GRACE DISPLACED-Galatians 1:6

{Perversion of the Gospel} “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;”

“AMAZED,” the word means ASTOUNDED…and BEWILDERED!” That they were so quick to DESERT GOD.

The Word “DESERTING…” was used of MILITARY DESERTION…they had done this VOLUNTARY…The false teachers were accountable for their DISTORTION of the Gospel but the believers were RESPONSIBLE for being SO EASILY MISLEAD to pursue and embrace LEGALISM  to the DESERTING OF JESUS CHRIST.

IT IS ASTOUNDING THAT they would receive salvation by the SOVEREIGN WORK of God’s  GRACE,love and mercy…Grace through the Resurrected Lord and which is maintained by Him through GRACE. It IS ASTOUNDING they would receive salvation by Grace and then  DESERT it to embrace and try and maintain righteousness through HUMAN EFFORTS, ceremonies, and ritual. Such is the power and persuasion and appeal to the pride of a person- that he or she believes they are wiser than God, more capable than God!

There were those who attempted to get to heaven by building the tower of Babylon…such is the deception within all our hearts- that we falsely believe we are sufficient to get to God, OUR WAY, by OUR Means…INDEPENDENT OF GOD OR HIS BELOVED SON- THE Lord Jesus!

1:7- “ANOTHER-“… “A DIFFERENT “ the word means that – “which is not the same kind.”

Their “gospel”

Was Illegitimate
Was Troubling
Was Distortion
Devoid of  Grace,Peace, Joy.
Why? It was Not God’s Gospel!

” ..the new teachers to which the Galatians were turning did not come from Jesus. Neither did they present Christ truly, for they said one must follow Jesus and rely on the works of the Law for salvation (3:1–6, 10). Apparently, they were telling the new converts that “true” Christians submit to circumcision, taking upon themselves the yoke of the Mosaic law in addition to faith in Christ (4:21; 5:1–6). These instructors have traditionally been called “Judaizers” because they imposed Jewish practices (circumcision, the kosher laws, and so on) on Gentile believers.Why the Gentile Galatians believed these Judaizers is hard to say. Many in the first century wanted a salvation that was only available to a select few who were “in the know.” Perhaps the Galatians had not yet shed this cultural baggage and thus found the Judaizers’ “higher” religious life attractive. Seeing the threat this teaching posed to the gospel, Paul wrote Galatians to counter these Judaizers and defend the truth. In many ways it is the most passionate of his letters, so grave was the error that needed refuting. -{Legioner Ministries}

“Paul wrote Galatians to counter judaizing false teachers who were undermining the central NT doctrine of justification by faith. Ignoring the express decree of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:23–29), they spread their dangerous teaching that Gentiles must first become Jewish proselytes and submit to all the Mosaic law before they could become Christians (see 1:7; 4:17, 21; 5:2–12; 6:12, 13). Shocked by the Galatians’ openness to that damning heresy (cf. 1:6), Paul wrote this letter to defend justification by faith, and warn these churches of the dire consequences of abandoning that essential doctrine. Galatians is the only epistle Paul wrote that does not contain a commendation for its readers—that obvious omission reflects how urgently he felt about confronting the defection and defending the essential doctrine of justification.

The Privileges of Justification (5:1–6:18)

A. Freedom from Ritual (5:1–6)

B. Freedom from Legalists (5:7–12)

C. Freedom in the Spirit (5:13–26)

D. Freedom from Spiritual Bondage (6:1–10)

“-{John MacArthur}

How do you NULLIFY the Grace of God? By DENYING the need for the death of Jesus Christ…and embracing justification is by works apart from The Lord Jesus! It is to ELEVATE Human works and RELEGATE JESUS Christ as INSUFFICIENT. ..DEPARTING FROM THE WAYS OF GRACEGalatians 5:4

“You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” – Gal 2:21}.

How easy  and quickly it  happened for them to be deceived,  to depart from the Gospel that we are justified declared right by faith. They bought into false teachers peddling a false, damnable “gospel” that indeed was another gospel- a false, man centered gospel!

