Galatians 1:6-10

Summary retelling of Galatians 1:6-10

Paul next begins into chastisement.  Paul expresses disbelief that the Christians in Galatia are turning to another “Gospel” – even though there is no other true gospel.  Paul warns them that there are people who desire to distort the Gospel.  Then Paul says that anyone – an angel or a person – who distorts the Gospel deserves to be accursed.  Paul adds that one of the easiest ways to determine if a person is preaching the right Gospel is to look from whom the person is seeking approval.  Those who preach to please the people around them are not serving Christ.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul is not afraid to express displeasure.  This is something that is tough to do.  None of us really enjoys offending the people around us.  We naturally want to be liked.  So for Paul to start off by saying that he cannot believe that they are headed down such a bad path so quickly really means something.  But there is one thing that makes this possible.  Paul had a spiritual connection with these people.  Without that spiritual connection, Paul could never have had the confidence to try and correct them.

Why does having a spiritual connection with a person make it easier to receive correction?  Can you see how it also makes it easier to give correction?

Second Thought:

Paul talks about people who preach a false Gospel deserving to be accursed.  The word there is “anathema.”  An anathema is something that you want absolutely nothing to do with.  Thus, what Paul is saying here is that people who teach a false doctrine are people with whom neither we nor God should want any dealings.  In the early church, people who taught false things were met with serious resistance and there was a stern lookout for them.

Do you think people take their spiritual teaching that seriously today?  How readily prepared are you to root out false teaching when you hear it?

Third Thought:

Paul is blunt at the end of this passage.  People who preach in order to please the people around them are not following Christ.  Think about it; it just makes sense.  If we are sinful and we live in a sinful world, then when we speak truth we should convict the people around us.  Convicting people is hard and painful work, not pleasing work.  So if people around us are hearing things they like, then they likely aren’t being all that convicted.  If they aren’t being convicted, we probably aren’t speaking truth.  If we aren’t speaking truth, then we aren’t likely to be following God, are we?  Of course, we don’t need to yell and scream at people, either.  Our goal should be to get people to think about their relationship with God and strive to let God draw them closer to him.

Is there tension between speaking painful words of conviction and pleasing words?  Why do so many people have difficulty speaking the words of conviction that they need to speak?

Passage for Tomorrow: Galatians 1:11-17