False Gospels Deserve True Fury

Audio Transcript

“If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one that you received, let him accursed.” In other words, let him be anathema, let him be damned. So what you see immediately is that in this chapter, in this letter, in this conference based on this letter, in the Reformation that exploded from this letter, in the Christian faith that stands or falls with the message of this letter — what you see is that all these deal with things on which your eternal destiny hangs.

“Let them be damned if they come preaching another gospel.” If you get the gospel wrong, you perish. Therefore, this letter, and this conference, and the Reformation, and Christianity should cause there to echo in your heart an unparalleled seriousness about life and worship. Unparalleled seriousness.

  • Unparalleled seriousness of joy that grace and peace is ours in Galatians 1:3.

  • Joy that deliverance from this present evil age and its destruction is yours in Christ Jesus.

  • Joy that there’s an all-satisfying glory of God being exalted through this letter in Galatians 1:5.

  • Unparalleled seriousness of astonishment that people you know, people in your church, people in your family are walking away from the gospel of grace and perishing because somebody has held out to them an alternative that for some insane reasons seems superior.

And you want to say, “How can you do that?” You are astonished with serious astonishment, and an unparalleled seriousness of anger in Galatians 1:7. “Let them be accursed.”

So there’s this group purporting to be from James, (Galatians 2:12) and they are distorting the gospel, adding to the gospel. And Paul is calling down a curse on them. Whose curse? Paul’s? Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”

Paul is calling down God’s curse upon people who are directing people away from the Curse-Remover, and it makes him furious that people in the name of Jesus would direct people away from the Curse-Remover — the Curse-Bearer, the Substitution, and the One who takes on all the wrath for us. So he’s really angry, and he’s calling down God’s damnation upon those who would direct people away from the Damnation-Remover.


Read, watch, or listen to the full message: