So Easily Deceived!

Mac's Perspective on the Intricacies of God’s Amazing Grace

Monday, April 27, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
If Paul is correct (and he is!) and there is but one gospel—the one he preached—and if the gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16), then, as I said earlier, it would behoove each of us to be certain that we understand and believe the gospel, exactly as Paul preached it. There is very good reason for this: any other “gospel” is a perversion of this one, true gospel and is, therefore, no gospel at all.
As you might imagine, I am tempted to point out all the obvious fallacies that are proclaimed as true gospel, but I have lived long enough to know that that would serve no useful purpose. The truth is this: if you really want to be able to recognize the one, true gospel, you will never reach your goal by studying the perversions of it; instead, you must become familiar with the one, true gospel—the one Paul preached.
As you remember, Paul left no room for error—none whatsoever. In fact, he felt so strongly about the accurate preaching of the gospel, that he believed that anyone (including Paul, himself, even an angel from heaven) who preached a perversion of the gospel that he preached should be eternally separated from God. At first glance, that sounds rather harsh; however, once you realize the significance of heretical preaching, it doesn’t sound quite so harsh. What we believe is much more important than most of us realize.
Oh, I am very familiar with the popular mindset that says what we believe really doesn’t matter, as long as we believe in Jesus. HINT: Satan believes in Jesus, probably more strongly than most of us. Listen up: It is not enough to say, “I believe in Jesus!” The Judaizers, who came to Galatia believed in Jesus, but they also believed that circumcision was essential for pleasing God. As you well-know, most church-goers today would tell you that they believe in Jesus, but they would also tell you that you must “remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy,” and they would be just as fervent in their efforts to influence you, as were the Judaizers, who tried to influence the members of the church at Galatia. In case you missed it, their heretical attempts infuriated Paul, so much so that he wrote the letter we are presently studying, the one in which he clearly defines the one, true gospel.
Just for the record: the Galatians were much more easily influenced than even Paul imagined, and there is good reason for this: the one, true gospel is unbelievable! It is so much easier to believe something that includes our participation, even if that “something” is circumcision!