But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
But even if we
Paul curses those who teach a false gospel. Right at the outset of these two powerful verses, he includes himself and his associates as those who should be cursed if they teach a false gospel different from the gospel he proclaimed so recently in the Galatian churches. Note well what Paul is doing here. He is saying that the message of the gospel does NOT depend on the messenger. Instead, no matter who the messenger of the gospel is, it is the gospel itself that must not be compromised. The Galatians were being misled by the false teachers who claimed that Paul was not a true Apostle. Paul is saying that the messenger is not the point of decision; it is the message of the gospel.
This concept has application throughout the history of the Christian church.
Later in the history of the church, during the time of Augustine, a great dispute arose concerning the sacraments, such as baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and ordination. The question was whether these religious rites were valid and effective when performed by a minister who was morally impure. One party in the dispute, the Donatists, argued that they were not. Their efficacy was tied to the spiritual and moral condition of the presiding minister. Augustine and the majority of others in the church took the opposite view. The sacraments, they said, were ex opera operato, that is, they were effective by virtue of the power invested in them by Christ himself and the promise of his Word. At the time of the Reformation, both of these views were subjected to a fresh biblical critique, but the essential point of Augustinian position was recognized as valid: the touchstone of doctrinal and spiritual authenticity is God himself, what he has irrevocable done in Christ and infallibly vouchsafed to us in Holy Scripture, and not the qualifications, charisma, or even theology of any human leader” (Timothy George, New American Commentary, Galatians, [Nashville, TN, B&H Publishing Group, 1994] p. 97).
Today, we think of successful pastors who, at the time of their preaching and evangelism, were leading a private life of sin. However, those who accepted the pure gospel during the ministry of these evangelists were ushered into fellowship with Christ and had their sins forgiven, not because of the preacher’s integrity, but because of the power of the gospel.
Whenever the truth of justification by faith alone is presented to those groups locked into a system of legalism, the opposition will arise. Luther and other reformers were isolated because they would not follow the entrenched leadership of the Catholic Bishops. In the ’80s, when I was facing issues regarding the gospel, I was counseled a number of times, “Just don’t make any waves.” Follow the council of “the experienced brethren.” “After all, Dr. ____ was on the committee that looked into all these things, and he still believes the Adventist message.”
Let this truth sink deep in our thinking: it is the message, not the messenger that counts. True, the integrity of the messenger is vitally important, so that the gospel may go forward. Paul makes this very clear to Timothy.
It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach (1 Tim. 3:1-10).
The gospel preached by Paul was not the true gospel because Paul was the preacher. Instead, the gospel Paul preached was the true gospel because Christ gave it to Paul to preach (Leon Morris, Galatians, [Downers Grove Illinois, IVP Academic, 1996] p. 44).
An angel from heaven
Not only did Paul include himself and his companions in the curse of damnation if they changed the gospel from what he preached to the Galatians, but he includes “an angel from heaven.”
Paul’s zeal for the Gospel become so fervent that it almost leads him to curse angels. “I would rather that, my brethren, yes, the angels of heaven be anathematized than my gospel be overthrown” ( Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Translated by Theodore Graebner, [St Louis: Concordia 1963], p. 17).
Scholars are divided on just what Paul meant regarding an “angel from heaven.” He appears to be so convinced of the trueness of the gospel he received directly from the Risen Christ that even a “true angel” could not change that gospel. If an angel tried to change the gospel, then that angel would be accursed. Some consider that Paul may be referring to an “angel” who would masquerade as a true angel. As he taught the Corinthians,
No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds (2 Cor. 11:14-15).
We should be alert to the work of Satan’s servants masquerading as angels of light. In a previous lesson, we mentioned The Shepherd of Hermas, considered to be acceptable reading for Christians. In fact, some early church writers included this work as part of the accepted canon Scripture (The Apostolic Fathers, Translated by B.J. Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer, [Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI 1989], p. 189). We noted, however, that while there are many good counsels and admonitions in this book, there is no explicit mention of salvation by grace through faith. Instead, there are many statements on repentance, some of which move into the realm of penance. It is noteworthy in this context that the Shepherd of Hermas is based upon seven visions. In these visions Hermas sees an “angel of repentance” and an angel that appears to him as a shepherd.
