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]
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.
[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
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