To Which Gospel Do We Cling?

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.”

(Galatians 1:6-7 ESV)

The term “gospel” means “good news.” However, it’s also more specific than this. It refers to the good news of Jesus Christ.



The term “gospel” refers to the salvation that God sent into the world. It refers to Jesus, the Son of God, who suffered and died on the cross, bearing the punishment of our sin. It refers to his resurrection from the grave, by which he defeated the power of death. It refers to the grace that is received through faith in him.



This may seem very basic. It may seem elementary. But I never cease to be amazed at how many people in our society, and even within the church, don’t get it.



Most people in our society believe in heaven. They believe in salvation. But their understanding, when it comes to how this is received, is way off.



Most people believe that heaven, that salvation, is attained by us. They believe that we simply have to be “good” people. They believe that we must do our best to keep the commands of God. And they believe that we must do our best to love other people.



This is true not only in society, but also in the church. Even in the body of Christ, where people confess the Scriptural and the historic Christian faith, they are depending not upon Jesus but themselves. They are trusting in their efforts rather than the accomplished work of Christ.



This is nothing new. This is also what was going on among the Galatians. This group, who had initially received the gospel, brought to them by Paul, was now looking to themselves. They were trusting a message, a false gospel, brought to them by others.



Paul was astonished at how quickly they’d turned away from the gospel. He was amazed that they would turn from the message of grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone to something that depended on their efforts. He was astonished that they would abandon a message that provided the assurance of salvation for one of uncertainty.



He explained to them that there is no other gospel. He told them that all other versions of the gospel were mere distortions. They were falsehoods, they were misrepresentations, of the good news of Jesus brought to them by those who wished to trouble them.



As we face these distortions, today, we must recognize them for what they really are. We must recognize them as false versions of the gospel. And we must reject them. We must reject them in favor of the true gospel, the message of forgiveness and salvation that’s found only in Jesus.