The gospel is the foundation of the church, and any distortion of it is a serious matter. In Galatians 1:6-9, Paul warns against turning to a different gospel—one that is not truly the gospel at all. He declares that those who pervert the gospel of Christ are under a curse. This message, “Don’t Mess With The Gospel,” explores the dangers of legalism, works-based salvation, and man-centered religion. The true gospel is salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. Join us as we dive into Paul’s passionate defense of the gospel and its implications for our faith today.
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Galatians 1:6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called
you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
Galatians 1:7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want
to pervert the gospel of Christ.
Galatians 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel
to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
Galatians 1:9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any
other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
The gospel is the reason why this church or any church exists.
The gospel brings us together.
I) PAUL’S CONCERN: ANOTHER GOSPEL IS NOT THE GOSPEL.
Galatians 1:6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called
you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
Galatians 1:6 I marvel that you are turning away … to a different gospel,
Galatians 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be
justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
Galatians 1:7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want
to pervert the gospel of Christ.
Works-Based Man-Centered Religions:
Judaism: keeping of the law
Islam: five pillars
Buddhism: eight fold path
Hindu:reincarnation and karma
Mormonism: law of eternal progression
Jehovan’s Witnesses: works
Catholism: grace plus the sacrments
Religious Legalism: If you clean up your act,follow rituals, display religious dedication,
perform, perform, perform
Cardinal Francis George (quote)
“It boils down to this: Even though the Church is often less than what God intends
it to be, we still encounter Christ through the sacraments, especially through
Baptism and the Eucharist. This is how Christ comes to us, this is how we experience
God’s grace, this is how we find assurance. It is through the church and its ministries
that Christ comes to us to save us.”
As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.
The moment your money thumps in the chest, one of your relatives finds heavenly rest!
Here is a quote from someone experiences raised in a protestant church:
Some of the churches I went to growing up had a tendency to emphasize conformity
to a set of rules as the mark of a real Christian.
Real Christians do this; they don’t do that.
The problem was these rules is that they were the center of Christianity for us, the
thing we focused on—if we did them God would accept us and we would be spiritual.
So, I usually left church thinking about what I needed to do to make myself more
acceptable to God rather than trusting in what God had done for me and promised
to do in me.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
II) PAUL’S CURSE: FROM A HYPOTHETICAL ONE TO AN ACTUAL ONE.
Galatians 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel
to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
1 Corinthians 16:22, If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed,
Romans 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren,
my countrymen according to the flesh,
Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you
cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
Galatians 1:9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any
other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow
rivers of living water.
John Newton: “I am not what I ought to be .. I am not what I wish to be … I am
not what I hope to be … Yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish
to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was; a slave to
sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge, ‘By the
grace of God I am what I am.'”
Augustus Toplady words in the hymn Rock of Ages
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill thy laws’ demands
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save and Thou Alone..
