the gospel, were putting on a different jersey. The Galatians had come to Christ and put on the robes of righteousness and were now trying to turn back to the trash can to retrieve their old clothes of works-based religion.

The Galatians' transfer hurt Paul because he saw them as his spiritual children. He later said to them, "My children, I am again suffering labor pains for you until Christ is formed in you" (4:19). He was in agony, desiring to see them grow into Christlikeness and knowing that their turning was anything but an insignificant event. His passion reminds us that truth should matter to us! When someone is turning away from Christ, it should grieve us. And when someone is walking in the gospel of grace, it should thrill us. John writes, "I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in the truth" (3 John 4).

18One day a parent came to my office. She was totally broken because her daughter was dating a Mormon and was unable to distinguish the great differences between Christianity and Mormonism. She grieved to see her child turning to a false gospel because she knew that nothing is more important than the true gospel (cf. 1 Cor 15:3-4). Nothing should be more important to us.

Their turning away from the gospel happened so soon! Paul is "amazed" that those in the churches at Galatia were turning "so quickly!" The words "so quickly" call to mind the golden calf incident in Exodus 32:7-8. Israel had just been liberated from Egypt, received God's law, and made a covenant with God. But immediately—while Moses was up on the mountain speaking with the Lord—they made a golden calf and worshiped that idol in the place of their Redeemer. Amazing!

Put yourself in Paul's sandals. You go out to start these churches through many personal tribulations. You travel over mountains, face danger, and are left for dead before you see some people coming to Christ and churches forming as a result. But then, immediately after these churches are established, you hear that those new believers are turning away from the faith. How would you respond?

Imagine you just spent three years ministering to an unreached city in East Asia. Not long before you went home on furlough, you began to see the first converts among a people group there. You have just heard that the believers you left behind are now blending pagan worship with the gospel. How would you respond? Are you amazed? Astonished? Shocked? Dismayed? Angry?

You can hear Paul's anguish in this letter as he says things like, "Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don't submit again to a yoke of slavery" (5:1). You can hear his frustration in verse 1 of chapter 3: "You foolish Galatians! Who has hypnotized you?" How quickly new believers can drift away from the grace of God into false teaching!

Their turning away was not hopeless. The situation of the Christians in Galatia was desperate but not beyond hope. The word translated "turning" is a continuous present tense verb, which means that they were in the process. Even though one might make too much of this, Schreiner states that the context as a whole indicates that it was a process (Galatians, 84n4). The good news was that through faithful contending for the gospel, Paul could correct them.

19This idea of correction reminds me of the mother I mentioned earlier. She kept agonizing over her daughter, correcting her until she came to embrace the truth of the gospel, too. Later in the book Paul tells the Galatians not to "give up" (6:9). He encourages them and challenges them to consider where they went wrong: "You were running well. Who prevented you from obeying the truth?" (5:7). As long as our drifting friends are still breathing, let us not stop contending for the faith.

What We Learn about the Gospel

Three important truths accompany a person's tragic turn from the gospel.

When you turn from the gospel, you turn from God Himself (v. 6). Paul says that the Galatians are turning away from "Him," not merely from a set of principles. When you turn from the gospel, you are turning from the God of all grace. You are turning from the Christ "who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age" (v. 4). Paul says he is amazed that the Galatians are turning from their Redeemer, the fountain of all grace.

Today you might hear something like this: "I believe in Jesus, but I have no interest in the Bible." Statements such as that one reveal that many want to hold on to God but abandon the gospel. They want to know God, but they don't accept the idea of Him punishing His Son in our place. That dismissive approach will not work. When you turn from the gospel, you turn from God Himself.

Disbelieving the gospel is no small error. In fact, it tops Bill Buckner's infamous miss. Buckner was a famous first basemen for the Red Sox. He was known for a successful career until he allowed a ground ball to go between his legs in game six of the 1986 World Series. It led to his team's loss that day as well as to the eventual loss of the whole series to the Mets. Do not let the gospel slip by you: grab hold of it in its entirety. If you miss Christ, you will lose everything.

