C I R C L E O F H O P E

According to the Bible, there is a true gospel, and then there is the other gospel (Galatians 1:6-9):

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel -

7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!

9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

The other gospel looks like the real thing, but isn’t - it’s a perversion of the real thing. And apparently, true born again Christians can be taken in by it, and quite quickly. Strong, harsh words are used for those who teach this gospel, and the book of Galatians is written to tell us why, as well as what to look for so we aren’t taken in ourelves.

Many Christians at this point would be supremely confident that neither they nor their churches would ever fall for a false gospel. They know the true gospel. They are solid that salvation is by grace through faith. We can’t earn our way into God’s good books. We can only receive Christ’s forgiveness of sins and God’s gift of eternal life through Him.

That covers one-third of our salvation experience - our deliverance from the penalty for sin (Romans 6:23): “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” But what about the remaining two-thirds? Salvation is so much more than the moment we gave our lives to Christ. Our salvation continues to happen through our entire earthly life (Romans 5):

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

And our salvation is complete after we leave this earth (Matthew 24:12-13).[1] Again, most of us would say, “Absolutely, yes! We agree with this.”

(1) Do we believe that God is pleased when we do all that we know a good Christian should, and He is displeased when we are lazy or lackadaisical about our Christian walk, and so we have to try as hard as we can to be good Christians?

(3) Do we who work hard in the church believe we are better Christians than the pew warmers among us?

(5) Can we easily compile a list that starts “A good Christian should …”?

(6) Have we ever said “I’d sooner burn out than rust out” and really meant it?

(8) Do we try our best to work for God and do all that we believe He wants us to do?

Would we be surprised to hear that this is the other gospel? And those who teach it, let them be under eternal condemnation? And we have deserted God and left Him far behind in following this gospel? Many would be. So let’s look more closely at the other gospel and see what it is all about.

The other gospel began long before the world was formed. It began in the heart of Satan, the “guardian cherub” who lived “on the holy mount of God” until his heart became proud on account of his beauty and God threw him to earth (Ezekiel 29:14-17).[2] At this point, Satan had much power, but no authority. So he looked for a place where he could once again have rulership. What better place than on earth, where Adam and Eve ruled “over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Genesis 1:26).[3]

Adam and Eve lived, in the beginning, in fellowship with God. They would walk with Him in their garden home in the evenings. They were as close to Him as any human being today can be with another human being, and then some. To keep this fellowship, only one thing was required. They needed to decide to keep it that way. That was the message behind the command not to eat of the one tree. They could eat from any tree in the garden and from the tree of life. The only tree that would destroy their perfect life was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. To eat from that tree was to say that they could live successful lives without God. And so Satan came in the form of a serpent and suggested to them that God didn’t want the best life possible for them. He was holding out on them (Genesis 3:5): “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Adam and Eve believed that, and the rest, so to speak, is history. But human history at least shows that we cannot live successful lives on our own without God.

Living in fellowship with God was always God’s Plan A. There never was a Plan B, as Satan suggested. So God, even before Adam and Eve’s terrible sin, had a plan to keep Plan A alive. He revealed it to Abraham (Genesis 15:6): “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” This is salvation by grace through faith. It is the secret of successful living - life, not lived on our own apart from God, but lived in fellowship with God. Of course, the penalty for sin had to be paid, and so everyone who lived prior to Christ looked forward to His coming to do all that needed to be done to satisfy that penalty, and we who have come since look back to what He did. But we all have our sins forgiven by our faith in His work in dying for us.

So how do we now live? There are two choices, just as there were at the beginning of time: We can live by grace through faith, or we can try really hard to be good Christians. The first is the true gospel, and the second is the other gospel. Let’s have a closer look.

Worth is important to us. If we have no worth, we can’t feel good about ourselves, and that makes for very unhappy living. We all want to be successful and significant. So how do we measure our worth as Christians?

