Daily Devotional for Friday 16th February
The Gospel doesn’t need upgrades
What a start to a letter! After the usual greeting of the first five verses there would normally be some words of thanksgiving. But in this letter it’s ‘wham’; straight in to the issue that is worrying Paul. You can understand why he’s so concerned, because he sees that the Galatian Christians are ‘turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all’. Ouch.
You see the Galatian church were seeking to ‘upgrade’ the gospel message to incorporate the requirements of Jewish traditions. We’ll find out more about this over the next few weeks, but in essence the suggestion being promoted in the Galatian church was that faith in Christ was the way to be saved, but adhering to the Jewish traditions and Mosaic Law was the way to remain saved.
Notice how Paul doesn’t mince his words. In verse 7 he describes this approach as ‘perverting the gospel of Christ’. And then in the next verse he writes that those who preach a different Gospel are ‘under God’s curse!’ Strong stuff
Well we’re not upgrading the gospel with Jewish traditions. Maybe not, but there are those who try and make upgrades. For instance those who treat it as a philosophy and seek to align it with the spirit of the age. Then there are others, with good evangelistic motives, who cut out anything that might offend to make it more palatable. From time to time there are those who make sensational claims in books with the aim of getting a best seller.
You see, although we must present the Gospel in today’s context, it’s not ours to update like software or to tweak to make it more user-friendly. It’s not ours, but God’s.
Time to reflect…
Consider the importance Paul places on keeping to the truth of the Gospel of Christ and reflect on how we might be influenced by those who might promote ‘upgrades’. Then be mindful of the consequence that Paul describes for those who make changes to the Gospel given to us in scripture.
Pause to pray…
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for the salvation we have through your death on the cross. Thank you too for scripture where we can read the truth about you. May we be faithful to the message of your Gospel as we seek to draw others to you. In your name we pray. Amen.
