The apostle Paul warned the churches of Galatia against false teachers who were preaching "a different gospel," which, he said, is really a distortion of "the gospel of Christ." (Galatians 1:6-9)
These teachers were leading early Christians astray by insisting that they must keep the Law of Moses in addition to believing in Jesus Christ. Paul referred to them as "enemies of the cross of Christ." (Philippians 3:18)
It was his judgment that "if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!" (Galatians 1:9)
Why?
By adding to what Jesus Christ had accomplished on the cross in our behalf, they were denying the sufficiency of His saving work.
The gospel is called "the word of the cross" and "to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:17-18)
When Christ died in our place, He accomplished everything necessary for our salvation. (Hebrews l0:12) No religious ritual or ceremony is required. No good work on our part is necessary.
By His death, God's holiness was vindicated and the demands of divine justice were satisfied. (Romans 3:31) His death is sufficient to save all sinners of all time (1 John 2:2) and God has given unmistakable proof that He was satisfied with the work of Christ by raising Him from the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 12-22)
We are saved when we accept His death as payment-in-full for our sins by trusting in Christ alone for eternal life. (John 3:16)
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 0
Be the first to post a comment!
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.