Galatians 1:3-10
We must know the authentic gospel in order to recognize counterfeit gospels.
- We must know the authentic gospel (v. 3-5).
- We must be aware of counterfeit gospels (v. 6-7).
- We must defend the gospel (v. 8-9).
- We must be preoccupied with God’s approval (v. 10).
I. We must know the authentic gospel (v. 3-5).
“Making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”—Ephesians 1:9-10
II. We must be aware of counterfeit gospels (v. 6-7)
“The wake of devastation the prosperity gospel leaves behind stems from selling a version of Jesus that overpromises and underdelivers. Instead of rightfully putting their primary emphasis on lavish spiritual blessings unlocked in Christ (Eph. 1:3-12), prosperity preachers twist Scripture to put the emphasis on temporary pleasure, promising that Jesus is a Heavenly Banker who wants everyone to be healthy and wealthy on earth.”—Costi Hinn
III. We must defend the gospel (v. 8-9).
“Even an apostle cannot alter, revise or add to the message of Christ. What he says is not the result of his study, research, reflection and wisdom. It is God-given, and both unchanging and unchangeable.”—Tim Keller, Galatians to You
“Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.”—Galatians 1:1
“anathema” (defined in the context of Galatians 1) — loving condemnation of one’s false doctrine with the hope of genuine repentance and restored unity
“…until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”—Ephesians 4:13-16
IV. We must be preoccupied with God’s approval (v. 10).
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”—John 15:18-19
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”—2 Timothy 4:3