We we are no better, indeed we are worse as we have more spiritual light, we have the whole Scripture to teach, inform, warn, and equip us. We drift into departing from the LORD… abandoning the Gospel, how? Replacing the Work of the LORD Jesus with the Works of self. “Self Merit,” the keeping and promoting of man made laws, usually external’s as stupid as  the type of clothing to determine someone’s spirituality! Paul warned the Colossians to let no one take them “captive,” prisoner, and he was writing to believers. Not that they would lose their salvation, but through false teaching they could be led astray into false teaching ,which was an attack on the Sufficiency of Christ and His Word and the sufficiency of the believers salvation “In Christ,” and in Him alone! The teaching that said you needed vain human philosophy plus Christ to be spiritual, or you needed Christ plus humanism, you needed Christ plus mysticism. You needed Christ plus asceticism has to do with self denial, a monkish type of life of deprivation that has to do with the keeping of certain days and diets plus Christ to be spiritual in order to get more. In other words The Person and work of The Lord Jesus was not enough to sufficiently “save ” … you had to add more… and all cults are like that it is “Christ Plus… “They all attack His sufficiency. They claim, He is not enough..!But Paul wrote in 2:10” You are complete in Christ!” “Complete” speaks of “no deficiency.” Paul goes on in the chapter to show there is No deficiency in your salvation. There is no Deficiency in your Forgiveness. Because there is no deficiency in your Savior’s Victory! You have all you need in Christ. You just need to know all you have in Him! A good study is to read Ephesians 1:3-15 and underline the phrases,“In Christ, In Him In Whom” and see who and what you are “In Him…” and the response is to PRAISE the Father… in verse 3!

“Let no one take you captive…” Lead you astray… Beware of anyone who says it is “Christ plus…” For example. “Christ plus… the second blessing!” Paul says in Ephesians 1:3, we have been “blessed with EVERY Spiritual blessing in the Heavenlies in Christ” and goes on to mention some of those wonderful blessings , ‘acceptance, adopted, forgiven and more, in the passage I have mentioned …So no I don’t need a “second blessing,” for I have read I Have been blessed with every spiritual blessing and as I read the passage I see blessing after blessing that are mine “In Christ!” Some would add it’s Christ plus “a quiet time” and they turn a “quiet time” into a merit of work to somehow please GOD WHO SAYS ” YOU ARE “ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED”{Read Rom 1:7; Eph 1:6} again we must come back to the Word of God as our sole foundation , ULTIMATE AUTHORITY and like the BEREAN BELIEVERS, SEARCH THE Scripture to see if these things be true!  “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true “-{ Acts 17:1}

Paul in Galatians calls them “foolish” and asked who has bewitched you. Indeed  having began by grace now they were trying to live by self effort to please God! He appeals to them…

And so you  and I too must remember, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. “-{Gal 5:1}.

Legalism, is ultimately PRIDE. Pride in self versus the Praise for the LORD Jesus. Legalism says Jesus Christ is not enough, you need to add to His Work to be “spiritual.” LEGALISM IS DEVOID OF LOVE, AS IT LOOKS DOWN ON OTHERS. IT IS DEVOID OF JOY AS IT IS LOVELESS AND THE FRUIT THE HOLY SPIRIT PRODUCES WHEN HE IS IN CHARGE ARE “LOVE , JOY, PEACE…” Jesus said the HOLY SPIRIT would “GLORIFY ME”-{John 16:13-14}… The legalist, the cultist do not glorify Jesus Christ, His Name, His fame their highest priority and praise. BEWARE of anyone who makes more of themselves, their traditions, opinions, self-efforts, than the LORD JESUS .

Thank God, if we do depart and fall back into “self-works” He is faithful to wean us and we can turn from the sin and receive Grace to forgive and Grace to begin afresh depending upon Him, obeying Him by Grace and Glorying in Him!

The Christian life begins in grace. We were saved by grace-{Read Eph 2:8-9} . We stand  in Grace – in full acceptance of Him -{Read Rom 5;1-2} We are being changed by Grace, {Read Titus 3:11-14.}. Continue living and walking in the Grace, favor, kindness, empowering  of our Lord Jesus CHRIST!

Grace and peace to you!