I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
I am amazed
In all of Paul’s other letters, he gives words of commendation. Even in his letter to the Corinthian church, which was filled with all kinds of problems, He thanks God for their faith, love, or faithful endurance. However, instead of commending the Galatians, Paul states that he is amazed at what they have done. The Greek word used here has been variously translated as “astonished, marveled, amazed, astounded, surprised.” It also was used to express irritation and irony.
So quickly
This can be understood in two ways and also serves as a warning to us of how easy it is to lose the true gospel. First, “so quickly” can be understood as the time between when the false teachers arrived at the Galatian churches and when members started to follow their teachings.
A second way to understand “so quickly” is to take the elapsed time between when Paul preached the gospel to them and when they started following the false teachers. We believe Galatians was written late AD 48 or 49. Therefore, there probably was not more than six months to a year between the time Galatians received the gospel and when they were ready to follow the false teachers. No wonder Paul was amazed.
The history of the early church shows how quickly legalism and a false gospel made inroads into the church. For example, The Shepherd of Hermas (AD 180-200) was recommended reading for early Christians. However, it does not speak of salvation by faith or grace. It gives thirteen “Mandates,” several parables, and visions, some of which in themselves may be good. However, salvation is portrayed to be by repentance and penance. In fact, the Shepherd of Hermas is used by the Catholic church as part of their support for their doctrine of Penance.
Do you think, however, that the sins of those who repent are remitted? Not altogether, but he who repents must torture his own soul, and be exceedingly humble in all his conduct, and be afflicted with many kinds of affliction; and if he endure the afflictions that come upon him, He who created all things, and endued them with power, will assuredly have compassion, and will heal him; and this will He do when He sees the heart of every penitent pure from every evil thing: and it is profitable for you and for your house to suffer affliction now “Parable 7” in Shephard of Hermas, ]Grand Rapids, MI, The Apostolic Fathers, 1989], p.252).
“The time of luxury and pleasure is one hour. But an hour of torment has the power of thirty days. So if someone lives in luxury and is deceived for one day, and is tormented for one day, the day of torment is equivalent to a whole year. So, for as many days as someone lives in luxury, for that many years, he is tormented. You see, therefore” he said, “that the time of luxury and deception is very short, but the time of punishment and torment is long” (http://lonelypilgrim.com/2012/06/02/st-justin-martyr-on-christian-baptism/).
Regarding baptism, Justin Martyr taught that “In the water, the remission of sins [is] formerly committed” (Ibid. p. 250). An ancient Christian sermon called, “Second Clement” states:
Charitable giving, therefore, is good, as is repentance from sin. Fasting is better than prayer, while charitable giving is better than both… charitable giving relieves the burden of sin. (Second Clement was not written by Clement. It is “a word of exhortation” by an unknown writer. It is thought to be the oldest complete Christin sermon that has survived. The Apostolic Fathers, Translated by B.J. Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer, [Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI 1989], p. 65, 66.)
Not long after Paul preached the pure gospel, many of the Galatians soon slipped back into legalism. Paul was amazed that the Galatians deserted the gospel and Christ, “so quickly.” We, too, are amazed at how quickly some of the Early Church writers brought legalism back into their “gospel.” Our country also appears to be “so quickly” deserting the Judeo-Christian values upon which it was founded.
Deserting Him
This is a serious accusation. By following a gospel that was based on the works of the law, they were deserting Christ. “Deserting” is used for one who had changed allegiance from one country to another like one who had joined the opposing forces in battle. Today, it might be used to describe a US citizen who leaves our country and goes to fight for ISIS. “Deserting” is present, continuous tense in Greek, and therefore tells us that this change of loyalties was then taking place but was not yet completed. There was still hope for them if they would understand the serious mistake they had made and repent of their foolishness and turn again to trusting the grace of Christ alone.
Who called you by the grace of Christ
There is a difference of wording in this reference in two of the best Greek texts we have. One of them includes the “of Christ.” The other leaves out “of Christ.” Following the laws of lower or textual criticism, it is thought that the original is probably the one that leaves out “of Christ.” (Lower, or textual criticism, is the discipline that collects and arranges all the manuscript evidence for a given section of Scripture and then follows accepted laws to determine which manuscript wording is most likely to be the original. One of the laws of this discipline states that usually the shorter rendering is most likely to be the original. In this instance it would be very easy for a scribe to insert “of Christ.”) This does not mean that it is not Christ’s grace that calls us; instead, in this context, Paul is emphasizing grace. They had left “grace alone” and were counting on their works of the law to make them acceptable to God. The Galatians had deserted the very One who called them by grace to eternal life.
