Galatians 1:6-9 (KJV) I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Who Calls Us Into Grace Through The Gospel?

It is so very important that we understand what “The Gospel” is. Even so called “Bible Scholars” have trouble understanding the Gospel. What if you have a poor view of the Gospel? Paul writes:

Galatians 1:6 (KJV) I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel

Now, Who calls you into the Grace of Christ? Is it the Preacher? No, the Preacher shares the Gospel, but the Bible says that before Christ that we are all DEAD in TRESPASSES and SINS. Paul told the Church at Ephesus:

All Are Spiritually Dead:

Ephesians 2:1-6 (ESV) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience– [3] among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. [4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved– [6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

It is GOD Who CALLS us. We hear the Gospel through the Preacher, through the Witness who shares the Gospel, but God must open our eyes to that Gospel. The Apostle Peter wrote:

1 Peter 5:10 … the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

It is God Who calls to salvation.

2 Timothy 1:8-9 (ESV) Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, [9] who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

It is GOD Who calls to salvation through the Gospel message. A human shares the Gospel, but GOD does the calling. One of my favorite verses,

Romans 8:28 (ESV) … we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

It is GOD Who calls us, through the proper presentation of the Gospel, “ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE”. And the Words of our Lord Jesus:

John 6:44 (ESV) No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

God calls the person to salvation. God opens our eyes, causing the scales of sin to fall off of them. God calls us. Yes, I believe we can refuse the call, but He calls us. He is faithful to call every person.

1 Corinthians 1:9 (ESV) God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Remember 1 Corinthians 1:9, because I’m coming back to it in a moment.

Let’s look at our text again:

Galatians 1:6 (KJV) I marvel that ye are so soon removed {metatithēmi} from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel

Word Study: If “HIM THAT CALLED YOU INTO THE GRACE OF CHRIST” is God – and we have amply proven this – then when you go to another Gospel you are “REMOVED from HIM, REMOVED from God”. The word translated “REMOVED” is the Greek metatithēmi, which means to be “transformed from one state to another”. If you are saved by the true Gospel, then it is God Who saved you, and God Who walks with you. But if you move to a false Gospel then you have wandered away from the power of God. Now there are many false Gospels in the world today. The word metatithēmi is used in the Book of Jude,

Jude 4 (KJV) For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, TURNING {metatithēmi} the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Some crept in the Church and said “The Gospel says that you can receive Jesus as Savior, but you need not follow Him as Lord. He is not your King. Once saved, you may go on living your life as you desire, pleasing yourself, and once you die you may go to Heaven.” People who teach this have transformed the Gospel from one state to another.

Jesus Is BOTH Lord And Savior Is The Gospel

The Gospel that God saves us by is a faithful Gospel. It CALLS us into fellowship with Jesus Christ. But Who is Jesus? The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 1:9 (ESV) God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Gospel that saves us is used by God to CALL us into fellowship with Jesus Christ OUR LORD. He is Lord of His people. This is the Gospel that Jesus preached.

The devil has sent his agents into the Church with a false gospel. The false gospel teaches either Jesus is Lord but not Savior, or Jesus is Savior but not Lord. The True Gospel is that Jesus is both Lord and Savior.

Matthew 4:23 (KJV) Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom

Matthew 9:35 (KJV) Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom

Matthew 24:14 (KJV) … this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations

Mark 1:14 (KJV) Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God …

The GOSPEL that saves is a KINGDOM Gospel, and a KINGDOM has a KING. Guess what? We aren’t the Kings. Jesus is the King. God is the King. The Gospel that saves is “REPENT, for the KINGDOM of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:15). Who is saved? The Bible says “JESUS … shall save HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS”.

The Gospel is REPENT from being your own god, and RECEIVE Jesus Christ as your God.

God saves through the proper Gospel, the Biblical Gospel. But God will not enable you if you transform the Gospel, if you make it something that He never meant it to be.

The False Gospels TROUBLE The Christian
And DAMNS The Lost

Galatians 1:6-7 … unto ANOTHER {heteros} gospel: 7 Which is not ANOTHER; but there be some that TROUBLE {tarassō} you, and would PERVERT {metastrephō} the gospel of Christ.

Word Study: The false Gospels are “ANOTHER”, the Greek heteros, meaning “not of the same nature, form, or class”. The counterfeit gospels that are out there will not lead a person to genuine salvation. The reason these gospels exist is because there are people and entities that want to “TROUBLE”, the Greek tarassō, that is “to take away your balance, to strike your spirit with fear, dread, and uncertainty”. It is the devil’s intent to rob you of Paradise, of the joy of walking with Jesus. The devil did the same thing in the Garden of Eden, and what the devil does today. He says:

Genesis 3:1 (LSB) Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?

Has God really said that? Perverting the Word of God, the devil used this as an opportunity to lead Adam away from God and toward the flesh. The devil has agents who will try and “PERVERT”, or turn what was light into darkness, turn what was joyful to heaviness.

There are two prevalent perversions
of the Gospel in the world.

1. Jesus is Savior, but not Lord. One says that once you say a prayer, walk the aisle, and get baptized, you are right with God. You do not need to obey God or follow the Bible. You are freely saved. You will one day go to Heaven because of your momentary decision. Your name is on the roll of the Church. If you decide to go deeper, you can be a disciple – but Christianity is two staged. You can be saved and live like the world. Or you can grow and be a disciple. God doesn’t care what you do.

