The Pure, Unaltered Gospel

In a recent article in Real Simple magazine (https://www.realsimple.com/manual-alarm-clocks-vs-phone-11874808), one freelance writer makes “The Case for Ditching Your Phone and Going Back to a Classic Alarm Clock.” One big part of the article outlines what happens when people switch to analog alarm clocks: “The benefits of ditching the phone alarm extend beyond sleep quality. Many people also notice a big shift in how they feel when they wake up. “Patients who switch to a manual alarm clock often fall asleep faster, wake less during the night, and feel calmer and more refreshed in the morning,” Dr. Lin (a sleep doctor) says. While the benefits of an analog alarm may be enlightening, I wonder what alarms you use to wake up? And, what if the issue is bigger than simply waking up to go about your day? What kind of alarm would you need to awaken you to spiritual dangers? Or priorities you might be missing? Or how you’ve slowly started to drift? What kind of alarm would you need then? As we open by thinking about alarms, this ties into what Paul is up to in the book of Galatians. We began considering this last week. 

Paul’s intention in writing Galatians: “To correct the emerging alteration of the gospel that was making its way through the network of Galatian churches, instructing and challenging them not to let one single part of the old system of the law alter the purity and power of the gospel by challenging them not to alter the gospel they had received from him one bit, but to hold to it exactly.”

The heart of this argument is in Galatians 1 and 2.

8 But even if we—or an angel from heaven! —should announce a gospel other than the one we announced to you, let such a person be accursed. 9 I said it before, and I now say it again: if anyone offers you a gospel other than the one you received, let that person be accursed.

(Galatians 1:8–9)

Notice two key words or phrases in these verses:

• announce (or translated as “preach” in some translations) the gospel: “simply to deliver a message, bring good news” (TDNT)

• received: “to acquire information from someone, implying the type of information passed on by tradition” (LN)

This is important because Paul is saying he is simply delivering something he received, not something he made up. Paul is passing on the good news to the Gentiles. This is consistent with his letter to the Corinthians in 15:1–8. This takes us back to the idea of the kerygma—the gospel in statement form, which was passed on from Peter and the Apostles to the churches.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you⁠—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Cor 15:1-8 ESV)

Paul’s Gospel: notice he begins with the same words: “the good news which I preached to you, which you received” (15:1). He preached (or the more technical term is he announced) it, but he too received it. It was a tradition passed down. It was a formula, what the early churches called the kerygma—what we call a kerygmatic statement. Remember that? It was the first of the First Principles we studied at the start of the year: the Gospel message.

What were the elements of the message of good news Paul brought?

• The Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures.

• He was buried and raised from the dead according to the Scriptures.

• He was seen by Cephas, the 12 Apostles, and by over 500.

These points may go without saying, but notice that:

• Paul also received this gospel.

• He passed it on (i.e., passed on an authoritative statement or truth).

• The core of the Gospel message, the kerygma, is reviewed: Jesus was predicted in the Old Testament Scriptures, He died for our sins, He was buried and resurrected; and this was witnessed by Cephas, the 12 Apostles, and over 500.

Mentioning Cephas (or, more popularly, Peter) and the twelve Apostles is important. As we will see, it is the same gospel the Apostles were preaching, but it was easy to distort because the Jewish nation was still rejecting it. Even Peter lost its full implications at times.

Let’s get back to Galatians. Last week, we saw Paul refer to the Galatians as embracing what he called another gospel, which he clarified as being a different or mixed gospel; he accused them of deserting the gospel they received from him or altering it. Although they received the gospel in a formulaic statement, they did not fully embrace it. Paul would work to align churches with the Gospel in his early letters: Galatians, Corinthians, Thessalonians, and Romans. 

In Galatians 1:11–24, Paul made a three-part argument to the Galatians that this is not a man-made gospel:

• Paul did not make it up; he was busy persecuting the Church when he received it. (11-17)

• Peter, who formulated the gospel in his five sermons in Acts, even lost his grip on the truth of the gospel and its implications at times. (coming in chapter 2)

• The gospel came directly from Jesus. (12)

Two implications emerge from this text:

1. Paul was confirming the gospel message with Peter.

2. It appears to be confirmed because the Jewish churches heard, from Peter’s testimony, that Paul was preaching the same gospel.

The reason for Paul’s defense of keeping the gospel pure is now made clear in Paul’s second visit to see Peter, recorded in Galatians 2:1–2. Paul wanted to gain Peter’s and the key leaders’ affirmation of the gospel he was preaching. There was huge pressure to add the requirement of circumcision for the emerging Gentile churches (2:3–5). Paul wanted to maintain the truth of the gospel and address the issue of not adding circumcision as a prerequisite for confirming it. He knew the implications (2:7–8). It was clear they had added or favored adding circumcision to the Gentile churches, or at least they had not dealt with the issue (2:9–10).

But Cephas and the key leaders agreed with the truth of the gospel and worked out an understanding that Peter was the key apostle to the Jewish churches and Paul to the Gentile churches. But the battle was not over. Now, on to a third visit with Peter. The issue was not settled with the top Jewish leadership. Paul’s use of the phrase “so-called pillars” meant they were not always faithful to the true gospel themselves, but they, too, were under the authority of Christ’s gospel, which they had all received.

We now reach our key verse and Paul’s third encounter with Peter. Look at Galatians 2:11-14:

11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Our key verse is v.14. Let’s tie all this together. Notice how Peter’s 17-year development process now becomes clear:

Meeting 1: Jerusalem - Peter agreed that Paul was preaching the same gospel.

