Reading Galatians With John StottSample

A Different Gospel?

In every other letter, after greeting his readers, Paul goes on to pray for them or to praise and thank God. Only in the letter to the Galatians are there no prayer, no praise, no thanksgiving, and no commendation. Instead he addresses himself to his theme at once with a note of extreme urgency. He expresses astonishment at the fickleness and instability of the Galatians.

The Galatians are religious turncoats, spiritual deserters. They are turning away from him who called them in the grace of Christ and are embracing another gospel. The true gospel is good news of a God who is gracious to undeserving sinners. But the Galatian converts, who had received this gospel of grace, were now turning away to another gospel, a gospel of works.

The false teachers who were influencing them were evidently “Judaizers.” They did not deny that you must believe in Jesus for salvation, but they stressed that you must be circumcised and keep the law as well. In other words, by your obedience to the law you must finish what Christ has begun. You must add your works to the work of Christ.

This doctrine Paul simply will not tolerate. Add human merits to the merit of Christ and human works to the work of Christ? God forbid! The work of Christ is a finished work; the gospel of Christ is a gospel of free grace. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, without any admixture of human works or merits. It is due solely to God’s gracious call and not to any good works of our own.

Paul goes further than this. He says that the defection of the Galatian converts was in their experience as well as in their theology. He accuses them not of deserting the gospel of grace for another gospel, but of “deserting the one who called” them in grace. Theology and experience, Christian faith and Christian life, belong together and cannot be separated. Let the Galatians beware, who have so readily and rashly started turning away. It is impossible to forsake the gospel without forsaking God. To turn from the gospel of grace is to turn from the God of grace.

From Reading Galatians with John Stott by John Stott with Dale and Sandy Larsen.