20 Jun Alternative gospel

Galatians 3:1-9

“3:1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 3:2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 3:4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 3:5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 3:6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

3:7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 3:9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

What is alternative gospel?

Background:

Acts 15 records Paul’s encounter with the Christians Jewish group called “Yudaizer” from Judea who taught Non-Jewish Christians that “unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” In fact, this teaching was also spread and taught in Jerusalem and Galatia.

There are a few questions raised by Paul to the church in Galatia that we would like to explore and learn more about today:

1. Why is the church in Galatia bewitched with alternative gospel?

3:1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.

“bewitched”

The word “Bewitched” is used by Paul to show that the church in Galatia had shifted their focus from the true gospel to another gospel without realising it. Paul said in Galatia 1 verses 6 – 7, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.”

It is worth noticing the verse used “a different gospel” which means there is a similarity between the two gospels and that this could be the reason why the church in Galatia was “bewitched” by it. Regardless, Paul stressed that the church in Galatia would not have been bewitched had they kept their spiritual eyes focused on the cross, “It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified”.

The church in Galatia let their guard down and allowed alternative gospel to infiltrate into church’s most important roles, teaching the truth. The implication of this wrong teaching not only creates an impossible task or burden for Christians to carry, but more importantly, it undermines the work done by Christ on the cross.

If someone asks us to carry out an unreasonably large amount of task so we can attend the church, I am pretty sure we will tell this person to go away. But, this is not the case with the church in Galatia, why? We will learn on the second point.

2. Why did the church in Galatia accept the alternative gospel?

3:2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?

Paul reminded the church on how they received Christ? Did they receive after, because of the way they adhered to Moses’ law or by Faith in the work of Christ on the cross? Galatians were non-Jews therefore they were not required to follow Jews customs (Mosaic law).

In fact, we know the famous Fruits of the Spirit verses are in Galatians 5:22-23 which shows that Galatians were aware of the work of the Spirit.

There are two underlying reasons as to why the church in Galatia failed to identify the difference in the teachings.

Firstly, the Gospel Alternative has the same core belief, in Jesus. It still believes in deity of Christ, the humanity of Christ and His ultimate work on the cross. But, there is a different emphasis when it comes down to how we maintain salvation.

Secondly, the Gospel Alternative appeals strongly to our human needs:

• When Adam and Eve fell into sin, the direct relationship between God and them was broken. As a result, they felt the void in their very own heart. Because of the vacuum, they kept constantly looking to fulfil it.
• People throughout history try to fill the emptiness in their heart by worshipping higher beings or looking to others for acceptance
• In our modern society, we are filling the void with power, climbing corporate ladders, fame and wealth. We believe by acquiring these, we will be accepted by society. Success is the new drug. Once you have tasted it, you are hooked but soon the law of diminishing return will apply. What this means is that, you need larger dose of success everytime to satisfy your heart.
• Modern society also teaches us to work hard, “no free lunch”. We were raised in this culture ingrained by a hard work ethic and not believing in an easy handout. We are always suspicious of a “hidden agenda”.

So, what do all the above have to do with the Gospel Alternative? Without realising it, we are also “bewitched” by the culture of this world to second guess the salvation we receive by faith in Christ. In what way? In the way we believe that we need to contribute or do something to preserve our salvation.

In other words, the salvation work by Christ on the cross is not enough! Not perfect! Not finished! We need to do something as the Judaizer says “unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Paul’s counter arguments towards the Judaizer as below (Gal 3:6-9):

3:6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

3:7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 3:9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

• Gal 3:6 “So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”

Genesis 15 records that God made a covenant with Abram when he was uncircumsized (which later circumsized in Genesis 17) and God counted this as righteousness. Righteousness means “right standing before God” and in layman terms means that you are elevated and accepted to God’s standard.

So, being circumsized is not a pre-requisite to having a covenant and being righteous before God.

• Gal 3:7 “Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham”

Church in Galatia can take comfort knowing that by believing in faith, they are also considered as children of Abraham which means they also Jews.

• Gal 3:8 “Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel inadvance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”

The Scripture or the Word who has been transformed into flesh, forsaw the salvation of the Gentiles by faith. Paul further explained that Jesus was the Scripture promised to Abraham, and has died on the cross to provide salvation by faith. Jesus’s work on the cross is perfect and complete.

• Gal 3:9 “So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

When you receive your salvation by faith in Christ then you are not only called the children of Abraham but also blessed with his blessings.

So based on Paul’s arguments above, we understand that to be a Christian it does not mean you need to be circumsized and observe the Mosaic law. How do I relate this to modern times? To answer this question, lets understand the basic differences between the Gospel of Christ vs Gospel Alternative.

