majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Galatians 1:8-9,
"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! 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!"
As Paul sets the record straight for the Galatian believers, after
they had a visit from some folks that attempted to pervert the message
of the gospel by adding to the message a requirement of having to be
circumcised for salvation, Paul calls for a curse on anyone who would
alter the gospel message. "Let him be eternally condemned!"
Is this merely colorful language to adorn Paul's oratory? Or it there
a serious threat here from Paul? As God's messenger, sent by Jesus
Christ and God the Father, do we have a threat here from God himself,
since Paul was speaking on God's behalf? I firmly believe so. Paul's
credentials, unlike so many self-appointed folks these days, are
impeccable. He clearly was sent by God with the gospel message as he
tells us in this first chapter of Galatians. And he wasn't sent empty
handed. God gave him the gospel message to bring to the Gentile world
and now, having been opposed by others who attempted to pervert the
simple message of salvation by faith, Paul calls anathema on them.
God's curse. My perspective is this would be all it would take for
someone to be found confined to the fiery lake of burning sulfur for
an eternity.
Paul's ability to bring a curse on someone and have God's certain
judgment fall on them is amply demonstrated by the occasion of Paul's
first missionary trip. When he and Barnabas arrived on Cyprus a
sorcerer named Elymas attempted to turn the proconsul from the faith.
Through Paul he was struck with blindness.
Does an apostolic curse remain active only during the lifespan of the
apostle? Was Paul's curse on those who would pervert the gospel of
Jesus Christ only a temporary thing -only for those who troubled the
Galatian believers? I would not want to be in the shoes of those who,
today, pervert the gospel. Today we see all sorts of theologies,
denominations, religions supposedly based on Jesus Christ, isms and
schisms. Certainly, there are many who have squarely placed themselves
in the cross-hairs of Paul's curse. Woe to them!
Our God is not to be trifled with...
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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