In this blog we are going to ask and answer the question: Is there another gospel? Or, Is there a new kind of Christianity? You may be wondering, why is this even a question? Well, in February of 2010, Brian McLauren, who is a Progressive Christian Pastor, wrote a book called ‘A New Kind of Christianity’. He, along with Rob Bell (author of the book Love Wins), William P. Young (author of the book The Shack) all suggest that the Bible we have today cannot be trusted to give us the truth and that traditional Christianity is wrong. They believe there is a different, newer form of Christianity that we should consider such as Universalism. So, is that true? Is there another gospel? Is there a new kind of Christianity? Have you and I believed something our whole life that is wrong? That’s what I want to flesh out this morning in Galatians 1:1-9.
Paul begins his letter to the Galatians with a greeting in verses 1-5, which states, “Paul, an apostle – not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead – and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Paul always begins his letters with some form of greeting, and from this greeting we can gather 5 things: 1) Paul is affirming to the Galatians that God called/chose him to declare the gospel. 2) Paul affirms the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 3) He wishes his audience “grace and peace”, which is customary for Paul to do in most all of his greetings. So, Paul does this to say to the Galatians, I write this in peace. Which is needed, because Paul’s letter to the Galatians is one of the most direct, stern, straightforward, blunt, and frank letters that Paul ever wrote; this letter is one big rebuke. 4) Paul affirms that he is writing this representing God the Father and Jesus Christ. He is not writing this letter just to write it or writing from his own opinion, but has been inspired by God to write this. 5) Paul gives a brief declaration of the gospel saying, Jesus “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” Translation: According to God’s plan, Jesus Christ gave up his life for our sins, in order to rescue us from this evil world which we now live in. That is how Paul would briefly summarize the gospel that he was called and chosen to preach. And a good verse to memorize if you want to explain the gospel in one sentence.
Then, from verses 6-10, Paul begins his rebuke starting with verse 6, “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.” What is Paul saying here? Paul is expressing emotion, saying, “I am astonished”. In other words, Paul is amazed; Paul is shocked, Paul is surprised, Paul is filled with wonder. But why is Paul so astonished? Paul is astonished, at the pace at which the churches of Galatia are deserting or turning away from God who called them and chose them to be saved by grace through Jesus Christ.
We should be shocked too. Did you know, according to Pew Research in 2019, four in ten Millennials (23-38), who were once attending a church and identified themselves as Christians, now say they are religiously unaffiliated. Did you know, according to Pew Research in 2017, Christianity is seeing a sharp decline in the United States. Did you know, according to a Gallup Poll in 2020, for the first time in the United States church membership falls below the majority (47%). Did you know that with each year that passes these numbers are worsening all the more quickly. This is why I say we should join Paul in being astonished at the pace of which people in the churches of the United States are turning away from God who called them and chose them to be saved by grace through Christ. Sadly, there are many celebrities of popular contemporary worship bands and pastors, in the past 3 years, who have come out and denounced Jesus.
Why are the Galatians deserting God, who called them to be saved, and what are they turning away from God for? The reason they are turning away from God is not matters for which Christians may disagree (doctrinal differences), they are turning away from God because they question the gospel. What does that mean they question the gospel? They question if God’s plan all along was to save humanity by sending Jesus to give himself up for our sins. They question if salvation really is through grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone. In essence, they question whether Christ is enough to save them. And they were turning to what Paul calls “a different gospel”.
This is the same issue we see today. The reason so many are confused if Jesus or goods works is the means of salvation, the reason Millennials are now religiously unaffiliated, the reason we are seeing a sharp decline in the church, the reason we see church membership dropping is because people question whether or not Jesus is enough to save them. Therefore, they are turning away from the gospel of Jesus Christ to another gospel.
This begs the question, is there a “different gospel” to turn to? Is there another way to be saved aside from faith in Jesus? Is there another way to have a relationship with God apart from Jesus? Is there another means to enter into heaven besides Jesus? Answer: No. Paul, as he continues in his rebuke in verse 7 writes, “not that there is another one”. There is no other gospel. There is no new form of Christianity. There is no other way to be saved from sin apart from faith in Jesus. There is no other way to have a relationship with God apart from Jesus. There is no other means to enter Heaven besides Jesus. And there is no other person, method, or ritual that can give eternal life.
Now I know that in this culture of ‘wokeness’ and ‘cancelation’ what I just said is considered intolerant and close-minded, because I am claiming there is no other way but one. This culture teaches that we are to be open-minded and tolerant and that all religions are equally valid. We live in America, so everyone has a right to their religious opinions, however, just because someone has an opinion does not mean it is a correct, absolute truth. That’s where Jesus comes in; Jesus Christ came into this world, sent by God, to bear witness to what is absolutely true: that God has provided one way to be saved – by faith alone in Christ alone.