Service is one way to value ourselves. Are we working and doing our best for Jesus? After all, He did so much for us, surely we can do our best for Him. Are we having daily quiet time, attending church services, and serving in our local fellowship? Is our service important? Well, maybe not as important as the pastor’s job or the evangelist’s job, but sure, my work is important. After all, Jesus thought well of the widow’s “two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny” because that was all she had to give and she gave it (Mark 12:41-44).[4] I am giving what I have to give, so I make the grade. But Jesus said (Matthew 7):

22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'

23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Clearly, Jesus does not value His followers by what they do, but by knowing them, in other words, by being intimate with them. He says (John 14:23): “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” What is the Lord’s teaching? What is this teaching that we are asked to obey? What is this special thing that we do? Remember, there’s a Plan A and no Plan B? To keep true fellowship with God, we need to decide to keep it that way. When Jesus was asked “What must we do to do the works God requires?”, He answered: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:28-29). It’s not about service in the Kingdom. It may be about that in our world, which so highly values production and usefulness. But it isn’t that way with God. The hard-working pastor doesn’t please God any more than the shut-in who can barely look after himself. Because it isn’t about what we do. It’s about staying close to God. And so the Scriptures never say, “It’s better to burn out than to rust out”, or that being a pew warmer is a sure sign of a carnal Christian. Instead, God’s Word says:

28 [Jesus speaking] “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.

1 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:

2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.

3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

This passage of Scripture confuses many people who believe that their hard work shows how much they love their Lord. God agrees that this could be the case, and He goes on to say to the church at Ephesus:

5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

But before we breathe a collective sigh of relief, let’s remind ourselves that verse 4 also says that our hard work for God does not guarantee that we love Him in the way He wants to be loved.

Consider a marriage. Two people wed because they are deeply in love. But somewhere along the way, one gets the idea that if he works harder, he can give his spouse more of the things that please her: a better vacation, another piece of jewelry, a larger home. Unfortunately, the more time he spends at work, the less time he spends with her. He thinks he is loving her, but all she knows is how little time he is around and how lonely she is. She doesn’t feel loved at all.

What if we do the same with God? What if we give our lives to Christ because we know how much He loves us, and we love Him so very much back. And in our passion to show how much we love Him, we begin to serve and to do all kinds of Christian work? Other Christians applaud us and talk about what a blessing we are to the church. And so we work harder. Until Christ is left feeling lonely because we spend so little time with Him, and not loved at all.

In a scenario like this, our problem began because we switched to Plan B - we can show our love to Christ by giving Him our best. This is the devil’s plan - do something for God, show Him what you’re capable of. That was never God’s plan. God’s Plan A is that we die and He works:

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

… for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus …

4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Notice that resurrection is not about coming back to our old life: it’s about rising to a new life. Like a butterfly. We don’t look at butterflies and say, “Oh, look, a caterpillar that grew wings!” Similarly we are not just sinners saved by grace. We were sinners, just as butterflies were caterpillars. But neither of us is that any more (2 Corinthians 5:17): “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Before Christ, you were living Plan B - trying your best to live a good life without God. But in Christ, you are back to Plan A - living with God. Most of us tend to think of living with God this way: I am here, and God is in heaven, and He helps me to live a good life. Nothing could be further from the truth than that! There is no more “me” separate from God, and no God separate from me. You can’t talk about God without also talking about me, and you can’t talk about God without talking about me. We are now joined:

30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

As Christians, there is no us separate from God. We are forever one with Him (Ephesians 5):

29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church -

31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

32 This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church.

If we live this truth, will we work hard for Christ? Will we do our best for Him? Will we give Him our service? No. We will let Christ be what He is - our life - and stop trying so hard to be separate and prove something that simply doesn’t need to be proved. We don’t work hard to prove how much we love Jesus so He’s pleased and draws close. He is already as close as anyone can be - one with us - and requires only that we rest and get to know Him so that when He works, we are with Him and not off somewhere else on our own waving for Him to come over and bless what we’ve decided needs to be done.

It’s hard for us to give up Plan B. After all, that’s been our source of self-worth from the time we were born and were told that we were good or bad according to what we did. Our parents told us that, our teachers told us that, our bosses told us that. It’s only natural that we would think God would tell us that as well. But He doesn’t. He says “come and rest” (Matthew 11:28),[5] “come and believe” (John 6:29),[6] “come and love” (Matthew 22:37).[7]

Excellent question. God has given many commandments in the Bible, and many of us are trying our darndest to keep them all. Would it surprise you, then, to hear God say (Romans 10:4): “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes”?

