The Gospel

I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.[1]  

The gospel of the kingdom^[2], the gospel of Jesus Christ,[3] the gospel of God,[4] the gospel of the grace of God,[5] the gospel of the glory of Christ,[6] the gospel of your salvation,[7] preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham,[8] the gospel of peace.[9]
 

 What was going on that upset Paul to the point that he said some teachers within the realm of early Christianity were cursed? He assured the Galatians that the gospel he preached was given to him directly by Jesus. The teachers who were persuading some believers to change were peddlers of a distorted view of truth. Paul passionately confronted false teachers, most of them at that time were Jewish apostates, or over-zealous Jewish Christians teaching that Gentiles had to obey the law. The gospel Paul preached was the same as the gospel Jesus taught. The scriptures above show a number of the terms associated with the “gospel”. The gospel to Abraham was that all people would be blessed through his seed, seed meaning Jesus. The gospel of the kingdom is synonymous with the gospel of salvation. There is only one gospel, the “good news of redemption”, and that is through Jesus alone.  
 

Paul writing to the Corinthians commented on the issue of false teachers.

I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by its cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you submit to it readily enough.[10]

The Judaizing teachers were for the most part Hebrews Christians. Their main purpose was to have Gentile believers submit to the ordinance of circumcision, which ostensibly made them Jews, subject to the Law. It must be understood that for the first ten to fifteen years or so, Jews, and Jewish proselytes, were the only people involved in the Jesus movement. Cornelius was the first Gentile to be offered the gospel of Christ. He was sympathetic to the Jewish religion and “feared God.”[11] Paul on his travels, while in Antioch in Pisidia, went into the synagogue, he “stood up, and motioning with his hand said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen…”[12] The body of Christians in Jerusalem were very influential in the early days,  and even up to the destruction of that city. Christians vacated Jerusalem before Rome’s final attack on the city. It can be seen from James and the elders’ admonition to Paul that Jewish Christians were expected to comply with all edicts of the Law.[13] Jews having been brought up under the Law, were as Christians were required to obey the Law and keep its ceremonies. They would have found it almost impossible to accept that Gentiles had access to their religion without becoming Jews. There was one body, and one Saviour. Grace was the means of salvation, both for Jew and Gentile. That was made clear in a meeting with the Jerusalem brothers, when Peter said, "…we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are." That was a huge statement, and while difficult for Jewish Christians zealous for the Law to accept, it leveled the playing field for all people, Jew and Gentile.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; Eph 2:9  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.[14]

There were likely many ready listeners for the teaching that the rituals required by the Law applied to Gentiles as well as Jews. Many of us at one time or another may have thought that a physical act leading to purification of our souls would be helpful. It seems quite innocent to want to do something in respect to one’s own salvation.  

Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?[15]

The words spoken by Peter demonstrate the burden carried by Jews under the Law. But, it was the Law they were familiar with, and which had been in their lives from their first memories. I don’t think believers left Jesus for the burden of the Law itself, but for the cathartic value of engaging in rituals. This I believe becomes evident from the Greek language; many times when we see “the Law” in the New Testament, it can be translated as simply “law”. Disciples leaving Jesus for Moses, or believers leaving grace for law, were exactly the same –a denial of Jesus. Paul saw any deviation from Christ as apostasy.

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.[16]

Quite correctly, Jews would assume that Paul spoke of their Law in his defense of faith. In Paul’s argument “the Law” appears in the discussion a number times. However, in the phrase, “you who are seeking to be justified by law,” there is no definite article before “law”. Jews would have taken his meaning to be “the Law”, but the statement takes a broader swath by including any law. How serious was Paul in teaching that anything done as a personal work in the process of salvation negated grace? It seems to me that Paul’s concern was not focused on doctrinal issues, but on the primacy of Jesus. There were many Jews at the time of his writing who zealously acted upon the requirements of their Law.[17] Paul’s objection was that some were teaching that in order to be saved, one had to comply with the rituals of the Law. Followers of that teaching Paul said, “…have fallen from grace.” There are no two ways about it, then and now, salvation is through Jesus, and turning to rituals deny the efficacy of Jesus death. For Paul it was predominately an issue concerning Jewish law. But I wonder, is it an issue believers should be concerned about today? Could the religious practices I engage in cast a shadow over the cross? Does the act of going to Church give me a sense of rightness with God? If we believe that by engaging in rituals we ensure our hope, could it be that we may be denying grace.  

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[1] Gal 1:6-12

[2] Mat 4:23

[3] Mar 1:1

[4] Mar 1:14

[5] Act 20:24

[6] 2Co 4:4

[7] Eph 1:13

[8] Gal 3:8

[9] Eph 6:15

[10] 2Co 11:2-14

[11] Act 10:2

[12] Act 13:16 

[13] Act 21:18-25

[14] Eph 2:8-10

[15] Act 15:10  

[16] Gal 5:1-5

[17] Act 21:20