I want to continue a couple of thoughts from Galatians 1:6-10, before we move on ahead. Last week, I wrote a bit about how Paul would have actually been an ideal choice for Jesus' work of spreading the good news, as well as the ideal one to combat the thought of requiring circumcision to become a Christian. After all, he knew the Old Testament Scriptures forward and backward, and after Jesus revealed Himself to Paul, he then spent some time, it seems, relearning the focus of the Scriptures.
But for a few minutes today, let's focus on what Paul writes is the outcome of anyone who preaches something other than the good news of God in Jesus. Twice in these verses, he emphasizes that those who preach a contrary Gospel should be cursed (or accursed, depending on your edition of the Bible). If someone teaches something other than what God has done in Jesus to restore people back to Himself, Paul calls for them to be cursed.
Now, a curse is a powerful thing. Basically, this calls for a person or persons to be eternally separated from God. When we think of curses, we could go all the way back to Genesis 3, where, after the man and the woman disobeyed God, God didn't curse them, but instead cursed Satan and cursed the ground. To curse the man or the woman would have been to put them permanently beyond the hope of redemption. Satan was already there, so God was declaring something that had already been decreed. In cursing the ground or the earth, God was cursing something that could be renewed.
If someone teaches something other than that which comes from God, they stand in the place of receiving God's curse. That means eternal condemnation. While that is nothing that we would ever wish on anyone, we also recognize two things here. First, cursing and eternal damnation are a reality. Anytime you say something along the lines of "Damn it", you are cursing that thing. And God would have us take our words seriously. This isn't a light thing, and truthfully, something that I would love to see removed from our vocabulary completely. After all, only God can truly condemn, but for us to wish that eternal separation on someone or something, well, that just doesn't seem fitting, especially for one of God's people.
Second thing, there is a great price to pay for those who teach if they teach wrongly. Whether it be from ignorance, or from willful misunderstanding, the penalty for teaching wrongly is steep. That is why, in the New Testament, we are also told that not many should strive to be teachers, because they are held to a higher standard, in that what they teach and how it gets lived out in the hearers is also on their heads. While there is great joy in teaching the things of God, great care also needs to be taken on the part of the one teaching.
But for a few minutes today, let's focus on what Paul writes is the outcome of anyone who preaches something other than the good news of God in Jesus. Twice in these verses, he emphasizes that those who preach a contrary Gospel should be cursed (or accursed, depending on your edition of the Bible). If someone teaches something other than what God has done in Jesus to restore people back to Himself, Paul calls for them to be cursed.
Now, a curse is a powerful thing. Basically, this calls for a person or persons to be eternally separated from God. When we think of curses, we could go all the way back to Genesis 3, where, after the man and the woman disobeyed God, God didn't curse them, but instead cursed Satan and cursed the ground. To curse the man or the woman would have been to put them permanently beyond the hope of redemption. Satan was already there, so God was declaring something that had already been decreed. In cursing the ground or the earth, God was cursing something that could be renewed.
If someone teaches something other than that which comes from God, they stand in the place of receiving God's curse. That means eternal condemnation. While that is nothing that we would ever wish on anyone, we also recognize two things here. First, cursing and eternal damnation are a reality. Anytime you say something along the lines of "Damn it", you are cursing that thing. And God would have us take our words seriously. This isn't a light thing, and truthfully, something that I would love to see removed from our vocabulary completely. After all, only God can truly condemn, but for us to wish that eternal separation on someone or something, well, that just doesn't seem fitting, especially for one of God's people.
Second thing, there is a great price to pay for those who teach if they teach wrongly. Whether it be from ignorance, or from willful misunderstanding, the penalty for teaching wrongly is steep. That is why, in the New Testament, we are also told that not many should strive to be teachers, because they are held to a higher standard, in that what they teach and how it gets lived out in the hearers is also on their heads. While there is great joy in teaching the things of God, great care also needs to be taken on the part of the one teaching.
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