Perversion of the Gospel

Summary: Paul expresses astonishment that the Galatians are so quickly turning away from the One who called them by grace and are shifting to a different “gospel.” He insists that what they are being drawn toward is not truly another gospel at all, but a distortion - people are troubling them and trying to twist the message about Christ. Because of this, Paul issues a solemn warning: if anyone - whether his own group, or even an angel from heaven - proclaims a gospel contrary to what they originally received, that person is to be condemned. He repeats the warning for emphasis, underscoring its seriousness. Paul then clarifies his motive: he is not trying to win human approval but to answer to God. If his aim were to please people, he says, he would not be a servant of Christ.   Teaching: Paul rebukes those, who have been saved by the grace of Christ, asking how they could so quickly follow a different gospel. This phenomenon existed in the early church 2,000 years ago, and it is even more preval‎ent today. A “different gospel” is a message that alters Christ’s gospel in order to confuse and unsettle us. It resembles the gospel, but it is not the gospel. Therefore, we must correctly understand what the gospel Paul proclaims actually is. When people who preach a different gospel enter the church, they try to take hold of someone - especially those who are weak in faith - and form their own faction. We must be wary of such people, and we must not become like them. Such people can enter at any time, and they can also arise organically from within the church. Because they disturb and mislead us with falsehood, we must know what is genuine. That is, to know the truth, we need to know Scripture well - so we must become deeply familiar with the Bible.   Remember: “if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” This is a fact. Excerpt from the sermon by Pastor Lee, Feb 13, 2026 Galatians 1:6-10 p.s. What fuels the perversion of the Gospel more than anything is the gossip which stems from unwillingness to understand or forgive others.