When you turn from the gospel, you turn from the grace of Christ (v. 6). "The grace of Christ" is a synonym for the gospel (cf. 5:4). Remember, the Judaizers believed salvation was Jesus + circumcision and the requirements of the OT law. But salvation is not Jesus + anything. Why? Because salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. Paul is reminding his children of that message. Any other messenger, Christians should note, plays for the other team. The other team could be 20labeled "human achievement," since the other religions of the world all share a works-based salvation system. Paul represented the "divine accomplishment" team, who believed Christ has already accomplished the work for us and offers us salvation by His grace.

Notice how the words "called" and "grace" are together both here and in verse 15. The Galatians were called by grace, and they were called into the realm of grace. This type of call denotes God's sovereign action and believers' experience. When God calls you to Christ, you sense His power. You sense God dealing with you. Just as He called Abraham, Moses, and Paul, He calls sinners to Himself today. He calls us not because of any good in us but because of His grace.

Turning from the gospel is like stepping onto a performance-religion treadmill. Do you like treadmills? I don't. I do not enjoy running for three miles only to end up exhausted and in the same place 30 minutes later! Works-based religion is a system that gets you nowhere and only leaves you worn out. While works certainly matter, we should note they are the result of true faith, not the basis for it.

When you turn from the gospel, you have nowhere else to go (vv. 6-7). Paul tells the Galatians that they are "turning to a different gospel," but adds, "not that there is another gospel" (emphasis added). In other words, Paul says the false teachers' message is no gospel at all. There is only one gospel. Paul seems to choose his words carefully to make this point. In verse 6 he uses the word translated "different," the Greek word is heteros. It means "another of a different nature." (We get terms like heterosexual from this word.) A biblical example of this concept is in Hebrews 7:11, where it is used to explain that a different kind of priest—not one from the order of Aaron—is needed, namely, Christ. The Galatians were turning to a hetero-gospel, a gospel of a different nature. But in verse 7 Paul uses the Greek word allos, translated "another," which means "another of the same nature." He says there is not an allos gospel. A biblical example is in John chapters 14-16 regarding the Holy Spirit. When Jesus leaves, another of the same kind (allos) will come (John 14:16). We might have another cup of the same kind of coffee, but we cannot have another of the same kind of gospel (George, Galatians, 93). There is only one gospel.

In all likelihood the false teachers were saying that their gospel was not different from what Paul taught. But Paul says, "Yes, it is." There is nothing else like the gospel of Christ. Unfortunately, false teachers have been using the same "Oh, we believe in Jesus, too" line for centuries. 21But when you go deeper into the teachings of any cult, you realize that it presents a hetero-gospel (cf. 2 Cor 11:3-4).

The point is that there is no other way to be right with God, to experience forgiveness of sin, apart from the gospel of Christ Jesus (see John 14:6-7). It is difficult for people to embrace the exclusiveness of the gospel when they swim in a sea of religious pluralism and philosophical relativism. We often hear, "All religions are equally valid, and there is no one truth." But finding right relationship with God is not like selecting a deodorant. You may choose any of a number of antiperspirants to keep you fresh, but that is not the case when it comes to securing eternal life. Only one path to God will do: Jesus. He has no equal. He is not one among many religious leaders. He is the one and only Messiah.

Perhaps you think this discussion is purely an apologetic conversation devoid of much meaning for your local church. I would beg to differ. One of my friends who is a pastor surveyed his church body regarding some doctrinal questions. He pastors in the Bible Belt, serving among people who have grown up attending worship services. To his shock, he found that 78 percent of the respondents in his church believed that it is possible to go to heaven apart from believing in Christ. Now, while this was not a scientific survey of all churches and was only the experience of one pastor surveying his congregation, the results should make you wonder what you would find in your congregation were the same study given there. Do people think there is only one gospel? If you feel, as I do, that my friend's findings are probably in line with what others would find elsewhere, then the need to contend for the true gospel within the church is glaringly obvious.

The False Teachers' Distortion

The False Teachers' Distortion

Galatians 1:7b

How do you detect false teachers? Consider two truths about false teachers in verse 7.

