Taking a Stand
This morning I shared in the chapel service a Mackenzie Place Retirement Center. We had a good attendance and it was good to see the people, that I only see once a month. This afternoon, we made our way to Dillon for a week in the mountains. Our trip took us to DIA, to leave a car for Stephanie and Nathan who fly in this evening. We then stopped in Lakewood to pick up the grandchildren there to come with us for the night. We are trying to maximize the time the six cousins will have together.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him! For am I now trying to win the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.” Galatians 1:9,10 HCSB
One thing you can say about Paul is, he knew how to take stand. He knew what the nonnegotiables were of the faith and he stood his ground. As Paul writes to the Galatians, he omits some of the customary words of commendation and praise that is found in other letters. He gets right to the point.
He expresses his shock that the Galatians were not only being swayed by “another gospel” but that it had happened so soon. This gospel may have been found in the teachings of first century Gnostics, it may be related to issues about adherence to the law for gentiles.
We see Paul assert, “…know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. And we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16 HCSB) Paul believed salvation was from Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith in alone.
For many, as Paul told the Corinthians the gospel seems to be foolish. So, we find attempts to have it make “sense” to a human minds. Bible commentator David Guizk observes,
- The gospel offends our pride. It tells us we need a savior, and that we cannot save ourselves. It gives no credit to us at all for our salvation; it is all the work of Jesus for us.
- The gospel offends our wisdom. It saves us by something many consider foolish – God becoming man and dying a humiliating, disgraceful death on our behalf.
- Third, the gospel offends our knowledge. It tells us to believe something which goes against scientific knowledge and personal experience – that a dead man, Jesus Christ, rose from the dead in a glorious new body that would never die again. (http://biblehub.com/commentaries/guzik/commentaries/4801.htm)
Paul lets the Galatians know that any “gospel” other than what he preached is really not a “gospel.” Paul said, “…not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the good news about the Messiah.” (Gal. 1:7 HCSB) Gospel means “good news.” The gospel is good news because of its simplicity and its focus. “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NLT)
Paul points to “trouble” and “confusion” from those who are disturbing the gospel message received by the Galatians. That should be a sign in itself. There were those who were jealous of Paul’s influence and work and tried to have a negative impact on it. James warns, “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” (James 3:16 NIV)
Paul expressed strong words about the Galatians and spoke a “curse” on those who would pollute, distort or damage the gospel message in any way. As he does, he says that he is compelled to do so as a true servant of Christ. He was not interested in popularity contests or making others feel good about their “belief” or position.
Paul realized the truth of Proverbs that, “the fear of man is a snare.” (Prov. 29:25) He was committed to pleasing Christ who had appeared to him and called him. We can learn from that steadfast dedication to the core of what it means to be a follower of Christ in our world today.