If we are surprised at this, odds are that we have misunderstood why God gave the law. Remember, Plan A is that we believe and God says we’re good. This was the blessing given to Abraham (Genesis 15:5): “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” But then, 430 years later, God gave the law. Why? Galatians explains (Galatians 3 NIV):

17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.

18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.

21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.

22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.

24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.

25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

This is important, so let’s look at it in different Scripture translations. First, The Message:

This is the way I interpret this: A will, earlier ratified by God, is not annulled by an addendum attached 430 years later, thereby negating the promise of the will. No, this addendum, with its instructions and regulations, has nothing to do with the promised inheritance in the will.

What is the point, then, of the law, the attached addendum? It was a thoughtful addition to the original covenant promises made to Abraham. The purpose of the law was to keep a sinful people in the way of salvation until Christ … came, inheriting the promises and distributing them to us.

If such is the case, is the law, then, an anti-promise, a negation of God’s will for us? Not at all. Its purpose was to make obvious to everyone that we are, in ourselves, out of right relationship with God, and therefore to show us the futility of devising some religious system for getting by our own efforts what we can only get by waiting in faith for God to complete his promise. For if any kind of rule-keeping had power to create life in us, we would certainly have gotten it by this time.

Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for.

But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe - Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise.

17 This is my argument: The Law, which began 430 years after the covenant [concerning the coming Messiah], does not and cannot annul the covenant previously established (ratified) by God, so as to abolish the promise and make it void. [Exod. 12:40.]

18 For if the inheritance [of the promise depends on observing] the Law [as these false teachers would like you to believe], it no longer [depends] on the promise; however, God gave it to Abraham [as a free gift solely] by virtue of His promise.

19 What then was the purpose of the Law? It was added [later on, after the promise, to disclose and expose to men their guilt] because of transgressions and [to make men more conscious of the sinfulness] of sin; and it was intended to be in effect until the Seed (the Descendant, the Heir) should come, to and concerning Whom the promise had been made.

21 Is the Law then contrary and opposed to the promises of God? Of course not! For if a Law had been given which could confer [spiritual] life, then righteousness and right standing with God would certainly have come by Law.

22 But the Scriptures [picture all mankind as sinners] shut up and imprisoned by sin, so that [the inheritance, blessing] which was promised through faith in Jesus Christ (the Messiah) might be given (released, delivered, and committed) to [all] those who believe [who adhere to and trust in and rely on Him].

23 Now before the faith came, we were perpetually guarded under the Law, kept in custody in preparation for the faith that was destined to be revealed (unveiled, disclosed),

24 So that the Law served [to us Jews] as our trainer [our guardian, our guide] to Christ, to lead us] until Christ [came], that we might be justified (declared righteous, put in right standing with God) by and through faith.

25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a trainer (the guardian of our childhood).

27 For as many [of you] as were baptized into Christ [into a spiritual union and communion with Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah] have put on (clothed yourselves with) Christ.

¹⁷This is what I mean: God had an agreement with Abraham and promised to keep it. The law, which came four hundred thirty years later, cannot change that agreement and so destroy God’s promise to Abraham. ¹⁸If the law could give us Abraham’s blessing, then the promise would not be necessary. But that is not possible, because God freely gave his blessings to Abraham through the promise he had made.

¹⁹So what was the law for? It was given to show that the wrong things people do are against God’s will. And it continued until the special descendant, who had been promised, came.

²¹Does this mean that the law is against God’s promises? Never! That would be true only if the law could make us right. But God did not give a law that can bring life. ²²Instead, the Scriptures showed that the whole world is bound by sin. This was so the promise could be given through faith to people who believe in Jesus Christ.

²³Before this faith came, we were all held prisoners by the law. We had no freedom until God showed us the way of faith that was coming. ²⁴In other words, the law was our guardian leading us to Christ so that we could be made right with God through faith. ²⁵Now the way of faith has come, and we no longer live under a guardian.

