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Galatians 1:6-9 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.
When God made the heavens and the earth, He made it in six days. On the sixth day God looked at all He had made. The pinnacle of creation was humanity. From the third day to the fifth day, God created everything necessary to sustain human life on earth. Everything God made was “good”. But when God made man and woman in His image and in His likeness, and placed humanity in the midst of Paradise, only then did God judge that everything was …
Very Good!
In six days God made everything very good. As “no one is GOOD, except GOD” (Matthew 19:17), God alone knows what is good. Man with woman is good. Man working with woman to populate the earth is good. “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, rule it” (Genesis 1:28). That’s good. God said so. Obedience to God is good. Adam was given one rule in the midst of a sinless environment
Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV – And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
Preach! This is the Gospel. You may CLING to the Tree of Life (Genesis 2:9) and live forever. Or you may WALK AWAY and taste the forbidden tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That will kill you. We all know that Adam followed the false Gospel, and led all humanity into sin and death. God made everything “very good” in SIX DAYS. The devil came in with a false gospel, and enticed Adam to eat the forbidden. That was very bad!
There were SIX DAYS of creation to a state of VERY GOOD. The devil offers SIX FALSE GOSPELS which will lead you to a state of VERY BAD.
Let’s look at what Paul says about these false gospels.
Galatians 1:6 I marvel that ye are SO SOON REMOVED FROM HIM that called you into the GRACE OF CHRIST unto ANOTHER {heteros} gospel:
Word Study: The word translated “ANOTHER” is the Greek heteros, which can be translated “some other not of the same quality”. It may look like the Gospel, but it is defective in what it accomplishes. The false gospel leads you away from Jesus, the One Who called you into salvation. When you are led away from Jesus, you are led away from Grace.
Galatians 1:7 Which is NOT ANOTHER {ou allos}; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
Word Study: This time the word “ANOTHER” is an entirely different word, the Greek allos, which means “another way”. This false gospel is not another way to the Grace of God, but it is a perversion of the truth. It can’t help you at all. It leads you from Jesus.
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 translated “ACCURSED” is the Greek anathema, which means “to be bound under a great curse”. The Apostle used the same word when he wrote:
1 Corinthians 16:22 KJV – If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be ANATHEMA. Maranatha.
Paul tells us that such preaching and such persons are not blessed of God, but are CURSES, accursed and evil people. Their actions do not lead people to surrender to or love Christ, but cloak or hide the Gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) so that people will remain lost. No good comes of a false gospel. The “god of this world, Satan, blinds the minds of unbelievers with the false gospels”, taking both glory and honor from the Lord Jesus Who saves us.
Jesus warned us of false gospels and false Christs (Matthew 24:4-5)
Peter warned us of false gospels, twisting the Way of truth (2 Peter 2:1-3)
Jude warned us of false gospels, turning Grace into sensuality (Jude 3-4)
Let’s take a few minutes and look at the six false gospels Satan and his agents have spread throughout the Church.
1. Prosperity Gospel
One of the Prosperity Gospel preachers Kenneth Copeland has preached:
“You are a little god on the earth”
Another of this type, Joel Osteen, has said:
“God wants us to be happy”
What the Prosperity preachers declare as the gospel is the same thing that the Serpent proclaimed in the Garden of Eden. When the Serpent (a picture of Satan, the Devil, for like a snake he twists God’s truths) approached Eve with a challenge:
Genesis 3:1 (AP) Has God really said you both can’t eat of every tree in this Garden?
The implication is that God is withholding something good from us. The Serpent came back again with these words:
Genesis 3:4 -5 (AP) If you eat what God forbade, you’ll certainly not die! No! God knows the day you eat of the forbidden, YOU SHALL BE AS GODS. You yourself will know what is good and evil.
The Prosperity Gospel says that if you give enough money, pray the right pray, speak affirming words over your life, God is obligated to make you both HEALTHY and WEALTHY. God is a Cosmic Vending Machine if you put the right words in Him.
