Beware of False Teachers

TNIV Scripture for Monday, July 28, 2008 [Galatians 4:14-17]

Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them.

Paul wrote Galatians to warn the believers who cared so much about him not to stray from the pure message of the gospel of Christ. After Paul started the church in Galatia and left for other regions to preach the gospel, false teachers came and added to the message that Paul had preached and undermined the work of Christ there. When Paul became aware of this, he wrote to them about the two different groups of false teachers (the Judaizers and the Antinomians) that plagued the Galatians and why their messages were wrong. The Judaizers taught that you needed Christ plus the law to be saved when the gospel is clear that you need Christ alone. The Antinomians, on the other hand, taught that once you were saved, you could sin all you wanted because Jesus paid the debt of your sin. While it is true that Jesus paid the debt of sin for those who trust Him, the proof of that salvation is a changed life or a sinner who no longer wants to sin. As long as this broken world still exists, there will be false teachers who purposely lead people in the church away from the pure gospel message. The only way to protect yourself from false teaching is to spend time in God's Word each day and in prayer getting to know the God of the Bible.

Beth Warlick, 7/28/2008