False teachers create confusion and division. Paul says, "There are some who are troubling you" (emphasis added). The word trouble means to "shake" or "agitate" or "throw into confusion" (George, Galatians, 94). The Galatians' minds were like clothes dryers at the laundry mat. Have you seen the dryers with the glass fronts? I sometimes washed my own clothes when I was single, and I would sit there at the laundry mat and watch the clothes tumble, shake, rattle, and roll inside the 22drum. Likewise, the Galatians' thoughts were shaken and thrown into confusion as their minds tried to reconcile Paul's teachings with the new, false doctrines.

Consider another biblical example of the kind of teachers who threw the believers into perplexity. When in Acts 15 the apostles got together at the Jerusalem Council to discuss the Gentiles coming to faith in Christ, they had to deal with the false teachers who were insisting that the Gentiles be circumcised (Acts 15:1). After uniting in the doctrine of salvation through grace (15:11), they sent a letter to the Gentiles saying, "Some without our authorization went out from us and troubled you with their words and unsettled your hearts" (15:24). False teachers were "troubling" believers and "unsettling" them. That is the nature of false teachers who wish to distort the pure gospel of grace.

To distort the gospel is to destroy the church because the church is created and lives by the gospel. The greatest troublemakers in the church are those who wish to distort the gospel message. I believe Satan operates more effectively through false gospels than through any other avenue. He twists, confuses, and changes the gospel, using philosophy and rule-keeping to put people in mental manacles that blind their eyes to the truth.

Behind every false teacher is the ultimate false teacher, Satan, who lives to create confusion and to lock people in spiritual bondage (2 Tim 2:26). Just as he did in Galatia, the evil one encourages false teachers to creep in subtly like wolves. False teachers do not walk around and say, "Hug me, I'm a false apostle." They are not always readily recognizable, unlike the stereotypical overweight, bombastic, hypocritical preacher with a bad hairpiece in B-movies and television dramas—though undoubtedly there are many false teachers on television. Instead, false teachers appear perfectly benign. They may be pop icons, people in your school, or friendly faces you pass in the halls of your church. Anyone promoting something other than the gospel, thereby placing mental manacles on people, is rightly identified as a false teacher.

False teachers reverse the gospel. Paul says that they "change" or "pervert" or "distort" (ESV) the gospel. "It is a word denoting a radical change, like changing water into blood, fresh water into salt water, feasting into mourning, daylight into darkness" (Dunn in Schreiener, Galatians, 86). In fact, some have suggested that the better way to render this word is "reverse." Jerome said, "It means to set behind what is in front, and 23putting what is in front, behind" (in George, Galatians, 95). That is certainly appropriate because that's exactly what the false teachers were doing: they were distorting the gospel by reversing the gospel!

What do I mean by reversing the gospel? There is a particular order to the gospel message. It goes like this:

Notice we are (1) saved by grace alone (2) for good works. We do not receive grace after we have worked for salvation. That would be the reversal of the gospel. If a person says, "I'm going to do enough good things to be right with God and merit His grace and be saved," then we must inform him that he has officially reversed the gospel. He has put what was in the back into the front. There is an order to the gospel. False teachers distort this message of hope.

How are people distorting the gospel today? That answer is simple. People teach, either through false religious systems or through myths common to our culture, that you merit eternal life by your goodness or your works. One such myth has been dubbed "moralistic therapeutic deism." Adherents believe that one simply needs to believe in a god, but not that such a god might be involved in a person's life (deism). They feel that one needs to "be good" (moralistic) in order to "feel good" (therapeutic). If a person can believe in a god and basically do good things, they rationalize, then surely that person will go to heaven. Understand that while such thinking may be popular, it does not reflect the gospel.

Some might object to that truth with a rebuttal like this one: "But my friend is a Buddhist, and he's a nice guy. He's a moral guy. His family is polite." I would respond by saying, "I'm not denying that. I'm not denying that people who follow other religions can be moral people. Here's what I do deny: that morality can get you to heaven." While morality can keep you out of jail, it cannot keep you out of hell. If morality could save you, then Jesus did not need to die.

