Know the Gospel, Be Grounded in the Gospel, Speak the Gospel

In the first chapter of Galatians, Paul warned the believers in Galatia not to turn away from the Gospel that he preached to them. This was such a pressing issue for him because he saw the danger in letting them continue down this path. This could easily cause them to eventually fall away in their faith. He said that some of them were "turning to a different gospel". Satan knows that we as believers would not accept or follow a different gospel. Instead, he uses a deceptive tactic that Paul is addressing here. He said, "Not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ." 

Instead of debating against or attacking the gospel, people try to confuse you or cause you to question what you believe. This tactic is aimed at loosening the foundation of someone's faith, or presenting a softer, kinder, more tolerable gospel that seems to be more attractive to unbelievers. This false gospel is deadly; it finds its way into the church and wreaks havoc.

Paul was so certain about the gospel he preached that he told the Galatians, "Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!" How could Paul be so certain about the gospel he preached? This gospel was given to him directly from Christ right after his conversion on the road to Damascus. Within days of his conversion he was already proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God in the synagogues. He explained how he spent 3 years in the Arabian desert being taught by Jesus Christ. In Galatians 1:11, he proclaimed, "For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation of Jesus Christ."

Paul explained this gospel to the the Corinthian believers in 1 Corinthians 15:3, "For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." It's important that we know this beyond the shadow of a doubt. These truths need to be deeply rooted in our hearts and minds. This is what I mean by being grounded in the Gospel.

The Church today suffers and has to deal with false or compromised gospel messages being brought into and taught in churches around the world. It is accepted by people who don't read and study the bible for themselves. As a result, there are many who believe that they are saved but are not.

We need to Know the Gospel and be grounded in our faith, but that just takes care of ourselves. There's one more important step! We need to speak or share the Gospel. I was speaking with a friend the other day who shared how sad it is that people don't believe in God and the bible and how they are willing to accept the fact that after this life, they just turn back to dust. While he claims to know Christ, he doesn't have a clear understanding of Scripture and perhaps the Gospel message itself. More opportunity for future discussions. We must all ask ourselves, "Do I really know the Gospel? The Gospel that Scripture teaches and the Gospel that Paul taught? Can I articulate or explain that to someone who needs to hear it?" And, "Do I have a burden for the lost, knowing what's at stake?"

Know it, be sure about it, and share it!

Pastor Bryan