Galatians 1:6–9
In every other letter, after his greetings to his readers, the apostle Paul prays for them and expresses thanksgiving or praise to God on their behalf. Only in this letter to the Galatians is there no prayer, no praise, no thanks, and no commendation. Instead, the apostle turns at once to his subject. In this way he underscores its extraordinary urgency. He begins with astonishment at the fickleness and unfaithfulness of the Galatians (vv. 6–7).
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:6–7)
The conduct of the Galatians does not merely astonish the apostle. He is indignant at their behavior. And he goes on to pronounce a terrible curse upon those who dare to substitute another gospel for the true one (vv. 8–9).
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! (Galatians 1:8–9)
These verses tell us when we are not to believe even an angel—namely, when he preaches to us a gospel different from the apostolic one.
From Paul’s sharp tone we understand that the Galatians are on the verge of doing the most dreadful thing—turning to a different gospel. That is why the concerned apostle warns them of the danger of such a course. This sharp warning remains valid for us today as well: “Take care that you do not turn to a different gospel!”
Why is turning to a different gospel so dangerous? In these few verses we can discover four reasons why we must guard ourselves against false gospels.
ANOTHER GOSPEL? IS THERE SUCH A THING?
First, turning to a different gospel is a deception (vv. 6–7).
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:6–7)
To underscore the fact of the deception, the apostle Paul uses two different words for “another.” In verse 6 the word for “another” is heteros, which means another in the sense of “different” or distinct. Heteros is the opposite of homos, which means the same. In verse 7 the word for “another” is allos, which means not something different, but “another of the same kind,” something additional, of the same sort. This word is used in John 14:16 of the Holy Spirit. There the Holy Spirit is called “another Advocate”—another, but like Christ, not different from Him. And so, in these verses the apostle Paul first says that the gospel to which the Galatians are turning is another, different in character from the true one, and then he explains that this other gospel is not some additional gospel at all, but a hideous distortion of the truth.
and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:6–7)
There is no other gospel that is authentic. The true gospel is only one. Every “other” gospel is distorted and false. It is the work of counterfeiters. The apostolic gospel has no alternative. Therefore, let us not allow ourselves to be deceived.
What is the application of all this today? Are there “other gospels” today as well, just as in the days of the apostle Paul? Sadly, the answer to this question is yes. I will mention only a few of them:
- The gospel of legalism—this is the “other” gospel of which the apostle Paul speaks in this letter.
- The prosperity gospel. This popular form of “other” gospel is preached in order to adapt Christianity to the materialistic society in which we live. It urges people to come to Christ because in that way they will be “better off”—in health and in finances. But if a person joins the church only for the benefits and in time turns out to be disappointed, he may leave it. If, however, a person comes to Christ only for salvation from sin, he will never leave Him, because there is no salvation through anyone else. And a person can be “better off” even without being a believer—and often more so. The message of this gospel is founded on the principle that God wants to bless us (which is true), and therefore in life we can expect only good things. The problem with this gospel, however, is that it overlooks the fact that in the Christian life, alongside blessings, there are also sorrow, suffering, and sometimes even death. The power of Christ’s gospel lies not in avoiding the hard and unpleasant moments of life, but in the ability it gives us to overcome them with God’s help.
- The easy gospel—the gospel of lawlessness and of the lack of commitment and works of faith.
- The gospel of the Church of the Latter-day Saints—one Christ for the eastern hemisphere and one Christ for the western hemisphere… the Bible and the Book of Mormon…
- The gospel of the Jehovah’s Witnesses—Christ is not God…
- The gospel of the Deunovists…
There is a whole series of “other gospels,” and all of them are one great deception—distortions of Christ’s gospel. Sadly, we seem to be far too tolerant of the deception. In 2 Corinthians 11:1–5 the apostle Paul says:
4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. (2 Corinthians 11:4)
But we must not put up with it—neither the other gospels, nor the other spirits, nor the other apostles. I believe that God’s call to the Galatians remains valid for us today as well. Let us not turn to “other gospels.” Let us remain with the apostolic one. In it there is a certainty that will lead us to heaven.
“THE OTHER GOSPELS” TROUBLE THE CHURCH
And so, we are speaking of four reasons why we must not turn to a different gospel. The first is that there is no other gospel that is like the true one. Every “other” gospel is false. The second reason why we must remain faithful to the apostolic gospel is that turning to a different gospel causes trouble (v. 7).
7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:7)
The Greek verb tarasso, which here is translated “throwing into confusion,” also means “to stir up” or “to shake.” It contains the idea of everything that is opposed to the gift of Christ’s peace. Those who carry another gospel “stir up our minds.” Their “ministry” produces only unrest, doubts, and a lack of inner harmony. The false teachers had thrown the Galatian churches into turmoil. They had caused serious disorder and divisions among them.
The two chief characteristics of the false teachers are expressed in the fact that they substitute another gospel and that they trouble the church. On this John Stott writes: “You cannot touch the gospel and leave the church unaffected, because the church is created and lives by the gospel. Indeed, the greatest troublemakers in the church (now as then) are not those outside who persecute and oppose it, but those within who work inside it while at the same time changing the gospel.”
It is quite interesting that the Council of Jerusalem, which most likely took place right after the apostle Paul wrote this letter, uses the same verb in its letter to the churches (Acts 15:24):
24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. (Acts 15:24)
This is why we must guard ourselves against turning to a different gospel. Every such gospel is not only false, but also leads to trouble, the “troubling of the souls of believers,” and the division of the church.