2. Jesus is Lord, but not my Savior. I must add to the work that Jesus did at salvation. There are other things I must do, rituals or rites, or else I am not saved. Salvation is what Jesus did PLUS what I must do. This perversion was pushed on the Gospel by Pharisees and Scribes, requiring certain outward actions IN ADDITION TO faith in Christ for salvation. This is the prevalent perversion that the Book of Galatians attacks.

The true Gospel speaks to our utter inability to save ourselves. Jesus must save me, because I cannot save myself. Jesus must call me from the grave of sin and death as He did Lazarus from the grave. Salvation is all of Jesus.

Romans 3:23 (ESV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

We are all born into this world hopelessly lost. We are sinners from physical birth. As sinners, we are blind to God, broken. Our most righteous acts are unworthy of God. “We are ALL as an unclean thing, and ALL our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). We could do not good thing that would be pleasing to God.

Illustrate: Here I have a HANDKERCHIEF. I’ll blow my nose on it. Now I want to make a GIFT of it to you. Would you want it? I only blew my nose on a small part of it. You can blow your nose on the clean part How about it? No? Now you know how God feels. He doesn’t want any part of your dead righteousness. This is why Jesus Christ came. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (ESV) Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures

Only GOD Can Save Us! Only Jesus Will Do!

The Bible says that in Jesus “the whole fullness of the Godhead exists in human form” (Colossians 2:9, AP). God became Perfect Man. “The Word {Jesus} became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Our Lord Jesus lived our His life on earth as a perfect and sinless Man (1 Peter 2:22). He went to the Cross of Calvary, dying for our sins, taking our place. Jesus rose from the grave on the third day, by His resurrection proving that the Father received His work for us. Because of Jesus our sin debt is “paid in full”.

How is salvation received? It is received as a free gift from God. To receive it, we must REPENT and RECEIVE Jesus as Lord and Savior. We come surrendered to God. We are told in:

Romans 10:9 (ESV) If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

We are made alive by the Gospel. We are made alive by Grace. When we confess Jesus as Lord, repenting and receiving Him, God sends the Holy Spirit into our lives and causes us to be “born again”. Jesus said:

John 3:6-7 (KJV) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. … 7 Ye must be born again.

Those Who Are NOT Born Again Are Damned!

Why is it so important that a person receive Jesus Christ as BOTH Lord and Savior? Because none of our works can save us, so we need the Savior. We need GOD to not do a momentary thing in us, but a miracle. You must be born again, something only God can do for you. This is why Paul had very harsh words for those who twist the Gospel:

Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be ACCURSED {anathema}.

Word Study: The word “ACCURSED” is the Greek anathema, which means “to be cursed of God, to be without hope of being redeemed, to be doomed to destruction”. This word is used in:

1 Corinthians 16:22 (KJV) If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

As the false gospel will keep people from being saved, the Apostle pronounces damnation on the person who shares the false gospel. The true Gospel teaches that we are unable to save ourselves, so we must fully surrender to God. We REPENT of being our own gods, and RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We believe that He gave Himself for us.

And God the Holy Spirit causes us to be “born” into the family of God.

Salvation is entirely a work of God. That work of God changes us. The Christian wants to attend Church services because we want to be with our family. The Christian wants to follow the Lord.

Hebrews 10:23-25 (ESV) … hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. [24] And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, [25] not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Believers want to attend Church services. They want to:

Share the Lord’s Table
Be Baptized
Be generous and give
Sing praises
Pray
Read and Hear The Bible

Born again believers, called to salvation by God through the hearing of the Gospel, do these things not to be saved, but because we desire it. We realize that there is not one single thing we can do to “help” Jesus save us. We are saved by His Grace.

All of the things that I just said believers do, Unbelievers can do as well. So how do we truly know that we are saved?

If you are saved, then you will walk in the light of God with Jesus whether at “Church” or not. God is not your hobby, your part time companion. Christians who are “born again” do not pursue sin, but Jesus.

1 John 1:6-7 (ESV) If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

You cannot walk in darkness, pursuing sin and evil, and walk with God. Will you as a Christian sin? Why yes, you will. While you are in this life you are incomplete, and there are times you will stumble. But the Christian, saved by the Gospel, approaches sin through the Gospel:

1 John 1:8-9 (ESV) If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When the lost person sins, they rely on “making it better”, or they ignore it entirely. The Christian who:

MESSES Up
LOOKS Up
FESSES Up
then trusting the Gospel,
MOVES ON

The believer does not run around trying to make it better. We can’t make it better. The only thing that covers sin is the Blood of Christ. We rest on God’s faithfulness. But as Christians, we want to obey God’s commands:

1 John 2:3-4 (ESV) And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him

John 14:15 (ESV) If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

1 John 5:3 (ESV) For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

If a person tells me, “I’m saved, but I don’t want to be baptized”, the Bible says “if you will not keep His commandments, you are a LIAR”. Out Lord Jesus commanded baptism (Matthew 28:19-20). If you love the Lord, if you are saved by the Gospel, then you will obey Him because you love Him.

May I end with this:

The Christian LOVES the Word of God.

If you find the Bible tedious. If you think the Bible is an outdated Book with antiquated ideas. If your idea a good preaching is entertainment, but not this Word of God … you may not be saved. The saved person loves the Word of God. It is through the Word of God that our Lord speaks to us. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). If you have no love for God’s written Word, you have no love for God’s Living Word, Jesus Christ (John 1:1-3). May God the Holy Spirit lead you to His side before the death angel comes. For those who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, for them death is a promotion. But for those who do not know Him as He is, death is a horrid demotion.

Forever. Amen.