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.

Galatians 1:6-9 (ESV) 中文 

Ring their neck

With the full authority of an apostle of Christ, sent by Christ, Paul proceeds to ring their necks. Enough of these greeting pleasantries, he’s got something mighty serious to address with them. Since he can’t be there in person, he picks up his pen to “hang” them. 

No other gospel

Paul is emphatic here: there is no other gospel. The Judiazers have come along and sowed bad seeds among the good (Matthew 13:24-48) telling these churches that in addition to faith in Christ, they also need to uphold the Jewish rituals, like circumcision, to be saved. It’s “Jesus + works”. And, if you consider that “gospel” means good news, we can see why what they teach is not good news; it is not The Gospel.

Consequences of gospel+

He calls down a curse on anyone who would teach such a false gospel. He doesn’t mince words. “Galatians protests against preachers of a different gospel (1:8-9). These verses of Paul are not only a curse but they are also a statement of fact. One who preaches another gospel substitutes falsehood (which issues finally in the works of the flesh) for the truth (which issues finally in the fruit of the Spirit).” (planobiblechapel.org)

He continues this emphasis throughout the letter. In the last chapter, he employs the same severity in his speech. “I wish that those who are troubling you would even emasculate themselves.” (Galatians 5:12)

Why would the Galatians desert the true gospel? David Guzik offers this: “When we understand how offensive the true gospel is to human nature, we better understand why someone would want to pervert it.” (enduringword.com) He goes on to elaborate that it offends our pride, wisdom and knowledge. 

RЯeflection

• The warning carries through to today. Human nature wants to “save our pride” and add some kind of good work to salvation. We want some credit for it. When we understand the depth of our sin, we desire some kind of confirmation that we have had a part in being forgiven. The Catholic church is often accused of formalizing this – which they do in their doctrine. But we all need to evaluate what we are adding. Is it my particular prayers, my wonderful worship, my colossal contribution to the churches coffers?