Let him be accursed
Sun, 25 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.
1 Paul, an apostle–not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead– 2 and all the brothers who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel– 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 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 accursed.
Today we begin Paul’s letter the the Galatians. After the briefest of introductions (not much more than a quick “Dear Galatians,”) Paul proceeds to let them have it right between the eyes.
Remember all the problems in the Corinthian church? A man is sleeping with his mother. People are getting drunk at the communion service. There is chaos in their worship services. In dealing with all those bizarre and extreme problems at Corinth, Paul is never as severe with them as he here is with the Galatians.
What do we learn from this?
Bad conduct within the church is a big problem and must be dealt with. Because he loves them and is concerned about them, Paul doesn’t let the Corinthians continue in their sin without his disciplining them. But in the Galatian church, the issue is how they have corrupted the gospel, and so Paul is much more severe in his confrontation.
There were people in the Galatian churches who added conditions to the gospel message. They taught that people had to do certain things before they could be saved. Specifically, they taught that people must become Jewish and observe Jewish ceremonial law before they could be saved.
Paul is adamant in his condemnation of this teaching. He insists that people not add any requirements to the gospel message. He even goes so far as to call down curses upon anyone who adds conditions to the gospel. He calls for the damnation of anyone who corrupts the gospel.
The gospel message is that important. Adding requirements to the gospel is changing it so that it is no longer the gospel. It no longer is the good news of what God has done for us, and it becomes the way that we can save ourselves (with a little help from God). And once the gospel becomes what we do to qualify for salvation, it ceases to be saving. It is no longer the gospel. It becomes our own work, and we are trusting in ourselves rather than God.
That’s why Paul was so upset about what was happening in the Galatian church. If people believe these false teachers, they are going to continue in their sins and be forever damned. They must be dealt with quickly and sternly, because people’s salvation is at stake.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Paul’s message is the gospel of Christ. Paul preaches about the holiness of God, our sin, how we are unacceptable before God, and what God did to make us acceptable. He sent Jesus Christ to live the perfect life, and to die on the cross. His perfect righteousness is credited to those who come to Him in faith, and their sins are credited to Jesus Christ and punished upon the cross.
Salvation is for those who trust in this message, and not in anything they have done. Salvation is for those who come to Him by faith in Jesus Christ.
That is the true gospel. It is all about Jesus Christ and what He has done for us.