Does God “want us all to be happy”? Yes, He does. We are to be happy because we are obedient and loving to the God Who saved us. The Scripture says:
“HAPPY is the man whom God corrects (Job 5:17). HAPPY are the people whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 144:15). HAPPY is the one who finds wisdom (Proverbs 3:13). Whoever has mercy on the poor will be HAPPY (Proverbs 14:21). Whoever obeys God will be HAPPY (Proverbs 29:18). If you obey Jesus, you will be HAPPY (John 13:17).”
Does God promise that the Christian will have a full bank account, that we will never suffer health problems? Does the Bible even say we will never get depressed, upset, or sad? No! Jesus said:
John 16:33 (ESV) I have said these things to you, that IN ME YOU MAY HAVE PEACE. IN THE WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
If you live for Jesus, in his light, walking with Him, YOU WILL BE PERSECUTED. You will suffer. But the Bible says “When you SUFFER FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE, you WILL BE HAPPY” (1 Peter 3:14). The Scripture says “If you are REPROACHED FOR THE NAME OF CHRIST, YOU WILL BE HAPPY, for the Spirit of God rests on you” (1 Peter 4:14). And again,
2 Timothy 3:12 (ESV) Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus WILL BE PERSECUTED will be persecuted
The Prosperity Gospel is accursed because it makes your comfort and your riches and your glory the center of your life. Jesus is supposed to be the center of your life. Our treasures are to be in Heaven, not on this earth (Matthew 6:19-20).
2. Cheap Grace Gospel
Cheap Grace takes Grace and twists it, telling people they have a license to live any way they want. Cheap Grace makes Jesus our Servant, not our Lord. Cheap Grace does not preach repentance, conviction, or transformation into the image of Christ. Cheap Grace teachers declare we need not obey God, that we just need to relax and do as we wish.
Cheap Grace preachers teach that you can receive Jesus Christ as Savior, but that you do not need to receive Him as LORD to be saved. Cheap Grace preachers do not emphasize the need for repentance – just acceptance of Jesus as Savior.
But what does the Bible say? What is the Word of the Gospel that Paul preached?
Romans 10:8-11 NKJV – But what does it say? “The WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART” (that is, THE WORD OF FAITH WHICH WE PREACH): 9 that if you confess with your mouth THE LORD JESUS and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever BELIEVES ON HIM will not be put to shame.
Jesus is Lord! When a person hears the Gospel, that they are lost and hell bound, that they need to REPENT and SURRENDER THEIR LIVES TO JESUS, the Holy Spirit comes on that person and causes a transformation. The person is “BORN AGAIN” (John 3:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:23). That does not happen unless you CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH – OPENLY AND DECLAREDLY – THAT JESUS IS LORD.
A surgeon can’t fix you unless you turn your life over to him. Jesus will not fix you while you are still your own god. You must repent! You must be God’s possession.
The Bible declares that the Christian is “BOUGHT WITH A PRICE” (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23). When you are saved by Grace, you belong to Jesus. And as God’s possession, His sons and daughters, His servants, we live our lives for Him, not for ourselves. We are dead to sin (Romans 6:1-2), and no longer under obligation to obey it as our master (Romans 6:6-7).
When people met Jesus, He commanded them. Jesus told the man at the Pool of Bethesda that He healed:
John 5:14 LSB – Behold, you have become well; DO NOT SIN ANY MORE, so that nothing worse happens to you.
When Jesus forgave the woman taken in adultery, He told her:
John 8:11 LSB – I do not condemn you, either. Go, and from now on SIN NO MORE.
Jesus shall “SAVE HIS PEOPLE from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Peter preached:
Acts 2:36 Let all the House of Israel know assuredly, that GOD HAS MADE THAT SAME JESUS, Whom you have crucified, BOTH LORD AND CHRIST
You can’t divide Jesus up. He is Lord over His people – and He is not yours if He is not Lord to you.
