No Other Gospel
Tim Keller | September 21, 1997
Overview
If the Bible is not so much a human book reaching up for God, but a divine book reaching out for us, then we’ll only really profit from it if we read it in search of what God has for us rather than reading it to find what we want to find. One of the best ways to do this is to take verse by verse, rather than just jumping to topics that we like.
One of the things we see right away in the introduction of Galatians is that Paul has to address a church that is losing touch with the gospel. He has to remind his readers how they came into being and how they became Christians. By doing so, he gives us a little set of tests to know whether or not the gospel is in our own lives. We’re going to look at four things to test ourselves: the power, the content, the drama, and the intimacy.
Outline
Galatians 1:3–12
Paul is shocked and troubled by the Galatians turning away from the real gospel to a fake one. He emphasizes the importance of the gospel, saying that anyone, even an angel or he himself, who preaches a different gospel should be condemned. The gospel is not Paul’s invention – it’s a message from Jesus Christ. You can tell if you really understand the gospel by looking at four things.
1. The power
God’s word isn’t like our words. It’s powerful and can change reality. The gospel, God’s call of grace, makes a big difference in our lives. It causes real and deep changes within us. Even if this encounter with God doesn’t feel dramatic, it leaves us changed, making us new and different.
2. The content
The gospel is a story with a specific structure and truth. If you mess up the order, you can get it wrong, like the false teachers in Galatians did. The gospel enlightens us, showing us truth and ideas, which we remember in the Lord’s Supper. The more amazed and in awe you are of the gospel, the better you understand its power and content.
3. The drama
The gospel tells a big story where the world is falling apart and people are condemned, trapped by lies. Jesus Christ’s mission is like a daring rescue, giving us freedom as a prize for winning a battle full of conflict, separation, reconciliation, war, and peace. This freedom, which the gospel gives us, makes us see things differently and frees us from our previous state of being trapped.
4. The intimacy
When you turn away from the gospel, you’re turning away from God, because the gospel helps us build a personal relationship with Him. The gospel shows us God’s grace through what Jesus sacrificed, teaching us that God’s love for us isn’t based on what we do, but on who we are. This makes us want to follow God’s rules because we love Him, not because we want something. The Lord’s Supper is a way for us to remember and experience this close, powerful, and enlightening relationship.
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