Galatians 1:6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; ⁷ which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. ⁹ As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed. ¹⁰ For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

ONLY ONE/GALATIANS 1:6-10

To say that there is only one of anything may seem a bit arrogant. For instance, to say that there is only one way to heaven, over against the many roads that are said to lead to heaven, is considered arrogant. To say that there is only once true source of information about Jesus found in the four Gospels, over against the Gospels of Thomas and Judas, is considered arrogant. Yet, the apostle Paul, in our text, clearly states that there is only one gospel, and it is the gospel that he and the other apostles preached. Paul dealt with something similar.

I) PAUL’S AMAZEMENT–Vv.6-10

A) After his salutation of sorts, Paul goes right to the heart of the matter, and to his reason for writing to the churches in Galatia. Note what he says, "I am amazed (astonished) that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel ..." (v.6). Apparently, it was not long after Paul founded these churches, that they were abandoning God’s calling them by the grace of Christ. Paul calls them deserters. You would expect some to desert in the midst of war, but not in the midst of peace. But, what is of utmost importance is what they were deserting. Paul says that they were deserting God who is the author of the gospel. They were "deserting Him who called ..." He called them to salvation. And this calling to salvation is said to be "by the grace of Christ." So, the salvation that God calls them, and us, to is based on the grace of Christ. Another way of saying this is to say, that God’s calling or offering of salvation is based on the person and work of His Son alone. There is nothing that can be added to the work of Christ that leads to real and eternal salvation.

B) Many were deserting the one and only message of salvation for a "different gospel; which is really not another." Paul did not want his audience to be confused or led astray by thinking that there were other gospels, all, ultimately, offering the same thing–abundant life now and eternal life later. Paul goes on to say that from amongst them (their own folks) are those who are disturbing (unsettling) them, and who want to distort the gospel of Christ (v.7). What were they doing? They were saying that belief in Christ is necessary to be saved, but that the keeping of the Mosaic Law was equally necessary. Paul responds that it is Christ plus nothing that saves ... there are no works that can be added that save ... In other words, we do nothing that saves as Jonah 2:9 states: "Salvation is of the LORD." From start to finish, salvation is solely a work of God based on the person and work of His Son. This clearly takes away any temptation to boast about our salvation. In other words, you are saved solely by God’s choice, and that for His glory! Our response is love for God, others, thankfulness, gratefulness, and joyful obedience to His commands. So, we can say that the true nature of the gospel is that it is of God, and it is of grace.

C) But, Paul’s has another thing or two to say. In verses 8 & 9, Paul pronounces a curse upon any who would distort the gospel of God’s grace. He calls the curse down upon himself, the other apostles, the angels of heaven, or anyone who would preach "a gospel contrary (other than or more than) to what you received, he is to be accursed." He is saying that anyone who would distort by adding to or taking away from the gospel he preached is "devoted to destruction." There is no room for error in the preaching of the gospel of Christ. To preach error robs God of His glory, and takes away the ground of personal eternal salvation.

D) Paul concludes this section by saying that his goal is to please God rather than men (v.10). Paul was clearly not seeking to please men by calling down an anathema upon them. Because he was a bond-servant of Christ, he was completely devoted to Christ, and that devotion was seen in his desire, even against great opposition, to preach the pure gospel of Christ. What a model to follow! To compromise or water down the gospel of Christ has eternal consequences for the preachers and the hearers. We dare not seek to change it to make it more palatable. We must declare all that the Word of God declares, regardless of how we might be perceived or what may be done to us.