As the Galatians and Early Church “so soon” drifted into legalism, it is also easy for us to slip back into some form or degree of legalism thinking our works make us more acceptable to God. Those of us who grew up in legalism know how hard it is to shake off all aspects of it.
For a different gospel; which is really not another
This phrase has been translated in a number of ways. The reason for this is that Greek has two words for “another.” “Different” is the Greek “another” from ἕτερον meaning a difference in kind between one thing and another. For example, this word is used to describe the difference between the Levitical priesthood and the priesthood of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7:11. However, ἄλλο is used for “another” of the same kind. After Thanksgiving dinner, you may be asked if you want “another” piece of the delicious pecan pie.
What Paul was telling the Galatians is that they had deserted Christ who saved them by grace alone for another gospel of a different kind, which was not a gospel of good news. Rather, they’re “gospel” could not legitimately even be called a gospel at all.
Today, there are many church groups that drift into some degree of legalism, perhaps unknowingly. Legalism might be defined as a set of external rules to measure one’s spirituality from the outside. Usually, legalism boils down to a way to measure our moral walk with another’s behavior or vice versa. Legalists often either become discouraged because they always fall short of the standards set or perfectionistic because they perceive they have arrived. Like the Rich Young Ruler, they believe they have fully kept the commandments.
Only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ
“Some” lets us know there was a group of people. Paul brings two charges against these false teachers. First, they were “disturbing” the church members. The word used here means “to throw into confusion,” to “shake,” “agitate,” or “to excite to the point of perplexity and fear.” It is easy for us to put ourselves into their spiritual shoes. These false apostles had the Old Testament law on their side. They had Jewish Christians on their side who still believed that to become a “true” Christian, one had to be circumcised and come under the law of Moses.
For those of us from Adventist backgrounds who are old enough to remember the ministry of Robert Brinsmead and Desmond Ford in the 80s know well the agitation the church experienced during those trying days. Those of us who accepted the gospel of grace were confronted by “experienced brethren” who appealed to the Adventist church fathers and portions of the writings of Ellen White to show us our error. Like the Judaizers they had a lot of firepower. I remember well.
The second charge Paul brings against these false teachers is that they “want” to distort the gospel. They wanted to do something impossible. If the gospel is distorted, as Paul has already shown, then it is no gospel at all. Today, I have personally witnessed people get sucked into the Hebrew Roots Movement (HRM), which teaches that Paul’s writings cannot be trusted. They teach that all the original autographs of the New Testament were written in Aramaic. Later, when these were translated into Greek, they say the original writings of the Apostles were corrupted. The HRM puts people back under the Law and takes away from them the message of justification by faith alone. (For more information on the teaching and errors of the Hebrew Roots Movement, see Dale Ratzlaff, “Digging Up the Truth about the Hebrew Roots Movement” Proclamation!, vol. 17, Issue 1, 2016.
Martin Luther commented on this passage.
These false apostles do not merely trouble you; they abolish Christ’s Gospel. They act as if they were the only true Gospel-preachers. For all that they muddle Law and Gospel. As a result, they pervert the Gospel. Either Christ must live and the Law perish, or the Law remains and Christ perish; Christ and the Law cannot dwell side by side in the conscience. It is either grace or law. To muddle the two is to eliminate the Gospel of Christ entirely ( Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Translated by Theodore Graebner, [St Louis: Concordia 1963], p. 17).
Assignment
- In preparation for the next lesson, read Galatians 1:6-9.
- Note the difference between verses 8 and 9.
Questions for Discussion
- Have you ever been “disturbed” by people preaching a gospel of faith in Christ plus works of the law? If so, how did you respond?
- Comment on Luther’s statement: “Christ and the Law cannot dwell side by side in the conscience. It is either grace or law.” Would you agree or disagree? Why?
- Is there anything wrong with keeping the Ten Commandments? Explain.
- If there is nothing wrong with keeping the Ten Commandments, then is there anything wrong with faith in Christ plus obedience to the Ten Commandments?
- What is the difference between legalism and obedience?
- Are the Ten Commandments necessary for Christian obedience? Share your conclusions and reasoning with your group.
- Today, there are many churches that teach a third function of the law (Ten Commandments) which is thought to guide the regenerate into the good works that God has planned for them. Would you agree or disagree with this? Can you find any evidence in Galatians to support your conclusion?
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