WHEN AN APOSTLE IS CONCERNED -- Tomorrow:
Devotion 23 of 29
" . . . or another gospel, which ye have not accepted . . . "
Other versions read, "a different gospel which you have not accepted" (NKJV), "a different sort of good news from those which came to you" (BBE), "a different kind of gospel than the one you believed" (NLT), "or shows you a different way to be saved" (LIVING), "a gospel different than the first one you accepted" (IE), "a Good News different from that which you have already welcomed" (WEYMOUTH), "a glad message different from the one you did accept" (WILLIAMS), and "a different gospel from the one you [then] received and welcomed" (AMPLIFIED).
Precisely what is "the Gospel?" It is essentially "good news" to those who have been convicted by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that when the Spirit came, He would "reprove [convict] the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8). He went on to explain what is meant by these three convicting works.
1. SIN – "Of sin because they believe not on Me" (John 16:9). This is the preeminent sin, and will surely condemn those who are not delivered from its guilt and power. This is sin that does not embrace Jesus as God has presented Him (1 John 5:10-11). It is a sin that rejects the atonement made by Jesus, and refuses to leave all and follow Him.
2. RIGHTEOUSNESS – "Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more" (John 16:10). That is, Jesus is, in fact, the only truly righteous Person. That is why He is referred to as "Jesus Christ the Righteous [One]" (1 John 2:1). To be convicted of righteousness is to be convinced of the necessity of righteousness – to perceive that you have none of your own, and that it is only available in Christ Jesus.
3. JUDGMENT – "Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged" (John 16:11). Satan has already been judged, and expelled from heaven (Lk 10:18; Rev 12:9). As a consequence, all who remain under his control are also condemned. If a person is not delivered from Satan's dominion, there is no hope of him being saved, for such are nothing more than his children (Matt 13:38; John 8:44).
To those who have experienced this conviction, the Gospel is "good news." A gospel that is appealing to anyone who has not been convicted of these things is really no gospel at all. It is spurious and only serves the purposes of men. It is a gospel through which God will not work.
There is such a thing as "another Gospel" – a "gospel" that has nothing to do with the real Jesus, and does not announce the giving of the real Spirit. It announces a strange message, makes false promises, and anchors men to this present evil world, instead of declaring deliverance from it.
THE CASE OF THE GALATIANS
The seriousness of the presence of "another gospel" is accented in Paul's letter to the Galatians. "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 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. 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" (Gal 1:6-9).
The "other gospel" that had been embraced by the Galatians de-emphasized "the grace of Christ" and accented the "works" of men. It was essentially the same as the weak and beggarly Law, delivered in a tattered "Christian" garb. It was much like a lot of what is being spouted from many of the pulpits of our day. Men were declared as achieving Divine acceptance BECAUSE of what they did – which is the whole principle of "the works of the law." Early on, some Jewish teachers had said, "Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved" (Acts 15:1). These teachers had intruded into the Galatian assemblies, and had corrupted the people. Paul told them that being accepted by God upon the basis of works – even the works of a holy Law – really yielded nothing more than a curse: "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Gal 3:10). Serving God upon the basis of Law requires absolute, total, and unwavering obedience. Not a single infraction is permitted – ever. To come to God upon such a basis makes Christ ineffective toward the individual, and causes a fall from grace. Therefore Paul wrote, "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace" (Gal 5:4).
The Galatians had, then, been exposed to "another gospel" that actually caused Christ to be "of no effect" to those who accepted it. Rather than bringing the grace of God to the people, it promoted a fall from grace – that is, it caused them to no longer have access to the grace of God. Grace, in such a case, became irrelevant to the people, and their own imagined ability was seen as paramount.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant Your people deliverance from those who preach "another gospel."