What is this “different gospel” the Galatians were turning to, which is no gospel at all? Why were they turning to it? Paul said in verse 7 the reason the Galatians were turning to a “different gospel” was because “there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” There were other preachers, called Judaizers, who came after Paul troubling the Galatians by deliberately twisting the truth concerning Jesus Christ.
What were they teaching? How were they twisting the good news of Jesus? They taught that Christ was not enough; if the Galatians wanted to be truly saved they had to follow Jewish laws and customs, namely, the rite of circumcision. Thus, to be saved they had to put their faith in Jesus and do good works. Whereas, Paul was teaching them to be saved, all they had to do is put their faith in Jesus; Jesus was and is enough. And that is what Christianity teaches: Jesus is enough to save you.
Let me give you this word of caution: Be very aware of anybody who teaches that we need more than faith in Jesus to be saved. There are people who stand in pulpits who teach Jesus + works = salvation; that’s heresy. We call this the ‘Plus Religion’, this is what the Catholic church teaches, which is very wrong, and is why many are being led astray by them. Now, does doing good works matter? Yes. But Christianity teaches good works are the result of our salvation in Jesus, not the means of our salvation. But even in some Protestant churches (non-Catholic), there are pastor’s who stand in pulpits every Sunday morning who preach the same. For example, Georgia Senator & popular Pastor Ralph Warnock, on Easter weekend stood before his congregation and said this, according to the Christian Post, “whether you are a Christian or not, through a commitment to helping others we are able to save ourselves.” That is a protestant, non-catholic, Christian Pastor declaring we can save ourselves by good works and without Jesus; that kind of preaching in Protestant pulpits is more popular today than you may realize. Then there are preachers, who are full of greed, standing in pulpits and are on television preaching, saying if you just give their ministry enough money, you’ll be healthy, wealthy, and happy, and claiming that’s why Jesus died, and using Scripture to justify their words; again, that is a complete distortion of Scripture, and so many are falling for it. There are even preachers, like Pastor Joshua Scott of GracePoint Church in Tennessee, who is an openly Progressive Christian Pastor, stood in the pulpit of his church, weeks before Easter and declared, “the Bible isn’t the Word of God, self-interpreting, inerrant, or infallible, but is a product of community, library texts, multi-vocal, and human response to God.” And there are Pastors such as Brian McLauren, an openly Progressive Pastor, who teaches his congregation there is no hell and that everyone will be saved (universalism), and the Christianity we preach today is all wrong. I don’t say these names to poke fun; this is sad to me. We should be praying for people like these, that God would open the eyes of their heart, help them to see the error of their ways, and be saved.
How serious is it to distort the truth concerning Jesus Christ? Serious. Paul continues his rebuke in verse 8 and explains the seriousness of twisting the Scriptures, saying, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” Paul is addressing two people: First, Paul uses the word “we” to include himself, and says, ‘If I, Paul, or those accompanying me, should preach a gospel that is different from salvation in Christ alone by faith alone, let me, Paul, and those accompanying me, be accursed, doomed, condemned, ill-fated, detested, and damned. Secondly, Paul includes angels in the same rebuke, saying, ‘Even if an angel, should come from heaven above and preach a different gospel from salvation in Christ alone by faith alone, let that angel be accursed, be doomed, be condemned, be ill-fated, be detested, and be damned.
Then, just to cover his bases, Paul, in verse 9 states, “As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” This time Paul includes the word “anyone”. So, who is Paul addressing? Everybody. Here’s what Paul is saying: if anyone, or if any person at all, if Kevin, if Nathan, if Mandy, if Natalie, if Tammy or anyone else, regardless of who they are or what their celebrity status might be or who their parents are or how much tithes they paid to the church or how great the message was, if that person, no matter who they are, preaches a different gospel from salvation in Christ alone by faith alone, let that person, whoever they might be, be accursed, be doomed, be condemned, be ill-fated, be detested, and be damned. And I fear there are many standing in pulpits today, maybe even teaching in a small group or in a Sunday School class declaring a gospel that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they will be accursed, they will suffer an ill-fate, they will be doomed, and they will be damned when they meet Jesus.
In conclusion, there is no other gospel, according to Paul. There is no other means to be saved aside from Jesus Christ, because Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There is no substitute for salvation beside Jesus. God’s plan was always to send His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world so Jesus could give up his life in order to save us from our sins. And any man who preaches a different gospel from that is wrong. Not only is he wrong, he is accursed, and we should pray for their salvation.