3. Self Help Gospel
The Self Help Gospel teaches that God only gets involved in your life when you need Him. Believers of this gospel think that all God wants for us is to be happy and satisfied, but that God expects nothing else from us. When we need Him God is there to be our Cosmic Coach. He improves our lives where we want Him, and stays out of our lives until we call on Him. Pastor David Platt said:
“We have turned the gospel into a self-help program: God wants you to love yourself more, to fulfill your dreams, to reach your potential. That is not the gospel. The gospel says you are a sinner and you need a Savior.”
The product of this Gospel is a pretend Christian who never wrestles with sin, and never seeks to glorify God. These people refuse to obey Jesus and be baptized as He has commanded. As long as they are happy, they leave God out of their lives.
The true Gospel demands that we deny ourselves and commit our lives to Jesus.
Luke 9:23-24 {Jesus} said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him DENY HIMSELF, and TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY, and FOLLOW ME. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
God does not want us to be HAPPY. He wants us to be HOLY, and WHOLLY His children. He wants us as members of the Kingdom of Light, walking with Jesus daily.
1 John 1:7 (KJV) IF WE WALK IN THE LIGHT, AS {GOD} IS IN THE LIGHT, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
The Christian is “crucified WITH CHRIST” (Galatians 2:20).
The Christian is “dead WITH CHRIST” (Romans 6:8)
The Christian “IS CHRIST’S” (Galatians 5:24), and
The Christian “SEEKS CHRIST” (Colossians 3:1)
Jesus did not come to make a better version of you. He came to REMAKE you into a “NEW CREATURE” (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15).
4. Social Gospel
As Christians we should care about the poor, and about blessing and uplifting those in need. Jesus taught this in His Sermon on the Mount. Jesus told His followers:
Matthew 25:40 (KJV) Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the LEAST OF THESE MY BRETHREN, ye have done it unto me
Jesus portrayed those destined for eternal judgment as the greedy ones who would give no food to the hungry, would give no drink to the thirsty, would give no safe space to the homeless, and give no clothing to the naked. The Christian does not do these things to BE SAVED. The Christian does these things because they HAVE BEEN SAVED. God put love in our hearts.
Jesus fed the hungry and healed the sick, but His focus was always to point people to eternal life. The mission is to lead others to Christ. As Christians, we should stand up again abortion, because life is sacred. As Christians, we should support the widowed, those in need. As Christians, we should care about the state that people are in. But we should also present the true Gospel to them. The stepbrother of Christ wrote:
James 1:27 NKJV – Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to VISIT ORPHANS AND WIDOWS IN THEIR TROUBLE, and to KEEP ONESELF UNSPOTTED FROM THE WORLD.
We’re not supposed to be like the world. We’re not to imitate the darkness. But we are to care for those in need. The Scripture tells us:
James 2:15-17 NKJV – If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but YOU DO NOT GIVE THEM THE THINGS WHICH ARE NEEDED FOR THE BODY, WHAT DOES IT PROFIT? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Those who harden their hearts to the needy are very possibly not Christians. The saved love others, and regard every life as precious (Isaiah 1:17). Having said that, the Church must NEVER FORSAKE THE GOSPEL TO BECOME A WELFARE STATION. What Jesus said is clear:
Matthew 24:11-14 KJV – And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And THIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM SHALL BE PREACHED in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
The pulpit is not where political candidates preach social change. Our business is the Gospel, to lead others to Christ so He might lead them to Heaven.
5. Universalist Gospel
This Gospel teaches that there is no such thing as hell, no eternal damnation, no punishment nor separation from God. People who believe this say “a loving God would never send anyone to hell”. One liberal preacher named Rob Bell wrote in his book Love Wins:
“At the center of the Christian tradition since the first church have been a number who insist that history is not tragic, hell is not forever, and love, in the end, wins.”
The Universalist Gospel is a lie that leaves people unprepared for eternity. Jesus spoke about hell extensively. Jesus said:
Matthew 13:49-50 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and SEVER THE WICKED FROM AMONG THE JUST, And shall CAST THEM INTO THE FURNACE OF FIRE: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth
When Jesus talked about repentance and people going to hell, He never portrayed them as burning up. In Luke Jesus spoke of a certain rich man and a poor man named Lazarus:
Luke 16:22-24 KJV – And it came to pass, that {Lazarus} died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And IN HELL HE LIFTED UP HIS EYES, BEING IN TORMENTS, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I AM TORMENTED IN THIS FLAME.