^26-27You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This means that you are all children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

In other words, the commandments in the Bible have nothing to do with our obeying them so that we can be good Christians. The law was given so that we would know we couldn’t keep it, so we would know that we are sinners attached to a sinful Plan B and desperately in need of Plan A. Yes, we may keep a lot of the law, but “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). If we want to “make it” by obeying the law, the standard isn’t, “well, I’m only human, but I’m not doing too badly”. The standard is perfection:

And so the purpose of the law is to cause us to despair of Plan B and come to Christ.

We may all start our Christian life believing that we are saved by grace through faith. But where we may go wrong is believing that, having begun our Christian life by faith, we keep it going by trying hard (Galatians 3:1-3):

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before you very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you; Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? (NIV)

O you poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians! Who has fascinated or bewitched or cast a spell over you, unto whom - right before your very eyes - Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was openly and graphically set forth and portrayed as crucified! Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the [Holy] Spirit as the result of obeying the Law and doing its works, or was it by hearing [the message of the Gospel] and believing [it]? [Was it from observing a law of rituals or from a message of faith?] Are you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the [Holy] Spirit, are you now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh? (AMP)

You people in Galatia were told very clearly about the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. But you were foolish: you let someone trick you. Tell me this one thing: How did you receive the Holy Spirit? Did you receive the Spirit by following the law? No, you received the Spirit because you heard the Good News and believed it. You began your life in Christ by the Spirit. Now are you trying to make it complete by your own power? That is foolish. (New Century Version)

You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it’s obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the Cross was certainly set before you clearly enough. Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? (The Message)

If we in any way have a mental list that starts “A good Christian …”, then we are just like those crazy, foolish, “poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians” (Galatians 3:1 AMP), trying to perfect our faith by what we do, how much we do, how hard we read our Bibles and pray, how many we win to Christ, and so on. None of that conforms us to the image of Jesus, which is what we are hoping for. Instead, living up to all our lists of what we ought to do does the opposite (Galatians 5:4): “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” If you want to fall from grace and be alienated from Christ, just keep on trying hard to be good and do it all. That’s Plan B. That’s the other gospel, “which is really no gospel at all” (Galatians 1:7).

Remember, Paul said that the Galatians had fallen quickly into this error (Galatians 1:6). Why are we so prone to change our allegiance? It’s because we haven’t learned that Christ is our life:

4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

We tend to think of ourselves as having a life of our own, linked to Christ’s, but still different and our own. Sure, we want His help and guidance, and we want to obey and do His will, but we still see ourselves doing that. It can take a while before we realize that we have no individual life. His life and our life are now one. There is no distinction. We share in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).[8]

If I am one with Christ, that is my complete significance because I can’t get any higher in life than Christ. But if I believe something else - that I’m still my own person - then how do I find my worth and significance? I’ll try very, very hard to please Christ. Which is silly because we are fully “accepted in the beloved”, Jesus (Ephesians 1:6b KJV). We become law-keepers, those who try hard, and we become alienated from Christ (Galatians 5:4) instead of pleasing to Him. And while we think we may be serving people, we are really using them to give ourselves a sense of worth. I serve you so I can feel good about myself. I give money to the church so I can feel I’ve done my Christian duty. I work in the church’s programs so I won’t be seen as a pew warmer, but a valuable church member. We are so far from the first two commandments[9] in this.

Our Christian life is not about Christ; it is Christ. God’s main concern is not our behaviour; God’s main concern is our relationship with Him. The law wasn’t given so we would know what a good Christian does; the law is the power of sin (1 Corinthians 15:56),[10] given to drive us to give up on ourselves entirely and give ourselves fully to Christ. Victory doesn’t come to us by trying hard; it is a gift. The victorious Christian life is about how much Christ is able to express His life through us (Romans 5:10).[11] It’s about how close we stick to Him (John 15:4; Jesus speaking): “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” The question is not, “Is this right or wrong for me to do” or “Is this what a good Christian would do”? It isn’t even “What would Jesus do”, and I’ll do that. The question is “Am I abiding in Christ right now”? If I am, then what I do will be God’s best expressed through me.

[1] Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

[2] You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

[3] (Genesis 1:26-28) Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

[4] Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on.”

[5] [Jesus speaking: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

[6] Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

[7] Jesus replied: “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

[8] Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires..

[9] Matthew 22:37-39 [Jesus speaking] “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

[10] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

[11] For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!