Meeting 2: Jerusalem—14 years later: Peter and leaders agreed that the Gentile churches did not need to require circumcision—evidently, it had been favored before.

Meeting 3: Antioch - Peter withdrew from eating with the Gentile believers, out of fear of James and his people.

From Paul’s third encounter with Peter, we can make two observations:

1. Peter was struggling with all the remaining tensions and pressures of other leadership amongst the Jewish churches.

2. They weren’t “walking straight down the line of gospel truth” (a great picture, 2:14).

Why did it take Peter and James so long to fully understand the gospel truth and its implications for their lives and the lives of the churches? What was the difference between Peter and Paul’s understanding?

The gospel truth had significant lifestyle implications. Paul would now lay out how to walk consistent with this gospel truth, in 2:15–21.

What did Paul mean by “walking straight down the line of gospel truth”?

1. We are declared “righteous” through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah and not based on the Jewish law.

2. It isn’t about me anymore; how righteous I am is no longer the issue.

3. The life I live today (I am still alive), I live based on Christ’s faithfulness at the cross and the fact that Christ now lives in me.

What does it mean to alter the gospel? Paul first says they deserted the true gospel for another gospel, then clarifies that he meant they altered it.

• I cannot add anything to it—circumcision or any rules to accompany the gospel.

• I am now in a new system, which begins with the Messiah living in me.

• I cannot add anything from the old system.

The passage is simple. The gospel truth extends to how we live our lives once we have received it. It means Christ brought freedom from the law, and we are to live in a new “system” — Christ’s system —according to Christ’s principles, which set the guidelines for the churches, not the Jewish system. It begins with Christ living in me and leading me in a new way of living.

Here are two great translations of living in Christ’s new system:

“walking straight down the line of gospel truth” (Galatians 2:14 NTFE)

“acting consistently with the truth of the gospel” (Galatians 2:14 NRSV)

If we do not get this right, our lives will be set on a course that does not truly follow Christ. It is possible to alter the gospel just a little and wind up totally on the wrong course as Christians and as churches. We must get this right—right at the foundation of receiving the gospel.

In the remainder of the letter, Paul explains what it means to walk straight down the line of gospel truth. It is a body of truth that must be understood and cannot be altered. This gives high motivation to clearly understand the gospel and its implications while we are still alive. Here I am sounding the alarm as we enter Holy Week. Are our lives aligned with the Gospel? Sometimes, if we have early-morning flights, I’ve heard of people setting 8 alarms, 1 minute apart. Today, I’m wrapping up this teaching with 3 alarms to help us align our lives with the Gospel…

1. Recognize if we are adding anything

Are you adding anything to the Gospel message? What would be some signs that the “adding” tendency is bubbling up? Maybe you are making a personal preference more important than Jesus, or it needs to be. Maybe you are fearing others. Maybe you exhibit the fruit of the flesh from chapter 5. Maybe you’re more concerned that people look like good Christians than their understanding of the Gospel. Maybe you are excluding people because you are not Gospel-informed. Maybe some identity marker in the past is more significant than Jesus. If any of these are bubbling up in your life, look to see what your +1 is to the Gospel. You must assess this. Recognize the signs, and if you’re adding anything.

2. Avoid the potential drift over time

The fact that Peter could preach the Gospel so well in Acts and miss the Gospel so clearly 15 years later should concern us all who have known Christ for some time. The drift is real. And, Satan would love to make this not that serious to you. He’d love you to pat yourself on the back and be unconcerned. But the alarm is going off. Are you really walking straight down the line of Gospel truth? Is your life centered on Jesus and His work as your standard for righteousness? Or have you slowly begun to be impressed by your own obedience, your own practice, the mojo you have, your swagger in living these things? Avoid the potential drift over time. If Peter could drift, so can we. And there’s hope. Peter’s letters at the end of the NT remind us that God’s grace can carry us even if we drift. Recenter and align your life with the Gospel to finish well.

3. Consider the consequences

The consequences in this passage were huge. Relationships were affected. The church’s witness wasn’t glorious. Churches were wrecked. Think of how this would have affected that church in Antioch, or Syria, or Cilicia, or Jerusalem. I’ve always wondered why this church at Antioch that sent Paul out in Acts 13-14 doesn’t show up again. There were consequences of their not aligning with the Gospel. And, there was an apostolic reordering. Where, up until this time, Jerusalem with James and Peter advancing the Gospel seems large, the attention turns to God’s work among the Gentiles through Paul. Church, let’s consider these consequences. We want our lampstand to shine bright (in Revelation language) as we align with this truth. 

In conclusion, as we’re thinking about Jesus and what He’s done, we’ve looked at 3 alarms to set to make sure our lives align with the Gospel…

1. Recognize if we are adding anything

2. Avoid the potential drift over time

3. Consider the consequences

If you’ve never trusted Jesus for forgiveness of your sins, the good news is that Jesus has come. He lived, died, and rose again (as we celebrate this week). The response to Him is faith, trusting in what He’s completed for people like us. By grace we’re saved through faith. Trust in Him today. 

And, I hope this sermon has drawn us all in to assess our lives, considering our alignment with the pure, unaltered Gospel. I have some questions for small groups or other gatherings. I hope this week, you will find the encouragement found in this amazing Gospel message. So, let’s press into the Gospel – a message found in knowing Jesus, that we may make Him known, to glorify and enjoy Him, forever.

Small Group Discussion Questions:

• What does it mean to have conduct NOT in step with the truth of the Gospel? Give some examples.
• How is drifting from the Gospel a present concern for all of us?
• If we choose passivity toward the Gospel, what does this look like? And what are some potential consequences?