Galatians 1:9 KJV
As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
It may be surprising to some and unbelievable to others that there is such a thing as "another gospel" which Paul says is not the gospel, but a perversion of the gospel.
What may be even more surprising is that this other gospel is often proclaimed in the very same churches where the first and true gospel has been proclaimed.
It was common in Apostle Paul's ministry for some to follow behind him, come into the churches he had established, and then preach this other gospel.
In our day this other gospel has "evolved" into several different forms and is often so deceptive and similar looking to the truth that we may have a difficult time knowing which one is the true gospel. Paul said he had not received the gospel from men but directly from the Lord. That is not true of any true preacher today. He receives the gospel he preaches from Paul, just as the people in Galatia had; so that isn't how we will know the true gospel.
I got to thinking about those identifying factors of Paul's true gospel
It is a gospel of graceAnd not of works. Any gospel message that adds some form of good deed to the gospel is another gospel and not the gospel. Baptism, confirmation, church membership; whatever. If work is added to the simple Gospel it is not the gospel.
It is an effective gospel
Those who were saved in the ministry of Paul were changed big time. There is no such thing as a person who has received the gospel Paul preached and continued on in life as before. They were never the same people. Of course, the Bible does not tell us the names and testimonies of every person saved under Paul's ministry and it does not give us the specifics of but a few of them. But those people whose lives are highlighted in the Bible were changed persons after having received the gospel.
It is an enduring gospelPaul was careful to preach that a saved person would remain saved. There is no such thing in the gospel Paul preached of someone being saved and then losing their salvation. He preached Christ would perform that good work until the day of Jesus Christ.
As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
It may be surprising to some and unbelievable to others that there is such a thing as "another gospel" which Paul says is not the gospel, but a perversion of the gospel.
What may be even more surprising is that this other gospel is often proclaimed in the very same churches where the first and true gospel has been proclaimed.
It was common in Apostle Paul's ministry for some to follow behind him, come into the churches he had established, and then preach this other gospel.
In our day this other gospel has "evolved" into several different forms and is often so deceptive and similar looking to the truth that we may have a difficult time knowing which one is the true gospel. Paul said he had not received the gospel from men but directly from the Lord. That is not true of any true preacher today. He receives the gospel he preaches from Paul, just as the people in Galatia had; so that isn't how we will know the true gospel.
I got to thinking about those identifying factors of Paul's true gospel
It is a gospel of graceAnd not of works. Any gospel message that adds some form of good deed to the gospel is another gospel and not the gospel. Baptism, confirmation, church membership; whatever. If work is added to the simple Gospel it is not the gospel.
It is an effective gospel
Those who were saved in the ministry of Paul were changed big time. There is no such thing as a person who has received the gospel Paul preached and continued on in life as before. They were never the same people. Of course, the Bible does not tell us the names and testimonies of every person saved under Paul's ministry and it does not give us the specifics of but a few of them. But those people whose lives are highlighted in the Bible were changed persons after having received the gospel.
It is an enduring gospelPaul was careful to preach that a saved person would remain saved. There is no such thing in the gospel Paul preached of someone being saved and then losing their salvation. He preached Christ would perform that good work until the day of Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment