Actions speak louder than words

Galatians 1:11–16  But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood.

Last night I read the last half of Galatians 1 to my son as I put him to bed. Paul begins this chapter voicing his disappointment that the Galatians have turned away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ that Paul had proclaimed to them early in his missionary journeys. In this passage we read tonight, Paul defends himself against the proclaimers of this new "gospel." He points out that the gospel he has proclaimed to the Galatians came directly from God, not from "traditions of men."

I immediately thought of some of the false gospels that are being proclaimed today, even within conservative Evangelicalism. But I wanted to see if scholars agreed with my view of this—"In the multitude of counselors there is wisdom." So I turned to The Bible Readers Companion.

Because the strategy of those carrying this “different gospel” features a personal attack on Paul, the great missionary feels compelled to defend his apostleship. This defense is begun here and carried on through chapter 2. Paul has been accused of making the Gospel “easy” to please men.

 

The Bible Reader’s Companion, © 1991 SP Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

That last sentence jumped out at me when put into the context of recent conversations. The Gospel of Jesus Christ must be proclaimed exactly as it is laid out in scripture. We can't fall for "Easy-believism" (Gospel-minus) and we can't fall for legalism, tradition, and man-made rules (Gospel-plus). We must proclaim the gospel in word, and even more importantly—in deed, as it was laid out for us in scripture. Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for the sins of all the believing ones (indicated by the fact that they have repented of their sins and turned in faith to God alone, not to God plus a dress code or God plus King James Version only, or God plus a certain style of music).

What may have caused these false teachers to accuse Paul of preaching an "easy" gospel intended to please men? I think we see this same attitude quite often. We think that we have to earn God's favor in much the same way that we have to earn the favor of someone we are attempting to befriend. But this is not the gospel according to Jesus Christ. Jesus' death paid the penalty for the sins of all those who believe (that penalty being eternal death separated from God). And in dying to save us, He also broke the chains of the law giving us freedom in Him. This freedom continues even today as it did in Paul's day to strike people as an "easy" gospel. And it is an easy gospel. As Jesus Himself put it in Matt 11:28-30:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

May we all seek to proclaim the Gospel exactly as it is laid out in scripture. But may we remember that "actions speak louder than words" and if our actions proclaim that there are additional requirements for holiness other than repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (as did those who were preaching legalism and tradition to the Galatians), our actions are saying that we believe in Gospel-plus. No matter what our words our saying.