Gal 1:8-9 (KJV) 8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9) 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.
The importance of believing, holding to, and proclaiming the genuine gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is emphasized in this text, as well as throughout the New Testament Scriptures. Before we look at our text, I would like to refer to the Apostle Paul for a definition of the genuine gospel message…
1Cor 15:1-8 (KJV) “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.”
It is this message that we are to proclaim to all the world. But, sad to say, Satan is a master of counterfeiting God’s messengers and God’s message (2 Cor 11:13-15). His counterfeits of the gospel message vary from a perversion of the way salvation to the misidentifying of the One through whom salvation is procured … his false messages are many.
In our text we find a very straightforward warning against broadcasting the lies of Satan under the guise of the true gospel. Please notice it makes no difference who is the speaker “But though we, or an angel from heaven” we all will be held accountable for the message that we declare.
Also, in every case, the judgment of God will be meted out in full measure through the giving of His curse upon the messenger “let him be accursed”…”let him be accursed”. Please note the word “him”… this tells us that it is not, simply, the false message that is being cursed, but it also the messenger that is receiving the promise of judgment from God.
For those of us who have received God’s gracious salvation, we have personally experienced the power of the gospel message and the wonderful forgiveness, peace and security that is found in Jesus Christ alone. Let us all be sure to not depart from this message and begin proclaiming a false message of salvation.
If we do, we have made certain to be the recipient of God’s curse, and by implication, we must question if we have actually been saved. This act of forsaking the true gospel is described in the Bible as departing from those of the true faith (becoming apostate) and a certain sign of condemnation. (1 John 2:19, 2 Pet 2:20-21, 1 Cor 11:17-19, Heb 10:38-39)
Let us present to the world the same gospel message through which we are saved.
May the Lord bless us as we “Think On These Things”.
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May God indeed grant us the grace to remain in and proclaim the Gospel which is the only Gospel and there is no other. Thanks for sharing, pastor.
You are more than welcome. The Lord is so gracous and good to us by sharing with us the good news of salvation. How sad it is when sinful mankind perverts that message. Lord bless you.
The ‘counterfeit’ gospels sometimes are hard to discern for those who aren’t familiar with the scriptures …Some mention Jesus Christ as part of their doctrine but unless one knows some of the other things that contradict the ‘true gospel’ they believe they are saved….One can only hope that these people in their prayers are led into the real and true knowledge….Diane
Diane,
That is so very true. Thgat is why all Christians MUST read the Word and come to a basic understanding of the doctrines of the Bible. It is the only protection we have to false teaching. Thanks for a great comment. Lord bless you.
My first thought, when reading the text, was that it completely contradicts what we hear so much these days. We are constantly told that we must be ‘tolerant’ and we must accept that others have a different opinion and a different faith, and that all roads lead to heaven (if there is a heaven).
This text tells us otherwise. We must stand firm on the facts of the true Gospel. We must proclaim that Jesus IS God and that HE is the ONLY way to heaven. We must stand firm on the authority and the inerrancy of the Word.
We serve an amazing God who will always give us the words to speak with His love.
Angela,
AMEN… as Christians we are to lovingly stand for the truths of His Word without excuse or compromise. The gospel message cannot be perverted nor compromised upon. In doing so, we are comdemning those to whom we speak to eternity in the lake of fire. Thanks for a great comment and pointing out a different aspect to the posting. Lord bless.
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Thank you, Pastor Rob, for helping us stay in His Word, and to know the Gospel of which we speak. God bless you as bring us His Gospel and His truth!
Thank you for the kind words. His Word is so good to us. Lord bless you, Debbie.