In the story Jesus tells us, the rich man is unknown to God. He goes to hell. He does not burn up, but “is TORMENTED IN THIS FLAME”. Jesus frequently addressed hell and eternal punishment. He told Nicodemus, a well trained and highly ranking Rabbi:
John 3:16-18 NKJV – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM IS NOT CONDEMNED; but HE WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE IS CONDEMNED ALREADY, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
There are not many paths to God, but only one – through Jesus Christ our Lord (John 14:6). You must receive Jesus as Lord and Savior while you are able. Jesus said “If you DO NOT BELIEVE I AM HE, YOU SHALL DIE IN YOUR SINS” (John 8:24).
God seeks the lost. TODAY if you will hear him calling (Hebrews 3:15; Isaiah 55:6), if you will not turn away from His Gospel call, you shall be saved! The Universalist Gospel does not make God look more loving – it makes the Cross of Christ to be meaningless. If all will be saved – why repent?
6. Self Centered Gospel
This form of the Gospel makes YOU the center of the universe. God made YOU because He needed a friend. That’s not true. The Bible tells us that God is TRIUNE, Father, Son and Spirit. He is not lonely. Evangelist Paul Washer said:
“The Gospel is not about you. It’s about Jesus. The self-centered gospel says ‘God exists for me.’ The true Gospel says ‘I exist for God.’”
Pastor John MacArthur stated:
“Today’s gospel is man-centered. It tells you how to have a happier life. The true gospel is God-centered. It tells you how God can be glorified even if your life falls apart.”
Evangelist Leonard Ravenhill said:
“We preach a gospel that says ‘Come to Jesus and He will make your life better.’ Jesus preached ‘Come and die.”
We are not saved so we can live for ourselves. We are saved so we can live for Jesus as members of His Kingdom. Look at these Scriptures:
2 Corinthians 5:15 NKJV – He died for all, that those who live should LIVE NO LONGER FOR THEMSELVES, BUT FOR HIM who died for them and rose again.
Philippians 2:3-4 NKJV – Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in LOWLINESS OF MIND let each ESTEEM OTHERS BETTER THAN HIMSELF. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Worship is not about my emotional experience – it is to glorify God. I come to Church to glorify God. I pray that God will be exalted. The Self Centered Gospel is a product of the merger of capitalism with religion. This Gospel produces consumers, not students and citizens of Christ’s Kingdom.
The True Gospel calls us out of ourselves. The Gospel says that God created everything, even us. God put man in a perfect environment, and gave him a job to do, and a thing NOT to do. Man ignored the command of God. He ate what God said not to eat, and because he failed sin entered the world, and death came with sin. Everyone born from that man through ordinary generation inherited this sin nature, the desire to walk apart from God. The world is in the mess it is in because of that sin nature, and we ALL stand guilty before God, Who is holy, righteous, loving and good. God in His mercy and goodness sought Man in the Garden when he sinned, and seeks man today. God called out to Adam, “Where are you?” He calls out to us today through His Son Jesus Christ. God became perfect Man in Jesus. Jesus was not born of ordinary generation, He was virgin born. He was born without a sin nature. As Pastor Voddie Baucham said, “If Jesus was born of ordinary generation, He was born in sin. But because He’s not born of ordinary generation, He’s clean of sin, His record is clean, and He keeps His record clean”. Jesus obeyed the Law of God on our behalf. And Jesus went to the Cross to pay for our sins, “the Just for the unjust”(1 Peter 3:18). When we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, when we hear His call and follow Him, we are adopted into the family of God (Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:15) and are indwelt by God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:9). Because of Jesus,
We are saved from the penalty of sin.
We are saved from the power of sin.
And one day we are saved from the presence of sin.
This is the Gospel the devil seeks to hide. This is the Gospel that magnifies Jesus. This is the Gospel I must preach. This is the Gospel that we all need. And this true Gospel is more than enough!
Amen.
