Galatians 1.6-9
“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. 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.”
Paul denounces false-teaching in the strongest possible terms. Twice he declares “accursed” anyone — including an angel from heaven — who preaches a distorted gospel.
The Greek word translated “accursed” is anathema, and it was used in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) for the curse of God that was placed upon anything or anyone devoted by the Lord to destruction. The story of Achan in Joshua 7 provides an example. God said that the spoils of the Canaanites were under his ban—they were devoted to destruction. But Achan stole and kept for himself spoils that should have been destroyed. When Achan’s disobedience was found out, the consequences were severe:
“And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger.” (Joshua 7:25-26)
To pervert the gospel is to come under God’s wrath, which is clearly not to be taken lightly. This is an aspect of the Christian faith that modern society finds disdainful. America is a very diverse society, and it is built upon a culture of religious pluralism. The U.S. constitution makes freedom of religion a cardinal virtue. However, while Christians certainly recognize that freedom of religion is a necessary law for a society of liberty, we must never accept the notion that all religions are true just because tolerance is needed in a diverse society.
The popular view is that there are many different ways to God, but scripture is clear: there is only one gospel. We should respect other religions, but we must always hold firmly to the exclusive truth of the gospel of Christ. While we defend the rights of others to worship in the manner they choose, we must never compromise or minimize the truth of the gospel by suggesting that other faiths are also the truth. What the apostle Paul teaches in Galatians is that distortions of the gospel, whether they are protected by constitutional rights or not, are contrary to God’s will and subject to God’s severe displeasure.
In John 14.6, Jesus said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” I have personally experienced many non-Christians get very offended by that statement. But the social sensibilities or political opinions of people are not the reference point for God’s truth. The anger and indignation of people has no bearing on what is true. Jesus IS the only way to God, because Jesus is God’s provision for man’s sin.
I close today with this. Following the ascension of Jesus, Peter and John were at the temple in Jerusalem proclaiming Jesus as Messiah. Seeing a man lame from birth, Peter healed him in the name of Jesus. This angered the Jewish leaders, so they arrested Peter and John and put them in jail. The next day Peter and John were brought before all the prominent Jewish leaders, including the high priests. Here is what Peter said:
“Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12)
