Give me CHRIST, or nothing at all!
The letter to the Galatians is an interesting (and highly relevant) one for today. In chapter 1, Paul shares his customary greeting however, he cuts it shorter than his usual introductory pre-chorus to exclaim his absolute and utter astonishment (complete shock!) that the churches in Galatia that he helped plant on his first missionary journey, Antioch Pisidia Church, Iconium Fellowship Church, The Church at Lystra, and Derbe Community Church (or whatever other modern titles you want to tack on to the original names), were "turning away" from not only the gospel but "from Him" (v.6), Jesus, who called them to begin with.
What was going on here? Literally, the Galatian believers in these churches were deserting Jesus and His Gospel of grace for the heretical/false teaching of the Judaizers; guys who were coming in and preaching that the OT Law must be followed for salvation - not Christ and certainly not through faith alone in Christ alone. The Galatians apparently were deserting Jesus and the gospel "so soon," or in other words, "easily and quickly." It almost seems like there wasn't even a fight or debate being put up. Many were giving in to the old way of life, the 'old time religion' of their day, the religion of their Jewish culture and heritage, even though they had been saved by Christ through faith by the preaching of the Gospel of grace.
Paul shares bluntly in the following verses (paraphrasing v.8-9): "Look, even if myself, the guys who are with me, and even holy angels...if any of us preach a gospel other than what you've already heard and were saved by - DO NOT FOLLOW IT!"
That's my simple plea for you today, reader. If you're a believer, this is specifically for you. There's a multitude of false teaching out there today and it will continue to flourish in our culture. But when we hear it, we need to turn away from it, call it for what it is (falsehood!), and steer others under the false teaching towards what is biblical.
An iconic battle cry from the 2nd Virginia Convention of 1775 by Patrick Henry states: "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
Christians, our battle cry, especially these days should always be: "Give me CHRIST, or nothing at all!"
What was going on here? Literally, the Galatian believers in these churches were deserting Jesus and His Gospel of grace for the heretical/false teaching of the Judaizers; guys who were coming in and preaching that the OT Law must be followed for salvation - not Christ and certainly not through faith alone in Christ alone. The Galatians apparently were deserting Jesus and the gospel "so soon," or in other words, "easily and quickly." It almost seems like there wasn't even a fight or debate being put up. Many were giving in to the old way of life, the 'old time religion' of their day, the religion of their Jewish culture and heritage, even though they had been saved by Christ through faith by the preaching of the Gospel of grace.
Paul shares bluntly in the following verses (paraphrasing v.8-9): "Look, even if myself, the guys who are with me, and even holy angels...if any of us preach a gospel other than what you've already heard and were saved by - DO NOT FOLLOW IT!"
That's my simple plea for you today, reader. If you're a believer, this is specifically for you. There's a multitude of false teaching out there today and it will continue to flourish in our culture. But when we hear it, we need to turn away from it, call it for what it is (falsehood!), and steer others under the false teaching towards what is biblical.
An iconic battle cry from the 2nd Virginia Convention of 1775 by Patrick Henry states: "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
Christians, our battle cry, especially these days should always be: "Give me CHRIST, or nothing at all!"
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