SEPARATION FROM GOD
And so, we are speaking of four reasons why we must not turn to a different gospel. First, because every such gospel is false and does not lead to salvation. Second, because every such gospel troubles the church and unsettles the souls of believers. And third, because every such gospel is not only displeasing to God, but is a separation from Him. In verse 6 the apostle Paul says:
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— (Galatians 1:6)
The Greek word here translated “deserting” is metatithemi, and it means “to change your allegiance,” to go over to the enemy’s side. This word was used both of soldiers who desert and of people who change their political or philosophical positions. This is exactly what the apostle Paul accuses the Galatians of. They have become spiritual deserters. They are not deserting him alone. They are turning away from the One who called them into the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are embracing another gospel. In this way the Galatians are turning away not merely from some doctrine or idea; they are “deserting” God Himself! We must not allow ourselves to fall into the thought that concern for right doctrine is something impersonal and dry. The right gospel is our bond with God. It is our own personal summons by which He has called us to Himself.
Moreover, turning to a different gospel is a falling away from grace. In Galatians 5:4 the apostle Paul describes very clearly what happens in such a case:
4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:4)
From these verses we understand that turning to a different gospel is a forsaking of God. To turn away from the gospel of grace is the same as turning away from the God of grace and from grace itself. Here we have a paradox. For the false teachers most often offer us ways and paths for “drawing near” to God, yet in fact the result of their actions is not a “drawing near” but a moving away from and a “forsaking” of God.
The apostle Paul is utterly astonished at the conduct of the Galatians. He is simply amazed at the speed with which they desert the truth. We can picture him clutching his head in bewilderment as he listens to the news of what has happened in the Galatian churches. They have “so quickly” turned to a different gospel. Many of Christ’s servants in later generations have likewise been astonished and troubled when they have watched how swiftly and with what enthusiasm people abandon the gospel they had at first accepted so unshakably. As the apostle Paul writes in Galatians 3:1, it is as if someone has “bewitched” and cast a spell over them, so that they do such a great folly. And that is exactly the case. The evil one is the one who troubles the church and tries to ruin it. When he cannot entice Christians to fall into vices, he leads them astray with false teaching.
But let us be alert and sober, and let us not allow ourselves to be enticed by the devil into abandoning “such a great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3) in order to turn to a different gospel.
THOSE WHO CARRY ANOTHER GOSPEL ARE CURSED
Those who turn to a different gospel not only turn their backs on God, but also fall under a curse. In verses 8–9 the apostle Paul says:
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! (Galatians 1:8–9)
The Greek word translated “cursed” in these verses is anathema. When a person is “anathema,” he is cut off from Christ (Romans 9:3) and doomed to eternal punishment. In 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9 the apostle Paul says that those who do not obey the gospel “will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”
This curse is not only for the false teachers, but for everyone who rejects Christ’s gospel. The apostle Paul uses the same word in 1 Corinthians 16:22:
22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord! (1 Corinthians 16:22)
Thus the apostle Paul places the false teachers under anathema. Anathema—cursed. To us this word may sound laughable and absurd because of its worldly use, but we must know that in its biblical sense it is terrifying. An author by the name of John Piper says of it: “The word ‘anathema’ or ‘cursed’ ought to sound to us the way thunder sounds to a child hearing it for the first time, the way an earthquake feels, or the way a hurricane wind is felt out in the wilderness of the sea. Hearing it, we cannot simply yawn and turn to the next page. There is something in this word that is deeply humbling and sobering, over which we ought to ponder.”
What can we say about this anathema? Can we say that it is incompatible with Christ’s spirit of gentleness? Or that it is an expression of personal malice and a desire for revenge? Merely an unrestrained outburst? Certainly not, and chiefly for two reasons.
First, this curse is universal in its scope. It applies to everyone who distorts the essence of the gospel and spreads it in a twisted form. In verse 9 the apostle Paul says: “As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you…” “Anybody” means everyone. There is no exception. Included here are not only the angels, but also the apostle himself. In verse 8 he says: “But even if we ourselves…” So great is the apostle’s zeal for the gospel that he includes even himself in it. This is proof of his impartiality, and it clears him of the charge of personal malice and hostility.
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! (Galatians 1:8)
The second reason why we cannot say that the apostle Paul simply “let it slip” or lost his temper is that the curse is repeated twice. This shows that it was pronounced consciously, deliberately, and responsibly. On this point John Brown, a nineteenth-century Scottish author, says the following: “The apostle repeats the curse to show the Galatians that this is not some extreme, exaggerated statement uttered rashly in a fit of rage, but his calmly formed and unalterable judgment.”
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! (Galatians 1:8–9)
May God help us to be careful, because everyone who preaches or turns to a different gospel falls under this curse of God’s Word.
As we have entered into these verses, we have seen the dangers of turning to a different gospel and the reasons why we must guard ourselves against every departure from the truth. In itself, every “other gospel” is a deception, because there is no other gospel that is true except the apostolic one—the one set out on the pages of the New Testament. Moreover, any such lies trouble the church and lead to divisions. And the consequences of accepting and holding to a false gospel are terrible: separation from God, falling away from grace, and coming under a dreadful eternal curse—the loss of salvation.
May God keep us from all this! Let us be alert and sober, and let us not allow Satan to enchant us and drag us into his trap. Let us not turn to a different gospel, but let us hold fast to that which we have received, which we have believed, and through which we have been saved!
Hold to the old gospel! Amen!