JANUARY 23RD,
2005
I.
Only one Gospel exists, and
only one Gospel is to be preached.
A.
The Apostle Paul issues a
warning to himself and the other Apostles.
-
“But though we….. (8).
1.
The Apostles were given
their message by Christ Himself, and the message never changes.
2.
No Apostle had the option of
changing the Gospel.
B.
The angels in Heaven cannot
add to, or subtract from, the Gospel (8).
1.
Angels do not have the
authority to originate a message; they proclaim a message.
2.
Angels are not THE source,
nor A source, of revelation.
-
The revelation of the Gospel
came from Jesus Christ Himself.
3.
This is an important
statement because of “angelic visions” that some have claimed to have had in
recent times.
-
example: Joseph Smith and
the Mormon Church.
C.
The Apostle Paul issues a
warning to all men that the Gospel is not to be changed (9).
1.
No man has been given the
authority by God to delete from, or add anything to, the Gospel.
2.
This warning hit home with
the Galatian Christians because Paul has already
described this problem in verse 6.
II.
Any man or angel that
peddles a false gospel is to be “accursed” (8-9).
A.
The word for “accursed” is
“anathema” – meaning, physical death and eternal death in the Lake of Fire.
1.
Paul uses this word in I
Corinthians 16:22 to describe the condition of a man who does not love
Jesus Christ.
2.
The equation in our text
verses and in I Corinthians is: NO LOVE FOR CHRIST plus A FALSE GOSPEL =
ACCURSED.
B.
So Paul is removing all
doubt for these fickle Galatians that there is only one Gospel.
III.
Paul’s two important
questions in verse 10.
1.
In other words, is Paul
trying to gain the approval of man or the approval of God?
2.
In verses 8 and 9, Paul
makes it clear that he is not interested in the approval of his peers (the
other Apostles), men who are not Apostles (8), or angels (7).
3.
There is no indication that
Paul ever sought the approval of men after his conversion.
B.
Do I seek to please men?
1.
Here, Paul is speaking of
how his message falls on the ears of his hearers.
2.
Paul was unflinching in his
dedication to the truth of the Gospel.
IV.
The Apostle believed that it
is impossible to please men and serve Christ at the same time (10).
A.
He admits that there was a
time when he sought to please men.
-
“….for if I YET pleased
men…..”
1.
Before Paul became a
Christian, he tried to impress his peers.
2.
After Paul became a
Christian, he lost all desire to impress his peers.
B.
It is impossible to be the
servant of Christ if your goal is to please men
(10).
1.
Notice Paul’s logical
pattern: Apostleship is Paul’s authority, and pleasing men does not enter into
this authority.
2.
The Gospel originated with
God, therefore, it cannot be changed by men or angels.
C.
We do not created the
doctrines of the church, nor do we change them.
-
this would place the church
under the scrutiny of popular opinion.
Conclusion - Anyone who changes the
Gospel, by addition or subtraction, is ACCURSED.