Holding Truth Over Error

Scripture – Galatians 1:6-10: ⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—⁷which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! ⁹As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! ¹⁰Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Reflection: – It’s important to remember, Paul was bringing an entirely new message to people as he traveled from town to town. While people might respond to the message of Christ, they would have no background themselves or any mature Christians to guide them. So when other teachers would come along, they could easily be led in a different direction. It looks like this is what was happening with the Galatian churches.

Paul makes a crucial observation here. There is no other gospel but Christ. A long time ago I heard this advice. If someone says you need Jesus plus something else to be saved, pay close attention. Probably they’re getting into false teaching which will confuse people and pervert the gospel of Christ.

Last Sunday morning I came across a TV program featuring Dr. Charles Stanley. In the course of his sermon he was emphasizing the importance of truth over error. That’s where the battle is going on for the soul of this current generation. There is a lot of error in our thinking that tries to crowd out God’s truth. The fact is we are saved by God’s grace, not by our works. That’s a truth that Paul will drive home over and over in this Galatian letter.

So here are a couple questions to keep in mind today. What messages do you hear that might lead you away from the truth of God’s grace? How can you avoid spiritual confusion?