THE MARKS OF A FALSE GOSPEL:
1. A false gospel treats Christ’s death as meaningless.
Galatians 2:21 ... “I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.”
2. A false gospel says people must obey the law in order to be saved.
Galatians 3:12 ... “This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”
3. A false gospel tries to find favor with God by observing certain rituals.
Galatians 4:10 ... “You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years.”
4. A false gospel counts on keeping laws to be right with God.
Galatians 5:4 ... “For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.”
THE MARKS OF THE TRUE GOSPEL:
1. The true gospel teaches that the source of the gospel is God.
Galatians 1:11-12 ... “Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.”
2. The true gospel knows that life is obtained thru death; we trust in the Son of God who loved us & died for us so that we might die to sin & live for him.
Galatians 2:20 ... “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
3. The true gospel explains that all believers have the Holy Spirit thru faith.
Galatians 3:14 ... “Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.”
4. The true gospel declares that we cannot be saved by keeping laws; the only way of salvation is thru faith in Christ, which is available to all.
Galatians 3:21-22 ... “Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.”
5. The true gospel says that all believers are one in Christ, so there is no basis for discrimination of any kind.
Galatians 3:26-28 ... “For you are all children[a] of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male, and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
6. The true gospel proclaims that we are free from the grip of sin and that the Holy Spirit’s power fills and guides us.
Galatians 5:24-25 ... “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”
Up next we take a look at whether Christians today still have to obey the OT laws. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.
In His Name & for His Glory,
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
Resource: The Life Application Study Bible
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