The Islamic prophet Muhammad was said to be visited by the Archangel Gabriel, who revealed to him the beginnings of what would later become the Quran.
Here we see a non-Christian religion with a “different gospel which is not a gospel at all,” starting with the visit of the supposed Archangel Gabriel. We also note that Gabriel is the focus of much of Islamic art.
In more modern times, Mormonism had its genesis with a vision of an angel.
The Angel Moroni is an angel stated by Joseph Smith to have visited him on numerous occasions, [the church now says 22] beginning on September 21, 1823. According to Smith, the angel was the guardian of the golden plates, buried in the hill Cumorah near Smith’s home in western New York; Latter-Day Saints believe the plates were the source material for the Book of Mormon. An important figure in the theology of the Latter Day Saint movement, Moroni is featured prominently in Mormon architecture and art (my emphasis).
The “plan of salvation” in Mormonism is far removed from the gospel of grace through faith in Christ. They teach that what they are now, God once was and what God is now, they will become. Their Christ was the brother of Lucifer. For the readers of this study, I do not need to belabor the fact that Mormons teaches a false gospel.
If any man should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!
“Gospel” comes from a word that means to evangelize.
… making known God’s message of salvation with authority and power tell the good news, make known the gospel, evangelize (Bible Works 10, “εὐαγγελίζω.”).
False gospels require the sinner to work for his own salvation. Unless one has a deep love of the truth, he cannot denounce error. In order to be clear in our thinking and words, one cannot speak of “truth” unless he can also speak of “error.” In the same way, one cannot define good without understanding evil. This is one of the problems we face in our culture today that is adrift in relativism with no clearly articulated norms. This is not the way it was for Paul. He knew he had the true gospel. He received it from the Resurrected Christ. He had seen its power to change lives. Therefore, we can sense his extreme disdain for anyone who would come in behind his proclamation of truth and seek to put people back under the law from which he came. It was indeed anathema, someone delivered over to divine wrath, a curse, one accursed as in a binding oath with dreadful consequences expected if not carried out.
“The most damnable thing, however, is to proclaim as the true gospel something that is contrary to that gospel… Bad enough for his own soul for anyone to make this exchange but infinitely worse to make it one’s business to delude others into making this exchange. The divine gospel is branded as a lie, the lying gospel is offered as the truth; the double falsehood leads souls to destruction. Whoever is guilty of this crime, “let him be accursed!” (R.C.H. Lenski, Commentary on the New Testament, Galatians (Peabody, MA, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. 1998, ©1934) p. 40.
We see Jesus using similar language of denunciation as He confronted the Pharisees.
But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in (Mt. 23:13).
You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? (Mt. 23:33).
I correspond with a friend who is not concerned with doctrine. His focus is on love. That is an excellent focus, and I commend him for that. However, if the gospel is being compromised with added works, there must be a decided effort to correct the misunderstanding lest we in our accepting love drift back into legalism.
Resources for this Assignment
- I purchased the computer program “Ellen G. White Writings, Comprehensive Research Edition” some years ago. It is an excellent tool for doing research on Ellen G. White. This may also be available from the Ellen G. White Estate internet site.
- There are many online websites that have information. Just search in Google for exactly what you are looking for.
Assignment
- For our Adventist readers, look up Ellen White’s statements regarding her “accompanying angel,” carefully noting the context.
- Find a statement of Ellen White’s “accompanying angel” that taught a true gospel.
- Find a statement of Ellen White’s “accompanying angle” that taught a false gospel.
- See how times Ellen White’s accompanying angel told a lie. Search also under, “said the angel.”
Discussion Questions
- Would it matter to you if Ellen White’s accompanying angel was caught in several lies?
- Would it matter to you if Ellen White’s angel promoted a false gospel?
- How would you apply Galatians 1:8,9 to Ellen White and the early Adventist church before 1888?
- How would you apply Galatians 1:8,9 to today’s Adventist church?
- If it was your desire to follow Christ, accepting Him as your Savior and Lord, and you were baptized by a minister that was morally impure and/or held wrong views of theology, would you have to be baptized over again? Explain your reasoning.
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