THE DISTORTIONS OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST – 1:6-7:
Some people desert Christ (ver. 6) – We will notice in verse 10 that some people choose to seek the favor of men rather than the favor of God. This is the source of all false gospels – wanting to appease the crowd of men first and foremost as opposed to wanting to please Jehovah God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Let’s take a moment to see just what challenges the Christians in Galatia were facing… Read these passages: 2:14, 21; 3:13, 24, 26-27, 29. The Christians in Galatia, then, were being challenged – not to turn their backs on Jesus Christ per se – but to add aspects of the Law of Moses to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Specifically, they were being challenged to add circumcision to the gospel of Christ.
We could also see how the Jew would try to compel the Gentile to be circumcised, even if they were baptized into Christ. The problem is that circumcision was no longer a part of the gospel of Christ, not under the New Covenant. Notice Paul’s clear words in Galatians 5:2-4.
Again, we observe that the Galatian Christians were not being encouraged to abandon Christ per se – they were simply being tempted to add the Law of Moses to salvation in Christ. But, even though circumcision had been a part of Christ’s law under the Law of Moses, the teachings that one must be circumcised as a part of being a Christian was now a teaching of man, not a teaching of Christ!
Some want to distort the gospel of Christ (ver. 7) – Let’s make an application of this principle now in our modern society. Just how much of the gospel of Christ can we distort and still obey the gospel of Christ?
Can we distort the nature of God and not distort the gospel of Christ?
God is unchanging and eternal
God is Spirit
God is omnipotent and omnipresent
God is omniscient
God is wisdom and light
God is majestic and beautiful
God is life and immortal
God is One and Three
God is holy and righteous
God is jealous and perfect
God is truth and God is good
God is merciful and God is full of wrath
Can we distort the nature of man and not distort the gospel of Christ?
Man was created in the image and likeness of God.
Man was created on the 6th day of a week of creation.
Man was created as the pinnacle of God’s creation.
Man was created as the center of God’s world.
Man was created with a free will to respond to God.
Man has an intellectual nature which he is to engage in his obedience to Christ.
Man has a volitional nature which he is to engage in his obedience to Christ.
Man has an emotional nature which he is to engage in his obedience to Christ.
Man has a spiritual nature which he is to engage in his obedience to Christ.
God designed the gospel message as it is to meet the needs of man as he is.
Can we distort the nature of the gospel and not distort the gospel of Christ?
Man is to believe the gospel (Heb. 11:6; John 8:24). Faith is not a miraculous gift of God implanted into the hearts of men. Faith is an act of the will whereby man examines the evidence and then draws conclusions based on that evidence (John 20:30-31).
Man is to repent of his sins (Acts 17:30). Are there any sins that man does not have to repent of and he can still be saved? Paul gives a list of “works of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19-21. Can we say that a man can continue living in these sins and still be saved? Doesn’t that distort the gospel?
Man must confess his convictions in Christ in order to be saved (Rom. 10:9-10).
Must must be immersed into water for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). This is a biblical doctrine which has been distorted and perverted by Satan and people who preach Satan’s doctrine, perhaps more than any other aspect of the gospel of Christ.
Satan teaches that you are baptized in order to associate with a specific church.
Satan teaches that you are saved by faith without having to be baptized.
Satan teaches that baptism is simply showing your faith in a visible way.
Satan teaches that baptism can be through the act of sprinkling.
Satan teaches that baptism can be through the act of affusion.
Satan teaches that baptism is simply a command of Christ without having any connection to salvation from sins.
All of these are distortions of the biblical doctrine of baptism and that’s why it is so important for us to listen to the words of the Holy Spirit about baptism and not man’s words (John 3:3-5). You can’t be saved by obeying man’s doctrines! You can only be saved by obeying what the Holy Spirit teaches. Otherwise, we’re obeying a distorted gospel of Christ.
Notice what Paul writes in verses 16-18 and verse 25: “walk by the Spirit,” be “led by the Spirit,” “live by the Spirit,” and again “walk by the Spirit.”
Paul Holland
