Galatians 1:6-10

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Isaiah 58:13-14
• Hymn — O Day of Rest and Gladness (#392)
• Westminster Shorter Catechism — Questions 59 & 60
• Hymn — Lord of the Sabbath, Hear Us Pray (#390)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Sermon
• Hymn — One Day He's Coming (#327)
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

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Sermon Title: The Gospel and Its Non-Negotiable Boundaries

Scripture: Galatians 1:6-10

I. The Gospel Is Personal

A. Paul's astonishment is not over abandonment of a concept but of a person — "him who called you in the grace of Christ" B. To abandon the gospel is to abandon the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit C. "Gospel deism" — the danger of treating the gospel as a formula God no longer personally guards — leads to distortion D. The gospel is the triune God giving himself to us

II. The Gospel Is Easily Abandoned

A. The Galatians deserted the gospel almost immediately after Paul's founding of the churches — likely the earliest of Paul's epistles (c. 48–49 AD) B. This quick abandonment mirrors Israel at Sinai — Exodus 32:8: "They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them" C. Both abandonments share the same root: forsaking trust and utter dependence on God alone

1. Israel could not wait on God and fashioned a golden calf — control over God rather than faith in God
2. The Judaizers offered works of the law — salvation placed back in human hands D. Distortions of the gospel echo the serpent's lie: "Did God really say...?" — questioning faith alone in Christ alone E. Romans 4:5 (citing Psalm 32): "To the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness"

III. The Gospel Is Owned by God

A. Even apostles or angels who preach a contrary gospel are to be accursed — the gospel belongs to its author, God himself B. The gospel is immutable because God is immutable; it is not shaped by mutable, changing men C. Church history resembles a game of telephone — each generation risks distorting the original message

1. The Reformers called the church back to the original source
2. Subsequent distortions: 18th-century Christ-plus-reason; 19th-century Christ-minus-supernaturalism; industrial-era Christ-plus-rugged-individualism; postmodern Christ-plus-self-interest D. The proper response today is the same as the Reformers': stop the game, go back to the author

IV. The Gospel Is Serious

A. Paul twice pronounces anathema — "let him be accursed" — on any who preach another gospel; heaven and hell hang in the balance B. The Hebrew word for glory (kavod) means "heavy" — the true gospel carries the full weight of God's glory C. The five solas are interconnected; adding to any one of them subtracts from the glory and heaviness of God

1. Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, to the glory of God alone
2. A false gospel strips God of his heaviness and brings his curse; the true gospel brings his weighty blessing D. The gospel demands serious, weighty proclamation — in the tradition of preachers like Jonathan Edwards and Richard Baxter

V. The Gospel Is an Offense

A. Paul's aim is to please God, not man: "If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ" B. Paul's former credentials as a Jew (Philippians 3:4-6) are now counted as loss; he has put the man-pleasing life behind him C. The cardinal sin of contemporary culture is giving offense — this pressure produces gospel distortion, turning the gospel into a message of self-esteem D. 1 Peter 4:12: "Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you... as though something strange were happening to you" E. The offense of the gospel is not unique to our times; Paul, Peter, and the early Christians proclaimed the same gospel in the same fallen, man-centered world F. The temptation to believe our times are uniquely difficult leads to seeking a "unique gospel for unique times" — the text forbids this; the one true gospel is sufficient for every age