Covenant Ministries • Study Series
No Other Gospel
Galatians • 1
Paul wrote to churches that had heard the good news of Jesus Christ and were now being drawn toward a distorted message. As the letter unfolds, we discover that teachers were pressing circumcision and observance of the law upon Gentile believers. Paul recognized that making these requirements a basis for acceptance with God threatened the gospel itself.
We face the same question whenever we begin treating religious activity or personal improvement as something that earns God’s favor. Galatians calls us to examine what we trust and to receive the gospel on God’s authority.
The Authority of the Gospel
READ GALATIANS 1:1–5
Paul begins by identifying the source of his apostleship. Jesus Christ and God the Father commissioned him. His authority to announce the gospel rested on God’s appointment. The Father who sent him is the One who raised Jesus from the dead.
The greeting also tells us what Christ has done. Jesus willingly gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the Father’s will. Our sin required a Savior, and God provided the rescue we could never accomplish for ourselves. Paul responds by giving God the glory.
Our acceptance with God rests on Christ’s saving work. We receive this gift through faith. The obedience that follows is the fruit of God’s grace, never a payment that completes Christ’s work (Ephesians 2:8–10).
Discussion
What do verses 3–5 teach us about who accomplishes our salvation and who receives the glory?
When you think about God’s acceptance of you, where are you tempted to rely on your own record?
The Abandonment of the Gospel
READ GALATIANS 1:6–10
Paul is astonished that the Galatians are turning away so quickly. Their departure is personal: they are deserting the God who called them in Christ’s grace. The competing message is a distortion of the gospel, offering no other way of salvation.
The danger becomes clearer later in the letter. If keeping the law could make us righteous before God, Christ’s death would have been unnecessary (Galatians 2:21). A message that makes human achievement part of the basis for justification changes what sinners are being asked to trust. Justification means God’s declaration that a sinner is righteous in His sight; Paul teaches that we are justified through faith in Christ rather than works of the law (Galatians 2:16).
Paul places every messenger under the same test, including himself and even an angel. The gospel already proclaimed is the standard. A teacher’s confidence, popularity, or impressive experiences cannot make a different message true. Christians may sincerely disagree about some matters of belief and practice while holding to the same gospel, as Paul’s teaching about observing particular days illustrates (Romans 14:5). His warning in Galatians concerns teaching that changes how sinners are accepted by God.
Discussion
Why does Paul apply the same gospel test to himself and even to an angel?
How can we distinguish a call to obey Christ from a message that asks us to earn God’s acceptance?
The Authenticity of the Gospel
READ GALATIANS 1:11–24
Paul explains that he received his gospel through revelation of Jesus Christ. His account of Arabia, Damascus, and his later visit to Jerusalem establishes that the Jerusalem apostles were not the source of his message. His commission came from Christ, whose authority stands behind the gospel he preached.
Paul’s former life makes God’s grace especially clear. He had persecuted the church and advanced zealously in the traditions of his fathers. God set him apart before birth and later called him by grace, revealing His Son so that Paul would preach Christ among the Gentiles. His conversion and calling display God’s initiative and mercy toward an enemy.
The Judean churches heard that their former persecutor was now preaching the faith he had tried to destroy, and they glorified God. Paul’s changed life bore witness to God’s grace. The truth of his gospel rested on Christ’s revelation, while his transformation gave the churches reason to praise God.
Discussion
What does Paul’s account reveal about the source of his gospel and the grace of God in his calling?
What evidence of God’s grace in your life could you share in a way that directs attention to Christ?
Personal Response
This week, identify one way you are tempted to measure God’s acceptance by your performance. Bring that concern to Galatians 1:4 and Ephesians 2:8–10, and thank God for the salvation He gives in Christ. Choose one act of obedience that expresses gratitude for His grace.
When you listen to Christian teaching, ask what the message tells sinners to trust for acceptance with God. Test that teaching by Scripture. If you share your testimony, explain how Christ saved you and is changing you. Your experience can point someone toward the gospel; include the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection and the call to repent and believe.
Hold Fast to the Gospel of Grace
Christ gave Himself for our sins according to the Father’s will. Because the gospel comes from God, we must receive it faithfully and resist every effort to make our works part of the basis for justification. As His grace bears fruit in our lives, may others join us in giving glory to God.
¹ Sources: Cowper & Newton Museum, John Newton (1725–1807); Richard Cecil, Memoirs of John Newton.