3. Gospel of Christ vs Gospel Alternative

So what is the main difference between the two gospels? In a simple format both definitions can be described as below:

• Gospel of Christ – Faith = Salvation + Obedience
• Gospel Alternative – Salvation = Faith + Obedience

Both definitions have the same three elements, in which Faith and Salvation do not require a person’s effort unlike Obedience. However, the main differences between the two gospels are:

• Gospel of Christ states that Faith in Christ will produce Salvation and therefore, the person is enabled to act obediently based on the love and grace experienced
• Gospel of Alternative states that Salvation in Christ not only requires Faith but also Obedience to ensure that Salvation is valid. In other words, a person needs to work hard to ensure he/she is saved

The main issue with the Gospel Alternative is that the human being with their sinful nature will not be able to meet God’s standard through their obedience. It is wishful thinking to expect a Christian not to make mistakes or sins in their daily life. This not only creates an unrealistic expectation but also an unnecessary burden to carry and also a prolonged frustruation in life.

I don’t know about you, but I feel so bad when I fall into sin or making a mistake. I feel ashamed and frustrated that somehow I have disappointed my Father in heaven. Understanding the huge sacrifice that Jesus undertook to save me and His underserving love poured on me, I feel very gutted and sad. Somehow I have despised/taken for granted all the effort and love He has have given to me.

On the otherhand I realised, my loving God does not want me to live like this. Jesus never gives you more burdens than you can bear. He welcomes people that are weary and heavy burden/hearted and lifts them up. His yoke is gentle and easy.

So if Gospel Alternative is not the answer, thats means…

4. Why is the Gospel of Christ the only answer?

3:4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 3:5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

Paul then asked another similar question to the church in Galatia. Really? After what I have taught you? After what you have seen and experienced, particularly with the Holy Spirit? Deep down inside Paul had a hoped that there was still a spark that would keep the fire burning.

Today, I hope we still have the spark in our heart and that the spark becomes a flames when we listen to the word of God.

The same questions we should ask ourself today are:

• Do I feel tired being a Christian because I need to make sure I live up to God’s expectations?
• Do I carry so many burdens that I don’t even know what they are and how to get rid of them?
• Do I constantly worry that I will fall into sin and that it will jeoperdize all the hard work that I have done so far to be a good Christian?
• Am i still saved? Is my salvation still valid?

The same anxious feeling when:

• You are still under probation and try to make sure you can pass the 6 months to become a permanent staff member
• You receive a bad health report and need to do further tests in the next couple months

If the answer to any question above above is, Yes, that you are constantly worried about this then you might have been bewitched to believe in the alternative gospel Gospel Alternative. Don’t get me wrong, people can get anxious in certain seasons of their life but I am talking about a constant fear in your heart that you will lose your salvation when you fall into sin or not living up to the God’s standard.

When you put your faith in Christ as your Lord and Saviour then your salvation is guaranteed. Nothing that you do can make you more perfect or eligible for salvation because it is an undeserving grace that Jesus gives to us not because of our merit. In other words, it is not because of your hard work, performance, wealth, fame and power. It is purely the work of Christ on the cross because God loves the world so much.

• Gospel of Christ is the only belief that gives you freedom upfront before it inspires you to be obedient. This differs with other religions that require you to be obedience/t so you are eligible to receive freedom
• Gospel of Christ will set us free from all the cultural pressure in this world:
  • Burden from the past (our sins)
  • Burden in the future (parents, culture or world expectations)
• And as we discussed previously, the Gospel of Christ provides you with eternal freedom from the pressure to prove yourself to meet God’s standard. Galatians 3:10-14 records that Christ is the only man who fulfilled the Mosaic law so that we would not have to

There are 2 things that Jesus did for us on the cross:

• He died as a perfect sacrifice to fulfil all the Mosaic law requirements so we don’t have to carry the constant burden of not meeting God’s standards
• He died and offered His blood to redeem our sins so instead of being cast away from the Garden, we are now accepted into God’s family

Once you have received Christ in your heart, you don’t seek any acceptance from anywhere else because your heart is content. Your heart is restored and filled with love and joy.

Discussion questions:

1. What are the similarities and the differences between the gospel of Christ and the gospel alternative?
2. Why do you think the gospel alternative is very appealing?
3. Give some modern examples of gospel alternative. Can you see how you can be drawn to the modern gospel alternative? Share with your group.
4. How does the gospel of Christ free us from the burden of performance? 
5. Share your personal story of what happened to you when God first opened your eyes to understand the gospel.