You see, you need something far greater than morality: you need perfect righteousness. Only perfectly righteous people, not people who are merely moral, can go to heaven. And no one in history has24 been perfectly righteous except Jesus. We need His righteousness. We should not complain that there is only one way to heaven; we should marvel at the fact that there is a way. Stand in awe of the reality that despite our sin and rebellion God sent the God-man to save us. Only through Jesus—the way, the truth, and the life—can we experience saving grace.

"But those who follow a different religion are sincere," some would argue. "Shouldn't sincerity matter?" I would not say that people following false religions are not sincere, but I will point out the biblical truth that sincerity cannot save. There is such a thing as "zeal ... not according to knowledge" (Rom 10:2). In sincerely trying to reach heaven through any path other than salvation through Jesus, a person disregards righteousness from God and attempts to establish his or her own. He or she fails to submit to God's righteousness (cf. Rom 10:3). Think of it this way: A racer may run fast but still fail to reach his destination because he was headed in the wrong direction! There is only one valid alternative to works-based righteousness, and that is trusting in Christ.

Any works-based system is a hopeless system because we are not merely supposed to be moral; we must be perfectly righteous. We know we cannot achieve this. Further, the ultimate goal of Christianity is not morality; it is union with Christ. Works-based systems are also despairing because one can never know if he or she has done enough good works to measure up. Worse, they are Christ-less in that they deny that Jesus' work on the cross is sufficient or, in some cases, necessary. Finally, works based-systems are man-centered; they glorify humans, not God.

What is the alternative to works-based systems? Christ's righteousness given to us by grace alone through faith alone.

The Universal Warning

The Universal Warning

Galatians 1:8-9

Paul expresses his anger toward false teachers in verses 8-9. He pronounces a curse on anyone who proclaims a counterfeit gospel. He says it twice for emphasis and probably to clarify that he didn't lose his mind in verse 8:

25What are we to make of this "curse"? The curse reminds us of the sobering responsibility we have as Christian teachers. Observe how Paul says that "if anyone" preaches a false gospel, a curse should be on that individual. He does not remove himself from this pronouncement, either. He says, "if we or an angel" preach another gospel. He essentially says, "If I start reversing this order, let me be cursed."

There are many false teachers, and as Paul told the Corinthians, "Satan disguises himself as an angel of light," manipulating and leading many away from pure devotion to Christ (2 Cor 11:13-15). Paul tells us in Galatians that a false teacher should not be deemed merely a heretic; he or she should be eternally condemned.

Someone might say, "But I like the way another religion makes me feel. It feels good to think I am earning favor with God through what I do." No one is denying you might feel something positive through pursuing another religion or by creating your own version of Christianity. But Satan is a deceiver, my friend; he can make anything feel good. I am reminded of the story of Simon the sorcerer recorded in Acts 8:9-25. His teaching felt so good to his hearers that some were calling him "the Great Power of God." But while he was "claiming to be somebody great" (v. 9) and the people were enjoying the astounding things he did, his message and his motive were fraudulent. He could only lead people astray.

Paul's warning reminds us not only of our holy responsibility as teachers, but also of the centrality of the gospel. This "curse" shows us that the gospel must remain the priority of Christian leaders. We must, therefore, ask this question about our church leaders: "Is he preaching the gospel?" That is the key question. In Philippians 1:12-18 Paul speaks about those preaching with bad motives; they taught out of envy and jealousy, but at least they were preaching Christ. What did he say about such teachers? He chose to rejoice because of them (Phil 1:18). He did so because his main concern was the purity of the message, not the motives of the messenger. The gospel alone saves.

The gospel is essential because Christ's glory is at stake. False gospels always glorify man because they boast in human achievements. The real gospel boasts only in the Lord (Gal 6:14). Spurgeon said, "If you meet with a system of theology which magnifies man, flee from it as far as you can" ("Non Nobis, Domine"). If we could be good enough and do enough and keep enough rules to merit eternal life, then we could sing about ourselves instead of Jesus. But that is not the case.

