Lovingly Always

To know the lordship of Christ is to respect and uphold His word. In Galatians 1, Paul speaks on the message of Christ.

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Galatians 1:6-10 NIV

Why is it that we so quickly desert the truth ? Is it that we are unwilling to surrender the semblance of control we hold over our lives ? Is it that we have become of the world rather than just in the world? Have we allowed societal values to overrule biblical values? Whether it is one of these, all of these, or none of these to some extent each and every one of us have deserted the Gospel truth to some extent at one point or another. Maybe even right now. It has become commonplace, even in the church, to simply “overlook” egregious sins. How often have you heard not to judge others in the way they are living? And there is some truth in that, as Christians we are called to love everyone. Love is not condemning others, love is not judgmental, but love is also not complacent. And we currently live in a world which emphasizes complacency in love. “If you truly love them, you’ll leave them be. You’ll support them in their choices.” And again, there is a semblance of truth there. Love is supportive! But love does not support sin nor does love lie complacent in the face of sin. Living out this falsehood, teaching this falsehood is a slap in the face to the Lordship of Christ. It cheapens the grace He has given to us. Yet this is such a common perversion of the Gospel now. Even I have believed this wholeheartedly in the past.

In this passage it says let those who try to teach a perverse version of the gospel be under God’s curse. While that is already an incredibly strong image, the word used in Greek is  anathema which is essentially the word for excommunication. So what is most accurately being said here is “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be condemned to hell!” At first I thought, wow harsh, but after more consideration it seemed a fitting, maybe even a lenient punishment. It is turning others from the truth of Christ. It is blasphemous. It is perverting the gospel truth. It is cheapening the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. It is dismissing the Lordship of Christ.

Paul ends this statement with a self-audit. He asks himself “is my goal here to be loved by people or God? Whose approval am I seeking in this moment?” And he answers himself by saying “if I was trying to be loved by others, I wouldn’t be serving Christ.” He was loved by others when he was persecuting Christians – not when he was a Christian. Since becoming a Christian he himself has been persecuted, beaten, and imprisoned. In this moment, he is not only giving an example as to the self-audit of your own heart, but also how to determine if the one who is teaching you has the proper intentions. Do they want praise of the people ? Do they want their reward here and now ? Or do they want to save the people ? Do they want a heavenly reward ? Paul is essentially saying it is better to be hated by all and follow the truth of God than to be loved by all and turn from God. To know and respect the Lordship of Christ is to know and respect His word, fully and completely, every moment of our lives in thought, word, and deed. To know and respect the Lordship of Christ is to love people well, not complacently. To know and respect the Lordship of Christ is to know Christ.