Galatians 1:6-10 (NIV)
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel–which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul had heard that the Judaizers had come to the Galatian Churches, and had succeeded in turning many of the Christians there to their system of legalistic salvation, a different gospel. The Judaizers preached that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, and that He had therefore come to save only the Jews. Thus, before a gentile could actually be saved (regardless of what Paul had told them), they had to first convert to Judaism, including undergoing circumcision and learning and obeying all the moral and ceremonial requirements of the law. They taught that it was adherence to these requirements that pleased God and enabled the sacrifice of Jesus to be effective for salvation. Thus, their gospel was faith in Jesus PLUS adherence to all the requirements of the Jewish law.
Paul correctly saw this as a different gospel, a false gospel, a gospel of salvation by works of the law, instead of the true gospel, which is salvation by grace through faith in Jesus alone.
In the strongest possible terms, Paul condemns both this false gospel and those who spread it, calling down judgment on them. Paul realized that this false gospel of salvation by works was drawing people away from the true gospel, placing them on the path of self-salvation instead (which had never been able to save anyone), and thus putting their souls in to the way of condemnation instead of in the way of salvation.
Paul understood that his was not a “popular” stand. Many people liked the Judaizers approach to salvation. All the rules and regulations and ceremonies made it seem more “religious,” which appealed to a lot of people. And those gentile Christians who converted to Judaism were less likely to suffer persecution at the hands of the Jews. It seemed like a win-win and was often sold that way.
But Paul’s first allegiance was to God, to doing His will, and to proclaiming His true gospel, whether it was popular or not, whether it avoided problems or not. And Paul, as God’s servant, wasn’t about to change the gospel to one that would not save. He loved God and he loved people too much for that.
Father, a lot of people today have added and subtracted from the gospel as it is given in the Scriptures, figuring that the details don’t matter all that much, and if the changes make the gospel more attractive to more people, what’s the problem? But if we change the gospel, even if the changes are designed to make it more attractive to people, or less exclusive, we run the very real danger of making the gospel we preach a “different gospel”. ineffective for real salvation, condemning the people who receive it while convincing them that they are saved. What a tragedy! It was one that Paul would not accept, and neither should we. Help us, Lord, to stick with the gospel that You have designed, implemented, and passed on to us through Your Word. We can’t improve on it! Amen.