26The gospel is also essential because people's souls are at stake. Paul knew this was no marginal issue; it was a momentous issue. In Romans 9:3 he says, "I could almost wish to be cursed and cut off from the Messiah for the benefit of my brothers." He said that he would rather be anathema than to see his brothers condemned. That is how seriously he took this matter. Jesus said it would be better for a man to have a millstone put around his neck and be cast into the sea than to cause someone else to stumble and disbelieve the truth of the gospel (Matt 18:6).

The gospel is also essential because the health of the church is at stake. Paul knew that the churches in Galatia were in their infancy. In Galatians 4:19 he tells them that he is in pain, laboring with them. He knows that if they miss the gospel, they miss everything. Here is what this means for us as a church: we can have disagreements over some things, but we must unite on the essentials of the gospel. There are open-handed issues and closed-handed issues; the gospel is the only closed-handed issue. I will die for the gospel, but not for a style of music, nor because I think one spiritual gift is better than another, nor over details about the end times, nor because I do not like tambourines in the worship service. Yet sadly, within many churches more people divide over issues not pertaining to the gospel than over this matter of first importance.

The Apostle's Ambition

The Apostle's Ambition

Galatians 1:10

This verse is a transitional verse, linking the previous and coming sections. Paul expresses his ambition to please Christ, not men. He says, "For am I now trying to win the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people?" Apparently some thought that Paul avoided preaching circumcision and the law as a requirement because he wanted to gain favor with the Gentiles. The next phrase, however, shows that he has no interest in pleasing people; his goal is pleasing God by preaching the true gospel.

Paul continues: "If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ." In other words, if Paul desired to be a people-pleaser, then he would never have turned his life over to Christ. He was formerly admired for his Pharisaical zeal. If his goal were admiration, then he would have remained a Pharisee. Jesus told the Pharisees, 27"While accepting glory from one another, you don't seek the glory that comes from the only God" (John 5:44). Paul's goal was not to receive glory from people. His concern was for the glory of Christ, the health of the church, and the destiny of the souls of men and women.

If your goal in life is to be liked, then you will not be a faithful and fruitful Christian. I am not implying you should be a jerk. I am merely pointing out that followers of Jesus experience opposition. If people despised Jesus, some will despise you as His follower (see John 15:20; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Pet 4:12-19; 1 John 3:13). You need to aspire to something greater than being cool. Aspire to being faithful.

Whom do you long to please? Whose approval matters most? Proverbs warns, "The fear of man is a snare" (Prov 29:25). The word fear often means to "reverence," to "stand in awe of," to "worship." Seeking the approval of people, then, is idolatry. In concerning yourself with what everyone else thinks about you, you are worshiping people, not God. The old hymn "I'd Rather Have Jesus" captures the right spirit:

I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause;

I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause;

I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame,

I'd rather be true to His holy name. (Rhea Miller, 1922)

This song reflects the spirit of our brother, Athanasius, a leader at the Council of Nicea in ad 325. He argued for the biblical Jesus at a time when doing so was not popular. People said, "Athanasius, the whole world is against you." To this he replied, "Then I'm against the whole world." So be it.

Are you a servant of Christ? Adore Him in your heart. Recognize the grace that He has given you and the death He endured for you. Contend for this message with courage and with the power of the Spirit that is yours in Christ.

Reflect and Discuss

Reflect and Discuss

1. Why must we contend for the gospel? What hinders people from contending?
2. What are some of the main arguments against Christianity today? How do you respond to them?
3. Are you having gospel conversations with people? Why or why not? Stop and pray for someone who needs to trust in Christ alone for salvation.
4. 28Why was Paul "amazed" by the Galatians? What might quickly "turning" away from devotion to God look like today?
5. Do you think Paul is out of control in this passage? Explain.
6. What do we learn about the gospel from this passage?
7. What does it mean to "reverse the gospel"?
8. What does Paul say about those who preach false gospels?
9. How should you pray for those who are preaching the gospel in local churches today? What might be gained through first praying for your church and your city before expanding your prayers to include the nations?
10. How do Paul's words about pleasing Christ, not men, affect you? Do you struggle with the desire to please others rather than Christ? What might you do to fight this sin effectively?