Paul referred to the Gospel as the Gospel of grace
as well as the Gospel of Christ. And this Gospel is the message of grace,
because salvation through faith in Christ, is a gift freely offered to a fallen
undeserving people. And it is by grace that believers are called to receive
this gift by faith. It is also called the Gospel of Christ because it is about
the Lord Jesus Christ. It is about Him and His work at the Cross that delivered
humanity from sins and bondage.
Man’s response to God has not always been
consistent and faithful. When not rightly grounded, we have the tendency to be
distracted and wander away from the true course. The Galatians whom Paul was writing
to, showed this tendency to be true. Paul was bewildered with their fickle-mindedness
and was appalled that they vacillated and had so quickly strayed away from the
Gospel. Although they had embraced the Gospel and trusted Christ Who called
them by grace, they had now turned away from Him. Paul warned them that they
were not deserting the message per se, but that they were actually turning away
from Christ. That’s why he told them that they were deserting “Him” (v.6).
The teachers who taught another gospel were Jews who
were still entrenched in their past beliefs in Judaism. They had infiltrated
the church and were preaching a different version of the gospel. Their message
was a distortion of the truth of the Gospel of Christ that Paul had preached,
which the Galatians had embraced. This distorted gospel had now confused the
Galatians, and resulted in them departing from the truth and Christ.
Appalled by the Galatians’ desertion of Christ,
Paul sternly expressed his disbelief in their lack of faithfulness and
tenacity. His main concern was that they were so quickly deserting the Lord. So
in his concern for the truth, he pronounced a condemnation on all who preached
a contrary gospel.
Paul’s vehement response
tells us something about his attitude as God’s servant. He was totally consumed
with God and His truth. He only wanted to please God and not men. And he would
not allow anyone to take the glorious Gospel, contort it only to usher believers
into their destruction. This indicates to us the kind of heart he had, not only
for God, but also for God’s people. And in referring himself as a bond-servant
of God, Paul revealed himself as one who had willingly chosen to serve the
Lord, His Master, uncompromisingly.
We must all emulate Paul
and be faithful to God and Biblical truths. Having embraced the truth in the Gospel
of Christ and chosen to follow Him, we must follow Christ steadfastly. Let’s
not be fickle. Let’s be discerning, seeking to be faithful in our obedience to God.
Know this: when the Lord reveals His truth to us, it is not merely for us to have
a “wow” experience. It is also His invitation to us to step into His program, to
actively participate in what He is doing in our lives, and partner with Him to
make us more like Christ. We must stay connected with Him and be faithful to
the end!
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