I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you
in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but
there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of
Christ.
If they turned from Christ who called
them to a different gospel, can they be said to still be in the gospel
of Jesus Christ to which they were originally called? To believe in a
different gospel will be to believe in a different Jesus Christ than the
one preached in the gospel of Jesus Christ. When this happens, will
such people who have believed in a different gospel still be said to be
in the Jesus of the Bible?
According to the
apostle, those who present what he called another gospel seek to pervert
the gospel of Jesus Christ. To pervert is to lead (someone) away from
what is considered natural or acceptable. This is what Paul alluded to
when he spoke of what he called another gospel. It leads away from the
truth of the gospel.
I do not set aside the
grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ
died in vain. Galatians 2:21. Any presentation of the gospel that
prescribes another means of salvation apart from Christ, is simply
saying that Jesus died for nothing. This is the danger of what Paul
called another gospel. In our time, another gospel comes in different
forms, the most being a presentation of half truth.
In fact,
this is most deadly. What is required to damn a soul is not a lot of
falsehood, just a little lie mixed with lots of truth is enough. This is
the snare we must warn against.
Toni
